felt that i could breathe for the first time in so long and i just felt that she was finally at peace. she can rest now. >> rest for wendy, the kind young woman who loved animals and enjoyed playing dress-up and who fatally married a stranger, animals and enjoyed playing dressup. and who fatally, married a stranger till death he did part. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i am craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> out of the blue, one day, you have a collect call from an inmate at sing sing correctional facility. like, okay. >> do you think the system works and we're going to beat this. we didn't. >> he's become my brother. i want to see him out.

>> reporter: life was cheap, that night in new york. two brutal murders, just a half-mile apart. >> here for a homicide crime scene. >> six people were convicted including eric glisson. >> you would actually think they read the wrong verdict. >> reporter: then, divine intervention through a nun, he called grandma. >> eric would say, grandma, i think this all happening for a reason. >> reporter: maybe, a nun could help him get into heaven. but could she help him get out of prison? what she helped him do was get a lawyer, and together, they hunted for the truth. >> this is the one case, that has kept me up at night, for six years. >> he says, i know you're innocent. i know the guys who committed this crime. >> reporter: will justice, finally, arrive? hello and welcome to "dateline." eric glisson was just 20 years old when he was convicted of a

murder, that sent shock waves through his neighborhood. a crime, he insisted, he did not commit. to clear his name, eric would have to find the real killers. following clues from the confines of his cell. it would take years for the truth to come out. but would it be enough to set him free? here is josh mankiewicz with "a bronx tale." >> sing sing correctional facility. the maximum-security prison in new york. this is the big house. home, to some of the worst of the worst. killers, rapists, drug dealers. >> good morning. >> thank you. >> reporter: it is not where you would expect to find this gentle woman. >> in sing sing, they call me grandma. >> grandma is sister joanna chan, a nun. >> i began working in sing sing

more than 12 years ago. >> reporter: grandma volunteers at the prison working with inmates in a theater program. she even teaches them chinese. through the years, grandma has helped dozens of men, but she says this inmate, here, on stage. a convicted killer. has changed her. >> he just so brave. watching him, all these years. i take such courage, myself, watching him. >> reporter: sister joanna remembers the first time she met this inmate. he was sitting, alone, eating. >> he said, my family send me 30 pounds of food. so i said your family must love you very much. and he said, yes, because they know i'm innocent. and this how the whole story began. >> reporter: a story, that began with the unlikely friendship

between a nun and a convicted killer, would grow into a quest that would shake the faith of even those sworn to uphold the law. >> i thought, if he was innocent, god has to see him through. >> reporter: so who is this convicted murderer? he is inmate 97a7088. eric glisson. we first met him in the spring of 2012, when a "dateline" producer working on a different story in sing sing met eric in his cell. >> you gonna film me? >> reporter: he had been locked up for 18 years. >> you want to see what it's like to live in here? i can touch the walls with my hands. >> reporter: eric told us he didn't belong here. >> my story is i've been unjustly convicted for a crime that i didn't commit. and from february 3rd, of 1995, until the present day, i have been sitting in here, lingering, every day, wondering whether this mistake will be corrected.

>> reporter: we've heard that, before, many times. but what if he was telling the truth? so, over time, we began visiting eric. >> what's up? >> you're looking good. >> reporter: and listening to his story. >> when i got arrested, i was always under the impression that people who were guilty actually goes to jail. i didn't believe that i would be convicted of a crime that i didn't do. >> reporter: when police put the cuffs on him, in 1995, eric was 20 years old. a brand-new father of a one-week-old baby girl. when we spoke, their only time together had been spent in sing sing's visiting room. >> i have a family, who i love. and who loves me. my daughter. i need to get home to her and be a father. >> reporter: eric often shared his story with sister joanna. over time, she felt compelled to do something, anything, for him.

so she called the only lawyer she knew. >> so, first person i could think of was mr. peter. >> i trust her judgment. to me, it was worth investing my time in. >> attorney peter cross agreed to at least see if there was some truth to eric's story. but there was still one problem. >> this is not the kind of law you normally practice? >> no, not at all. i am a corporate lawyer. i do corporate litigation. i -- i don't do criminal lawyering. >> reporter: charmain chester was peter's assistant. this was also new territory, for her. >> you know, out of the blue one day, i get this call. you have a collect call from an inmate at sing sing correctional facility. i'm like, okay. >> reporter: soon, she found herself spending hours on the phone with the inmate. >> at first, it was all, you know, business, case, case, but by the time you talk to somebody every day, the personal things start to slip in. >> friendship? >> friendship. >> reporter: in the meantime, her boss was checking out eric's claims of innocence. >> did you believe at the

beginning? >> i'm not going to say i disbelieved him. but i have been practicing lawyer for a long time. this was a man who was convicted of murdering someone. so, of course, i approached it with some skepticism. >> reporter: but once cross learned the facts, he agreed to take eric's case, at no charge. representing a man who didn't seem hardened by prison but almost frightened. >> it's terrifying because you could just be walking in the yard. and you could be -- be shanked. that's the life in prison. >> reporter: a life he'd lived for nearly-two decades. the story eric was telling us, if true, was as explosive, as it was tragic. >> it turns out that, the police and the district attorney had all the evidence at their disposal to -- to solve this crime, from the beginning. >> reporter: not only was eric insisting he was wrongfully convicted. he said, others were, too. all of them, locked away for life, for the same crime.

>> five other people. five other people was, also, convicted of this crime. >> reporter: six people. could all of them, actually, be innocent? >> time now is approximately 7:15. >> reporter: to find out, we'll go back almost-two decades. and take a hard look at how it all began. >> coming up. what one witness really saw from her window, the day of the murder. >> how the detectives could have decided to run with this, still, shocks me today. >> when "dateline" continue. me. >> when "dateline" continue. that's #1 with vets. it even prevents the infection that causes lyme disease. your vet trusts nexgard for her patients and her own dog. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. ask your vet about nexgard. some people say our trade-in process feels too easy. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. they can't believe it's 100% online and gives them a competitive offer that won't change for 7 days. an offer that they can put toward their new car. some people can't believe our friendly advocate will come to them as soon as tomorrow.

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>> reporter: within the walls of sing sing, a convicted murderer

had convinced a nun and a corporate lawyer that there had been a terrible miscarriage of justice. eric glisson was in the 18th year of a 25-to-life murder sentence. he claimed he was innocent. >> you ever been in prison, before this? >> no. >> what's it like to live in prison? >> it's hell. >> reporter: eric glisson's nightmare began on the night of january 18th, 1995. the new york city detectives lining this hallway in the bronx were entering a crime scene, as chilling, as it was violent. the victim's name was denise raymond. she was an executive with fedex. cops video the entire scene and anything that might seem important. the case went to detective tom aiello, a 20-year veteran.

aiello led a team of detectives who worked through the night knocking on doors and collecting evidence. then, as the sun rose, ts next morning, some of those cops turned their attention to another murder. another, bloody crime scene. this is the video police recorded of that second-murder scene. it was, seemingly, unrelated but just a half-mile away, in the same precinct. this was a busy night for the murder business in the bronx. >> time now is approximately 7:15 a.m. on january 19th, 1995. >> reporter: this time, a livery cab driver named baithe diop had been found slumped over his steering wheel, shot multiple times. the victim of an apparent robbery. the driver's money and cellphone were missing. the investigation of the cab driver's murder would be headed by 31-year-old detective, mike donnelley. who worked alongside detective aiello. the two detectives, donnelley and aiello, ended up putting their heads and their cases together. concluding, the same group of

several people committed both murders. did you know the other people? >> i knew two of them. >> from the neighborhood? >> from the neighborhood. >> these are good friends of yours? >> acquaintances. >> just guys you saw around? >> yes. >> it's february 4th, 1995. >> reporter: one of those guys was 19-year-old michael cosme. the first suspect arrested. he was the only one to be videotaped by police. >> advise you of your rights. you willing to answer questions? >> no, i do have one thing to say. >> i will read you those rights, again. >> i only have one thing to say, though. i'm innocent. i didn't do it. i wasn't there. i was in my house, sleep. >> reporter: detectives didn't believe him and cosme was arrested for both murders. days later, so was eric glisson. >> originally, you were charged with both murders. of the denise raymond murder and the cab driver murder. but by the time eric went to trial, prosecutors dropped charges against him in the

denise raymond case citing lack of evidence. so, what evidence was there against him in the cab-driver case? it's really, pretty simple. there was a witness against him. her name? miriam. she told the cop she looked out her window and saw it all. eric and the others smack in the middle of the cab-driver robbery that ended in murder. is it possible that miriam saw you commit a crime? >> no. >> not any crime? >> i wasn't there. >> bad blood between you and miriam? >> yes, bad blood. >> reporter: eric says he had a brief-sexual relationship with miriam that did not end well. >> you have a fling with a girl that, then, you just cut it off, abruptly. she may feel slighted. >> slighted enough to make you a murder suspect? >> i guess so. >> whatever her motivation, the question is, how reliable was she as a witness? all these years later, eric finally had someone to take another look at miriam's story.

attorney peter cross. >> there's no doubt that -- that this woman was lying. i went out to the crime scene. and she could not possibly have seen what she said occurred. >> reporter: so, what could miriam really see? here is the problem with miriam's story. from that police video, we know this is where the cab came to rest. but we, also, know the shooting happened a couple of car lengths back. sort of, where that red suv is. we know a man, in that building, called 911 when he heard the shots and he said he saw only one person running away from the scene. now, couple weeks later, miriam comes forward. she liveness that building, over there. now, you are looking at me, from just outside the window, through which miriam says she saw all of this happen. now, this has to be easily 100-yards away. and she says she saw six people from the neighborhood commit the crime. she said she heard what they said and saw what they stole. and she said she saw all of it

looking through this bathroom window. the only problem is, if you go back to where the shooting actually happened, it's pretty clear, miriam couldn't have seen anything, at all. >> she said, from her bathroom window, she heard these conversations going on inside the car. i mean, it -- it's just incredible testimony. >> reporter: but what disturbed cross even more? detective donnelley never looked at the crime scene from the perspective you just did. >> wouldn't that sort of be standard-operating procedure to check out what witnesses say? >> you would think so. i think they got on a horse, early on, in this case. and they rode that horse and they -- they weren't going to change direction. >> reporter: we wanted to speak with miriam taveras. she died of a drug overdose in 2002. other than her testimony, there was no-physical evidence, no forensics, no prints, nothing, that tied eric or the others to the cab driver's murder. even so, detectives donnelley and aiello went with what they had, and closed both murder

cases. within three weeks, they arrested their suspects. and the bronx-district attorney tried them. in all, six people were convicted. we'll call them the bronx six. five men and a woman. all, sent away, facing 25 to life. one of them was eric glisson. what's it like to hear that verdict read? >> it's like -- it's like a shot in the chest. it's like your heart just -- just melts. just dissolves. you actually think that, you know, they -- they read the wrong verdict. that this can't be true. >> reporter: the nypd was quite proud of detectives donnelley and aiello's work. so proud that, five months after the arrests, the department allowed the detectives to be featured in "new york magazine" about how they, amazingly, cracked the cases. >> how the detectives could decide to run with this and send them to jail for the rest of

their lives on the basis of this garbage still shocks me today. >> all these years later, attorney cross knew. >> i think, the only kind of evidence that is going to sway a court, is if we can point to who the real killers are. >> reporter: that was quite a lot to hope for. but from behind bars, eric glisson was, already, on the trail. >> i got some documents. and so, i see, this guy name keep coming up. coming up. a surprise visitor and an answered prayer. >> he said, i'm sorry. i know you're innocent. and i know the guys who committed this crime. >> when "dateline" continues. ri >> when "dateline" continues

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these are the people we are calling the bronx six. five men and a woman. all, convicted and sent away for 25 years to life for committing murder. all, insisted they were innocent. we met one of them, eric glisson, in sing sing. where, from behind bars, he had been trying to get answers, ever since he was locked up. >> i've been fighting these people, for years. asking for -- for documents, which they deny me, at every turn. >> you're not going to convict me for something that i didn't do, and just expect me to accept it. i'm going to fight to the end. i'm a fighter. i -- i die on my feet, not on my

knees. >> reporter: as the years passed, eric took college courses offered by the prison. he learned about the law and fought his case. >> how did he get that evidence in his possession? >> reporter: the court denied all his appeals. >> i don't -- i don't have any appeals left. nothing. >> reporter: it was a lonely fight. and then, in 2006, met sister joanna chan in one of the prison's programs. the woman, he calls, grandma. >> this particular dark time, he would say, grandma, it's really hard. >> told her grandma, i just lost my last appeal. i don't know what i am going to do. >> i always say, let's keep the faith and let's go and pray. and i said we have many, many sister praying with you. >> reporter: sister joanna offered more than just her prayers. that's when she brought in peter cross, who was now fighting for eric on the outside. >> so, you had detective donnelley as the officer

assigned. >> yeah. >> reporter: with eric as his guide, cross got up to speed. and he found some troubling information about how detectives donnelley and aiello connected the two murders. it was through this witness. her name is kathy gomez. >> kathy, we're on the record. >> reporter: cross tracked her down and videotaped his interview with her. >> and you know i'm -- i'm here today because eric glisson -- >> reporter: gomez, who was 16 at the time of the murder, says she first came in contact with the detectives for only-one reason. she was friends with miriam taveras, who spoke only spanish. >> so you served kind of as a translator? >> yes. >> reporter: but by the time she walked out of the police station, kathy gomez had become the key witness in the investigation of the fedex murder. gomez had signed a sworn statement claiming she overheard the same suspects talking about details of both crimes, that only the killers, or the cops, would know. >> tell me if you recognize your

signature on that document. >> yeah, that's my signature. >> reporter: here is the problem. it's a crime kathy, now, says she knew nothing about. >> you know, i even told him. i even told him, i didn't see nothing like that. >> what's more, gomez says she could hardly read or write english. >> well, i couldn't read it. just, you have to sign this and don't worry about it, you don't have nothing to do with this. >> kathy gomez told me that entire statement was prepared by the police. and she signed it, without knowing, even what was in it. >> reporter: even so, gomez did testify. now, saying she only took the stand because, she says, detectives threatened to arrest her if she refused. >> they put me in handcuff to take me because i -- i was refused to go. you know, to court. i was just freaked out because, you know, who want to be in handcuff or in jail or something like that? nobody. >> reporter: in fact, court transcripts show she even attempted suicide as the trial began. but because she didn't testify

against eric, her claims, all-these years later, wouldn't help him. to have any chance at having another day in court, eric knew he'd need powerful evidence. evidence of actual innocence. he started thinking, if he and the other-five co-defendants had nothing to do with the two murders, then who did? after more than a decade of trying, finally, some of eric's requests for documents in his case began trickling in. >> i came across one document, which had my name, as well as my other co-defendants. but one name stood out. it was an individual, who i found out, was part of a gang called sex, money, murder. >> eric was onto an important lead. sex, money, murder. even veteran cops knew those three words meant danger. a notorious gang from the sound-view section of the bronx. >> 1997. october. sex, money, and murder became my assignment. >> pete was an nypd detective

assigned to take on the gang. >> this was all sex, money, murder, territory? >> yeah, we are in the heartof it. >> while he was investigating the gang, an informant told him details of a crime the gang members had committed. >> there was a cab driver who had been killed in the vicinity of sound view. >> so, he went to the 43rd precinct in the south bronx to see if there was any truth to the story. >> early, 1998. went upstairs, walked into the detective squad room. >> so you say what do you know about a murder? >> yeah. i want to know about a cab-driver murder in sound view or the area around sound view. >> and the response? >> they had nothing that fit that description. >> but his informant insisted the murder did happen. >> you didn't only make one trip to the 43rd precinct. >> no, two. made two. >> is there any, conceivable reason why the police department wouldn't tell you the truth? >> well, i -- i thought about that. >> reporter: he says the answer might be simple. as far as the nypd was concerned, this homicide was

solved. closed. >> the detective may have looked, only, in the open-homicide drawer and never bothered to even look to see if there was anything other than an unsolved homicide that fit that description. >> and as far as you know, that was the end of it? >> yeah, i had moved on. >> reporter: not knowing, six people had already been convicted. in the meantime, eric was stuck in prison. it wasn't until 2012, 14-years later, that he hit pay dirt and it came in the form of cell phone records. remember, the cab driver's cell phone had been stolen by whoever killed him. >> and i found hundreds of calls after his death. >> the records showed the first call was made from the victim's phone, minutes after the shooting. the numbers called traced back to relatives of two sex, money, murder gang members, named rosé rodriguez and gilbert vega. eric believed he finally had evidence showing who the real

killers were. >> it took me 16, 17, years to get those, through freedom of information. >> they were never provided to the defense? >> no. it turns out that, the police and the district attorney had all the evidence, at their disposal to solve this crime, from the beginning. >> so he wrote a letter to the u.s. attorney, proclaiming his innocence, and detailing the information he'd found out about the sex, money, murder gang. it was a hail-mary pass. in an amazing stroke of luck, eric's letter landed on this man's desk. his name? john o'malley. an investigator for the u.s. attorney in new york. days after reading eric's letter, o'malley made a personal trip to see eric in sing sing. >> immediately, john o'malley just stood up and he asked me, did you write this letter? and i said, yes. he shook my hand and he said, i -- i'm sorry. and i said, sorry for what? he says, you know, i know you're innocent. when he said that, i said, you -- you -- what are you talking about, sir? he said, listen, i know the guys

who committed this crime. >> reporter: how did o'malley know? it turns out, o'malley worked with the detective on that gang case, ten years earlier. and back then, those two gang members, jose and gilbert, actually confessed the cab-driver shooting to o'malley. >> he said, when i read this letter, everything just came back to me, from that day. i put it all together. when these guys confessed to me. >> reporter: o'malley didn't want to appear on camera but told us he also checked with the nypd after getting those confessions back in 2002. and like detective forcelli before him, o'malley was told there was no record of the crime. after getting eric's letter in 2012, o'malley addressed the court in a sworn affidavit stating that eric glisson and the others were innocent of the cab-driver shooting. armed with that kind of statement, you'd think, eric would be, literally, home free. you'd be wrong.

coming up. eric glisson isn't giving up. >> this is my wall of hope. everyone here has been unjustly convicted. and freed. >> when "dateline" continues. ats allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! all good if you printed out directions to get here today, you're in the right place. my seminars are a great tool to help young homeowners who are turning into their parents. now, remember, they're not programs. they're tv shows. you woke up early. no one cares. yes. so, i was using something called homequote explorer from progressive to easily compare home insurance rates. was i hashtagging? progressive can't help you from becoming your parents, but we can help you compare rates on home insurance with homequote explorer. guess what. the waiter doesn't need to know your name.

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i'm dara brown. here's what's happening. governor gretchen whitmer also asked restaurants to hold off on indoor dining. michigan has the highest rate of new cases in the u.s. buckingham palace says that prince harry will attend prince philip's funeral. meghan markle who is in the late stages of pregnancy, will remain home, on doctor's orders. the ceremony will take place next saturday at st. george's chapel at windsor castle. now, back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline."

i'm craig melvin. eric glisson insisted he was innocent of the murder that put him in prison. after years behind bars, he, finally, found crucial, new evidence. that, and a powerful ally in the justice system, gave eric something he had not had, in a long time. hope. back to josh mankiewicz with "a bronx tale." >> reporter: for the first time in his 18-year struggle to prove that he didn't pull a trigger, eric glisson finally had his hands on a smoking gun. an affidavit from a federal investigator, saying eric was innocent. >> he asked me, do i have an attorney? and i told him, yeah. he says, i promise you, i will call this lawyer today. >> so, i was standing in line at a bank. >> peter cross remembers that phone call. >> mr. o'malley tells, peter, i am with the u.s. attorney's office. we know your client is innocent. that was such an emotional

moment, for me. like, tears welled up in my eyes, right in front of the teller. >> i thank god, every day, for john o'malley. when i looked in that man's eyes, you know, i seen a man who has integrity. i seen a man, who -- who is honest. >> reporter: o'malley's affidavit was enough for the bronx da to reopen the case, and to get in front of a judge. but that would take time. two more months. >> this is my wall of hope. everyone here has been unjustly convicted and freed. >> reporter: on august 5th, 2012, eric's lawyer goes to court. >> this is our first appearance to try to get the judgment vacated. >> reporter: cross is joined by his assistant, charmain chester. by now, they have worked on eric's case for six years. >> i want to see him out. and i told him the last time i went up to sing sing, i said i am not visiting you here again. this is it. >> reporter: finally, cross argues his case to the judge.

>> my client's already spent 17-years-plus in jail for a crime he hasn't committed. >> reporter: but it doesn't go down like a hollywood script. prosecutors do not admit there's been a terrible mistake. >> we will be seeking an extension at the time to answer those questions. >> how much of an extension are the people seeking? >> 30 days. >> reporter: another month. cross is frustrated. >> told me they were starting their investigation in june looking into that matter. i was able to get my papers ready. it -- it seems, to me, that another couple of weeks should be enough to get a response to the motion. >> you have heard the saying that the wheels of justice grind slowly? now, you have got a front-row seat. >> we have been trying to put together facts and circumstances, surrounding this now-15-year-old trial. >> if, at any point in time, you make a determination that you are going to concede, i will advance the case. >> translation? this isn't going to end today. eric stays in prison.

but two weeks later, peter cross heads to sing sing. earlier that morning, he had gotten a call from the d.a.'s office and he has good news for eric. >> i received a call from the d.a. in the bronx telling me that they were ready to make a deal. i am going up, now, to see eric to talk to him about the conditions for his release. >> reporter: eric's used to visits from his lawyer. >> good to see you. >> reporter: and very used to keeping his own hopes on ice. >> get you out of the yard? >> yeah, i was working out running, jogging. >> so you know i wouldn't be coming up here. >> reporter: cross wants to make sure this sinks in. and so, he slowly reveals the details. >> i was very surprised today. well, i got a call today saying that we have a proposal for you. the d.a. is now prepared to give you a conditional dismissal of the indictment and vacate the

conviction. >> today? >> it's not going to be today but it'll be by the 13th, i think. >> you serious? >> you believe that? >> it hasn't set in, yet. >> i know. >> the initial shock. >> i know. >> all of the fighting that we've done, over these years. um, i don't know what to say right now. >> reporter: but unfortunately for eric, a month later, he is still behind bars. >> these people just don't want to let me go. they -- they want to continue to hold me and torture me. you know, the mental -- the mental trauma i'm going through right now because of this. i'm wondering whether, you know, they may renege on this agreement. >> reporter: but as excruciating as these hours are, eric shares, with us, something beyond that

wall of hope that's helped him wake up every morning. >> there is a bench by the water. each time i go to the barbershop, i look at that bench and wonder if i will ever be able to sit on it. that's been one of my main, you know, goals while i was in here. to sit on that bench, as a free man. >> will eric glisson ever get to sit on that bench? he is about to get his day in court, and an answer. coming up. >> we have made a decision to take this unprecedented and exceptional step. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. nal step >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. ay once daily relief extra strength you get fast, 24-hour relief in one drop. make it a pataday with the drop that's right for you. now without a prescription. everywhere. now, simparica trio simplifies protection. ticks and fleas? see ya! heartworm disease? no way! simparica trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection.

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is only a few-hundred yards from the prison. but to eric, it might as well be in china. >> how many times you look at that bench? >> every day. >> thinking, i'll be on there one day. >> i want to see what it looks like from that bench to the window. because all i know what it looks like, from the window to the bench. >> finally, on october 22nd, 2012, four months after a federal investigator vouched for eric's innocence, his day in court has come. eric's been transferred from sing sing, and is waiting in a holding cell in the bronx county courthouse. it's also been a long, painful road for lawyer peter cross. >> this is the one case that kept me up at night, for six

years. because i knew we had to find really, like, the one-armed man to get him out of jail. >> reporter: eric walks into the courtroom. >> number four and five on the calendar. >> standing next to him is cathy watkins. the only woman of the bronx six. like eric, she was tried, only, for the cab-driver's murder. and in 1997, they went on trial, together. eric says he doesn't know her now, and didn't know her then. >> when trial started, the a officers was bringing us up to the court. and one of the officers says this is watkins. and i said, yeah, cathy watkins? and she said, yeah, who are you? i said eric glisson. how are you involved in this? she says, i don't know. how are you involved? what's going on? and he both didn't know. we was confused. >> reporter: now, 18 years later, assistant district attorney, nicole carrie, says her office believes there may

have been an injustice but only agrees to release glisson and watkins if they wear moning toer bracelets as the d.a.'s office continues to investigate. >> we have made a decision to take this unprecedented, as you know, judge and exceptional step that we are going to consent to the vacating of these defendants and the condition being those defendants do wear those electronic-monitoring braceletings. >> reporter: all that's left now is for the judge to make it official. >> each defendant is released on their own recognizance. >> reporter: eric's friends and family, and the news media are waiting for him outside. and now, for the first time in nearly-two decades, eric glisson

is about to take his first steps as a free man. >> eric, what's your emotion right now? >> this is a major, pivotal point my life. and i worked hard. i persevered. and with effort and determination, i'm standing here before you. >> reporter: now, it's his co-defendant, cathy watkins' turn. also, wrongfully convicted. >> 17 years? >> almost 18 years. >> reporter: 29 years old when she went away, she was freed at 46. >> didn't do it. >> i didn't do it. 100% innocent and this is what our judicial system did to me. innocent, all the way. >> reporter: by january, 2013, the convictions for the rest of the bronx six were overturned. for, both, the cab-driver murder

and fedex executive, denise raymond. this is carlos perez, 25 when he was locked up. finally, a free man, at 44. >> i even wrote the president. talking about 1995. it was like george clinton, bush, i don't know who it was. but nobody listened. >> devon ayers. he was 19 when he was convicted. >> i spent all of my 20s and most of my 30s there. so i'm just trying to get on with life, as i know it as today. >> reporter: and michael cosme. remember him? he was the only one videotaped by police. >> i only have one thing to say, though. i'm innocent. i didn't do it. i wasn't there. >> reporter: this is michael, 18-years later. >> i'm free, man. >> finally, someone believed him. and while, we now know those two gang members confessed to the cab driver's murder, fedex executive denise raymond's killer or killers have never been brought to justice.

we wanted to speak to someone from the nypd or the bronx district attorney's always. but, both declined comment, citing the multiple-civil suits they faced as the bronx six sought millions in damages against the city. and those two detectives, donnelley and aiello, portrayed as supersleuths back in 1995, are now, both, retired. and they didn't have anything to say to us. but, in court filings, attorneys for the city of new york denied that either detective threatened witnesses or falsified statements. and yet, both, new york city and state would, ultimately, agree to pay each of the bronx six millions of dollars in damages. but for eric, the immediate challenge was starting a new life. one, full of amazing discoveries. >> hello? >> no, no, no, upside -- it's upside down. >> huh? >> coming up.

eric glisson's first night of freedom in almost-20 years. >> wow. >> when "dateline" continues. n s it's like a flavor festival on an almond. zest fest. -zest fest. blue diamond almonds, super flavor all on a superfood. nexgard is the flea and tick protection that's #1 with vets. it even prevents the infection that causes lyme disease. your vet trusts nexgard for her patients and her own dog. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. ask your vet about nexgard. feel the cool rush of claritin cool mint chewables. powerful 24-hour, non-drowsy, allergy relief plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs.

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it's october 22nd, 2012. after living in a prison cell for 18 years, eric glisson is,

finally, a free man. and we are by his side, as he experiences all of it. >> oh! i seen this in the magazine. he's tap dancing. >> reporter: eric's first, few hours of freedom are part exhilaration. >> hello? >> reporter: part, discovery. >> hello? >> reporter: he's never actually used a cellphone. >> yeah. where is cynthia? hello? >> you got it upside down, eric. >> hello? >> no, no, no. upside -- it's upside down. >> huh? >> like this. >> oh, hello? huh? can -- can you hear me now? like, the commercial? >> reporter: his first meal? lambchops.

>> it's, like, jumping up out of a coffin and walking. you know, it's like being read your last rites, and all of a sudden, a miracle happens. and you are back out, in society, and you wondering, you know, will they accept you? yeah. you see? >> reporter: on his first night of freedom, eric's lawyer treats him to a hotel room. >> i got a key that's a -- a -- a plastic card. wow. wow. i used to sleep on a metal frame. and now, i'm on a comfortable bed. >> reporter: but the real joy for eric is reuniting with his daughter, cynthia. >> ready, set, go. >> reporter: she was just a week old when he was arrested.

>> don't get too excited. you cheated. you cheated. >> shh. don't tell nobody. >> reporter: and that degree he started working on behind bars? eric started taking classes, again, two days after his release. >> eric glisson. >> reporter: and finally, received that long-awaited diploma from mercy college. a fully-exonerated eric glisson became a businessman. an entrepreneur. >> i'm basically doing everything, single-handedly. all of the reconstruction of the ceiling. there's going to be four tables. >> reporter: on the one-year anniversary of his release, eric opened a fresh-juice business, that he built, himself, named fresh take. >> afternoon, sir, how are you doing? >> nice place you have here. >> thanks.

>> where'd you get fresh take? >> well, i knew that i had -- i had a fresh take on life. i'm free, now. i'm no longer the victim. i'm the victor. i won. >> you seem to have come through this, remarkably free of bitterness and anger. or you are hiding it, very well. >> well, i don't have any animosity against anybody. at this point. except, the people who grow strawberries and raise the prices because the strawberries, the primary thing. >> because that's a crime. >> yeah, it is a crime. i mean -- >> reporter: eric had a business partner. someone, he met while he was still locked up. >> he's become my brother. >> it was charmain chester, his lawyer's assistant. >> i call him my little brother and i am the annoying, older sister. >> they opened their store in late 2013. >> pivotal point in my life. it -- it taught -- it gave me a lot of tools. >> reporter: on this day, we had a little surprise for him. he hadn't seen sister joanna chan since he was released.

the woman, who put eric on a quest for freedom, all those years ago. >> oh, my god. oh, my god! oh, my gosh. grandma. grandma. >> congratulations. >> thank you, grandma. thank you. oh, my god. they told me you were in china. >> i was. >> reporter: and there was one, last thing we wanted to do with eric. remember that bench eric could see from inside sing sing? we took him back there. and we watched him, finally, make good on that promise to himself. to get that other view of the

prison. this time, from the outside. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm ♪♪ i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." we used to have a debate about who loved each other more. i love you more. no, i love you more. and sometimes i even go to sleep and i still say it, like mom, i love you more. that's the kind of stuff a kid never forgets. >> she was the single mom who kept him safe. she was also keeping a secret. >> she was really working for the cia? >> that's my understanding, yes. >> an undercover job handling classified documents, but the real intrigue started when she went missing. >> i kme