New York lawyer makes it his mission to free Louisiana man from prison | Forensic Files

you're a brooklyn guy you go down to marksville i felt like my cousin vinnie i mean it was like country
okay [Music] i know the truth and no matter how many times they knock you down keep getting up
we were shocked and she told me you know you should take this case she basically
said you need to write him and it wasn't really a suggestion it was write him and that's what i did
[Music] it's over like he doesn't have any more appeals i was like nah that's not true
it's never true absolutely not we have no reason to lie why would we lie why would we let someone spend their
life in prison if we even had the slightest doubt that it wouldn't heal [Music] believe it or not
all night long we called him simmons he told us to call him simmons at trial they all say simmons simmons
the man told us his name was simmons what'd you think then i thought they were crazy
i actually thought they were crazy you mean to tell me i'm gonna do something to y'all and let y'all know my
name i'm gonna tell you who i am no that don't make sense man [Music] when the girls initially went to police
they didn't say the name simmons no what name did they say they didn't give a name
so what did you say when they asked you to identify the man i said all blacks look alike
[Music] when you saw that line of photo what'd you think what i said this is crazy
nuts highly suggested when you put the cuffs on them you're telling them that's who we want
you to pick [Music] they call it the lineup it was a photo of the lineup after he was identified and placed in
cuffs but how do you know it was after because the girls told me that so when you picked him out of the lineup was he
wearing handcuffs no he was not not at all i mean we were scared of him and see i don't know why i didn't i mean
i think when i was here we were afraid of him there's no hairs no fibers no blood no sweat no semen there's nothing
vincent simmons is an innocent man who was railroaded by a racist system is it possible
that you picked the wrong man no no when i close my eyes there's no other face that i see
stop it stop it when are we gonna talk about the facts why did we pick him why it was mr simmons because it was mr
simmons

In 1977, Vincent Simmons was sentenced to 100 years in prison. Decades later, a newly minted lawyer helped get him released. #VincentSimmons #48hours #truecrime

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Vincent Simmons' wrongful conviction highlights racial bias and flaws in the legal system.

Key points

The Lineup Controversy. The identification process raises serious questions about its validity.
The Truth About Simmons. Vincent Simmons maintains his innocence despite being wrongfully convicted.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You down keep getting up.

0:51WatchMay 21, 2022

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