>> hello, i'm andrea canning and this is dateline >> i literally got down on m knees last night

and i pray to god. i say, you know, i don't wan to live. >> it was a crime that engulfe the city, a young touris murdered he was stabbed trying to protect his mother >> we had to get everyone. >> seven teams convicted one says he's innocent >> you don't have to believe me look at the facts in this case >> now we are doing just tha -- tracking down witnesses. >> he was shaking. >> he started crying >> revisiting evidence - >> the most emotional thing wa reading the letter >> is he telling the truth or lying to win his freedom? we are about to find out >> this is a perry mason moment >> right, she's a surprise t everyone >> hello, and welcome to dateline in the late 19 80s, robberies,

muggings, and even murders wer a sad reality of life in new york city. then, in 1990, a tourist was stabbed while trying to protec his family the public demanded action and then got it. police made arrests and pu suspects behind bars but one of the man convicted said he wasn't there was an innocent man in jail or was justice served here's lester holt with tippin point. >> in this city -- and in this story that transformed -- >> killed trying to defend his family - >> what is the truth live? does it live in what was sai in this police station >> - >> or what was seen in thi subway platform? >> clearly, she sees one perso that she recognizes. >> does it live in what ways argued in this courtroom -- or is the truth locked up in this prison.

>> this is my cry for justice. you will hear a judge decide where the truth prevails >> times square, bustling with tourists, vibrant and safe except, it wasn't always lik this new york was in turmoil. crime was out of control and then came a moment new yorker said enough is enough, murder of a young tourist on a manhattan subway platform just a few blocks from where i' standing it's a murder that would hav consequences for the city, and one man for the next quarter century. >> it was labor day weekend, 1990 a sunday - the u.s. open tennis tournamen was in full swing. thousands of tourists had come to new york to see it. among them was brian watkins, college student and a tennis player from utah, who is the are along with his family. >> - that's why they were here. >> journalism professor an

writer bill hughes has followe the story for years. >> the tennis game was delayed that day so they were out a bit later than they expected >> as the watkins family heade out to dinner about 9:30 pm, hugh said, they made a fateful decision >> they could have took the cab, but they got in the subway >> that's when everything went south -- >> as bryan and his family headed into the seventh avenue subway station, a train pulled and unloading dozens o teenagers, all headed to a nearby dance club. >> it's mayhem it's kids all over and so next to the subwa station a small group of 6 to congregates near the subwa station and on the sidewalk. >> this particular group doesn't have the money for the cover charge >> right one guy said, we're going to grab your wallet >> - where bryan and his family wer waiting on the platform fo their train. >> they spot the walk-in's family standing right here and then, bam, they come out screaming and hollering. mr. watkins is grabbed, knocke to the ground and punched, h

slashed with a box cutter an his wallet is torn out of hi pockets. mrs. watkins is dragged from behind and someone - kicks are in the face. somebody else, we got, it let' go >> as a group took off, bria watkins ran after them one of the attackers, gary morales, had a knife >> - >> right, if you are brian, i' laureles like this. >> he swings >> brian was stabbed and soo collapsed. >> - seventh avenue >> within minutes, the 9-1-1 call starte coming in. ryan's mother ran to a payphon frantically pleading for help. >> they stabbed him in the heart -- >> is he awake >> no, he's not, he' unconscious. >> brian walk and died on th way to the hospital. he was just 22 years old >> - targets of young killers - >> a tourist was - >> bryan watkins was - >> how would you describe th media reaction to this murder? >> almost inducing a wave of

panic. >> it is the terror of life in new york city. no one is safe from random violence >> new york in 1990 was a city under siege, the worst year of crime the city's history >> i dress for the mongers >> we have flat shoe so i ca run. >> and most terrifying was underground. >> - subway stations -- >> at the time, the ma responsible for policing the transit system was bill bratton. >> it was a terrifying time, there is no denying that crime was out of control >> brandon is widely recognize as one of the nation's top cop she's run the police departments of america's two largest cities, including tw tours as new york city's polic commissioner >> but just to put it in perspective, the murders o 1990, compare that to othe years. >> there is no comparison. 1990 - 2243

last year, 333 >> brian watkins - >> but it was the 1585th homicide of that here, brian watkins murder, that the polic commissioner says caus everyone to pay attention >> i'm dam angry, of course i am. >> beginning with then mayor david incas >> actually, the headline, around that time - dave, do something meaning dave, do something about the horrific - and n tks stabbing was an accelerant that was added t that whole field >> many of you got that call did you know this was going to be a big one there's going to be a lot of eyes, a lot of press on this one? >> and also the nature of th attack - the wolf pack. >> wolf pack, it was the nam the media had recently given t another group of five teenager who just the year before where arrested for brutally attackin a jogger in central park brad and says law enforcemen had a strategy in dealing with the so-called wolf packs >> he had to get every one o

them you had to send out a messag that the importance of not jus arresting one or two, but to give all of them >> and that's exactly what police were doing in the watkins case within 24 hours, they had group of teenagers in custody. but brandon says the impact of bryan watkins murderer new yor did not end with those arrests >> it was a seminal case for me it allowed us to have a tippin point impact >> the day after the murder, bradden received a call from the governor's office, offerin $40 million to help fight crime, money that would be used t hire thousands of new cops, an soon, the city's crime rat began to drop. as for the suspects arrested i the watkins case, all would be convicted of murder, and sentenced to 25 years to life. but that's not even close to the end of the story of the seven men convicted o this crime, one says he alon

is unjustly paying the price for the murder tha commissioner bradden say changed new york city. >> i had no involvement in thi crime. so, it's very, very importan to me that my name is cleared. >> coming up - this man admits he was one o the teens at the subway statio that night why he now says he's not a villain in the story, but victim >> slapped me in my face - and he kicked me right down to the floor -- >> when dateline continues non-drowsy claritin-d knocks out your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. ha-ha! it was me the whole time. -whoo-hoo! -[ laughs ] well done, ma'am. what...did i do exactly? with snapshot from progressive, you get a personalized discount for doing exactly what you're already doing -- being a safe driver.

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quarter century since th murder of brian watkins. and since this man, johnny hincapie, was locked up, one o seven men convicted of a crime but he insists he's innocent >> i had no involvement in thi crime, leicester i'm the only one that' claiming innocence >> so, what is johnny hincapie 's's story in 2015, i went to speak wit him at new york's fishkill correctional facility. hincapie took me back to the night of the crime he had recently turned 18 an was on his way to a can't miss event, a party at the roseland ballroom in manhattan. >> there was a very popular dj who was throwing a birthda party for himself, and everybody just wanted to b

there. >> he explained that he and as many as 15 other teenagers too a subway, all headed to th same club. and how, when the train arrived, he went upstairs to the street where, he lost sight of friend who is holding hi money. he says he could not carry his cash because of the tigh designer jeans he was wearing. >> they had numerous pockets o them, but you couldn't reall put your hands on them >> so, he said he went bac down to the station to look fo his friend >> i'm going down, i start hearing some screaming, an when i got to the bottom, i se a crowd of people runnin towards me >> did you have any idea wha was happening on the platform? >> he said, that's when he turned around and ran back upstairs to the street, wher he saw his friend. >> he asked me what was goin on, and i told him, i have n idea, but something seems to b happening earlier. let's just go to - >> hincapie says he danced until the wee hours, got t ride home, and slept in.

the next day hit hincapie an the rest of new york city a -- to a huge story. >> - inside the station house, an they have been through most of the day. >> that was the first time i found out that something had happened >> he claims he didn't think much of it until later tha night, 24 hours after th murder, when detectives knocke on the hincapie's door >> they say, well, we need t see your son, because we would like to ask him a question >> hincapie's mother, maria, s she asked the detective if her son needed a lawyer. >> they say, how old is he and i said, he just turned 18. and i told him - >> the police told me he doesn't need a lawyer. >> hincapie's father carlo says he was shocked. he says johnny was a great kid and literally an altar boy >> had he ever been in trouble with the law >> never, never, never >> that was about to change,

police brought the hincapie hi son to the precinct. what johnny didn't know is tha detectives had spent the las 24 hours working the case, and already he had six suspects in custody who had confessed. >> and when was the robber first planned? >> 17 year old gary marella's, nicknamed rock, star admitte he was the one who fatally stabbed brian in the chest >> could you see it entering his body - >> police were pressing each suspect, wanting to know who else was involved. one gave hincapie's name and two others agreed. >> but another suspect said, no, hincapie was not there >> no, johnny and kelvin left. >> still, detectives wanted to find out for themselves. >> - inside of a room there was a detective who wa laying down one of the botto beds, smoking a cigarette.

>> hincapie said he told the detective what he did that night. i detective didn't believe a word of it >> he called me a liar and he said that he had all my friends in another room, h knew what happened >> - and what happens >> he started blowing smok into my face from the cigarett that he started smoking. -- he slapped me in my face, he pulled my hair and he kicked me right down to the floor. >> what is he saying to you? and what are you saying back you tell me you didn't do this crime. so, i'm assuming you were very forceful >> i'm telling him, listen i'm innocent >> hincapie says, that's whe the detective offered him a wa out. >> he just said, listen, if yo really, really want to go home all you have to do is memorize a story that i want you to - i'll have you driven hom immediately. >> you believed him? >> yes, i did. >> hincapie says the detective led him to believe he was witness, now the suspect >> so, in my mind, i'm thinking,

if i have a witness, i have to say that, yeah, i knew somebod had a knife, and this is what had to say to go home, the yeah, i'm going to do that >> and that's what he did. hincapie sat in front of a video camera, and told us stor that he now says were scripted for him to an assistan district attorney. >> so, it was a plan you mad to get some -- >> yeah. >> and we are part of that plan? >> yes, i was. >> i said, okay. it's over with, it's done with i'm out of here. >> hincapie didn't know, but h had just written his arres warrant. his confession was all polic needed - a confession he gave to them three hours after he was picke up >> it's not like you were in the interrogation room for hours and hours and hours. right? >> to me, it was a long time i was scared >> under the law, hincapie and the six others were equall responsible, even though onl one actually stabbed bryan

watkins. hincapie never went home again and so, for more than tw decades, he's mother maria has made the same two-hour journey every other week since her son was -- >> it's very hard, because it' been 24 years, 24 christmas -- >> they say their visits wer heartbreaking for both of them >> - to be able to hold on all of this - it's too many -- >> don't cry, mommy. don't cry. >> but maria says she has been crying out pleading for anyone to listen since that very firs day her ordeal began >> i want to scream to the world and tell the world, my son is not guilty. please, help me. >> little did she know, help was on the way >> i love you, okay? >> coming up - a new witness could reveal

critical information about the night of the crime but will he talk >> he was shaking. he was visibly nervous he started crying. >> that's when datelin continues -- unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. (psst psst) ahhhh... with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good. one... back... one... the school play was really coming together. ♪ until... disaster struck. ♪ tensions... were high. luckily, replacement costumes were shipped with fedex. which means mr. harvey...

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>> johnny when he is serving his 24th year behind bars fo the 1990 murder of a young

tourist on a subway platform i manhattan. his own words sealed his fate. >> so you could see that was a night? >> yeah. >> anybody looking at it, it sounds like you're agreein with them, that's the story. >> but it wasn't >> a jury convicted him, and over the years, hincapie couldn't get a court to hear his case again >> when all my appeals wer finished, i literally got down on my knees last time and told god, i don't want to be here anymore i don't want to live >> and then one day, 16 year into his prison sentence, reporter heard about hincapi claim of innocence >> i've got a lot of letters from prison inmates-ing thei innocence, i never believed an of him >> it was bill hughes. >> i met with johnny, i listen to him for a few hours, and didn't believe him i saw his confession, and thought he was guilty. but, i read the transcripts, i started to look into it.

>> one of the first things h did was reach out to the other man convicted of this crime, they were also imprisoned. >> i interviewed lamar alice who actually stabbed rya watkins, i interviewed fernandez, who - both said johnny was not >> hughes also watch the original interrogation videos, and for the first time, he saw how that other suspect tol cots that hincapie and another team we're not at the crim scene. >> they'll needed money? >> no, johnny and kevin left >> he was wasn't free, especially when he heard the suspects say a second time tha hincapie was not involved. >> so there were eight peopl surrounding -- >> no, there was six >> six, okay >> the law a team in cap ea' journey never saw. >> the more investigated it, the more i can't believe tha he might be telling the truth.

there's not a shred of forensi physical evidence, but h confessed. >> not after 50 15 days of interrogation, but several hours. >> like most people, you can't possibly fathom admitting that you did something. >> nobody does that >> nobody would think tha they're capable of doing it. but the truth is, a skille interrogator could probably ge your to admit that you kill th lindberg baby. >> and the summer of 2010, hughes wrote an article abou hincapie's story for a magazin called city limits >> i publish an article in the 20th anniversary of the murder and nobody really cared. >> the years continued to pass >> were we've been in prison with johnny for 20 years >> alex says johnny's younge brother. he was 15 when johnny wa russia like his parents, he never believed his brother was guilty >> it was just a shock to al of us, just watching my parent

go through what they wen through was heartbreaking, especially my dad going into m brothers room and kissing th pillow at night. eu >> that's been my memory fo years. >> johnny? >> leicester >> so this is home >> i wouldn't call it home, my home is with my family on th outside. >> how old are you johnny? >> i'm 42. >> that's more than half o your life behind bars. >> yes no it's terrible, bein separated from her family, it' probably the worst thing when >> throughout his incarceration, hincapie ha been a model prisoner. he's been involved with an inmate theater program >> i don't know, i've been tired lately >> and he took college courses offered at the prison, which i

where he met a man by the name of bob dennison. >> he said, i don't know if yo know anything about my case, and once he started i'm like o course i do everyone knows wha the case >> dennison is the forme chairman of new york state springboard. >> he showed me the articl that bill hughes had written about him. >> did he tell you he wa innocent >> he did, he told me he was innocent >> and you rolled your eyes, thinking - >> something about johnny stuc with me. >> dennison decided to reach out to hughes, and all of sudden, handicap ea had former parole commissioner and a reporter teaming up to reinvestigate his case >> we laughingly referred to ourselves as the white house guy squat. we were going around queen looking for potentia witnesses. >> after nearly a year o searching, they found one. >> a man who said he knew th truth about johnny hincapie. >> we sat down his kitchen, he was shaking. he was visibly nervous >> we saw this table and h started crying >> he took a napkin and he dre

a map of the subway station. you remember as clear as if it was a recent event >> they knew what this witness told him, if true, was a bombshell. but neither dennison nor hughe is a lawyer, so they got i touch with one new york city is well-know civil rights attorney, ron kube >> they said look, we know there's no money to pay you, but would you take the case? so i said yes. >> kobe's first task was t talk with that witness his name is luis montero >> luis monte rio offered proo that johnny did not commit the crime. >> but what the court agree? luis montero is about to tel the harrowing story. coming up, get >> all of a sudden go i hear commotion screaming. >> did you see him go into the platform >> when dateline continues

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i'm very canny >> decades after a taurus wa murdered on a new york cit subway platform, a potential

bombshell. a new witness said he knew the truth, but could they get judge to hear? it continuing with tipping point, here's lester holt. >> the mystery of what happene on the subway platform so long ago, took a new twist with a new witness named luis montero >> this is a three level savoi station. >> montero had been in the subway station during the crime, and told attorney ron kuby a story that backed up johnn hincapie's account of the nigh brian watkins was stabbed. >> montero establishes not onl did johnny not participate i the attack, he could not hav participated in the attack >> and that's established by what louise saw were from wher we're standing >> that's right. >> based on what her story could be filed a motion for new hearing. 24 years after he went away, hincapie got his wish. a manhattan supreme court judg

agreed to reopen the case. you >> people versus johnn hincapie >> in february of 2015, the hearing was called t order. with this proceeding, th burden was on some hincapie' attorneys ron kuby and his co-counsel leah busby to convince judge eduardo padro that his conviction should b vacated. >> who is your witness, what d you need to prove? >> louise montero was the firs witness. he was there to prove that h saw johnny at the time the crime took place, and johnny wasn't there >> how long had you known him? >> maybe a year, give or take. >> montero testified he wa also on the subway, headed t the dance club >> what was your relationshi with mr. hincapie like >> we knew each other. we know each other the good. >> in fact, they haven't see each other or spoken since then i'm joe understand montero

story, it's important to understand how the subwa station is laid out. the platform level is where th trains come in, and where th crime took place no one long flight up from the platform is what's called th turnstile level. and then, a final set of stair gets you to the street montero says that hincapie was on the platform when the crime happens, but one flight up o that turn stylable with him. >> he asked me for this othe guy that came in if i've see him. >> montero testified about specific details that matc hincapie's version of events >> he was looking for the othe guy, because he supposedly had some money for him >> another detail that match hincapie's story, montero said hincapie began going down this up escalator, which kuby wha

some working at the time seconds later montero says something caught his attention >> all of a sudden, i hear commotion. screaming. montero says that's when you saw our hincapie toronto and run backup if true, it means that hincapi could not have been near the crime scene. >> did you see him go on to th platform >> no. >> so why hadn't montero com forward before now as ed kuby says one chair wa terrified, because it turned out, he had been wrongfull accused of this very crime >> he was held in jail for 1 months awaiting trial on thi crime. he was identified by a membe of the watkins family, and the realized that watkins was no sure 18 months later, they say that luis montero wrong guy storybook the. and they turn to plus. no >> but to qb, perhaps the most compelling part o

montero's testimony is how h says detectives tried to cover a false commission from the very same thing tha says happened to him >> and they slapped me every time i tell them something tha they didn't want to hear they hit me. so that's when the nightmare started, you know? >> but montero never correct and maintained his innocence law kuby argued to the judge that what montero and hincapie say happened to them was eas to believe they were just two of many innocent people swept up b police at a time in new york history when crime was out o control. simply, the wrong place as and the wrong era. >> we have done some terrible, terrible things to innocen people in the course o fighting crime >> case in point, kuby argued, the central park case --

the wolf pack, just like hincapie, those five teens had also confessed on tape, bu they were exonerated in 2002 after dna cleared them >> events call johnny knew hincapie >> the time came for him t tell his story under oath on the witness stand, something that hincapie says his trial attorney did not to do >> look i want to take the stand. he told me that the district attorney's office woul basically just walk all over me, because i had confessed. >> have a seat >> he testified about how he left the station and went back down to look for his friend wh was holding his money. >> i gave them - with all my money. >> and for the first time in a courtroom, he accused police o coercing a false confessio from him >> they slap me my face, h grabbed me by my hair. >> him - he said that he even had proof

that he tried to recant hi confession almost immediately. jailhouse letters, including one letter dated two days afte his arrest telling the sam story he tells today >> please believe me please help me please talk to the judge, an tell him that i am telling the truth. that the detective told me t say everything >> is there anything else yo like to? >> i was just 18 years old whe this happened. the and i never had a chance i never had an opportunity t be young the moment i was arrested, not one chance >> as the prosecution got read to present its case, hincapie' mother maria leaned on her fat as she has from the beginning. >> you know, we've bee separate for 24 years. i pray to god that johnny woul be exonerated and that he we

would be finally together. yay >> coming up a last-minute twist quite up and the whole case >> she's a surprise to me. she's a surprise to everyone >> when dateline continues no defeat allergy headaches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! ♪ crunchy ♪ ♪ tasty ♪ ♪ sweet or savory ♪ ♪ always satisfying ♪ ♪ gimme blue diamond! ♪ ♪ crunchy, tasty, sweet or savory ♪ ♪ always satisfying ♪ ♪ gimme blue diamond! ♪ ♪ crunchy, tasty. sweet or savory, ♪ ♪ always satisfying, gimme- ♪ blue diamond almonds. ♪♪ this is how it feels to du more with less asthma...

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but they say hincapie is a liar >> to make their point prosecutors cross-examined hincapie's witnesses, starting with when luis montero >> good morning mr. montero. >> morning >> assistant d.a. ben rosenber point out that over the years, details in mature story have changed. when >> it's right there >> your testimony here today i an accurate. >> in all these years, montero never once mentioned seeing hi at all that night, and tha montero's wrongful arrest gave him a motive to lie. >> your experience in this cas dated back 20 plus years you're angry about it, are you >> i'm not angry about it, i'm just scared. >> you're still scared >> yes you look kept me innocent fo 18 months. you think i'm not very scare of you guys? i'm petrified of you guys. i can't even look at you guys. >> and you're angry. >> no i'm not angry, i'm scare

of you >> prosecutors had their own witnesses to discredit him copier story who did not want to record their testimony. remember that friend who hincapie said was holding hi money that night >> i gave him my walle completely with all my money >> that friends name is anthon nichols, and he testified that hincapie never gave him an money to hold. >> looking for anthony niggles is supposed to the whole predicate for the defendan going back into the subway say should, or going down to the platform but nickel says this didn' happen >> i asked ron kuby about that >> that friend tells the prosecution that johnny is lying. he never gave him money. how do you respond to that >> well that friend also tol her that he didn't remember. >> hurley argued to the cour that hincapie was lying what something else he says the escalator that hincapie says he went down was working just fine, and it wa

moving up, and not down. >> he made the ridiculous clai that it went down the up escalator. >> the most dramatic part of the hearing was prosecutor hurley's cross-examination o johnny hincapie himself. hurley argued that hincapie wa making up the whole story abou falsely confessing >> it is the first time that you have ever alleged to a court that your confession was coerced by detective casey physically abusing you >> correct >> the detective wasn't called to testify, but we tracked him down, and he denied ever abusing them hincapie. >> hurley moved on to that letter >> please believe me please help me >> the one that hincapie say he wrote to a lawyer two day after his arrest >> hurley argued it wasn't really written back then >> the date 1990 could've been put in 2011, right >> no. >> and that it was convenientl

are dressed to an attorney who was now dead >> in fact, you waited for him to pass away to force a letter to him, didn't you >> not at all sir. >> prosecutor hurley als ridiculed his story about bein coerced into confessing by a abusive detective. >> he was wearing a t-shirt, smoking cigarettes, right? >> yes >> like some evil movie cup? >> yes >> you made that up, didn' you. >> no. >> really argued that can copy new details about the crime an not because he was coerced, bu because he was there >> i saw - you heard him say let's ge paid >> yeah. >> you said that because you are there and was true, right? >> it was not true miste hurley >> you were there, and it wa true as >> the prosecution's case was over hincapie faith was now in th hands the judge. and that's when ron kobe got a phone call >> a new witness came forward,

who had never spoken to anybod before >> this is your surprise witness. >> totally surprised >> this is a perry mason moment >> she's a surprise to me, she's a surprised everyone >> coming up, from out of th blue, a new eyewitness who was on the platform the night of the murder but which side will she help >> she saw all of the attackers, she knew what johnie looke like >> when dateline continues yeahs working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. now with astepro fast allergy relief, [ spray, spray ] you can astepro and go. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪

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ended in johnny hincapie's hearing what his attorney, ron kuby notified the judge of a unexpected development >> amazingly enough, during th course of the hearing itself, new witness came forward a young woman named mary lou santana. >> santana told colby that she recently read an article about hincapie's court hearing >> she realizes, oh my god he's going to prison i can't believe it you >> santana said she knew hincapie from her neighborhood she was on the subway that night headed to the dance club and saw the robbery unfold >> so she's standing here, and she sees them surrounding th watkins family, and at tha

point, she starts to flee. >> as she ran past the attackers, she said she sa them all and is certain that hincapie was not one of them she said when she heard th news of's arrest back then, sh even told her mother that he was innocent santana said she was afraid to come forward >> so she remained silent. >> so. it completely silent >> all these years >> except for telling he mother socials and get involved, bu she figured you know what, johnny wasn't there. the police will sort this out. and she sort of forgets about. up >> in 2015, santana took th stand, but didn't want us to record her testimony prosecutors attacked her credibility, pointing ou santana was convicted of a dru charge back in the 1990s, an they argue just because sh didn't see johnny, it doesn' mean he wasn't there >> is it not possible she just missing johnny and the confusion on the platform? that he was there, and she jus didn't notice? >> absolutely impossible

she saw all of the attackers she knew what johnie looke like, and johnny was not among them >> it would now be up to judge eduardo padro to decide a case that brought up critical questions about police conduct in a different era i ask bill bratton, new york city's police commander, about that as everyone waited at th judges decision. >> given the climate of th city, the climate of fear an political pressure, was ther pressure on detectives to just cast a wide net in these high-profile crimes? >> i don't think so. is the presser, certainly. but to the idea of going ove the threshold. we can't break the law t enforce it >> so does he think that the police cross that threshol with johnny hincapie >> if exonerate him, would you have different views on th watkins case >> i don't have enough intimac as to his particular case, i have no reason to not be supportive of the police

investigation. >> on october 6th, 2015, the day came for judge paltrow t announce his decision. some hincapie's family and friends, along with the media, file into manhattan suprem court to learn his fate. in a packed courtroom, hincapi was clearly anxious. >> the court is going to hande up >> as the judge began to rea the decision >> under the newly discovere evidence, the court does fin that the defense has a point the burden of proof that the court is going to set asid convictions. >> the judge throat hi conviction and the decision, the judg said that failed to prove that he was actually innocent, bu the judge did find tha hincapie witnesses persuasiv enough to grant him a ne trial. but that didn't mean he'd walk free just yet. prosecutor eugene hurley asked the judge to send hincapie bac

to prison as well the d.a.'s options -- >> during that time we asked that he be - >> ron qb was steaming >> let's not ignore that mr. team hincapie has been cours rated for 25 years one month as of today, three days he's made a quarter centur liberty as down payment. >> the judge ultimately agreed to release him on a token $1 bail >> in late 2015, the dea filed to appeal the judges decision. prosecutors will now decid whether to retry him, but that day, let >> the court will - him. >> please, you have to come to order. >> hincapie and his family wer overcome with emotion. he was led away to be processe

for police that would take nearly six hours. the >> downstairs, his mothe maria waited a quarter century prior, she'd stood in nearly the same spo in shock after her son was convicted of murder. now, here she was again, thi time with her family and a crush of reporters to witnes her son's first steps into freedom. >> two brothers separated as teenagers now reunited a middle aged men. no >> there are two other me among the crowd who hincapie wanted to find bill hughes and bob denison, self named irish guys gumsho squad launched his journey t

freedom. of >> ayo tremendous love, energy, gratefulness to thes two individuals. on >> cheers >> i'm so happy your home. >> wow, it looks good. >> his first meal, stuff filet of sole. his 20-year-old niece -- >> this is your first selfie it's a thing now >> who was born when he wa already in prison, introduce joining to us for selfie >> how are you doing >> i'm overwhelmed >> we stopped outside, talke about what his first hours o freedom are like >> i've been thinking about ho beautiful it is to be free again in new york city watching the cars go by, the lights in the trees, it's a lo of nostalgia you know, and i'm grateful for it. when >> so where does the trut live in the story? good for johnny hincapie, it

lives in this moments. >> you have to love it you know, this is a dream come true >> and one thing is for sure the city he now rejoins is muc different, and much safer than the one he left behind mor than two decades ago in the end, the former polic commissioner said that has a lot to do with what happens on the subway platform. >> i truly believe that th death of that young man was th catalyst for the new yor miracle we experience. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning, thank yo for watching la