Wrongful Convictions | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] you feel like you're in a hole or a sewer and you're looking up and you're
calling out for help from people and people are walking by you know cuz they don't hear
you I don't think people know how blessed they are to be able to just hug somebody that they
love or to wake up in a house with people that love you I haven't had the chance to do that
in 28 years I'm just going to ask you did you kill Marcus Boyd I did not kill Marcus
he was like a friend of he was one of my best friends and I I loved him in 1994 Marcus Boyd was shot and kill Marcus
Boyd was shot and killed Mass men ran up and shot and killed Boyd when he pulled
the trigger I seen The Flash I swear I could almost see like muscle and tendons because the flash was so big it's like
an x-ray could you see their faces could you identify these men no I couldn't identify
them he had an alibi I was about 3 miles away uh at a friend's house and his girlfriend at the time provided that
alibi I know for a fact he didn't do it he wasn't there he was not involved you agreed to lineup agreed to
a lineup I couldn't identify anybody in all of it Greg viewed the lineup with Lamar Johnson in it at least three times
there's no identification and that should have been the end of it right there but it
wasn't I felt bullied by the detectives and only after pressure from the detective did he all of a sudden say oh
yeah yeah yeah that guy did it I just kept having pressure to go along with this he saw his friend murdered he was
scared he was easily manipulated by the police and the prosecutor in this case I
had what I believe to be a murderer and I had an identification witness who I believed was truthful and honest I
presented the evidence I had and a jury convicted him a trial of erors from start to
finish it was devastating since my conviction I've been petitioning every judge to give me a
hearing and no judge has given me a chance to be hurt the problem is I don't know what else to
do I lost so much just Milestones everything that a little girl wishes that she could you know
experience with her dad [Music] our conviction Integrity unit found new evidence that will exonerate Mr Lamar
Johnson there's something powerful really powerful in our system of justice when the prosecutor says we're the ones
who made the mistake we're trying to free this man free Lamar Johnson fre lar Johnson it's devastating for
me that this man has spent 28 years in prison for a crime he did not Comm all right this is really kind of Lamar
Johnson's last chance isn't it yes that is absolutely true [Music] n [Music] [Music]
convicted at 21 still locked up at 49 Lamar Johnson has spent most of his life in prison for
a crime he insists he did not commit how do you keep up hope I have a choice I I know the truth I know that I
didn't kill Marcus Lamar Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 for shooting 25-year-old Marcus
Boyd on his front porch Johnson was sentenced to life without the possibility of
parole what have you lost time and um there's a closeness between especially with a father and his
daughters and I I missed being able to be a part of their life you want your dad to come home yeah
I definitely do Britney Johnson was just one year old when her dad was sent away it was definitely hard but I
learned to live without my dad kro Barrow was just an infant then we're still waiting there is still an innocent
man in prison kier's mother Erica Barrow did you think you'd marry him yes I did I mean he was my first
love Lamar Johnson grew up in St Louis consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the country his
Southside neighborhood in 1994 was battered by high crime and homicide rates Johnson had steered clear of
serious trouble he wanted to better himself he wanted to be the man that he needed to be for his his children
so Johnson the 20-year-old father of two worked at Jiffy Lube while attending Community College but he also had a
dangerous side hustle selling small amounts of crack cocaine for extra cash yes I was making some poor choices then
and I I take responsibility for that but that wasn't the sum of who I was selling
drugs wasn't his life it was just something to help him manage until he could do better Johnson's good
friend Marcus Boyd 5 years older had also started a family and was holding down a solid job at a printing company
and he too sold drugs on the side Marcus was like the the preppy type you know he
wasn't very Street he was a really really good guy Greg alen then 30 had worked briefly with Boyd at the printing
company and Elin admits he was an occasional customer on the evening of October 30th
1994 he wanted to get high but Boyd said no he was like we're going to go to work
tomorrow so we actually sat down on the front porch up on the stairs Marcus Boyd
Street Louisiana Avenue was empty his girlfriend and their baby were upstairs all he talked about all the time you
know was a about his baby and about his girlfriend he's making me laugh we're kind of laughing at each other but all
of a sudden he went serious he was like oh no from the narrow pathway next to Boyd's apartment two men came out of
nowhere barely visible in the dim light these guys they had completely dark clothing and they had mask on black
masks like this one and they had guns the men flew up the porch step says alen one attacked Marcus Boyd and he's
wrestling with Marcus the second gunman grabbed Alan and he says get the up I remember looking at him right in the
guy's eyes the other guy I seen him put the gun right up to Marcus's like neck area and when he pulled the trigger I
seen The Flash Boom the third shot I kind of seen Marcus's Soul just go and I knew I knew he was
dead to Elkin's horor both men continued to shoot void then vanished the same way
they had appeared sprinting down the dark pathway surprisingly the shooters spared the only
eyewitness you say you looked into one Shooter's eyes all I seen was the eyes could you tell whether he was white or
black um I knew he was black when the gunmen were gone Greg Elkin took off in the opposite direction
as he ran away Elkin says he could hear Marcus Boyd's girlfriend screaming it's still hard to talk about
it isn't [Music] it and where were you when this happened I was about 3 miles away Johnson says he
was with his girlfriend Erica Barrow and their five-month-old daughter Kiara visiting friends Erica says that entire
evening Lamar Johnson was out of her sight just once so we were there because he was making a transaction someone was
coming and so he was just like I'll be right back Johnson left the house Erica says just as she began changing Kiara's
diaper and um I went out to meet uh somebody that I was dealing with his customer picked him up at the corner of
39th and Lafayette Johnson says they completed a quick transaction while driving around the block by the time I
finished changing her diaper and clean everything up he's coming back up the steps and how long does that take 3 to 5
minutes and he's talking you know nothing out of the ordinary it he was just normal
minutes later Johnson got a call that Marcus Boyd had been shot the next day he learned that Boyd had died Johnson's
own life began to unravel according to investigators when they asked Boyd's girlfriend whom she suspected only one
name came to mind Lamar Johnson she thought the longtime friends might have had a
falling out Marcus and I have never had an argument or a fight I loved him I had
no reason to want to hurt him you agreed to talk to the cops without a lawyer that was risky wasn't it well now I
didn't have anything to [Music] hi 4 days after Marcus boy was shot to death on his front porch St Louis Police
Tracked Down the only eyewitness to the murder Greg Elken how would you describe
what you went through that night it was the most horrifying thing I ever seen in
my life shaken and scared alken says he was initially reluctant to talk until he
met lead investigator Joe Nickerson I thought he was a this amazing dude I thought he was like Nick
Noti from 48 hours out of the movie he was awesome I mean it was it was somebody that I just immediately
admired alken says even though the shooters were wearing masks he could tell they were darkskinned black men but
he only saw the eyes of one of them still Nickerson he says insisted on showing him several photos one says Alin
stood out I said these eyes there's something about these eyes and that's all I said it was a photo of Lamar
Johnson and immediately he said would you sign the back of it and I said no I don't want to sign the back of it why
not because I didn't want nothing to do with this because I couldn't pick out no
murderer and I don't even think he's a Mur I didn't say he was a murderer Nickerson Elkin says warned him his life
could be at risk telling him that Lamar Johnson was a dangerous man who may have
been involved in as many as six murders attorney Lindsay Reynolds says none of that was true if they had any evidence
whatsoever then then or now Lamar Johnson would be charged with a crime bronos began working on Johnson's case
when she was in law school does he have a record at all for violence no his record was is is is and was minor it's a
possession charge possession of cocaine and then a tampering with a license plate she says Johnson received
probation for those offenses still she says cops aware of his criminal record kept him and young men like him on their
radar it's just the usual suspects type of round him up and everybody's Guilty By
Association but after the murder on Louisiana Avenue police had a new reason to focus on Lamar Johnson the victim's
girlfriend had given them his name and now they had what they said was a photo identification on the evening November
3rd 1994 4 days after the Mur murder they arrested Johnson along with his friend Philip
Campbell I couldn't even understand why why would they arrest you Johnson's girlfriend at the time and his Alibi for
the night of the murder Erica Barrow I begged him to get a lawyer and all he kept saying is I don't want my mom and
stepfather paying all the money all this money for a lawyer I didn't do it I didn't have anything to hide so I
you know I believed in the system I believe that if I explained to them what I knew and and where I was that that
would sort itself out at the police station Johnson agreed to a live lineup I wanted to try to be as
Cooperative as I could I wanted them to to to investigate and and talk to the people whose house I was that night you
know I would expected that they would reach the conclusion that I didn't have anything to do with but investigators
never spoke to anyone who had been with Johnson on the night of the shooting not
even Erica aarrow they put him in that lineup he's the third man in this photo and brought in elking to view it could
you identify anyone no all together Elkin viewed that lineup three times and never picked Johnson Elkin was then
asked to view a different live lineup Lamar Johnson wasn't there but the man arrested with him Philip Campbell is
number four in this photo Elken still couldn't identify anyone and says he feared he'd let down the detective he
admired and trusted I felt so bad I could see it in his eyes like I I hurt this guy like this whole time you know
I've just wasted his time then according to Elkin he asked Detective Joe Nickerson how he could help all that
came out of my mouth was like all right Joe if you tell me what the numbers were and
I'll tell you if they were correct what does he say to you he says three and four and I was like you're right three
and four Lamar Johnson was number three in that first lineup Philip Campbell was
the fourth man in the other lineup if Joe Nickerson is telling me that three and four is it it's got to be Lamar and
whoever Philip because he wouldn't lie to me Joe wouldn't lie to me so you picked three and four because Nickerson
told you yeah we asked Joe Nickerson for an interview he declined our request but
sent us a text saying in part I went where the facts evidence and circumstances took me alkin claims he
told no one that Nickerson had allegedly given him the suspect's numbers in the lineups instead he told the other
detectives that he was able to identify Lamar Johnson because of his distinctive
eye they asked me what do you mean about the eyee when you say that you could pick you know these eyes and I and I
said I don't know like like a lazy eye or something like it's different from the other Dwight Warren the prosecutor
says he pressed Elkin on his identification of Johnson I believed Mr elking uh because
I looked him straight in the eye and said you know I want to know if he did it tell me you're sure of your
identification please tell me the truth because I don't want to go uh in charge somebody who's not not guilty what did
Greg Elkin say to you when you said that to him well quote end quote I you know I
I couldn't tell you but he told me he was telling the truth that he W he knew who did the shooting and it was Lamar
Johnson and Philip Campbell so I charge them both in July 1995 Lamar Johnson went on trial with Elken as the star
witness if he had backed off for that I would never have issued the case that was he was absolutely essential to
bolster the case one of the witnesses the prosecution called was William mock a jailhouse informant with a lengthy
criminal history who claimed that he overheard Johnson and Campbell in a holding cell talking about the murder
but attorney Lindsay rnold says mock was in credible and that his cell wasn't close enough to hear anything Lamar
wasn't ever selled with Campbell and Campbell nor Lamar were ever in the same sell as William mock so how could you
hear this if it happened at all which it didn't don't you want to make sure that
jailhouse snitch is telling the truth how am I going to do that well you wouldn't put someone on the stand unless
you could check out their story right unless I I did check it out he was in two jail cells away he was in a position
to to be able to hear that Johnson didn't take the stand at his trial the defense relied on his girlfriend Erica
Barrow who told the jury he was with her at the time of the murder it took less than 2 hours for the jurors to reach a
verdict guilty Johnson's life had been changed Forever by Greg Alin who says that as he
was pointing at Johnson at trial he knew he had identified the wrong man this isn't the dude I seen at all because to
me Lamar is not dark and not what I seen you had doubts right afterwards why didn't you tell somebody
why didn't you say because nobody talks to me nobody who am I going to tell him I don't know who I could have told did
it occur to you at that moment that you might have put an innocent man behind bars without a doubt because I lied on
the testimony I lied because I thought I was doing the right thing [Music] [Music]
Lamar Johnson was just 21 years old when he was convicted of murder at my trial they did not even present a motive they
never explained why I supposedly did this and then before his sentencing Johnson received surprising new
information that he believed would prove his innocence hand written letters from
his friend the other suspected killer Philip Campbell one said you didn't do a thing he said I'm sorry you got
convicted for something you didn't do he said he wanted to come forth but his attorney wouldn't let him because he
thought he could beat his case and Philip Campbell was actually one of the shooters he was Campbell even named the
other shooter who was with him on the night of the murder a man named James ba Howard Johnson now had the names of both
shooters he wrote the judge and asked for a hearing but his request was denied in September 1995 Lamar Johnson was
sentenced to life in prison without parole girlfriend Erica Barrow blames law enforcement you didn't care to check
his Alibi you wanted to blame someone and you did exactly that you just fled out didn't care you didn't
care Lamar Johnson didn't give up he became his own jailhouse lawyer sifting through police reports trial transcripts
and Gathering new evidence Johnson with legal help filed a petition asking for a
new trial in 1996 again he was denied then 2 years later he would meet another inmate with
a similar story we were both assigned to ptoi Correctional Center in Missouri our
friendship was almost instant Ricky kid who is also serving a life sentence for murder remembers when he first learned
about Johnson's case he said I have to go to the law library I said what are you working on and he turned to me he
said well I know everybody says this but I'm innocent and I a big old smile appeared across my
face kind of like you're seeing right now and I said well I know everybody say this but I'm innocent too the two men
made a pack in prison he said let's make a promise that whoever makes it out will
come back for the other and we shook on it the Midwest Innocence Project had already been working on kid's case
before he himself was exonerated kid says he can lawyers there to take a closer look at Johnson's case when that
team of lawyers began their research they discovered that the star witness Greg Elkin in prison himself for bank
robbery had written a letter to a clergyman admitting he had lied at Johnson's trial what did you think would
happen again I thought that I would be heard so it made me even more hopeful that I would that the court would at
least listen alin's letter would reveal another reason why he agreed to testify against Johnson at the time of the
murder Elken had been in serious Financial Straits detective Nickerson in the prosecutor's office put him in a
witness protection program Elkin's debts were paid and his outstanding traffic warrants cleared and that's not all
whose idea was to give you money to move you to give you cash Joe Nickerson they
paid my first month last month's rent for a for a house altogether Elken had received more than
$4,000 none of that was disclosed to Johnson and his lawyer at trial Johnson repeatedly asked for a
hearing he was denied and his case stalled I mean what else is needed the only thing that's that that I haven't
been able to present is DNA and God I wish there was some DNA then in 2018 St Louis circuit
attorney Kimberly Gardner agreed to look at his case she had created a conviction
Integrity unit to look at cases of possible wrongful conviction and I started seeing some red
flags and I consulted my team and I said I think we have a problem here one of the many flags for Gardner was the
timeline for the murder could Johnson have had time to kill his friend Marcus Boyd Erica Barrow said Johnson had only
left their friend's apartment for around five minutes and you cannot drive that distance you'd have to be speeding
through St Louis to even get there and then you'd have to speed all the way back there's no way you could do that
but prosecutor Dwight Warren says Erica could have lost track of time the Johnson could have been gone as long as
15 minutes she didn't have a stopwatch Lamar got into to a car and took off at Johnson's trial Detective Joe Nickerson
testified that it only took him 5 minutes to go from The Alibi location to the crime scene we asked Chief
investigator Robert olabi from the circuit attorney's office to take us on that same drive and according to
testimony it just takes 5 minutes to get there you're laughing yeah help we timed
the drive using a cell phone yep 12:55 13 minutes 13 minutes one way that's more
than double the time detective Nickerson said it took in 2019 circuit attorney Kimberly
Gardner's team released a detailed report listing numerous errors that undermine Johnson's conviction as a
prosecutor you put people in prison you don't try to get them out as a prosecutor no prosecutor I believe wants
to secure a conviction wrongfully using wrong tactics that's just not what we want to do we want to get it right
jurors never learned that jailhouse informant William mock was a racist who had a hatred for black people nor did
they hear the majority of his criminal record and they were never told Greg Alin had been paid thousands of dollars
Gardner was convinced Johnson was in ENT but when she tried to get his conviction
overturned Court after court including the Missouri Supreme Court said she didn't have the power and when you try
to abide by your oath and you're stopped every way it weighs on you in 2021 the Missouri legislature
passed the law that gave Gardner another prosecuters the power to bring cases of
Innocence to court a year later John Johns son got the news he had been praying for after nearly three decades
in prison he would finally get a hearing to present new evidence in his [Music] case on December 12th 2022 Lamar Johnson
and his legal team gathered in a St Louis courtroom for a week-long hearing his daughters Britney and Kara were in
the courtroom nearly every day I think we're all trying to be hopeful that my dad gets Justice all
right one man Judge David Mason will decide Johnson's future you may he has three options overturn the conviction
and Grant a new trial over turn the conviction and decare Johnson innocent or he could uphold the jury's
verdict what is it stake here with this judge's decision Justice and the Integrity of the whole Criminal Justice
System circuit attorney Kimberly Gardner Sat by Johnson instead of her usual seat
at the prosecution table Gardner appointed two lawyers to handle Johnson's case Charlie Weiss and
Jonathan p I took this case because I believe that Lamar Johnson's innocent I didn't take
it because I think he might be innocent there was no physical evidence at all connecting Lamar Johnson with the murder
of Marcus boy period thank you your honor may it please the court this is a rather historic moment in this court
this is the first time where the court is hearing an actual innocence claim filed by a prosecuting attorney good
morning your honor the Missouri attorney general's office sent a team of their own to argue that Johnson's conviction
should stand in response to our request for an interview they provided us with this written statement that read in part
the Attorney General's office has fought to keep a convicted murderer in prison but judge attorney Miranda Le told the
judge not to trust the witnesses who were about to vouch for Johnson's innocence we're going to ask you to
believe convicted murderers and gang members their evidence is not credible Johnson's team calls their first witness
James Howard takes the stand and admits that he's one of the men who murdered Marcus Boyd How did Marcus die me and
Philip Campbell queed him on his for porch remember Philip Campbell had written Lamar Johnson saying he and
Howard were the real shooters Campbell who was later convicted of the murder took a deal and served only 5
years he has since died Howard was never charged with Boyd's death he's currently
in prison for life for unrelated crimes including murdering another man I killed
him the exact same way I fired two shots in back his head but attorneys Jonathan
Potts and Charlie Weiss can't rely on Howard's word alone they must now tear apart part the original case against
Lamar Johnson they called Greg Elkin the state's former star witness law enforcement was wanting me
to help and I trusted them I wanted to help Elin told the court that he felt pressured by Detective Joe Nickerson to
identify Johnson in the lineup he goes I know you know who it is and you're just
not saying and this is the part I hate the most I just remember saying to him you tell me the numbers and I'll
tell you if you're right and he did and I was like that was it that was the numbers and I've been
living with it 25 28 years and I'm telling you I I just wish I just wish I could change
time on day three judge Mason questioned the original prose in the case Dwight Warren about the reliability of Greg
Elkin's identification of Lamar Johnson he told you and the officers that it was
based upon him looking at the eyes cuz that was all he could see isn't that correct I believe so and did he or did
he not tell you that all of this happened within seconds yeah yes and that's what you
decided was sufficiently liable to seek a murder conviction to take it to a jury
yes sir two perpetrators came Warren admitted to Johnson's lawyers that without an eyewitness he would never
have filed charges in the first place oh absolutely not I didn't have any evidence
you on day four Lamar Johnson finally got the chance to defend himself in his own words but you talked to detective
Nickerson that night correct yes ma'am when you attorney Miranda Lash asked him about his conversation with Detective
Nickerson a few days after the murder I Bo was my friend I didn't shoot him I said okay I will I voluntarily
participate in the lineup you had every thing to lose at that point Didn't you I
didn't think so you didn't think so you were arrested for homicide I didn't commit the homicide so why would I be
concerned that I had everything to lose as the hearing week neared the end Detective Nickerson takes the stand the
man Elken claims pressured him into falsely identifying Johnson Mr elen goes hey I know who it
is it's number three in the first lineup and it's number four in the second lineup and did you tell him to say that
I didn't tell him to say anything but judge Mason had some questions of his own for Nickerson are you aware that all
the evidence suggested your witness could only recognize some aspect of the eyes I'm aware of that pleas stand up Mr
Johnson I'm just curious because I don't know what in the world is distinctive about this man's eyes and well you can
tell his eyes are different I just tell me what you see I can tell that his right eye is different from his left one
is lower or higher than the other okay how would you describe the involvement of Judge Mason in this case
well that was one of the most unique things I've seen in any trial I've ever covered columnist Tony messenger covered
the case for the St Louis Post Dispatch he didn't just ask questions he took over the questioning at times and made
it very clear when he was believing something and when he wasn't after five days of witnesses
court adjourned with his freedom on the line Johnson was taken to a St Louis jail to wait for
judge Mason's decision I don't know how to not fight for my innocence to fight for was right what was wrongfully taken
from me what do you think the Judge should do in this case take a look at the evidence
at 48 hours.com [Music] it's been really [Music] hard we heard everything in court Lamar
Johnson's daughter Kiera Barrow has finally heard what happened to her father so many years ago the misconduct
and the negligence that occurred the hardest thing was just that Greg lied knowing that his testimony did
put him in jail Britney Johnson believes that Greg alin's lies robbed her of time
with her dad I'm very angry this is hard yes is very hard I hate that I'm crying
right now the dead is is the most important role but their wait isn't over 2 months
pass with no decision from the judge Kiera is hoping happen soon we've been robbed of so many opportunities and
Milestones I'm getting married in April of this year it would just mean so much to
me and I know to my father to have him there with me and for him to be able to give me
away finally on a Tuesday afternoon in in February Johnson's family and friends returned to the
courtroom lawyers with the Missouri attorney general's office fighting Johnson's release are at one table at
the other the team trying to win Johnson's Freedom seated next to Johnson his attorney Lindsay rynolds what should
judge Mason do in this case judge Mason should vacate these convictions and Lamar Johnson should walk out of that
courtroom today all right oh yeah after both legal teams were given copies of his final opinion
Judge David Mason announced his decision on February 14th 2023 after reviewing both the underlying
trial as well as the entirety of the hearing for the reasons stated above it is should by order that the motion of
the circuit attorney of the 22nd Judicial Circuit filed herein for the benefit of Lamar Johnson is
[Applause] [Music] granted the conviction of Lamar Johnson the state V Lamar Johnson calls 22941
37068 is hereby set aside and held for not Johnson's murder conviction was overturned the judge also found that
there was clear and convincing evidence of Johnson's innocence after more than 28 years behind bars he was more than a
free man 49-year-old Lamar Johnson had finally been exonerated b sir this hearing ised
[Music] all this time he would leave the cour house not in a prison van but in a black
sedan when I first met you I asked you to identify yourself my name is Lamar Johnson I've been in prison for 26 years
now and if I asked you to identify Lamar Johnson right now what would you say I am a free man an exonerated man and u a
blessed man and how important was it to have Greg take the stand and and tell the judge what he had done at trial that
was very important he intentionally you know falsely identified me but not only did he
acknowledge that he made a mistake he took steps to try to correct it and I'm extremely grateful to him for
that and during that time he's been in prison he says he never forgot about his friend Marcus Boyd who died that night I
didn't want Marcus's family thinking that I did this to him cuz I genely cared about Marcus Marcus was a good guy
in the meantime Johnson is starting over his friend Ricky kid knows it won't be easy it's going to be tough but Lamar
has the ability to adapt and adjust and see new opportunities worked 30 years for the Department of Correction for
pennies I don't have anything I hope somebody's willing to to to to give me a shot I want to work you have a date
coming up an important date my youngest daughter is getting married and you know it'd be nice if I
could do something special and nice for them but presence matters more than presence and I'm going to make the best
of the life I have [Music] a couple disappears we're in a million different directions trying to find her
and him a lot of people trusted him with a lot of money he told me that he was adopted by Ronald Reagan's son who was
the man last seen with Diana duvet 48 hours Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus
[Music] [Music] this is definitely a life and death struggle I don't think the stakes get
any higher than what's at stake here this is a man's life who's on the line the thing about this case it's hard to
deal with is those little babies in this fire gutted house firefighters found six
bodies it was a shock to everybody it was probably the most brutal crime that ever happened in that part of the state
you're talking about four little babies asleep in their bed a 16-year-old asleep
in her bed and their grandmother who's also killed at the age of 45 when she took that last breath I guarantee see
you her last thought was how am I going to protect those babies now whoever committed the crime was in a
frenzy there were 66 stab wounds 66 66 minimum of 66 by the way those are the ones that they counted those were
living people those were my daughters that was my niece and my nephew who can do that that's what's so
horrible there's a lot of pressure to fight this person or these people that have done
this 4 days after the crime law enforcement had their suspect they got their man and that's the end of the
story they did not do their job tunnel vision total tunnel vision Anthony Graves was convicted of being an
accomplice I'm absolutely convinced that he's inocent I'm a professor I'm not paid to be a lawyer I do it because I
believe in it Nicole and her students played a really pivotal role in this what did you see yourself as being up
against we're Texas we like to execute people how many people have you put up on death row a lot there's nothing wrong
with winning when you're convicting people who are guilty we want to get him out we think he is truly an innocent
person I've written crime stories for Texas monthly for 13 years what I wanted to do was to try to get to the bottom of
what had happened in this case there is an innocent person who is going to death row if I don't do my
job does this man get to live does this man get to die grave Injustice tonight's 48 Hours
mystery [Music] [Music] this was such a horrific event in that town and continues to be an event that
really haunts the people of Somerville this used to be where the Davis family lived before the early morning hours of
August 18th 1992 in the midst of the rubble the police found those six bodies all
members of the same family this was a family that almost everyone in town knew liked
respected the victims a grandmother her daughter and four grandchildren who were
staying with them reporter Pam Koloff is still moved by the fact that the family never had a
chance there was Bobby Davis the grandmother to the four children who was bludgeoned and then stabbed to death
there was 16-year-old Nicole her daughter who was a high school student and athlete who was bludgeoned and shot
and then there were the four grandchildren they were 9-year-old denitra 6-year-old Britney 5-year-old
learon and four-year-old Jason my daughters were exotically beautiful Glenda rutage was learon and
Britney's mother they were my legacy and I was so looking forward to the chance to get it
right to raise strong sure confident successful women you know I wanted to do that so
bad [Music] Glenda's ex-husband Keith Davis lost almost his entire family that night
these were little babies and and my mother who I you know who we adored who was the center of our life he was
convinced it was a random crime I just couldn't imagine someone from that area harming anyone in my family cuz we had
never we didn't have any enemies we hadn't been in any trouble Roy Ritter lived and worked not far from
the murders 5 days after the crimes he remembers hearing there was a break in the case I could hear the radio and the
News would always come on and it was early in the morning and and they came up and they said you know arrest have
been made and they said uh Anthony Charles Graves age 27 Anthony Graves was one of Ritter's
best friends Graves had worked for him for a while at his machine shop and the two became so close that Graves had even
been in Ritter's wedding party it just freaked me out but my immediate thing was yeah right no way and what you know
what what could possibly be going on here you know you didn't believe it well of course not absolutely not Ritter knew
Anthony Graves as a gentleman a father of three and he now is hearing his friend was a murderer of women and
children in my heart my convictions were that's impossible because Anthony would never
do that Anthony would never hurt or raise a hand to a woman and especially not a child especially the way he loved
his children and when Graves was arrested he seemed equally stunned you're charged
with the offense of capital murder who Happ to murder me Roy was so sure of his best friend's
innoc that he even put up $10,000 of his own money to hire a top lawyer for his upcoming hearing convinced it would all
soon be over there's no way they have they have anything they don't have [Music]
anything but police did have the words of this man Robert Carter was the father of the youngest victim four-year-old
Jason and investigators had grown suspicious when they noticed Carter had injuries that were hard to explain
at the funeral for the victims Robert Carter showed up heavily bandaged on the left side of his face and his left hand
and the bandages were covering up severe burns Carter claimed he burned himself after his lawn mower blew up the Texas
Rangers obviously noticed Mr Carter at the funeral he was difficult to not notice and they visited him at his house
after the funeral and took him in for questioning Carter insisted he had nothing to do with the murders but the
Rangers had learned that he had a motive Carter was married but he had recently been served with a demand for child
support from another woman the mother of his son Jason and investigators believe
Carter went there to kill Jason he very clearly wanted his four-year-old Son dead after the murders investigators
believe Carter set the fire to cover his tracks but from the beginning they believed he must have had help
there were so many victims and so many weapons there was a gun there was a knife and there was a hammer and
investigators found it difficult to believe that one person could have wielded three different objects in
killing six different people the Rangers interrogated Carter for hours and he finally gave them a name during his
interrogation Robert Carter placed himself at the crime scene but he said that he had not Tak Taken part in the
murders himself that the person who had committed the murders was a man named Anthony Graves who was his wife's first
cousin within hours Anthony Graves had been arrested and taken to the police station he took a lie detector test and
failed man this this a big mistake Cal murder I never even shot a gun in my life
God and my dreaming the was man at first there was little more than Carter's word to tie Anthony to the case
but investigators would soon get help from the last place anyone would expect Anthony's best friend and then they
asked me if I'd ever known him to carry a knife I said I gave Anthony a knife one time
[Music] [Music] in Somerville Texas nothing moves very swiftly except for the occasional
freight train and sometimes the desire for justice emotions were running so high in
Somerville leading up to these trials that the mayor at the time said that people in the community didn't even want
to bother that they wanted to quote bring back the Hanging Tree but events would unravel a little
more conventionally Robert Carter stood trial and was quickly convicted and then
it was time for Anthony Graves the man whom Carter had named as his accomplice things you see in a horror movie they
said I did it and did you no would never do anything like that I'm not a violent
person at all it was just crazy grave said he knew Robert Carter only in passing and didn't know the victims at
all in fact they there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime I'm like whatever's going on is going to be
cleared up cuz I haven't done anything wrong but authorities only focused more on graves he had said he never owned a
knife but investigators learned he once did and that it was given to him by his good friend Roy rter and I said I gave
Anthony a knife one time around his birthday and I have one that's exactly like it and they asked me if still had
that knife and I said yep the actual murder weapons were never found but investigators wanted Ritter's knife the
one he said was identical to the knife he gave Graves and they said would you mind if we examined it and I said no I
wouldn't mind at all Ritter thought the knives were too flimsy to inflict any serious wounds and some of the victims
had knife wounds that went through their skulls so Ritter was stunned when those
test results came back the blade fit inside the skull cap perfectly so all of these folks from the DA's office told
you that your knife which was identical to the one you gave Anthony fit perfectly into the holes in those baby
skulls yes sir what did you make of that I I didn't want to believe it because if that was true my friend was a
murderer right and his friend Anthony graves's murder trial began in October 1994 District Attorney Charles seesta
star witness was Robert Carter I would have hated to have had to gone to the jury without Carter's testimony but
Carter was a problem witness he was a liar he had changed his story several times sometimes implicating Graves
sometimes not and so when he got on the stand we you worried about what he would
say no why because I told my attorney I wanted him to testify I said because there's no way this man can look me in
my face and lie on me I was just trying to have faith in the fact that this guy would be honest you know because this is
my life this is my life so what did he say when he got up on the stand he lied he
lied he said I did a crime with him Carter took the stand and said it was was Graves who stabbed several
victims to death and Roy Ritter had to testify about the knife he gave Graves I mean it was a very bad position to be
put in it was I was very torn you know conflict conflicted about it but they said it
fit perfectly how did his testimony feel to you as opposed to the other testimony
night bet bet night betrayal because he knows me this man knew me knew my family knew my kids and
there were more damaging Witnesses waiting to testify against Graves sesta said he had found five people at the
jail where Graves and Carter were held who told him they heard them talking about the murders when you have five
people who overhear conversations very damning conversations between Carter and Graves on what they did and what they've
got to do that in itself that's significant that's very admissible I probably could have done with one or two
in a capital murder case you want as much as you can we had five sesta may have had corroborating
Witnesses but Anthony had Alibi Witnesses where were you that night I was in my mother's apartment with my
brother a lady friend and my sister Anthony's brother Arthur Curry testified for him and has never changed his
story My Brother never left the house that night never he never ever left and never is never he never left the house
that night Anthony's girlfriend another Alibi witness was set to take the stand as
well but when the day came she unexpectedly refused the man who lost most of his
family Keith Davis had heard more than enough I've seen this guy hundreds of times in court when you looked at
Anthony Graves what did you see a murderer it was though he had uh horns like a devil he looked like a evil
person to me at the time and the jury agreed Anthony Graves was convicted of six counts of capital murder the
sentence death this is crazy I go from my home where I supposed to be safe feel safe and I'm going a death Thro for
something I didn't even do but as it turns out the jury might not have heard everything they did not
know that there was a critical piece of evidence missing [Music] I'm not a violent
person I'm not a bad person I respect people I carry myself in a dignified manner why me out of all
the people in the world why me by 2002 Anthony Graves had spent 8 years years on death row one more inmate
who swore he was innocent as the state of Texas moved ever closer to executing him were you thinking about your death
no never thought about my that thought about my life my children my mom I just need to hold on to something
a good memory Anthony's optimism may have kept him going on death row but for his
family as the years passed it was getting harder to keep hope alive I couldn't see a light at the end
of the tunnel and just to even fathom him being put to death that would be the ultimate nail in all of our
caskets if they killed him for nothing Robert Carter was executed and Graves kept kept losing his appeals he
was running out of chances when his case caught the attention of the Innocence Network which sent the case to Nicole
cazarez his journalism class at Houston's University of St Thomas we weren't out to prove anyone
innocent that was not our goal our goal was just to find out the truth did you have any faith in them I mean did you
think they could help you yeah yeah because being exonerated by the public meant just as much to me as being
exonerated by the courts I wanted people to know that my mother didn't raise a murderer my mother raised a good
son that meant something to me it didn't take long for the students and their Professor to realize the case
against Anthony Graves had serious problems beginning with the star witness I think one of the first things that we
noticed was that Robert Carter had recanted his testimony against Anthony right before he was executed and that's
very unusual in May of 2000 while strapped to the gurnie in the Texas death chamber
Robert Carter took sole responsibility for the murders it was me and me alone he said Anthony Graves had nothing to do
with it I lied on him in court and I think it's really important to listen to someone's essentially dying
words if there's ever a time when someone might be telling the truth I would think that might be it in fact for
years before his execution Robert Carter said to anyone who would listen that Anthony had nothing to do with the
crimes he even said the only reason he named Graves as his accomplice was because he saw him on the street before
he was arrested Anthony Graves did not have any part from the murderers and was not
present before during or after I committed the multiple Mur at the day home this is Robert Carter in a 1997
statement in it he says he told sester the same thing in fact he swears he said that to sebesta just hours before he
took the stand in graves's trial I told the district attorney and investigators that gra is innocent and had nothing to
do with these murder but sesta didn't believe him Carter went on to testify against Graves anyway because he said he
felt pressured by the da without Robert Carter's testimony the state didn't have a case except defense
lawyers say sebesta never told them that Carter had just recanted as sesta was required to do by law imagine that
you're Anthony's attorney and you are facing Robert Carter on cross-examination how meaningful would
it have been for you to be able to say Mr Carter isn't it true that just five minutes ago you said Anthony Graves had
nothing to do with this what would Robert Carter have said would he have cracked would he have have taken back
his testimony we'll never know sesta has long insisted he told the defense what Carter said his response was that uh
what is that his eighth or ninth story but graves's attorney denies that while the lawyers spent years arguing before
appell at courts about what seesta did or did not tell the defense the students were Gathering new evidence on the off
chance that Graves might get a new trial we did weekend trips and we would take two cars and uh we would have a
list of people and places that we were going to go and the amateur investigators were uncovering troubling
evidence especially about those jailhouse Witnesses who sesta said overheard incriminating statements from
graves from nearby cells and over the intercom it was Texas summer so there were large fans running one of the
intercoms was actually ripped out of the wall and it was just wires Megan Bingham
is one of the students that maybe this intercom system wasn't all that fantastic you know what could you hear
was it actually working they were working some of the intercoms and some of the celles were not working I don't
know which ones but I do know that at least one of those intercoms on one and two or whatever sales they were was was
working how do you know that because I was told this by law enforcement Nicole and the students also
tracked down and met with graves's former girlfriend the one who could have provided him an alibi if she had taken
the stand she said she was very sorry that she hadn't testified at Anthony's original trial so why didn't the
girlfriend testify right before she was supposed to take the step and da Charles
seesta said in open court that she was a suspect in the case and might be indicted even though investigators had
nothing on her sir couldn't that be read though as sort of a koi Ploy if you will
to scare away a woman who could very well Alibi your your defendant had absolutely nothing to do with that she
fled in fear and in tears she said they put him in jail on nothing what's to stop them from putting me in
jail on nothing after a 4-year investigation talking to more than 100 Witnesses Nicole cazarez and her students turned
over their findings to Graves lawyers to help with his appeals Anthony Graves is
innocent Anthony Graves is innocent Anthony Graves is an innocent [Music] man but Anthony Graves remained behind
bars on death row until until March 2006 about 12 years after he was found guilty
and then he got his first big break a federal appeals court one of the toughest in the country tossed out his
conviction I cried I pumped my fist and I was like yes God is good yes I knew it is my case
was overturned somebody seen the truth District Attorney's Office the court skewer Charles sest called his behavior
egregious for among other things intentionally withholding evidence that could have helped Graves most
notably that Carter had recanted right before he testified anthy he not have any part was that but even after the
Court's decision Anthony was not a free man sesta had retired but the new DEA said he would try Graves again so
Anthony walked out of death row and into the county jail where he sat waiting for
his next trial for 4 years and you can't believe that it could actually happen in
real life but it did this time around Graves has a season defense team appointed by the judge Katherine
Scardino and Jimmy Phillips assisted by Nicole cazarez we don't know what we'd do
without her I mean she's like our ENC our Graves encyclopedia the lawyer will have to be on their toes because this is
their opponent like you're mad like you're a friend like you can't can't stop Kelly seagler widely regarded as
the toughest prosecutor in Texas what does that say about David has been appointed to handle the graves case have
you ever lost a capital case a death penalty case yeah no [Music] I would say this is one of the worst
capital murder cases that anyone could ever talk about or deal with Kelly seagler should know she sent 19 men to
death row you will hear from the evidence in this case so in February 2010 she was ready willing and eager to
make it an even 20 when she was appointed to retry and Graves did that scare you that she was
coming after you no why not I was standing up for what was right so it didn't make no difference who was on the
case the fact that I was innocent wasn't going to change by the fall of 2010 Pam koloff's
investigation of the case had produced one of the longest articles in the history of Texas monthly magazine there
were so many things about this case that fascinated me beginning with how weak the evidence was I wanted to understand
how someone could be sent to death row on so little evidence of course making graves' case
in print is a lot easier than making it in court with the trial date approaching
and Kelly seagler circling defense attorneys Katherine Scardino and Jimmy Phillips were feeling the pressure you
make a mistake in a death penalty case and it's over they chose to hire a good prosecutor we're going to have to work
hard and be doubly triple prepared Kelly is a formidable opponent seagler has beaten most of the best lawyers in Texas
and now she asked for a meeting with the graves team why did she want to meet with us was she trying to get
information from us was she trying to learn what our trial strategy was I didn't really know what to make of it
seagler met with the graves lawyers around this table and she asked a lot of questions but the defense team could not
have imagined why the prose with her 19-0 record on death penalty cases was having serious problems with
the case against Anthony Graves I read every page of every document in 25 boxes and at some point it switched from
getting ready to go to trial to can we go to trial to oh my God what happened here seagler and her investigator AO
hanik soon realized Nicole and her students were right on target every single single time we would
reinvestigate or ret talk to a witness that they had talked to we would find that they were right one by one the
pillars of the prosecution's case crumbled we tried to find paperwork people anything that we could especially
a motive to say Anthony Graves committed the capital murder with Robert Carter and we found nothing uto hanik tried to
confirm the testimony from sesa's jailhouse Witnesses we can't find anybody that can positive L say in court
or in this room that I heard Anthony Graves say this I heard Robert Carter say this he looked into Roy Ritter's
knife the blade is flimsy and according to hanik a knife this flimsy could not have caused the kind of wounds to the
skulls that were found on some victims I personally do not believe that that blade is strong enough nor is this knife
made well enough to go through human skulls it's a switch blade knife they're made pretty
sturdy da Charles sesta had argued graves's identical knife had inflicted 66 stab wounds the night of the murder
there's no doubt that that knife could have survived that we had Texas Ranger testimony that that it could have done
it but hanik who is a former Texas Ranger himself believes the knife would have left its mark on the killer when
you get down to the 10th 11th 12th Stab Wound the knife becomes very slippery becomes very bloody the person that
inflicted those wounds is also going to have an injury themselves and did Anthony Graves have any injuries on his
hands none at all did Robert Carter have any injuries on his hands no what does that tell you that tells me that this is
not the knife that caused those injuries seagler thought any new case against Graves would have to be built almost
solely on Rob ber Carter's testimony but that was before she found out how Charles sesta got that testimony from
his star witness he made a deal with Mr Carter and what a deal he made sebesta had a
powerful card to play Carter's wife Teresa shortly after the killings sebesta had also indicted her for
capital murder she had given conflicting statements about his Burns there were a
number of things that she did the deal sesta he would not question Carter about his
wife on the stand if he testified against Graves how does a prosecutor I should say how does an ethical
prosecutor put a witness on the stand your your main piece of evidence in a death penalty case and say okay you get
up there and talk about what you did and what Graves did but I'm not going to ask
you about your wife you can't do that why in the world would you agree not to ask him about her well I needed his
testimony and sesta points out the deal was approved by a judge and the defense never questioned it I put on the record
I did put on the record the indictment against Carter's wife was later dismissed due to a lack of evidence and
seagler never bought into seesta theory that there had to be multiple Killers we
appreciated the fact that you didn't have to have three killers because five of the people killed were children some
little babies asleep in their bed how hard is it for a grown man to stab little babies asleep in their bed and
all the evidence seagler says points to Robert Carter not Anthony Graves there must have been a moment when you
concluded gee W this guy's innocent not just not guilty but innocent it wasn't even a difficult decision it was pretty
clear and by innocent you mean he wasn't there he had nothing to do with it nothing he had never even been in town
no motive no reason no connection nothing never in a million years would I have predicted that this would be the
outcome of this case particularly with Kelly seagler as prosecutor oh my God what happened in Anthony Grave's
trial on an Autumn afternoon in the burles count County Texas jail Anthony Graves was summoned unexpectedly out of
his cell I'm sitting in writing a letter they come get me and say put your shirt
on and walk me up to the front of the jail Nicole cazarez and Jimmy Phillips members of his legal team were there to
see him with a message he'd waited to hear for 18 years the murder charges had been dropped
both of us could barely talk we were so emotional and she says Anthony God is great and he knew and she just
say you're free man you can walk you can leave right now it's over Anthony thing and on October 27th 2010 The Man
known as in number 99127 got his good name back Anthony Graves carrying all of his belongings
and looking a little dazed walked out of jail and into the warm Texas Sun unbelievable this is probably the
dumbest question I've ever asked but I got to ask you anyway ask away come on uh how do you
feel oh well I feel good yeah I'll bet you do sir I feel good I I feel good uh 18
years was a long time I think I've lost a lot but today I gave my freedom you want to talk to someone here
hold on his first call as a free man is to his mother say what you cooking tonight his mother didn't know that her
son was free can can you put some on cuz I'm on my way this is your son and just so you know I did not
[Applause] escape and his first stop is home to his sons who had grown up without
[Music] him and it long last to an embrace with his mother when was the last time you were
able to put your arm around your mother 18 years 18 years ago you haven't touched your son in 18 years 18 years 18
years ago I had no idea oh he is rejoining the world picking up where he left off okay
guys here he is and after all that time Behind Bars he finally has places to go and people to
see at his lawyer's office Graves is able to thank the people who may well have saved his life the students who got
him off death row where are you I'm but there's someone else in the crowd for the first time since graves's trial he
sees Roy Ritter damn you look old his best friend see me with whose testimony did so much to put him
away it happens to the best of us but you know I love you oh my God what' that mean de you for
him to take those minute minute and a half and give me that [Music] Assurance you know that that's what life
is really all about was it hard to forgive him no no it wasn't hard at all he just became another
pun in their game of chest and Anthony Graves trial but Kelly seagler is not nearly as forgiving at a
news conference she lashed out at Charles sesta who was once a fellow prosecutor I think ultimately it's the
prose utor's responsibility Charles seesta handled this case in a way that would be best
described as a criminal justice systems nightmare what are you saying about him I'm saying that Charles sesta did
everything he could manipulating Witnesses fabricating evidence using people misrepresenting things to the
judge and to the jury to make sure Anthony Graves got convicted of capital murder and put on death row graves's
attorneys had filed a compl complaint against seesta but the Texas State Bar dismissed it and seesta insists he did
nothing wrong that seagler was just afraid of losing a big case they didn't have an intention of trying this case
basically they're looking for a way out sebesta says you didn't want to take the
risk of losing it at trial really that's what he said well I would say that he's going to
have a hard time finding than any single other person that would agree that I'm afraid to go to trial on anything but
seagler says there was one thing she dreaded about this case telling the victim's family that the man they
believed was a murderer for so long is not 18 years they believed that the two men responsible for killing their family
their babies their mom their sister um got what they deserved it could have been different
Glenda rutage lost her two daughters that August Night in 1992 some of them are never going to
change their minds they're always going to think Anthony Graves is guilty no matter what I
say how do you get upset with them they're as much a victim of what happened as Anthony Graves
is for his own troubles Anthony Graves should have been paid $1.4 million when he was released that's what the state of
Texas figures 18 years of wrongful imprisonment is worth but there was a paperwork snafu his release documents
never Ed the words actual innocence so Texas refused to pay two words two words they're holding me hostage behind two
words finally after 9 months of public pressure the legislature passed and the governor was quick to sign a special
measure awarding him the money Graves credited 48 Hours mystery for drawing attention to what he was
owed but he had already won the biggest fight of his life for his life and for his
freedom you could put your hands out and touch both WS while I was living it you
know he can come and go as he pleases as he tries to absorb how far he's come from a previous life he's still
struggling to understand stand they were trying to kill me I still can't wrap my mind around how
the hell did I go from home to death row for a crime that happened in another town but to people I don't even
know it's it's crazy and and and I gave 18 years of my life [Music] [Music] a [Music]
[Music] I had no idea where this case would lead this case will turn the District
Attorney's Office upside down I never worked a case where I put so much heart and time into bringing a
man home because of an injustice I'm Jay Sal Peter am Mar tank lips private investigator my name is Marty tankleff
it was my first day of school so I expected to wake up in the morning and go to school and start my senior
year when he woke up instead of going to school he found his father on the doorstep of death and his mother
murdered they were bludgeoned and stabbed I just couldn't believe what I was seeing um I thought I was in a
nightmare I saw him sitting in his office chair and he was covered in blood I knew he was alive because he was
making breathing noises I called 911 from the phone right there all right hold on and I'll
connect I'm connecting you with the ambul Marty was a suspect because Marty was the only Survivor in the house and
that's why the detective went right for mty Marty tankleff was 17 years old at the time that he was arrested for for
murdering his parents in their home in beler Long Island how do you find ask the defendant Martin tankleff as to
count two murder Second deg Great [Applause] y there's no way I could have HT my
parents I love them I knew immediately he couldn't do it the victim's family are Mar's family and they feel that
Marty did not commit this crime Marty was railroaded he loved his mom he loved his dad I'm here because I believe Marty
is innocent all right James gandini became interested in Marty's case he saw a man that was in
jail that shouldn't be in jail some of my Witnesses this is more than just a job this became an obsession
to me when you see a case like this and you know something's wrong you have to have an obligation in life at the end of
the day the people responsible for killing Seymour and alling tank they will go to
jail Marty is innocent M's coming home fight for the truth [Music] [Music] no one could imagine that I would end up
being in this place CU I I'm innocent Marty tankleff had just turned 17 when he was arrested for the murder of his
parents Seymour and Arlene what's it like here difficult but I keep myself as busy as possible I spend hours working
on my case every day it's a struggle he has spent his entire adult life in remote Upstate New York
prisons it's a far cry from Marty tff's childhood spent in the lap of luxury in this sprawling Long Island Waterfront
home it was a wonderful childhood I had more than the average kid Seymour and Arlene tankleff were on
able to have children of their own so they adopted Marty as a baby he was just beautiful and Allie was just so thrilled
how she wanted that baby what was your mom like great she adored me and I adored her we were like best of friends
he was also close to his father my father lived a very poor childhood and when I became a teenager he had money so
he was living his childhood through me vicariously would you describe yourself as as spoiled yes you know I got
basically everything I ever wanted Seymour a Savvy and tough entrepreneur was groomy Marty to following his
footsteps I wanted to be a businessman so I enjoyed being involved in all of that Marty says he knew everything about
his father's businesses including the trouble his dad was having with a partner in a bagel shop Jerry stewman
who owed him around half a million dollars the Friendship had dissipated they essentially became enemy business
partners despite the tension between Seymour tankleff and Jerry stewman both men continued to play in a weekly poker
game and on September 6 1988 it was Marty's father's turn to be host the game lasted into the we hours with
stewman last to leave the next morning Marty says he woke to find his father near
death he called 9911 just remember the woman screaming yelling listen to me saying calm down
calm down I'm sending you an ambulance she gave me some instructions I want you to take a clean towel wherever he's
gushing blood from and did you do that I did that then he says he searched for his
mother he found her dead on her bedroom floor how would you describe the scene when you got there it was it was brutal
it was very brutal James mccre the lead detective now retired arrived an hour later Seymour tankleff bludgeoned and
stabbed but still alive had been rushed to the hospital Arlene's body still lay in her room it was an eerie feeling
because it it always is an eerie feeling she was nearly decapitated and it appeared to me that she had struggled
with whoever assaulted her mccre a homicide cop for 10 years saw no sign of forced entry and he was immediately
bothered by Mar appearance he was sitting as calm as calm can be with his hands clasped just like this what would
you have expected him to be doing I think he would have been crying I think he would have been shaken been very
upset what impression did you get from the way he was talking to you that he was trying to help me and he wanted my
help as the conversation developed I could see that um he was just he's L he was lying I
mean and how did you know that it's not so much the way what is said it's the way in which it's said Marty volunteered
his suspicions that Jerry stewman his father's partner was somehow involved I knew that he was there I knew he had
problems with my father and Marty agreed to talk more about that at Police Headquarters but in fact mccre thought
he already had his man why would Marty kill his parents why one of the simplest old things in the world greed
17-year-old Marty sat with mccre and his partner without a lawyer in a small windowless room 4 hours the detectives
questioned him it was the constant barrage Marty we know you did it everything will be okay just tell us you
did it we know you did it and it was like on and on and unquestioning over and over then mccre did something that
would change everything he left the room pretended to talk on the phone and came back with
news about Seymour tankleff your father they pumped him full of adrenaline and he came out of his coma and he said that
you did it Marty you lied to him yes I lied to him yes yeah and that's all right to do the United States Supreme
Court says it is and what are you thinking that this can't be happening that this is not real Marty begged to
take a polygraph the detectives refused so you're better at telling whether someone's lying I I think I'm better
than a polygraph machine mccc's scheme worked Marty began to wonder if he blacked
out and in fact had attacked his parents finally he told the police what they wanted to
hear it's like having an 18-wheeler driving on your chest and you believing that the only way you can get that way
to get off your chest is to tell the police whatever they want to here even admitting to a murder yeah even
admitting to a murder mccre began to prepare a written statement are these his words that did
he write this no no that's my handwriting although Marty never signed it and almost immediately recanted the
detectives had enough Marty was arrested and charged with murder it was wrong it was wrong
from the beginning private detective J Sal Peter began working on Marty's case seven years ago you can't leave a case
like this you become addicted to a case like this sou Peter's Addiction would eventually lead to startling new clues
that would turn the case around is there a side of you afraid that you just may never get out of here no look the truth
is out there [Applause] do you think about your parents every day I think about all the good times
that we had together from the moment Marty tankleff was arrested his cousin and guardian Ron falby never believed
Marty murdered his parents he is guilty of waking up in the morning alive and Ron's not the only family member in
Marty's corner I'm Marty's Uncle carollyn felby Marty's cousin ever since the 1988 murders all of these relatives
have been fighting to free Marty the strange part is there isn't anybody sitting here that ever got a question
asked by the police they never talked to anybody in this room they say you never
even tried to talk to them that's not true are you saying they're lying yes lead detective James mccre did you ask
to speak with them and they said no no I never directly asked to speak to them I
didn't have to what were they going to add to my case but they say they had plenty to add for one thing they knew
Marty does anyone here though think it was odd that he wasn't very emotional no no no that was that's his way this is
the way he is the whole family is here today and while police say Marty killed his parents to get money his family
disagrees he didn't get any money he wasn't supposed to get any money till he was 25 years old so what was he supposed
to do from 17 to 25 wouldn't you wait were you aware of that no I was not no I was not
jimm isn't it important to talk to everybody before you settle on someone when you know their entire life could be
ruined by this no under the circumstances in this case everything we needed to know we pretty much knew in
the first day with a suspect Behind Bars detective mccre thought he had the whole case
wrapped up in a day but a week later with Marty's father Seymour lingering in a coma the case took took an unexpected
turn Seymour's business partner the same Man Marty had told the police to investigate suddenly
disappeared did you think he would become then a main suspect yes but as this police report shows Detective mccre
still refused to consider Jerry stewman a suspect I'm reading from a missing person's report and it says homicide has
no reason to believe that storman absence is connected with the murder why not because he had nothing to do with
that murder didn't his disappearance make your case harder not that it made it harder it
just it just added more questions two weeks later the detectives found stewman in Long Beach California
he was living under an alias I mean didn't you say to Jerry your your messing up my case here
something like I remember saying something to him to that effect yes stewman returned home claiming his
personal and financial problems caused him to flee I had too many pro problems and it's just 20 years of building up
that's all so I staged my death is it possible Jerry hired someone nope he couldn't that man couldn't hurt a
fly one month after the tank clifts were attacked Seymour died without ever regaining
Consciousness Marty was then charged with two murders and a year and a half later he went on trial I think every
emotion ran through me scared um fearful um but I was also hopeful because I knew
I was innocent and you know I always believe that innocent men don't get found guilty by far the most damaging evidence
against Marty was his confession but there was little physical evidence to back it up none of Marty's hair nor
blood was found on his parents his mother Arlene had clearly fought her attacker yet Marty had no Cuts or
bruises only some swelling in his eyes from a nose job he got for his 17th birthday the jurs also heard from Jerry
stewman who denied having anything to do with the crime I would never do anything
like that he did admit he owed Seymour tank of hundreds of thousands of dollars and part of all of his future Ventures
as well you didn't have a right to set up that business and leave him out correct in his
mind under intense questioning Marty tankle sitting over there storman snapped the only mistake
isow I was a poor man living like a millionaire by contrast Marty tankleff was was composed on the stand Marty did
you kill your father absolutely not perhaps too composed as he tried to explain why he would confess to
something he didn't do they were saying my father said I did this my father never lied to
me after a week's deliberation the jury reached its verdict y the day he was convicted was as hard was the worst as
the day I learned my sister was [Music] killed Marty was sentenced to 50 Years to
Life 11 years later J Sal Peter a retired New York City police detective stepped in how could you not be involved
in a case like this and this kid didn't do it sou Peter believes Mar alleged confession was coerced and he is not
alone oh it's a confession it's a false confession Richard AI an expert in interrogation tactics is working on
Marty's appeals you know that everyone listening to this is saying you couldn't make me confess to a crime I didn't
commit certainly not a brutal murder like this one a bit happens all the time in Marty's case
he says the teenage was tricked into doubting his own memory he knows he didn't do it but he's confronted with a
police officer who's lying to him and skillfully lying all of a sudden there's a way of reconciling it and that is you
had a blackout because of some psychological condition that you've got that impairs your
memory false confessions do happen 25% of the people who've been exonerated with evidence had confessed to crimes
they did not do AI is convinced Marty's confession is false because it doesn't match the crime
scene evidence for example Marty allegedly told police that he used a barbell and kitchen knife as murder
weapons but not a trace of blood was found on them even when they were microscopically
examined if he cleaned off the weapons why wasn't any blood found in the plumbing every confession does not have
100% of the truth in it because they don't give you the whole truth the forensics team found bloody glove prints
at the scene but Marty never mentioned wearing gloves and those gloves were never found what happened to the gloves
I don't know and that doesn't concern you no you know you give me a kid like that
I'll have him tap dancing that he killed his parents we could do it is it right no so Peter conducted his own
investigation and with old fashion leg work track down this man a man who would unravel the entire case did you ever
tell anybody no [Music] former detective James mccre refused to reconsider his initial conclusions even
when the crime scene evidence raised doubts once you have that confession aren't you kind of in a aren't you
caught because you can't bring anyone else a trial once you have that confession I'm not taking a confession
from an innocent man I would never do that but at the time of Marty's arrest mccre and his
fellow detectives in suffk County New York had an astonishingly High confession rate
94% so high a state commission said it provoked skepticism mccre defends his work homicide Squad is sort of the crem
de Lem if you will but in Marty's case as private investigator J Sal Peter mccre was simply wrong the forensic work
does not fit the story if Marty didn't kill his parents and who do you you believed in I
know sou Peter says it was this man Glenn Harris who gave him the break in the case a career criminal serving time
for burglary Harris said after 14 years of Silence he was ready to admit his involvement in the tank Liff murders I
thought if I could do something right for somebody else I'd be helping myself Harris says that on a night in
September 1988 he was the driver on the way to what he thought would be a home burglary who
were you with that evening Joseph greeden and Peter Kent Joseph cedon known on the street as Joey guns and
Peter Kent also have long criminal records in a notorized affidavit Harris says he drove them to an upscale
neighborhood and parked his car where cedon told me to stop when they returned to the car were
you aware of what happened I knew something happened their demeanor their behavior it wasn't normal and what were
your feelings do you remember how something more than a burglary happened usually when you commit a burglary
there's proceeds of something [Music] and that wasn't there and can you tell me what their demeanor was uh extremely
nervous winded creedon's anxiousness to get out of [Applause] there Harris says he later watched Peter
Kent burning his clothes and when he heard about the tankleff murders he put two and two together but kept quiet I
had no right being up there I was just out on parole Glenn Harris took and passed a polygraph arranged by Marty's
inves Ator J Sal Peter he's telling the truth in my opinion Glenn Harris is the hero here what's more sou Peter says
Joey gun's creedon is linked to the man who police dismissed as a possible suspect Jerry stowman has ties to Joseph
cedon this is not a random hit Jerry stewman the bagel shop owner who was heavily in debt to Seymour tankleff is
connected to ceden through his son Todd stewman like ceden a con Ed criminal sou Peter believes Jerry
storman hired ceden the night the tanks were killed my scenario is that Seymour is
sitting at the desk Jerry stewman is talking to him keeping Seymour's attention on Jerry at this point behind
Seymour coming through the door Joe cedon Peter Kent and they took Seymour out and then they went for Mrs tanglo
[Music] Jerry stewman now lives in an upscale community in boa Raton Florida he refuses to talk to 48 hours but both he
and his son Todd deny they had anything to do with the tankleff murders still the New Evidence provided
by Glenn Harris is a major break for Marty tankleff he's been granted a hearing if
the judge at this hearing determines that the New Evidence would have caused the old jury to vote a different way
then Marty will get a new trial and a real shot at winning his freedom as the hearing begins Marty's
lawyers who are working pro bono and his large extended family are thrilled to be
back in court we are very hopeful we we believe in his innocence and we know that he'll be hopefully we know out
soon but that evidence will not go unchallenged this is not a game of stick ball where you do a do over assistant
district attorney Leonard loo is fighting to uphold Marty's verdict there's a verdict there are appeals
there have been Federal habus petitions he's lost lato says Glenn Harris is a liar he came forward initially but when
I tried to interview him he said I don't want to talk in fact when Harris takes the stand he refuses to testify afraid
he'll be charged with a murder and in my view he had isn't testifying because he
doesn't want to get up on the stand and be exposed as a liar but when he was in prison Harris confessed to a Catholic
priest with Harris's permission the priest tells the court the same story Harris told 48 Hours he really wanted to
do the right thing but he was a man who was terrified and there are more than a dozen other new Witnesses who back
Harris's story Carlin kobac met ceden at a party and she says he bragged about the murders do
you really believe when he said he was involved in the tankle of murders that he was telling the truth oh yeah
definitely you're being accused of murder do you have anything to say prosecutor lato claims creeden took
credit for the crime only to enhance his violent reputation but other Witnesses brought to court by tankleff attorneys
say Joey guns creeden tried to involve them in the murder plot there's Joe Gren who says he and cedon made a failed
attempt to Ambush a man he now believes was Seymour tankleff we had to go up to the bagel store to make it look like a
robbery he wasn't there we missed him supposed to catch him coming out of the back and there is
this witness Bill Ram another associate of cedon he confirms Glenn Harris's story that The Killers started out at
his house the night of the murders what were you doing that evening I was hanging out at my house um had a few
people over Ram a convicted drug dealer recalls what cedon told him that night he said I'm working for somebody um
who's got a partner in the bagel business that needs to be straightened out he said you know there's some money
in it for me if we go there and just you know he's going to threaten the guy or rough him up Ram says that he turned
cedon down but Glenn Harris did not when I saw him that he was completely distraught what do you mean by
distraught just shooking up couldn't hold the thought just scared to death I told him just listen keep your mouth
shut what surprised you the most that you've heard from these Witnesses their honesty um that you know
after all these years that they would come forward and admit their involvement in such brutal
crimes when it's the state's turn to present Witnesses the hearing becomes almost surreal incredibly the star
witness is Peter Kent Joe creedon's alleged accomplice when they bring me in you know they told me that we don't we
don't believe that you did this you know I thought maybe like they were trying to
play technology games with me you know yeah pet we don't think that you really did it but just come on come forward you
know Kent denies he had anything to do with the murders I know I was not there with Glenn doing no murders but even he
says Joe cedon is capable of murder would it name like Joey gun just not these murders Joey was not the killer
for these murders I know that cuz he was not with me that night and we didn't do
this with Glenn it never happen were you in that house that night cedon who's been convicted of rape
and Gran Larsen denies ever killing anyone but on the stand he admits to a life of violence collecting money for
drug dealers it's hard to to know that a person is evil as himself self um can walk out of the courtroom free and
they're putting handcuffs on my nephew to take him back to the holding cell do you believe these two career criminals
who have admitted A A History of Violence right do you believe when they say they had nothing to do with the tank
offt murders I believe in terms of the evidence that there's no evidence connecting them to the crime at all no
credible evidence but the hearing is not over after watching a 48 Hours report on
the tank Liff case a surprise witness comes forward Joe creon's own [Music] son the Final witness for Marty tankleff
and maybe the most surprising one is 17-year-old Joe gasio who comes to Court to accuse his own father Joey guns
creeden of murder you didn't see your dad a lot when you were growing up no ma'am in 2004 the young man finally got
to spend time with a father he barely knew he says at first he was thrilled but later after seeing a 48 Hours report
on the tank Liff murders he had to ask his father the tough question dad you know tell me did you
really do this he tells me yes I did do it for several months young Joe says he kept to himself
what his father said when he finally told his mother she convinced him to testify and called private detective J
saler but assistant DA Leonard lato believes Joe gasio is just lashing out at his father the first question is did
the judge believe it if he doesn't believe it it's nothing in fact later doesn't believe that any of Tank's new
witnesses can be trusted especially since so many of them have criminal histories the point is those things
affect their credibility like the people who implicated cedon they all admitted one thing uh they all hated him that's a
reason to say things about a person that isn't true the district attorney of suffa
county has an obligation to seek the truth the district attorney is doing everything
here to suppress the truth from coming out you really believe that all my heart in March 2006 18 months after the
hearing began finally a decision but it's a heartbreaking one for Marty tankleff the judge dismisses the new
witnesses as nefarious Scoundrels and refuses to Grant him a new trial which means Marty's conviction
stands but he does have One Last Hope an Appel at court I will now proceed to call the calendar people versus tank
cliff in October 2007 four Appel Court judges hear the case in a courtroom packed with tankleff supporters the da
concedes everything you're say front and center is one of Marty's biggest and best known backers James gandal how did
that happen well I met James uh about two years ago all right and I started talking to him about Marty actor James
gandini went to visit Marty in an Upstate prison and he knew I was innocent he believed in me and he would
do anything he can to help out have seats come to order Marty's lawyers argue that even though some witnesses
have criminal records they could still be telling the truth prosecutors have to use these Witnesses all the time it's
got to be the same for the defense there were people that you brought forward who
have criminal histories a lot of them what gave them credibility as a group they didn't know each other they came
from different walks of life different communities so how do you get 20 people to lie to come in and just make up a
story that's consistent with each one and all name the same people this court stands in recess
[Music] in December the court rules 19 years after Seymour and Arlene tankleff were killed 17 years after
Marty tankleff went to prison he finally gets the news he has dreamed of all those years the court
overturns Marty's conviction unanimously and what did they tell you with that moment can I say it Bruce said
pack your you're coming home that was his exact line the other side within days Marty is
brought to suffi County one more time was there any side of you Marty a little scared of getting out you had
spent your entire adult life in prison I was ready for everything all right we got our picture
Marty look look Marty there you go [Music] [Applause] the following morning his family gathers
at the courthouse are you congratulations Marty could be retried for murder but the court agrees to
release him on a million dooll Bond as executed by uh Carol and Mr faly did you have any hesitation to do that no not at
all none whatsoever good luck to you sir thank you [Applause] [Music] minutes later Marty walks
[Music] [Applause] free there's a live picture from Chopper 12 the event is carried live on Long
Island television has it feel to be out we're going to make a statement upstairs
little room please little room I just couldn't believe it I mean I was outside free man walking with my attorneys and
being bombarded by everybody gentlemen we need a pet here clear pet Marty tank is coming back in now to go before the
microphones we talk to the media along with his family and [Applause] friends just
mbing and I walked in there I don't remember what I said really I remember just seeing all the family crying and I
just remember hugging everybody I wouldn't have wanted in any better way having all my family together
welcome home it's great to see all of you here today my arresting conviction was a
nightmare this is a dream come true still a little hard to believe yeah I mean I you know it just came so
suddenly we lost the battle but today we won the war this is a man who gave me my
life back it was his dedication that saved me we were scared to death 19 years ago but he's done a
terrific job did you ever really think this day would come the soci me finds it hard to believe however there was never
a doubt in my mind that this day would come you're happy and you know CL your hands Here Comes Marty here he comes but
at that moment you're still facing trial at that moment yes but I wasn't even thinking about it because it was
the first time I was essentially a free person wearing Street clothing Right Here Right Here Right Marty is followed
to his cousin's home how you feeling buddy how you do where there is a long anticipated celebration I I haven't had
a real plate of food so I walked into to my family's house that was filled with friends and family
and it was a loving caring warm environment it felt like I hadn't left how's the food yeah I'm looking for
another round but Marty Tank's case has caught the attention of top state officials and
his fate is now in the hands of the governor budy you Mak today how do you feel buddy
congratulations thank you very much thank you what are your thoughts tonight I just want to spend some quality time
with my family after 17 years of isolation Marty tankleff suddenly is thrust into the
spotlight right here here buddy thank you he's moved in with his cousin Ron fby at times it gets a little hair and
you you wake up in the morning and they're sitting there waiting for you you go to bed at night and they're still
out there sitting there waiting for you and yeah it's like we we got a little feeling of what a rock star is you
know it's not just the notoriety that's new for Marty shock was the technology you know sending you know an email
across the world and getting a response back in 3 seconds yeah never knew that was possible the world changed while
Marty was locked up what else anything else that's surprised you how good it was to wake up in the morning be able to
make my own cup of coffee walk out the back door watch the sunrise when was the lowest period in all of
this every day in prison is a low period you wake up and the smells The Sounds the noise that's the low
period and you have to force yourself to get past that period to kind of get through the day that's the first Sunrise
that I was able to take a picture of at age 36 Marty finally feels like a free man I was given my life back I mean
literally in a 10-day period I went from a prison cell serving 50 years to life to being back with my
family right kind of exciting and Mickey you want coffee his apparent seamless transition to the
outside world surprises his family my wife and I have been watching him closely and and his manners are still
there he still helps his aunts what else do you need oh thank you a little sugar
a little milk no what was your concern um that he would Harden in there and that he would lose his spirit and it
didn't happen I didn't live in the prison system I resided there what do you mean well my body was physically
there my mind wasn't my soul wasn't but his legal ordeal is not over New York's Governor appoints a special prosecutor
from the Attorney General's office to investigate and determine once and for all whether Marty should be retried for
the murder of his parents we can collect materials and try to reach a determination of how long it will take
us to be able to decide whether to proceed with the case it's yet one more frustrating
delay but Marty w no time and enrolls in college at the same time he helps his lawyers prepare for a possible new trial
and this is all the case files I mean essentially everyone is a different witness false confessions Co
of interrogations come on 6 months after Marty tff's release the decision Marty returns to court today is a day it's not
just about me it's about my mother's sisters my father's family he is prepared for battle 17
years in prison I fought for the day for a new trial All Rise Supreme Court of suffer
County criminal term part five is now in session that Al there is some evidence that Mr tankle committed the crimes
charge the evidence is insufficient to conclude or it prove Beyond a reasonable doubt that he did so the people hereby
move to dismiss indictments number 1535 over the Attorney General's office asked the
court to drop all [Applause] charges the 18 wheeler has finally driven off my chest I can kind of just
get on with life now while the decision doesn't completely exonerate him it's the next best thing Marty is free and
clear his record now clean they say there is some evidence against Marty we've known that for 20 years they brow
beat a confession out of him course there's some evidence against them do you feel anybody still looks at you and
wonders um I haven't sensed that at all um I think anybody who knows the facts has no doubt that I they know I'm
innocent what's more the special Prosecutor's investigation uncovers a stunning piece of evidence that points
away from Marty's guilt and was Overlook for two decades there's a bloody imprint
of a knife on Arlene tff's bed sheet and it matches no knife in the tankleff home
it's showing that someone left the house with the murder weapon and it wasn't Marty Marty remains convinced that it
was his father's former business partner and hired Thugs who killed his parents my family and I won't stop till
you know they are prosecuted and they're in prison but the state says neither that bloody knife imprint nor any other
forensic evidence links them to the murders and the state also finds many of the witnesses
unreliable so for now no one is charged with a crime it's frustrating it it's frustrating that the system doesn't work
but Marty is finally free to make something of his future he has set his sights High I'm majoring in sociology
and then I'll go on to law school definitely definitely why I've been exposed to a system that just has so
many problems and I I want to change it I want to make changes [Applause] [Music]
he [Music]

"48 Hours" brings you stories of wrongful convictions in this YouTube marathon. Binge-watch the full episodes, including "Lamar Johnson: Standing in Truth," "Grave Injustice" and "Fight for the Truth."

0:00 Lamar Johnson: Standing in Truth 42:00 Grave Injustice 1:23:40 Fight for the Truth

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.

Brief Summary

Lamar Johnson spent 28 years wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, ultimately exonerated by new evidence.

Key points

Lamar Johnson's Innocence. Lamar Johnson insists he did not kill Marcus Boyd, despite being convicted.
Lamar Johnson's Trial. Detective Nickerson testifies it only took 5 minutes to reach the crime scene, contradicting previous claims.
A Historic Moment. For the first time, a prosecuting attorney files an actual innocence claim in court.
Johnson's Exoneration. After 28 years, Lamar Johnson's conviction is overturned, declaring him innocent.
The Hanging Tree. Emotions ran high in Somerville, with calls to bring back the Hanging Tree.
Carter Recants. Just before his execution, Robert Carter recants his testimony against Graves.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I loved him. I had no reason to want to hurt him.

Lamar Johnson's feelings about his friend Marcus.

11:29WatchJan 28, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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