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tv   Dateline  MSNBC  July 11, 2021 2:00am-3:00am PDT

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person. >> with the vacation home the mueller once love long sold, they are making new memories as a family, far from colorado. and in those magnificent rockies, seasons change. waters rise and fall. some believe the secrets of cottonwood creek will remain a mystery, forever. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> this, the state line >> we, the jury, find the defendant guilty. >> i actually think they gave the wrong verdict >> you feel so wrong, and helpless >> despair, to hope. darkness, to light. a fight for freedom. >> what happened to this
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teenager [inaudible]
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>> we would talk, here and there she was a really nice person. >> and then something good ann 's two daughters, katie and wendy escaped. but, that left ann and little thomas, just three years old unaccounted for, somewhere upstairs >> we put the fire out, and then started to check the bedroom for occupants >> nothing good after that. upstairs, firemen found little thomas, on the floor, beneath the window, died of smoke inhalation. the chief felt his way through debris, lingering smoke and ruin. >> a crawled over to the bunk bed, that is where we found a victim, in the bunk bed. that person was secured in the
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bunk bed. both hands and legs were secured. >> tied up? >> yes, tied up. >> now, that put a different complexion on things. this was not just a fire. >> so, what did that tell you? >> right there, this keys up -- this is a crime scene. we basically extinguish the fire, left everything as is. >> and then the forensic investigator at the time took over. >> the one thing that kind of jumped out at me that was out of place, there was a five gallon bucket sitting right in the middle of the living room floor, with an empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. >> an empty bottle? >> it did not look like it belonged there. >> upstairs, scattered near ann 's body, they found three aerosol cans. probably also accelerants. all of that, liquid killing for murder. >> it was a blood of melted plastic, consisting with a smoke detector, melted on the
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floor. and then there was a nine volt battery, it looked like it would go to a smoke detector. >> so somebody had taken it out of the smoke detector? >> that's what it appeared to be, someone had moved it. >> so whom? all the more shocking, in a town where murder is exceedingly rare, said detective phil giles. >> it's not a common currency, this style of homicide. >> how did it hit you, the numbers in the department? >> well, you have a victim, you also have a child. the child, of course, that always touches you in a different way -- excuse me -- because it was a three year old child. >> yes. these things do touch you personally, don't they? >> outside, the curious on looker's were a beat behind. all we knew was that an charles and her little boy were no more. >> it is just devastating. new, i was in shock. especially about that little boy. and i still did not know what had happened, really. >> it was not long, though.
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watching the silence sea of faces streaming in and out of that little house, a person could not help but put two and two together. >> it was very scary. i think the whole neighborhood was scared. >> right there, in that very neighborhood, police would find their suspects. >> coming up. >> they had recovered a knife. >> quick work from investigators. two suspects, two confessions. >> it was supposed to be routine. we go in, we find her purse, we take her money and then we leave. >> where they telling the truth? when dateline continues. dateline continues.
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at carvana, we treat every customer plus,like we woulds beef fltreat our own moms,s. with care and respect. to us, the little things are the big things. which is why we do everything in our power to make buying a car an unforgettable experience. happy birthday. thank you. we treat every customer like we would treat our own moms. because that's what they deserve. >> at first, it was just a
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rumor that spread around little crozet, virginia in 2003. pretty soon, everyone knew it was true. it was not any ordinary fire that robert davis witnessed out there >> going out to the grocery store, or the gas stations, stuff like that. >> it was clear there was a murder? >> yes, sir. >> and charles and her three-year-old thomas were dead. horribly. and the forensic man got a better look at it than anybody. >> this was probably one of the more horrendous cases i had worked in my career. >> larry could not give investigators much to go on. a few small footprints in the snow out back.
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but forget dna. and the possibility of finding that was flushed away by fire hoses. >> then i got word from the medical examiners office, they had recovered a knife that was sticking in a woman's back >> what did you think when you heard that? >> i went back to my photographs sure enough, in the middle of the back was the knife. >> so someone stabbed her, but who? >> firefighters tipped police that a brother sister duo across the street, rocky and jessica fugett had been watching the fire, claimed to know the victims. robert davis and his friend kevin marsh knew them as aggressive troublemakers in high school >> people were afraid of them. they come through the hallway, people would just move out of the way, try not to be around them. >> kevin's friend, a shy and awkward robert seemed to be a favorite target >> the used to pick on him all the time. they call them retarded, fat, ugly, stupid. >> robert said he tried to ignore it, but they knew his
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vulnerabilities. >> i tried to keep my distance when i could, and stay wherever we were, in close proximity to each other >> safer that way, said robert. at any case, the detectives paid a visit to the fugett's house, where they learned enough to march the pair down to police headquarters for questioning. "rocky" admitted he was there, to rob the place >> i was in the house, i started downstairs, jessica was there, i was supposed to just watch. >> detective phil giles interviewed jessica. >> she eventually acknowledged that, she tried to say it was somebody else first, and then at some point, she put herself there >> it was supposed to be routine, we go in, we find her purse, we take her money, and then we leave that was all that was supposed to happen. >> then, rocky went way off script, said jessica. tied her to a bed with duct
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tape, and turned it into murder. >> broke in. >> okay >> who cut ann's throat? >> rocky. >> who stabbed her in the back? >> rocky. >> okay. >> jessica told detective giles, the murder weapons were a kitchen knife and a metal rod for bludgeoning, which they stashed in a hole outside of her house >> they said they could not find it without, earth we drove her out there, and we walked the entire path until we got to the whole. she said, that is it right there. lo and behold, we had some evidence folks with, us and those items where there >> was that like? >> i mean, only those involved would know these details, where the instruments were used to kill someone. >> so that was that they had their story and their corporate. except, there was one more very significant detail, offered up by both jessica and rocky. something the towns rumor mill failed to catch. by the time kevin and robert went out for the evening, a couple of days later --
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>> we went bowling. we went out to eat, just had a grand old time. >> but that time, it was after midnight. time to go home, to bed. >> sitting in the parking lot, talking, just laughing. and all of the sudden, multiple police cars pulled up. they get out, guns drawn. they get out the vehicle first, they get me walking backwards, with my hands up. >> then, through all of the terror and confusion, it dawned on kevin marsh. it was not him they had come for. >> so then i see them getting robert out, kicking him down, knocking him to the ground, ramming his face into the asphalt, putting him in handcuffs. >> the story that the fugett's told the police? they had accomplices when they murdered ann charles. one of them was robert davis. >> coming up -- >> i was scared, i was shook. >> now it will be robert
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davis's turn in the interrogation room >> why don't you tell me about what happened last night? >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues [swords clashing] - had enough? - no... arthritis. here. new aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. >> by all accounts, including
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his own, robert davis was a mother's boy, because of his childlike ways, perhaps for he's learning disability, maybe? >> he is easy to play, he is like me, he has a kind heart, he is gullible. >> robert seemed to need his mother sandy to protect them from the big bad world, while he took care of her when she was attacked by a chronic illness. and the cajun for which, tends to slur her speech. >> he's a teddy bear, he always wanted to grow up and be in
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health care, a nurse like, i was. >> robert did get into trouble once over a petty fast. he's learning disabilities landed him in a special school for several years. but the good thing? a family acquaintance was a school resource police officer. his name was randy sneed. he knew his mother for years. robert looked up to randy, trusted him. so an officer snead, now a detective with the albemarle county police came looking for him after the fire, sandy told him, without hesitation where he could find her son. >> i said is robert in trouble? >> he said he was in serious trouble. >> but sandy had no idea just how serious. or, what was about to happen in that parking lot, where robert was hanging out with his friend. >> guns pointed at you, you are wondering what is going on. i was scared, i was shaken. >> why robert? because a few good siblings told police van accomplices from their high school, and he
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was one of them. another one was pulled in that same night interviewed by detective giles and his partner. >> at the end of the interview, he was looked at each other. this kid has no idea what we are talking about, he was clueless to what we were asking him. >> so the fugett's lied when they had fingered him, he was eventually released. but robert? he had a far different experience in the interview room. and a different detective. >> they were sitting across from you, it was randy snead? >> i knew him, i knew him since i was 12 or 13. so, i was on a first name basis with him >> kind of a friend? >> yes, because i had known him for so long. >> why don't you tell me, robert took place that night? you tell me your story of what happened... >> i was at my house, man >> at first, robert swore that he was innocent. but, six hours later, he had confessed to murder. >> you stabbed her, didn't you? >> one, one or two times.
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>> everything you've told me is true, correct? >> true. >> everything that you have done, and been part of it is true, correct? >> true. >> later that day, officer snead allowed robert to call his mother. >> i said robert, what did you say? >> he said, since they wanted to hear that, i told them, fine. >> what did it feel like in here, when you heard that from your son? >> i felt like i was going to have a heart attack and die. >> around the neighborhood, people who had known robert for years could not believe it. >> he was always polite, amicable and, but i knew robert was a follower. and, i still could not believe that robert was involved. >> and yet, the boys said it himself. >> why would he confessed to something he did not do? >> roberts mother could not afford an attorney, so the state appointed one for him. steve rosenfield.
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>> what was your impression when you first met him? >> robert was scared to death from the first meeting, and forever. >> and then, robert told attorney rosenfield just about what you would expect an accused murderer might say. he did not do it. he did not stab anybody. he was not even there. he only confessed, he said, because he was so scared. >> if you push hard enough to find out, whether or not he was actually telling you the truth? >> i take with the client tells me. i do an independent evaluation, based on what i learned. >> so, he watched the tape of robert confession, and it did not look right to him. besides -- >> there was no physical evidence at the crime scene to tie robert to the crime >> but just as intriguing, was this question. >> why would rocky and jessica include a kid like robert? >> the fugett siblings, as the kids at school and the neighborhood knew, bullied
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robert mercilessly. he was terrified of them. surely, he would not help them murder a neighbor? yet, rocky fugett was going to tell the court just that. >> his lawyer had advised me that rocky wanted to get a favorable sentencing, and was going to be testifying against robert. >> so, big problems rosenfield new from long experience that any jury hearing rocky's testimony at roberts confession would certainly convict. robert would probably get a life sentence with no parole. roberts only chance of ever getting out of prison was to agree to something called an alfred plea. >> when we told robert that if you plead guilty under on alfred plea, you admit that there is sufficient evidence to prove your guilt, but you do not admit that you are guilty. >> the man accepting a 23 year prison sentence. it also money never filed an appeal. >> 37 years of practice, it is the hardest decision that i
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have made, to strongly recommend a client to take a plea for something he did not do. >> but at least it was not life. u.s. sentenced to 20, and would be free in his early forties. >> i was standing in front of that judge, saying i was -- a crime. and i was praying that one day, hopefully, the truth will come out that i was not there. >> the fugett's avoided the death penalty, but they got what amounted to life without parole. and steve rosenfield faithfully drove out to meet robert in prison, knowing the only way to get him out was to persuade the virginia governor to issue a pardon. fat chance of that. >> it's a pretty big long shot, of getting him out before the 23 years from which he was sentenced. >> but then, two years after robert went to prison, rosenfield opened the mail and found a letter from, of all
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people, rocky fugett. >> dear mr. rosenfield, i have some information about robert that i think could be awfully beneficial. you are welcome to come visit me. >> snail mail. rest assured, steve rosenfield 's drive to the prison was much quicker. >> coming up. >> this is one of the most intense interrogations i have ever seen. >> that interrogation would soon be the key to the case. >> i can't lie about the evidence. >> he was lying about lies. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues you ever think about the storage operation a place like this must rely on? -no. they just sell candles, and they're making overhead? you know what kind of fish those are? -no. -eh, don't be coy. [ laughs ] [ sniffs, clears throat ] koi fish. it can be overwhelming. think a second. have we seen this shirt before? progressive can't save you from becoming your parents. but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. but you know what? i'm still gonna get it.
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i'm dara. brian here's what's happening. a senior administration official tells nbc news that fbi agents that will arrive in haiti later today. they will assist in the the investigation of the killing of the country's president. more than 20 suspects including two american citizens have already been arrested. and ashley bertie is a 2021
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wimbledon women's champion. the 25-year-old defeated carolina preschooler in three sets, to win her second grand slam title. now back to dateline. >> attorney steve rosenfield was in for a big surprise when he arrived at rocky the fugett prison. >> it was shocking. it >> is certainly. was rocky wanted to sign a sworn affidavit scene -- was innocent. >> had nothing to do with the murders. >> that was pretty powerful for him to do that considering his circumstances. nothing to gain. >> but, rocky's admission wasn't enough to undo roberts confession. and then, seven years under roberts prison sentence, rosenfield answered a phone call. and there she was -- laura the, director of the
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center of wrongful conviction at northwestern's university school of law. she's a leading expert in false confessions by young people. she heard about roberts case and offered to help. and help us understand what happened to robert. as we watched in the interrogation unfold. --
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>> when you've got somebody interrogation room who offers to take a polygraph. that's a strong sign of innocence that should not be disregarded >> the states -- upped the ante. >> i was nowhere near that house. >> they have evidence, he says. >> we know you were in the house. we've got evidence that you are in the house. >> they don't, by the way, have any evidence of that. even though it is legal for policed ally in an interrogation. >> i want to see this evidence. >> you will. >> just after 3 am, robert asked for his medicine. he has strep throat, remember. he's also asthmatic. >> i need to take my third dose. i have not taken. >> i will give you the penicillin's once we get going, okay? >> you work with me and i'll work with you. >> robert's been a week for nearly 20 hours. >> i am tired. i want to go. i want to call my mom. tell her that i love her.
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i'm sorry for all the peanut ever put her through. i had nothing -- i had nothing to do with this. >> more than a dozen times he says he's tired and needs sleep. several times he tries to sleep on the cold floor. at 5:17 am, for no explain reason, they attach shackles to roberts angles. >> come on, man. that's too tight for me. >> more than four hours into the interrogation, randy snead tells robert he has more bad news. overwhelming evidence of robert's guilt. >> i don't need it. i've got evidence out the -- dust is made up of mostly human dead skin. that can be picked. up dna. i'm going to keep you from worse, robert. if you don't talk to me it could be worse. >> i wasn't there. >> robert, you were. you were there. the evidence shows you where there. i can't lie about the evidence. >> not only was that false. there was no dna found in this
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case. but the officer then goes on to say, i can't lie to you about this, robert. so in fact, he's lying about lying. >> officer snead tells robert he's faces what snead calls the ultimate punishment. he also says, falsely, that he has been talking to robert's mother on the phone. >> i told your mom that i would sit here and try to keep you from the most ultimate punishment you can get. and i'm trying to do that. and you're not helping me to help you. i can't do no more. >> what's going on in there? >> there you see a police officer suggesting to rubber that he's going to face death. you also see the officer very cleverly using roberts relationship with his mother. >> and that's when roberts resolved begins to weaken. >> what can i say that i did this to get me out of? this >> just before 7 am, five hours in, robert begins to bargain. >> how many years is it gonna be, if i was just on the porch? >> how many years is --
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will it be if you were just on the porch? robert -- >> when will i go home? when will i go home today? lego home now? >> i can't promise you. look, when we work with me and i'll do what i can to make sure you your mom and me can get your home. >> then hoping it might get him home to his mother, robert offers a story he hopes will satisfy snead. >> i never went upstairs. i stood right there at the door. and once i heard something -- i got scared, i freaked and i ran... >> robert, sitting here trying to tell me and hide from me acts that took place is ridiculous. >> then snead lies to rubber again. this time about one of the murder weapons. >> there's an item that you touched. all right? that had left some particles on it. that did some damage to somebody... what was that objects robert? >> it think it was the. that >> it was the? that >> a baseball bat.
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>> all right. some type of -- >> clothing device. >> snead knows the weapon was really a metal rod. >> i hit her two times. because they said if it was -- if i didn't do it i would be -- >> wait a minute, i've got somebody else clipping her, robert. i've got someone else doing the act. >> robert has it wrong. >> hit her in the head with this mackie thing. >> jessica already confessed that rocky club ann charles. >> you did another act. you know what's actors. and we know -- that's the thing that has it. as yours. >> what would that be? >> i'm not gonna tell you. >> so, again, robert starts guessing. >> i didn't report nobody. >> no. no. i'm not saying. that >> is that we are trying -- >> no. >> i didn't kill the baby. >> no, i'm not saying that. i'm >> not saying that you raped anybody. >> i didn't cut nobody. >> i did is it nobody. i >> did issue you say you shot nobody... >> robert, island
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comes straight out and tell you -- >> what i'm getting at you, step that. when >> i slapped her. >> you stepped her, didn't you? >> one or two times. >> then snead asked robert wear. >> whereabouts on the body? >> it was in the middle. >> and again, snead correction. >> you had a knife in your hand. all right? and prior to stabbing -- stabbing her in the back. all right? you cut her. >> it was essentially the police is confession. not roberts. >> do you think by me telling you this, i get to go home tonight? >> today. i doubt. it >> well, then why am i lying about all this, just so i can go home? >> you're not lying. >> i am lying to you. i am lying to you forefront -- to your face. i am lying to you. just so i can go home >> which is exactly what juveniles who falsely canvas say. is there motivating factor for confessing. >> but by atm, six hours after the interrogation began, randy
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snead has his convection. >> what you said tonight -- to up to this morning to me. is that true and accurate statement? >> yes. >> okay. >> when rosenfield delivered a clemency petition to virginia governor bob mcdonnell, -- had volumes of evidence is support. then, as they waited for an answer -- >> out of nowhere jessica sent aid to mr. rosenfield lesser. she admitted to the throat cutting, savings to the back and absolutely adamant that robert had nothing to do with it, whatsoever. >> so, jessica's affidavit was sent off to the governor, to. everybody waited. and waited. and then, on the governor's very last day in office, more than nine years into robert sentence. a decision. denied. rosenfield, devastated, drove
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to the president to tell robert. >> i cried. it's about the most painful part of this process. >> roberts only door to freedom, slammed shut. the half a world away, someone else was watching robert's case. could his opinion make a difference? >> coming up -- the police detective in roberts corner. when "dateline" continues. ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups.
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ugh, these balls are moist. or is that the damp weight of self-awareness you now hold in your hand? yeah-h-h. (laugh) keep your downstairs dry with gold bond body powder. >> this is the prison, in
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virginia. robert davis's home, this and other places like this, for something like, 40% of his life. every moment of those years, dictated by one, long night with officer randi snead, at the end of it, roberts edwards he could not take back >> you stabbed that woman >> i stabbed her >> you stabbed, or didn't? you >> won, one or two times. >> most people would, say i would never, ever in 1 million years confess. >> or how could he be so stupid, and not know, you know? like, i was young. naive. i was scared. >> robert is of course, not alone. there are people like him in
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situations just like his, in jails all around the country, who confessed as teenagers to primes that they maybe did not commit. in fact, to prevent that very thing, police departments in many other countries banned or dispensed years ago, with interrogation techniques still used in america. >> had the murder happened elsewhere, for example, here in the united kingdom, it is probable that robert still would be brought in for questioning. he was after all, named as a suspect by others in the case. but the chances that he would have been charged or interviewed for very long? close to is gyro >> the interview, as it is on the recording would not be legal in the uk. but evidence would not be admitted in a trial. >> this is andy griffith, 30 years as a detective in the uk's police department, recognized for is investigative interviews. when griffiths was a rookie, british interrogation rules were much like they are in the
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u.s.. but they are not anymore. >> what happened to precipitate these changes in the united kingdom? >> change really came about through problems. >> like a national scandal after a series of high-profile false confessions, including an arson murder case eerily similar to robert davis's. >> the government of the day instigated a whole review of the way that prisoners were dealt with in custody. >> the result? a complete overhaul of the system. every officer in the uk retrained, to rigorous standards that applied in every region of the country. strict rules were put in place for suspect interviews, all interviews and serious cases, video recording. >> there are two cameras out there. one gives a head and shoulders shot of the interviewee, the idea behind that is that if this interview was shown in court, it gives a clear picture of you. the other is a global view of the room. everyone who is in the room is
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shown in the picture. it is about showing exactly what happened. >> and this was key. no more lying. in america, it is legal for cops july two suspects. not here. >> for example, could you go into this interview and say, i had a certain specific piece of evidence that tells me you are guilty, if you don't have that evidence? >> no, absolutely not. >> can you talk to a suspect for as long as you want to? >> only for two hours at a time can we recognize breaks, mealtimes, prayer times and nighttime. >> and some are a little challenged, like robert. >> they are entitled with the law to what is called an appropriate -- that might be a parent or a social worker. they are entitled to that, as well as their legal representative. >> but when the interrogation rules were changed? veteran officers were not happy. they resisted. detective trevor remembers it well. >> people thought this was a draconian piece of legislation
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that would prevent us from other detecting anything ever again >> you would never solve a crime anymore? >> we would never solve a crime anymore it would tie our hands. >> detection rates in respect to homicide in the uk are very high. they are up in the 90% mark. >> and, along the way, said the detective, confessions of hallmark case servings in the u.s. became much less important here in britain. >> we would not prosecute someone solely on a confession. so somebody did make a confession, we would try to corroborate what they say >> but isn't a confession the strongest evidence you can get? >> not always. >> what is wrong with it? >> what confessions tended to do, if they shape a
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confirmation bias, people look for supporting evidence just to support what is being said, it because the confession exists. >> so we asked the detective to watch with us, robert davis's interrogation. >> and >> what this guy's problem was, he was arrested last what they are saying is we gospel believe the people who are arrested first, so you just need to confirm what we know. and that's clearly not a good approach to investigating. >> you obviously think that i'm lying, i swear to you that i'm not. i'm ready to go to sleep. so take me, because i did not do nothing. >> the time of day of the interview, at the length of the interview, the use of -- halfway through the interview, the clear requests for medication, sleep at various points in the interview, they are all red flags >> when you look at the whole thing as you did, you sat back and thought afterwards -- >> the lifeline of any account is reliability. and the way that this is done, is you can't vouch for reliability >> we had asked for
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its opinion, and he gave it to us. roberts confession was not believable. what we did not expect was what happened a few months later, when this british detective spoke to steve rosenfield, and offered to write to virginia's governor, adding his support to robert davis's clemency petition. the petition, now waiting on the desk of a new governor. >> coming up -- >> i believe that the confession is an unreliable confession. >> strong words from the chief of police. and from the governor's office. the wait begins, when "dateline" continues. ateline" continues namaste... ...surprise parties. aww, you guys. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... ...for 3!... ...so i can du more of the things i love. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on-treatment for specific types
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convicted on a false confession. advocates were adamant that's what happened to robert davis. and you found hope. the new governor was taking office. what he considered the case or was the young man so many believed innocent, destined to spend another decade in jail? here's keith morrison with the conclusion of "the interrogation". >> i've never been emotional in a presentation as i feel in this case, because i've grown very close with robert. >> four years, steve rosenfield made his case for robert at legal conferences, to, anybody who would listen. >> robert remain rightly where he was in prison.
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during the same days we asked repeatedly for an interview with randy snead, the officer who took roberts confession. but as close as we got was albemarle county police chief steve sellers, since retired. he wasn't in office when snead was detective. but -- >> you talk to him. what was your oppression of? him >> i think he acted in best interest. i don't think there is a bit of malice in his actions. i think he had a very strong relationship with robert davis. >> but this was interesting. chief sellers did not support snead's interrogation. not at all. >> i will say this, i believe that the confession is an unreliable confession. >> what's more, the chief updated police methods when he took over. to help prevent the kind of interrogation that ended up in roberts confession. >> as you look at it, or things
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that would not be done? >> using terms like the ultimate punishment. the length of the interview. those kinds of things would be clearly not done today. >> cold comfort for robert davis. who, by 2014, had been in prison going on 11 years. a decade lost. unless -- there is a new governor. terry mcauliffe, in office. now so rosenfield renewed his appeal for clemency. though he was well aware that if tiny percentage of such positions are ever granted. and as month after month went by, it was unclear what if anything was happening. >> what's disturbing about the clemency process is that it's secretive. >> what rosenfield did it know is that this time, it was different. the governor, in fact, ordered a new investigation. and just before christmas, 2015, we were there when the call came from the governor's office. >> hey, carlos.
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it. steve >> there it was. finally. the words he'd been hoping to hear, year after year after year. robert davis was about to be set free. >> i'm elated. just in time for the holidays. today is robert's mother's birthday. >>,. . ,. -- dinner i'm going up to pick robert up. >> oh my god! i think this will be the last time ever see this person. >> at last, the final drive to roberts prison with the news that both had dreamed up for all those years. >> hey, robert. >> hello, hello. >>. . . . --
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>> it's you? it's you? it's my boy. he's home. >> how does it feel? >> it feels great, man. >> a few weeks later we came to see robert here at his new apartment in charlottesville, virginia. his very own apartment. in which he tells us there is no room for bitterness.
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there's too much to do. >> not bad. >> yeah, yeah. >> how does it feel? >> man, it feels great. i just haven't stop smiling since i come home. [laughs] >> i can tell. would you planning to do with your life now? >> get a job and thrive. about this opportunity that i don't want to squander. you know? that's a nice looking -- >> he's got a job. working in a neighborhood deli. and he lives under the protective eye of the man who never stopped trying to prove his innocence. and who hasn't stopped yet. roberts pardon was conditional. meaning, he has a parole officer, an ankle bracelet, and still a record. >> this governor expressed to me that the door was open for a reconsideration toward an absolute pardon. which would erase, expunge his conviction. >> and on december 16th, 2016,
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governor mcauliffe did just that. granting robert davis a full pardon. just one month later, roberts mother sandy died in a car crash. she had said her greatest joy was seeing her son exonerated. it would take the state two years. but virginia lawmakers eroded davis nearly $600,000 in compensation for his wrongful conviction. laura believes that her there are untold others now languishing in american brothers prisons. he confessed under duress to something they didn't do. >> filet these stories are beginning to make headlines. now we see, eyes are beginning to open. questions are beginning to be asked around the country. and that is what happened in robert davis this case. >> one night of your life made a hell of a difference. >> yeah, yeah. >> you ever run into randy snead? >> i probably just keep walking. because --
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i don't really have nothing to say to him. except for, i told you so. i told you that i was innocent. >> so, he was. so he is. >> that's all for this episode of. elaine i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. atching. >> breaking on msnbc. the new space race is on, and history is supposed to be made. >> my mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality. for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren. for everyone. >> billionaire daredevil richard grandson is expecting to soar into space later today, we will bring you the breaking news we just learned that impacts the launch. >> a showdown over voting

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