and we urge you to talk to your kids, to be involved in their hools, to know what's going on in their lives. thanks very much for joining us. >> larry: tonight, the incredible true story of a woman who did the impossible. uneducated, broke, devoted to a brother who spent years in school, became a lawyer and won his release after 18 years behind bars. it's the amazing tale of hope that spared an innocent man wrongfully convicted of a

terrible crime, the subject of a great new film, hilary swank and sam rockwell are here with the real life sister about the brother she never gave up on. plus, a dozen men with horror stories of their own, here to tell us how it happened to them next on a very special edition of "larry king live." good evening. hilary swank, the actress who is a two-time academy award winner, she plays betty ann waters in a new movie "conviction." the real betty ann waters is here, too. she went to law school, became an attorney to help get her brother out of prison. sam rockwell plays kenneth waters, betty ann's brother who spent 18 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. and tony goldwyn, who direct the "conviction." this terrific movie, it opens october 15th. such stories aren't just the subject of movies. joining us here in los angeles and in dallas, are 12 men all

wrongfully convicted of crimes, jailed and ultimately freed. the dallas county district attorney who plays the central role in their new lives is with us too, and they'll be watching along with you. we'll hear some of their stories a little later in the hour. let's first take a look at a scene from "conviction." >> this is what i'm going to do. all right? i'm going to stop by trying to go a d.a. after i finally take the ged test and after that if i even get that far, and there's no guarantee i'll even get in. i'll apply to law school. but it's going to take a long time, kenny, a really long time, and i might be 80 years old before i finally become a lawyer, an even then i still don't know if i'm going to fine the answers, but you just have to promise me, you just have to,

that you won't ever try to kill yourself ever again, because if you do -- just don't. >> i cannot understate how good this movie is, it is a great film. betty ann, what was it like to see yourselves played by her? >> first of all, it was surreal. i can't even believe that i got her to play mere. but it was really surreal. i felt bad that she had to actually learn to talk like me and do some of the things i do but she did a fabulous job. >> you didn't have even a high school diploma, right? >> actually i did have a ged. >> larry: the eke vent, right. so you went to law school and became a lawyer just to help get your brother freed? >> yes, yes. >> larry: what it was like to play someone who is someone, hillary? >> an honor. >> larry: you know her. >> i didn't know of betty ann and ken's story before the script was sent to me. i didn't hear about it on the news or anything, but it was a

great incredible honor to portray this woman who is my real life hero. >> larry: wealth, it's -- there's no way to underplay this. it's an incredible film. sam, when you got the script and you got to play this brother. >> yeah. >> larry: a conflicted character, did you like it right away? >> yeah. i loved it. i chased after it. i thought it was amazing, amazing script and a great part. i was really excited. >> larry: but you had to play someone that wasn't a nice guy, not a nice guy, a guy you pretty much thought did this as a viewer? >> well, he's got a temper, you know, and maybe misunderstood. >> larry: no kidding. >> but he's basically a good guy. >> larry: inside? >> inside. >> larry: way inside. >> that's right. >> larry: how did you get to direct it, tony? >> well, we've been working on this for nine years, and -- >> larry: nine years? >> nine years ago my wife saw a piece on "60 minutes" right after betty ann succeeded in getting kenny identity of prison, and she was screaming at me to come watch this piece because it was so amazing, and i

missed the segment, and she told meet story and i was just so moved by it, and i thought to myself this woman spent 18 and a half years on an act of faith and another human being in her brothers, and i wanted to know about that. i was just so affected by, that and i thought what if -- what if he did it? what if she was either wrong or never successful? would that have invalidated her faith, and the answer for me was no because just the fact of having that much love and faith for another person and as some of our other guests tonight said to me. you know, just one person believing in you is enough to sustain you through prison. >> larry: what did you make of her, hillary, this extraordinary lady? >> i felt that she was selfless. she was full of grace. the determination and drive and belief and ultimately, like tony said love that she had for this other human being, you know, the selfless act of giving, really

her life is astonishing, and, you know, we've all said it to betty ann and betty ann says what? i didn't do anything. i didn't do anything that anyone wouldn't do and yes, you do. most people wouldn't do this. >> larry: what kept you believing? >> my brother. my brother kenny had more faith in me than anybody ever had. >> larry: he erupted a lot, lost confidence a lot. >> never lost confidence in me. in the system. >> larry: not you but getting out. >> once we made the promise of going to law school, kenny really believed i would get him out. i didn't really believe i could get him out or find a way. he did. he did believe. >> larry: was it tough to play? >> yeah, it was. it was, but it was fun. it was good, hard work, and because of tony and hilary, i felt like i was able, to you know, step up to the plate. >> larry: did you talk to betty ann about who her brother was like? >> yeah, absolutely. we spent a whole weekend, the three of us, with betty ann and her relatives and told stories

about kenny and betty ann when they were kids. >> lots of great stories. >> a lot of fun actually, yeah. >> larry: you know, the -- when you see this film as it evolves, authorities had every right to think he did it, didn't you think? >> well -- >> larry: early on? >> you know, i took a certain dramatic license here. you know, kenny was no boy scout. there's no two ways about that, and, you know, the thing that's amazing about ken and about sam's performance it's kind of like a duality in one sense. everybody adored kenny. he was the life of the party and was the most kind generous person and could turn in an instant and had a very violent temper, and, you know, he attracted trouble. he definitely did, but i in the movie, you know, the authorities -- the facts are that came out the authorities did not have the right to do it. there was a lot wrong with their case, and us a find out in the movie there was a lot of abuse involved. >> larry: his temper was doing him in though right, wasn't it?

>> well, you know, he had a temper, but he was not an aggressor. kenny was the type of person if somebody confronted him, he didn't know how to handle it so that's where his temper came from, but he's not the type of person that would do that crime. he's not going to break into someone's home and kill them. his problems always came from somebody attacking him. >> larry: did he not have a motive? >> that's not true. >> larry: there was an involvement with the woman? >> just a neighbor. no involvement. had nothing to do with this whatsoever. >> grew up nothing her. never said one bad thing about my brother, my family. >> one of the things, larry, as sam says in the movie, you know, from the start he's been -- he's been, you know, he's been painted with that brush, so people went oh, he's the bad guy. he's been busted. he's been in prison, and a lot of times in our society, you know, because of someone's past or the way we perceive them, we like to generalize, you know, so that happened to kenny. >> larry: tony will be coming

back with us later. the man who was -- who has helped free wrongfully convicted men from prison, who is an american hero, will join us next. ♪ when it's planes in the sky ♪ ♪ for a chain of supply, that's logistics ♪ ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ there will be no more stress ♪ ♪ cause you've called ups, that's logistics ♪

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there was so much blood. i'm going to get kenny out. there were no dna tests out. the only murder was type "o" and so was kenny. it will prove kenny's innocent. just like in a rape case. >> how do you know the blood evidence still exists? >> because we can find it, and barry scheck is going to help. here, look. oh, i see, barry scheck. >> this is what he does, look. he's the citizens project in new york. >> and you're just going to call him up, and he's going to take your case. >> yes. >> larry: we're back with the stars of "conviction." joining us now is barry scheck, criminal defense attorney, co-director and co-founder of the innocence project at the benjamin m. cardoza school of law. what do you recollect about this case, bar? >> this was unforgettable. meeting betty ann and her best friend from law school. it was just extraordinary. we had a -- as people will see in the movie, it's not just getting a dna test on the blood and, you know, that wasn't enough. we had to go out and we had to

interview the witnesses. we had to reinvestigate the whole case. >> larry: did you take it right away off just her visit? >> well, we -- >> larry: how do you choose what you take? >> our standard is very simple. if a dna test can prove you innocent at the innocence project in new york, we'll take your case. there are now 50 other innocence projects in the united states. not all of them rely just on dna. we do, but that's a very simple standard. dna proves you innocent. we'll take your case. >> larry: simple as that. >> simple as that. >> larry: how about all the times there was no dna? >> well, that's a key problem because, you know, only 10% of serious felony cases have any biological evidence where you can do a test and find out whether somebody is guilty or innocent, much less identify the real perpetrator, so these non-dna cases where there's mistaken eyewitness identification, false confections, bad forensic science, jailhouse snitches, police or prosecutors who cross the line or worst of all a bad defense lawyer, somebody that doesn't have the resources or the ability to make a defense,

these are the causes of wrongful convictions. and we know what to do about them, and we know if we sol-of-them we'll benefit the whole sis telling. >> larry: how many people have you gotten out? >> there have been 260 post-conviction dna exonerations. our project has not been the principal in all of them but two-thirds. >> larry: 260, all men? >> all men. there are some women who got out because they were like co-defendants in a case. >> larry: and these were men who were all in jail for killing someone? >> well, a lot of them are assaults. 17 people were on death row, i think about 40 of them or so were murderers. like kenny, if there had opinion a death penalty in massachusetts. >> larry: he would have died. what did you think of the movie? >> this movie took eight and a half years to get done, and we are thrilled with the movie. i mean -- >> larry: you ought to be. >> it's just got a lot of

integrity to it. it was brilliantly done. the performances of hilary and sam and mini and -- >> larry: and there's you. >> he does aiate job, larry. he need to get irishmen to play -- >> larry: you look so much alike. >> absolutely right. >> larry: how important was barry to you? >> hilary says i'm her hero and barry, without him it wouldn't have happened. i don't believe it would have. he's very important to me. >> larry: hilary, have you learned more about this now, now that you've made this movie about all these people being freed? >> absolutely. one of the blessings of my jobsy get to work in other people's shoes and learn about something i wouldn't had i not been an actor. it's extraordinary to be an actor and get that opportunity. >> larry: one can only imagine, sam, what would it be like to play someone like this. we'll meet some. gentlemen later who are here tonight in our studio, to play someone who didn't do what he's charged with doing. what's it like, do you feel, to be a prisoner when you're

innocent? >> you know, it's hard for me to manage. i mean, as much research as i did, it's still unfathomable to try to put yourself in that position. you talk to some of these people, see documentaries, whatever you do. it's really unimaginable. >> larry: wouldn't you think you'd go nuts, beary? to be in jail when you didn't do something? >> i think we've lost a lot of people. >> larry: suicide? >> because they couldn't deal with it. you know, there's a pattern that's quite extraordinary about these people. i think for the first two or three years you're in prison for a crime you didn't commit, it eats you alive. the anger is just beyond imagination, and at a certain point in order to survive, have you to transcend it, and it's -- it's a -- an incredible, spiritual act, and, you know, people say, oh, they are not bitter when they get out. i mean, these men have good reason for resentment, but what people are picking up when they say that is that there's a certain spiritual transcendence that's remarkable, and that's

why they survived, and that's why eventually we were able to find them. >> larry: with us are 12 men wrongfully convicted. we'll meet them shortly. how many more are incorre priso don't belong there? the movie is "conviction" and it opens october 15th. more next. who else is in this so-called "us"? man, i don't know. there's a lot of us. [ chuckles ] ask your friends what it's like to be part of a group that's 40 million strong. state farm insures more drivers than geico and progressive combined. it's no surprise, with so many ways to save and discounts of up to 40%. so call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. to finish what you started today. for the aes and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.

>> larry: we're back with barry scheck and hilary swank and betty ann waters and sam rockwell, all involved in this extraordinary film "conviction" which opens october 15th. you describe the character you play as a lovable viewup, right? >> that might be a different film. >> larry: he was, though, wasn't he, barry? >> he was. you know, sam's portrayal is terrific because -- >> larry: it's unbelievable. >> because kenny was really funny. he was really, you know, the life of the party, as they were saying. but also, i mean, my god, what he went through and his experiences were really extraordinary. he really had one of the worst imprisonments of any client we

have had. i mean -- >> larry: really? >> he had hepatitis "c." he really suffered terribly in prison, and he came out with such a life force, isolation, yeah. >> larry: did you ever give up, >> betty? >> me. >> larry: all those years? >> no, i have bad times, there were times when i didn't think i would be able to make it. there were many hurdles i had to take one at a time, but i knew i couldn't give up because i would have a lot to lose. i would have lost kenny. >> hilary, your co-actor and friend al pacino told me after playing kevorkian that he likes playing real people, people he got to know. did you enjoy playing someone who you knew? >> i did enormously. i mean, i played a lot of real life people. it's kind of a trajectory that i can see now looking back in my career, but only two, including one of them being betty ann, were actually alive.

it's wonderful, it's like, you know, a lot of my homework is just hanging out with her and playing fictional characters, you have to kind of make up a lot of the details and the specifics about what you're doing, but getting to meet betty ann, i got to meet all of the onion layers of a person, you know? >> larry: well put. kenny was arrested two years after the murder. let's watch another clip of "conviction." >> at times that were rough, kenny made sure there was food on the table. >> kenneth waters, you're under arrest. >> what? >> we need you to come with us. >> can't we wait until after the funeral? >> now, mr. matters. >> please, can't this wait. >> what's that for? >> just until after the funeral?

>> oh, my god. >> kenneth waters, you're under arrest for the murder of katerina brown. >> you let me go two years ago? >> we got you now. >> larry: is that a hard scene to do? >> sure. it always takes a lot of focus in a scene like that. there's a lot going on. it's a funeral. it's surreal. you try to imagine that happening. >> larry: did you watch the filming? >> i watched a lot of the filming. i was there for most of it, would i say. >> larry: did it feel funny? >> very funny, and you never know how it's going to end up because i see how hard they work. they can work 14 hours to do one minute of a scene and i'm like you don't know which minute will be on the screen later. >> larry: tony said they take some liberties. did they take a lot, or is it pretty much true to form? >> pretty much true to form. the only difference might be some of the sequences are different. like everything didn't happen at

the same time that they said it happened but everything happened and all the feelings were real, and i think anybody just portrayed those feelings perfectly, especially julia lewis. >> i would sit in betty ann's chair on set and reach my hands in the pockets and there were like layer upon layer of kleenex. you mentioned that this was car that is rightic for you to kind of relive. >> yes, actually i felt -- i spent many hours talking to hilary, sam, tony and everyone, and i always felt later i was through years, went through years of therapy. it was the same thing on set. >> larry: how long after he got out did he die? >> six months. >> larry: what did he die of? >> an accidental fall. he fell and his his head and died of a brain injury. >> larry: how old was he? >> 47. >> larry: you're around tragedy all the time, scheck. >> seems like it. >> larry: think about it. the movie is "conviction." i can't extoll it enough.

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>> larry: we're pack. joining us is minnie driver, the academy award winning actor. she plays avra rice in the movie "conviction." and the real avra rice is here with us. she helped prove that ken was innocent.

we have an actress and the person she played and an and the actress and the person she played. minnie, how did you play this part? >> i couldn't believe that it was a real story when i read it and i knew that i loved hillary, but falling in love with ms. rice was fantastic. i mean, i don't look anything like her and i think tony goldwyn, maybe he saw that we have the same sort of spirit. >> larry: right. you don't look alike at all. all right, abra, how well did she get you? >> pretty well. she was a lot nicer. >> larry: were you as tough as you were portrayed? >> tougher. >> larry: do you think she was -- they wouldn't have gone much further if she weren't around, would they, barry? >> she's a public defender in new haven. she's the real deal. >> larry: you are a public defender in new haven now? >> yes. >> larry: and what was it like for you to play a real person? >> it's very strange but amazing

because abra was there for a lot of the scenes that i filmed, and it was really -- it was really good to witness her and betty ann's relationship which is based on a lot of razzing and humor, and i think when you've been through the kind of war that they went through together, you come out the other side with a pretty strong relationship. >> larry: did you know kenny well? >> briefly. >> larry: did you believe he was innocent? >> absolutely. >> larry: what made you believe it? we understand the sister -- you weren't a sister. what made you believe it? >> because betty thought he was innocent so i thought he was innocent and that's the reason i went to law school, to help the innocent and not so innocent. >> larry: as a public defender, everyone tells you they're innocent, right? >> everybody. >> larry: so how do you break down the difference? >> well, they're there as barry knows to perform a service. it's not up to the public

defender or the defense attorney to make that decision. but my friend betty ann said her brother was innocent, i believed he was innocent. >> larry: did hilary get to you play this, minnie? >> well, hilary was a big reason that i -- you know -- >> larry: you're friends? >> we are friends now. >> larry: you weren't friends then? >> no. we didn't know each other. we have the same amazing manager, and he kind of put us together, but it was, you know, an extraordinary story with hilary and with tony goldwyn directing and -- >> larry: that it is. >> and sam rockwell, too. >> larry: betty did, minnie get your friend right? >> yes, she did. >> no, it was so wrong. it was terrible. >> larry: missed it completely.

abracadabra. >> a.r.-br has an unbelievable story and she can be very uplifting. >> larry: let's look at another scene from "conviction." watch. >> betty, they destroyed it. >> no. that evidence exists somewhere and i'm going to find it. >> okay. let's say you do find it. what if the dna matches kenny's? >> get out. get the hell out of my house right now! >> no. you got to hear this. you can be an amazing fighter, the most brilliant lawyer in the world. there are forces greater than you, and you may not win. >> do you think i haven't thought of that? >> you haven't. >> larry: 12 men who were wrongfully convicted are watching this show with us here in los angeles and in dallas. we'll meet a few of them a little later. you'll see all of them. to learn more about their stories, check out a great new book, "tested, how 12 wrongfully imprisoned men held on to hope."

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my whole family suffered unbelievable. >> and we love you. >> and we're all just happy today. >> every member in our family has always believed in his innocence without a doubt. never a doubt, never. >> so what is the first thing you're going to do? >> hug and kiss my uncle and bring him home where he belongs.

>> larry: barry, people wrongfully in prison, is it generally the case that the prosecutor has too much zeal or that they were acting purely on the information they had? >> well, you know, it's a mixed bag like anything else. there's some prosecutors, like our friend craig watkins here from dallas, who really will look at a case, a case that's been decided and has a conviction integrity unit that will look at it and see whether or not the evidence merits a re-examination, and there's some prosecutors, unfortunately, that, you know, get this tunnel vision and they won't accept any contrary proof. >> larry: so there's some prosecutors that know there's innocent people in prison, or do they convince themselves that they're guilty? >> they convince themselves for the most part that they're guilty. >> larry: by the way, who wrote this movie?

>> pam gray. >> familiar gray, a fantastic screenwriter and she and tony goldwyn did "a walk on the moon." my next door neighbor is the original producer of this movie and so from the very beginning, andy said we have got to get these two involved and we did and when you talk about minnie and abra and betty ann and hilary, i think pam gets a lot of credit. because she's a brooklyn girl and she got it exactly right. >> larry: brooklyn girls would. it's an emotional picture, some very funny scenes in it, but basically this is hard. >> i think this is at the score, at the heart of it a feel good movie and i think people want to see feel good right now. i think this is a time on earth that people need that. and i think it's going to do well because of it. it's really a love story between a brother and a sister at its core. >> larry: you say you'll have a

good feeling coming out. you will, but you'll also be perturbed, don't you think? you'll be a little angry? >> about? >> that there's so much injustice. >> of course, but it runs the gamut, you know, i mean, from the injustice that is portrayed and people will hopefully look into that and want to do something about that. they'll look into the innocence project. can you go on to the innocenceproject.org and learn more about what can you do to help. i think they'll feel hopeless and they'll feel hopeful again and they'll feel uplifted by the love. >> i just question whether you would do it for a family member yourself, just what you would do and how far you would go. >> and inspiration will actually take you past all odds which is what i think hilary is saying here. i mean, that's what people need to hear now, and they need to see it in real life with a real life hero.

>> you had to be strong for her? >> it was easy. >> larry: and how proud you must be of this. >> i'm very, very proud of this. my brother would be king. >> larry: was your brother getting back into life? >> he was into life. it was the best six months of his entire life. he was enjoying life, all the shows, he would talk to anyone that would listen, and everybody wanted to listen. and he would say, people want to meet my sister, come on and i said, kenny, i'm in bed. >> larry: we'll be back with the true story of "conviction," both on screen and off and you're going to meet some others who say it happened to them. stick around. [ commentator ] lindsey vonn! she stays tough! earlier, she had an all-over achy cold...

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>> larry: talking about a new film coming to you in a couple of weeks. the film is "conviction" with hilary swank, betty ann waters, tony goldwyn and the director barry scheck. why did it take so long to get made? >> because movies like this are hard. you know, you've got to do them right or they tend to be -- they can be, you know, easily sort of generic and overly sentimental, and people get a little nervous about that. what were you going to say, hill? >> don't you think getting a move made in general is hard now. >> any time you make a movie it's a miracle and act will. >> even with "million dollar baby" they said they didn't want to make this. clint coming off of "mystic river." i mean, being right being nominated, so, i mean, making movies is just hard.

>> larry: what do you. >> when this movie was first sold, the movie business was different than it is today, so it's -- >> larry: come a long way. >> well, i mean, now, you know, the budgets are lower. the -- there's more "transformers" and, you know, stuff in the theaters. i mean, frankly, it's the influence i think of cable tv. it's such great stuff on cable tv in terms of drama. >> larry: hbo. >> right. >> and not to interrupt you, but a lot of people i find, you know, you mentioned "transformers," studios like something that they know exactly how to sell it, but i've had so many people coming up to us after seeing this movie and saying thank you for making, you know, where are all the adult movies. where are all the movies we want to see, and, you know, not that there's not a place for great action movies and what the whatnot. >> larry: shouldn't we be amazed that there isn't more anger in the country that people are behind bars that didn't do it? >> i think that, as you know, larry, because you've before covering these stories for

years, there are so many of these exonerations, so many of these cases and we actually have more people in prison in this country than any place in the world, excluding russia and iran, and one in four people in this country have somebody that they know that was arrested, and i think we've steen from the screenings and from what happens and when people see this movie. if we can get people into the thesers to see this movie, you know, the word of mouth is going to be phenomenal. >> larry: betty, you're a lawyer now. do you think there's a true assumption of innocence in america? >> a true assumption of innocence. >> larry: yeah. we're supposed to assume everybody is innocent until proven guilty. >> i think that's what happens. before this happened to my brother i thought people in prison were guilty. >> larry: there's not. hilary, don't you think that's true? there's no pure assumption of innocence? >> i don't think so. >> larry: you read someone is arrested, the immediate thought is they did it? >> for the most part, yeah. >> larry: you, do, tony? >> yeah. in our country, in our society

in the world, as human beings we want quick answers of things. we want to be certain and if something happened that is terribly traumatic and upsetting, and we want an answer immediately, so we've created closure and so if that's the guy, great. get it done with. >> larry: we're going to come back and we'll meet the men who have been watching this show with you. all of them, all of them wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for serious crimes, now free to tell us what happened to them. we'll also meet a very courageous d.a. don't go away.

we have made a finding of actual not in in this matter. >> you knew your son was innocent? >> i knew it, yes. i was positive. >> this was stephen brody. released from prison just friday. wrongfully convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. stephen is among the men watching our show from dallas. and here in los angeles tonight, let's meet the others. craig watkins, the dallas county district attorney. he refused to destroy evidence from old cases, which ultimately led to 20 exxonrations. and dna cleared him. stephen phillips wrongfully convicted of aggravated rape served 24 years. dna freed him. christopher scott, wrongfully

convicted of capital murder, served 12 years. freed after another prisoner confessed. billy james smith, wrongfully convicted of aggravated sexual assault. served almost 20 years. dna evidence proved he was not a rapist. thomas mcgowen, wrongfully convicted of burglary and aggravated sexual assault. he served 23 years before dna testing proved his innocence. and trey carage was wrongfully convicted of murder, served seven years. dna granted his release and he was given a full pardon by governor perry. james giles was wrongfully convicted of aggravated sexual assault, he served ten years. dna helped exonerate him. richard miles wrongly accused of murder and attempted murder, served 17 years. evidence naming the real killer never provided to the defense. he was released when this tragic mistake was uncovered. victor thomasa, wrongfully convicted of rape, kidnapping,

robbery. served 16 years. dna proved he wasn't the rapist. eugene horton, wrongfully convicted of sexual assault. served 18 month. dna tests led to his conviction being overturned. and we showed you stephen brody a minute ago. you can see more of his history at cnn.com/larryking. and with us, stars of "convicti "conviction." hilary swank, bettery waters, director tony goldwyn and attorney barry shek, director of the not in project. dallas city attorney, what led you to hold on to this as opposed to other d.a.'s who didn't? >> i was elected as a new d.a. in dallas county in 2006 and took office in 2007. on my first week in office i was requested by a long-time sistant d.a. t sign form to allow evidence to be destroyed.

you know, i had practiced law for a while this dallas county. upon and i thought that was not -- and i thought that was not going to be a wise decision and i refused to sign a motion to have evidence destroyed. it was probably for the last three years as a district attorney for dallas county, one of the best decisions that i've ahead. my first week in office, there was an exoneration of a man who had been trying to have his name children clear -- name cleared for five years. fortunately i got the opportunity to go downstairs. and i apologized to that individual for his wrongful conviction. and i didn't think anything of it. i thought it's the responsibility of the elected district attorney to restore credibility to the criminal justice system, and at least give an apology to an individual who had been wrongfully convicted, so i did that. and after that it became a big media storm as to the fact that i just went down and apologized.

soon after that, we had someone from the innocence project contact us. and said, well, you know, dallas county has been a haven of wrongful convictions for years. and this is the opportunity for you -- >> larry: wow. >> mr. d.a., to look at these cases and make sure that it never happens again. >> larry: i salute you. we'll talk with some of the men after this. ] tastes like sugar and has 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon. use it almost anywhere you use sugar. even in cooking and baking. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® granulated with fiber. ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world.

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>> larry: "tested," released next week, about men wrongfully convicted. johnny, you served 26 years, johnny lindsay. how did you put up -- what kept you going? >> well, the fact that, first of all, i knew i wasn't guilty of the crime. and i just thought it was so harsh that i was just literally kidnapped by the police, the district attorney's office, and all the elected -- i. like i was kid -- i felt like i was kidnapped and just thrown away. >> larry: but what kept you going? >> well, it was the faith that i had that right will always override wrong.

and somehow, some way i knew you that the truth would come out, that i wasn't the perpetrator. and i just -- i prayed, i kept the faith, and it was the only thing i know it do to keep from going insane. and i kind of -- in relation to conviction, when the -- when bobby, i think that was his name, he was talking about committing suicide but then that's the side of the conviction, wrongful conviction that people don't know or hear about. >> larry: yeah. let me ask richard in dallas, evidence naming the real killer in your case of never provided to the defense. weren't you angry and bitter when you got released? >> yes, sir. i was. but if i dwell on the anger, i can't get past it, and i had to hold on to the hope. i had to stay focused on my

father who was a bishop, who passed away before i got out. the determine that i had was put at me when i was young. and that inevitably was the thing that inspired me to move on. >> and keith, you were wrongfully convicted -- here in l.a., wrongfully convicted of rape. you served 16 years. it had to be more than faith. what kept you going? >> my mother, you know. she was a woman of faith. and she instilled in me, and to believe in what's right. and, you know, she was my guidance. and she taught me everything i know. she taught me how to be a man. and, you know, she -- she believed in me and was there for me. and, you know, my theme in the book called "tested" is a tribute to my mother for being

there for me. roir somewhat like -- >> larry: somewhat like betty ann waters was as a sister, right? >> yes. >> larry: believing in someone. >> yes. >> larry: james dials, what kept you going? >> basically my faith in god and trusting that sooner or later that the truth will prevail. so after the truth really came to light through the innocence project of new york, i got to writing letters to -- who i became acquainted with. and i kept faith that one day that this would come to light. so that's why it's so important for everyone to that book, "tested," to know that my hope was in god that i knew that one day my mother, dead and gone, that the truth will prevail. >> larry: is that the -- >> and all my other family members. >> larry: i get it. barry, is that the common thread, faith? >> well, faith. and a belief that somehow, you know, truth crushed to eartha

will rise again, the lie will live forever. >> larry: you saw some on death row, others put to death who didn't do it. >> i think that's definitely happened in this country, larry. >> larry: how do you re-dress that grievance? >> we're actually going to have a hearing this coming week. in austin, texas, about one of those cases. involving a man named cameron todd willingham. we're asking a judge there to actually make a ruling that an innocent man was wrongfully executed in the united states. >> larry: you're saying they will make an announcement in texas next week -- >> we have a hearing wednesday and thursday. >> larry: this texas killed someone wrongfully. >> yes, cameron todd willingham. >>. >> larry: i read about them. >> there was an award-winning article about it. that's in the courts. >> larry: i congratulate all you men, district attorney, craig watkins, for