>> yep. >> my sarah.. >> i'm andrea canning. and this is dateline. >> did red flags ever pop-up that maybe there was some evidence that was being hidden? >> certainly. >> you smelled a rat? >> yes. >> secrets, lies. corruption. >> the biggest part of this problem is the abuse of power. >> they destroyed lives. it shocks the conscience. >> inside the scandal that shook the city of philadelphia. a stunning pattern of misconduct. exposed in a 30-year-old case. >> this little girl's body was found in this tv box. the killer still at large tonight. >> this little girl, taken off her neighborhood block. >> the haunting mystery of barbara jean horn. >> there is no justice.

>> we need to find out who did this. >> did it feel like you are lifting the lid on something much bigger? >> it's even worse than i thought it was. what they were hiding, what they knew. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to dateline. four year old barbara jean horn was abducted while playing near her philadelphia home. her body was discovered within hours. police immediately launched a hunt for her killer. but years passed before a suspect confessed. even then, the case was far from over. decades later, an investigation would reveal abuses of power. deep inside philadelphia's legal system. from the homicide unit, to the prosecutor's office. here is lester holt with the investigation! >> when sharon was 21 years old,

she lived in northeast philadelphia. and worked at a department store. but her greatest shame was to have a daughter. >> i only had a girl's name picked out. it's all i ever wanted. was children. >> shortly before sharon gave birth, john entered her life. and he became barbara jean horn's stepfather. >> did you consider her your daughter? >> yes. she was my daughter. i raise her as my own. the sweetest little girl that ever walked the face of the earth. she was. she was a sweetheart. >> he was happy to be her stepfather. he would take care of her. >> in fact, john was the one who mostly stayed home with barbara jean, while sharon worked. july 12th, 1988 was one of those days. >> i know this is not easy. but can you tell me how that day began? what was typical in your life

then? >> i got up in the morning. get ready for work. kissed barbara jean goodbye. >> sharon was at work. i was up with barbara tree in the morning. fed her breakfast, we played around the house a little bit. >> john says that he relives the details of that summer day in a never-ending loop. even now. >> i was in the house, cleaning the refrigerator. and, barbara jean had come in. and [laughter] i said it's okay sweetie, just go outside and play. and she hadn't come in for a little while, i went out to check on her. and, i saw her toys on the sidewalk. i went, something is wrong. >> john says that he thought barbara jean had simply wandered off. he called for her. no answer. he began knocking on neighbors doors. no one knew where the little girl was. >> i called sharon, and i said you need to come home.

i can't find barbara jean. >> at what point did you call police? >> i did not call the police. i thought that she would be right here. she's here somewhere. >> tragically, she was. >> just a couple of hours later, a neighbor made the grim discovery. >> the baby's lifeless body was found inside this cardboard television box. >> a detective broke the news to the family . >> they said that they found barbara jean. and that she was dead, and he accused me of murdering her. >> just like that? accused you? >> just like that. it was horrible. >> but not a surprise, he had been home alone with barbara jean all morning. and had not called 9-1-1 to report her missing. while police accused john, they did not arrest him and continued to investigate. they quickly found five eyewitnesses, who had seen a

man lugging the cardboard box. >> he walked across st. vincent, street set the box down, as if to catch his breath because it seemed like it was heavy. >> a sketch of the suspect was made. a white male, 56 to 58 and 100 and 60 to 180 pounds. about 30 years old. >> this composite sketch of the guy that's wanted for yesterday 's murder. >> a neighborhood has been saturated by police all day and all night. passing out the composite drawing of the suspect. >> dozens of detectives searched for leads, as barbara jean's murder grip the city for days, then weeks. it even got national attention. hundreds of tips poured in. >> they got so many calls about one guy, they followed him for six months. >> when journalist tom lowenstein began investigating

barbara jean's murder. he had no idea that he would be's still at it 20 years later. >> there was another suspect who have been accused of a murder of another little girl, about a mile away, and showed his picture to one of the eyewitnesses. one of the eyewitnesses picked him out. >> but there wasn't enough evidence to make any arrests and the case went cold. was there frustration for you and sharon and that all of this time had gone by and they still couldn't find the perpetrator? >> yes. we were called all the time. >> four years later, detective marty and his partner took over the case. devlin, who was known as detective perfect for his uncanny ability to crack the toughest cases, quickly arrived at an old suspicion. this time, about both parents. >> they said that i know that john did it, and that i was protecting him, and i said, i know he did not do it. i would have already murdered him if i thought he did. >> i said you guys are no closer to solving this.

>> you were angry? >> i was pissed. i was pissed. you would think that after four years, there was some kind of progress. and it did not seem to be any. >> but two months later, that suddenly changed. when the detectives zeroed in on a new suspect, one whose name had never come up before. when you heard walter ogrod? what were you thinking? >> who the hell is walter ogrod? >> coming up! and arrest. >> heartbreaking. i hated him. >> the only thing i could think of was getting my hands around his throat. >> who was barbara jean's killer? >> they thought that she must have been killed on the block, very near to where she lived. >> the search for an answer would uncover some long buried secrets. >> you're looking at the actions of the prosecutor, or the police? >> both. the biggest part of this

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purposely kill your child. doesn't make sense. it just doesn't make sense.

>> the killing of four year old barbara jean-- >> when detective marty and his partner took over the barber jean horn case in 1992, they decided to go back to square one. >> they felt that barbara jean must have been killed on the block. very near to where she lived. and they decided to canvas it again. >> none of the neighbors had any new information. but detectives learned that the man who lived across the street had moved across town the year after the crime. his name was walter ogrod. a single, 27 year old philadelphia native. who worked as an overnight bakery truck driver. >> they called him up and asked him to come in as a witness. they said we're just talking to people in the neighborhood, and he said all right. and he went in. >> they told him he was going to go see the philadelphia police about the murder. >> walter ogrod friend, steve,

vividly remember speaking with him that day. >> i said you should not go down there without a lawyer. i express that numerous times. maybe three or four times. >> walter ogrod said he had nothing to hide. and drove himself to police headquarters. he told the detectives that he had no idea what happened to the little girl. but he also explained that he knew who barbara jean was because of his housemates. the greens . he >> had have asked these people to move into his house, to help pay the rent. and they had two children. one of whom, charlie, was barbara jean's best friend. >> he told the detectives the same thing that he had told that -- hours after the murder. barbara jean had come to his front door, looking for charlie byrd.

a few hours before she went missing. it was a detail that they did not believe was a coincidence. they accused walter ogrod of lying. that's when devlin said, walter ogrod began to sob. and a confession became pointing out. >> the confession was that the little girl showed up in his house in the afternoon, looking for her friend. he grabbed her, took her in the basement. >> according to the confession, transcribed by detective devlin. oh god lured barbara jean into the basement to play doctor. and when the little girl screamed, he hitter over the head with a weight machine pulled down bar. then he found a box outside. an disposed of her body. about six hours after the interrogation began, walter ogrod signed each sheet of a 16 -page statement. >> walter ogrod confession. >> and he was arrested for first degree murder, and sexual assault. >> the news came on and they were saying that they had solved barbara jean horn's murder. >> i was like, oh wow. they finally caught the guy. >> heidi has known ogrod since they were teenagers. >> next thing i know, they're flashing a picture of walter on the screen? and he's in handcuffs.

walt is just not a violent person. he's like a gentle giant. he would never hurt anyone. >> but to john and sharon, walter ogrod was the face of pure evil. what was it like to read those words, to read that confession that he made? >> heartbreaking. i hated him. >> it was hardly an open and shut case, walter ogrod had no criminal record. no physical evidence linked him to the crime. he did not resemble the sketch. and was not identified by a single eyewitness. and he immediately recanted his confession. still, in 1993, ogrod stood trial for murder. prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. >> he let tjat baby lie there and die, and put them in the trash. if that's not intent to kill then

maybe i haven't seen it yet. >> the prosecution's case rested entirely on the confession. walter ogrod took the stand in his own defense. he testified that the detectives had run a false confession out of him. he makes the case that the confession was forced out of him. he was coerced. how did it make you feel to hear him describe that story? >> angry. i sat in that trial. and the only thing i could think of was getting my hands around his throat. >> the jury got the case. and returned with a verdict. and when it did. john would be the one lead out of the courtroom in handcuffs. >> a stunning announcement from the jury box, leaves both sides in disbelief. coming up! >> the foreman stood up and said yes we've reached a verdict, and literally opened his mouth to start reading it. when one juror stood up and said i don't know how i feel about this. >> a crazy confrontation in that courtroom.

>> there is no justice in murder. you're never gonna find justice. ever. all through walter ogrod doesn't equal barber jean's life. >> when dateline continues! it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. and, they felt dramatic and fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema.

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locked away forever. >> sharon and jon fahy had prayed that the jury would find walter ogrod guilty. even though they knew nothing could bring back their little girl.

>> there is no justice in a murder. there is no justice. you're never gonna find justice, ever. walter ogrod life does not equal barbara jean's life. >> but no one was prepared for what happened after the jury announced that it reached a verdict. journalist tom lowenstein, wasn't in the courtroom. but says that the transcript reads like a hollywood drama. >> the jury came in, and they sat down. >> the question still remains, what was the -- >> the jury had voted unanimously and signed the verdict form, not guilty. walter ogrod was moments away from going home. >> and the foreman stood up and said, you know, we reached a verdict and literally opened his mouth to start reading it when one jurors said i don't know how i feel about this. >> then, that juror made a jaw-dropping announcement. he changed his mind. >> you said that he could not

agree with that verdict. >> the judge, immediately declared a mistrial. >> walter ogrod was not guilty. john fahy lunged at ogrod setting up for a wild confrontation. >> john lunged himself out of his seat. over the barrier. nearly got his hands around walter's throat. >> next thing i know, i was being handcuffed. -- other officers, hands on their guns. >> john was never charged. and oh god was immediately sent back to jail. to avoid another trial. it took three years, in 1990 ogrod stood trial for a second time. >> the first trial ended in a hung jury. this time a different prosecutor named julie -- was in charge and two weeks before trial she dropped a bombshell it comes to the

review note to say, oh walter was confessed in jail. there is another confession. >> a jailhouse snitch could come forward to say that he had admitted again he had killed barbara jean. but the story the snitch told went even further, about why ogrod committed a crime. >> the story was that walter had fallen in love with barbara jean's mother, sharon, who had lived across the street. so walter decided that if he murdered barbara jean, the police would blame john fahy and when john fahy was taken away, sharon would be so upset that he should come to walter and then that would be, it would fall for him. >> prosecutor or be no argued that this delusional fantasy was the true motive, details or be no said that he did not

originally share with detectives. >> he was not telling the police the entire truth, but he is making it as good for himself. when he was imprisoned he was not doing that he was sort of bragging. walter ogrod lawyer said that the confessions, which did not match each other, words suspicious. >> when you have two opposing versions, especially from a jailhouse snitch which just happens to come out of nowhere. >> walter's lawyers theory was that, because the stories of the trials are so diametrically opposed, that is reasonable doubt. >> but it did not work it found it jury the fact jury found him guilty, and sentenced to death. >> it took eight years and two juries to commit walter ogrod of murder. >> he is an animal. he has got no remorse for what he is done at all. >> i am glad you will be in jail with and he will not get out to hurt somebody else. >> at last the say he's had the verdict that they had hope for. >> he was responsible, all that mattered was that they never get the opportunity to do it again. >> i wanted him dead, i did. >> but tom was about to embark on his own investigation into

barbara jean horn's murder, and you could soon be faced with a difficult question. what would sharon and john think if turned out that neither jury had her the real story. >> doubts surface as lowenstein dives deeper into the case, what is the wrong man behind bars? coming up, that prism snitch who helped secure the verdict, someone was about to snitch on him. >> i was like, do you think he lied about we walter ogrod. and she said i know we did. >> i said how do you know he did, said because i helped do it. >> someone is on death row because of what he got out of it. >> when dateline continues. help getting free medication. trelegy for copd. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing]

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and once-in-a-lifetime. is happening, music legend tony bennett has died, his career spanned more than seven decades with his most recent public appearance alongside lady gaga in 2021. tributes are pouring in from music icons like elton john, billy jewels as well as president biden, obama and

clinton. president biden met with tech leaders to discuss potential dangers of artificial intelligence. representatives from amazon, google and meta and microsoft were among those who agreed to do -- for the emerging technology. now, back to dateline. k to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline, i'm andrea cannon. after two sensational trials, walter ogrod was sentenced to the murder of barbara jean horn. he denied killing the little girl, insisting that police coerced his confession and that the story told by a jailhouse snitch was a lie. now, an unexpected highlight was about to help walter prove his innocence. back to lester holt with the investigation. >> walter ogrod had been on death row for five years when he heard from another inmate,

that journalist tom lowenstein was writing a book about the death penalty. so ogrod sent tom a letter, imploring him to investigate his case. at first, tom had no interest in helping the convicted murder of a four-year-old. >> i was just like, i can't do this. the idea of me being in touch with someone that did that could offer them any kind of hope or happiness in their life was repulsive. >> but it was not in tom's dna to turn away. tom's father, was a united states congressman and a leader in the fight for civil rights. >> we showed in 1968 not that we could not change america's elections, but that we could change america through elections. >> he was a tireless campaigner all through tom's childhood, but on march 14th, 1980, his

campaigns came to an abrupt end. >> congressman allen was shot five times and critically wounded today. >> he was assassinated by of deranged former student. >> i was ten years old when my father was murdered. >> how did your father's death affect you as you grew up, as you became an adult? >> it made me really angry. for a long time. >> tom was devastated by his father's death, but inspired by his example of helping others, wanted to do the same. he became a writer focusing on the justice system, so when that letter from walter ogrod showed up, tom began to learn everything he could about the case. >> he had signed every page of the 16-page confession and you think oh wow, that is damning. and then you read that the first jury voted to acquit him. >> tom spoke with a dozen people who knew ogrod before he was arrested, none believed he committed the crime. >> there is no evidence

connecting him to it. >> many, like heidi gould, told tom that if anybody could be easily manipulated into confessing, it was her friend walter. >> you could tell that he was a little bit different, like socially awkward. >> tom decided he had heard enough doubt that he needed to meet ogrod himself. what were your initial impressions of him? >> it was a little bit like talking to rain man. he could not express feelings to me, but he knew all of the facts. and i thought, he is like the aspergers kids that my friends work with. >> for tom, meeting ogrod in person changed everything. the man sitting across from him seemed incapable of conveying the words and emotions that detective devlin claimed he did in the confession. that supposedly verbatim

admission, just did not match up with the guy that you had been face to face with? >> yeah, the story that detectives tell about walt's confession is that they never interrupted him, he just point out is hard to him. he started crying saying officers give me a moment, you don't know how hard this is for me, i didn't mean to kill that little girl. for me that was the moment it clicked that they had not only dictated the story to walter, that they dictated a frame of mind that he is not capable of. >> but remember, prosecutors alleged that ogrod had only confessed to with detectives, but also a prison snitch. tom learned that the snitch was so prolific, he had a nickname. >> this snitch was named john

hall whose nickname was -- because he had heard more confessions than a priest. >> john hall was a criminal who had been used as a witness by prosecutors, often hicks receiving leniency in exchange for us testimony. >> he just had this knack for, where the da did not have enough evidence. and somehow, miraculously every time that happened, john produced a confession from that person and he would give them convictions. >> tom called hall's house, and his wife answered. and i thought, she is not going to talk to me, right? >> wrong, not only did she talk, she could not have been more blunt. >> i said, i'm calling about john hall. >> and she said, yeah he lied in 20 or 30 cases. i said do you think he lied about ogrod and she said yeah. i said how do you know, and she said because i helped him. >> she said he had astonishing to seems down to a science. it didn't bother john at all. >> shortly before ogrod second trial, hallways moved the same cell block. at the time, he was facing a 50 year sentence for assaulting a

police officer, days after meeting ogrod, hall asked his wife to find information about barbara jean horn's murder. >> i went to the library in philadelphia and they have all of the newspapers, so i would give him copies. >> hall then use those articles to learn about the case, so that he could create a confession that sounded plausible. >> i had the notes that he made of the ogrod case. i have it all right in front of me, how he made it up. i found our library print out of a newspaper article but this barber jean horn case. >> hall also shared the fabricated story with another snitch. >> he gave the story to another inmate, like he got the story from walter, but walter and jay never communicated together. >> both snitches went to prosecutors claiming they each heard the same story from ogrod,

but only one of them testified. prosecutors told him that they had been using hall too much. now, all these years later, tom was convinced that ogrod had been railroaded by both police and prosecutors, which made what he had to do next especially difficult. >> you took your suspicions to barbara jean horn family. >> from the beginning, that was always looming for me. if i've shown up at my door ask my dad, i will slam the door and told him to get lost. >> but sharon in john agreed to hear him out. >> john and i met with him, and he told us a lot of the different things that we're not right, he felt. >> he claims that walter's innocent and that he got a bad deal, and the police did it on purpose, it was accidental, that they coerced him, whatever. i never have wavered on walter 's guilt. never. >> tom had not convinced the

fahys, but his next stop would be a even tougher audience. , the philadelphia district attorney's office. >> coming up. >> frankly it shocked me and it shocked some other people as to some of the evidence that was in that file, that was not turned over. >> a new legal battle begins, walter ogrod is about to fight for justice. >> did you kill barbara jean horn? >> when dateline continues. i don't. new cascade platinum plus has me doing dishes... differently. scrub? soak? nope. i just scrape, load and i'm done. only platinum plus is bigger. with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. for a no rewash clean... and a cabinet ready shine. rewash? not in my house. upgrade to new cascade platinum plus. dare to dish differently. years ago, we used to just fall asleep with a full face of makeup. don't regret, just reverse. no7's new future renew with a world-first peptide technology no other skincare product has.

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tom lowenstein was convinced that he was an innocent man, lowenstein contacted the da's office and told him what they found. he says that they did not seem interested. >> i have hard evidence and it got no substantive response at all. >> ogrod was arrested in 1992, when he was 27 years old. we sat down with him when he was 55. did you kill barbara jean horn? >> no i did not, i did not do anything to that child at all. >> did it shake you up that a child had been killed? >> it shook everybody up. you could have your doors open and all. >> a long time went by and then 1992, they wanted to talk to you? >> yes, they stop by my home and my apartment. i was not there, so they gave a card to my landlord. >> when ogrod came home from

working and overnight shift, he had been awake 30 hours, but still agreed to come to the precinct for an interview. >> you believe that you killed her, we are going to help you get it out of your memories and we do not care if it takes all night into the next day. >> what was your reaction? >> i tried to get out many times. they lock the door, sometimes they handcuff me to the chair. >> did you ask for a lawyer at some point? >> yes, and they said that we will get one word on. >> oh god says that detective devlin took the lead, and fed him details of the crime. >> they kept taking pictures of barbara jean horn's body, and putting them right my face like so. they said remember this is what you did, this is what you did, you killed a child. we will do everything you can to help you remember. it now i need you to do exactly what i just showed you so that we can say that you did it. devlin was the one creating all of it. >> and you are going along with

this? >> i am like what is going on here? >> he says he repeated what they wanted him to say, and then signed a confession because he was exhausted and afraid. by the time he was put in a holding cell, he had already recanted, but it was too late. >> did you realize what had just happened? >> when i started getting a little more conscious and all, i was like what the hell did i just do? >> years later, prosecutors claim that ogrod had confessed again to the jailhouse snitch. >> what was it like to hear in court that you had somehow killed barbara jean to get closer to her mom? >> i wondered how did they come up with this crap. >> but it was enough to convince the jury that ogrod was guilty and deserve to die. >> did you look at the jury? >> they were stonefaced. they were like yeah, we want to just get rid of you. >> ogrod was shipped off to death row.

five years later, he met tom lowenstein. >> he just had to dig and dig, he was relentless. >> in 2004, tom wrote a lengthy two part series for the philadelphia city paper, which included everything that he had learned about ogrod's case. a series of attorneys took on that case pro bono. >> we had the benefit of a good bit of journalistic work that have been done by tom lowenstein. >> but to build a strong argument for an appeal, with rollins and his team would have to do their own investigation. >> there is no physical evidence tying mr. ogrod to this crime. how he has presented himself throughout was i am innocent, i did not commit this crime. >> it took them seven years, but by 2011 they had amassed thousands of pages, undermining the prosecutor's case, including affidavits from snitch john hall and his wife phyllis, laying out the scheme against ogrod. >> how hopeful were you at that moment?

>> we are hopeful because we believed that there is more than official grounds in that petition for some court to grant relief. >> but prosecutors vigorously defended their conviction. years passed while ogrod remained on death row. as the convicted killer of a four-year-old girl, he says he was often beaten by both inmates and officers. by now, tom had been hard at work on a book about ogrod's case, and it was published in 2017. the same year that the city elected a new district attorney, larry krasner, a former civil rights lawyer. krasner immediately poured resources into a conviction integrity unit to investigate claims of innocence and hired patricia cummings to run it. ogrod's case was among the first that her team reviewed. >> we started that endeavor by hiring experts that had no

affiliation with the case. we just said, here, take a look at what we got. tell us what barbara jean can tell us about how she died. >> according to the confession, ogrod hit the little girl over the head with a weight bar. at trial, prosecutors argued those blows were the cause of barbara jean's death. did the science support that? >> the science did not support it. >> and she says the original prosecutors should have noted that. >> we learned that the prosecution actually had evidence from an expert back at the time of trial, that suggested that barbara jean did not die of the injuries to her head, which is what the jury heard. instead, one of the experts said that the likely cause of death was asphyxia. >> that was just the beginning. her team determined the jury was given false, unreliable, and incomplete evidence. and even worse, prosecutors

failed to disclose evidence favorable to ogrod including a personality profile from their own experts, concluding that we ogrod is a person easily manipulated. >> frankly, it shocked me and i think it shocked some other people as to some of the evidence that was in that file that was not turned over. >> when i spoke with cummings in the spring of 2020, she told me that it was time to act. so what are you asking the court to do? >> we are asking the court to vacate the conviction, because we believe the conviction as it stands is a gros miscarriage of justice. >> it is an extraordinary admission, rarely heard from a prosecutor. >> in a case where you say, we got it wrong, and not only did we get it wrong, but we think this person is innocent, that ought to concern, scare anybody. >> but would it be enough to free walter ogrod?

>> coming up. >> i found another case where another man is claiming that he is innocent. >> a detective under fire. >> detective marty devlin was known as the golden marti and detective perfect. >> we put his story to the test. >> are you ready, mr. devlin? >> and behind bars, walter ogrod life is in danger. >> i said we are going to kill him before he gets out. >> you are visibly angry now. >> i was visibly angry then, and i'm still angry now. >> when dateline continues. symptoms from over 200 allergens. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear.

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it was an astonishing request, two decades after walter ogrod was sentenced to death for the murder of barbara jean horn, the philadelphia da's office asked the court to throw out his conviction. according to investigators, the original case against him was riddled with lies. it looked like walter might soon be free. but what he lived to see the day? here is lester holt with the conclusion of the investigation. >> walter ogrod's road to death row began in an interrogation room with detective marty devlin. >> marty was known as the golden marti, detective perfect. >> but ogrod is far from the

only one to allege that detective perfect did not always played by the book. >> the first time that i heard about walter ogrod case was the time i was also working on a wrongful conviction case from the philadelphia police department. >> i thought what mr. we ogrod deciding happen him is exactly what happened my client. >> the year before ogrod's arrest, green's client also signed a confession to murder, and also insisted it was coerced. and just like we ogrod, the person who kept transcribe that confession was detective marty devlin. >> he said that mr. wright's confession was a straight-up transcription of what mr. wright said, just as it was being taper courted. >> dna proved wright was innocent, and in 2016 he was exonerated. he filed a civil lawsuit which compelled devlin to sit for a videotaped deposition. >> at that deposition, we put

his story to the test. >> are you ready, mr. devlin? >> as another detective read wright's confession, devlin was asked to transcribe, it just like he said happened in the can interrogation room. >> way too fast, way too fast. >> he could barely keep up. he could not keep pace at all. >> at a certain point, he just gave up. >> i would just march into her house. >> it is way too fast, it is way too fast. >> it corroborates that the confession was completely fabricated. >> devlin declined our request for an interview. in 2018, tony wright settle with a city, which admitted no wrongdoing, for nearly $10 million. >> i kept looking to devlin and found another case from the exact same time period where another man is claiming that he is innocent. >> in fact, devlin worked several other cases along with

other detectives and prosecutors, were false statements sent innocent people to prison. convictions that have been overturned, and on august 13, 2021, marty devlin and two other former homicide detectives were indicted by a philadelphia grand jury, accused of making their own false statements in the tony wright case. >> martin devlin is charged with two counts of perjury and two counts of false swearing for false testimony. >> in a statement, devlin's attorney said that he is innocent and that devlin has spent 50 years fighting for justice for victims of crime. >> you're looking through a keyhole of a might bigger picture, this is a slice of a much bigger problem. >> district attorney larry krasner says toni wright's case is hardly unique and a culture of corruption has existed for decades. between 2019 and 2022, his conviction integrity unit has helped free 28 people, all victims of official misconduct.

his office has investigated dozens of other cases. you are looking at the actions of the prosecutor, or the police? >> both. the biggest part of this problem is not just innocent mistakes, the biggest part of this problem is the abuse of power. >> in february 2020, krasner's office, together with defense attorneys, did something rarely seen. they filed a joint motion asking the court to vacate ogrod's conviction. >> it was unbelievable, they came up with 160 stipulations with the defense, things are gone wrong. >> for nearly 30 years sharon fahy hated ogrod, but after meeting with prosecutors she became furious with the people who put him away and heartsick for the man she now believes is innocent. this is a man you wanted to die, and now you are saying you want him free? >> yes. once i had all of the facts, in my heart believed we that he is

the wrong man and that he did not do this. >> sharon and john are now divorced, in large part because of the stress and sadness of barbara jean's murder. what do you make of the fact that the prosecutor, defense, and sharon all believe that walter ogrod is innocent. >> maybe he is, maybe he isn't. i do not know. >> but sharon took it upon herself to write a letter to the judge, asking for ogrod's release. >> i did not want him to die behind bars. >> but suddenly, that was a real possibility. covid-19 was rapidly spreading inside the prison, and ogrod began showing symptoms. they filed it emergency mode notion demanding that ogrod be taken to an outside hospital. a great judge granted it. but a prison defied the order. rollins called the facility,

livid. >> you've got to understand, this guy is getting out and you are going to kill him before he gets out. get him treated. >> you are visibly angry now. >> i was visibly angry then, for and i am still angry now. >> as the weeks passed, from ogrod began to recover, called me from prison. >> my lungs felt like-- >> on june 5th, 2020, after 28 years behind bars walter ogrod finally had his day in court after an extraordinary effort from the da's office. his legal team and tom lowenstein he heard the de words he longed for. the judge vacated his conviction. his friends and family gathered in a parking lot near the prison. >> walter! >> i was sitting there like, pinch me, is this really happening?

is he really getting out today? >> i think i am in a state of shock. >> i am so hyped up now. everything is racing right now. it has been like that since i walked out. it is going to take a while. >> what do you hope for him now? >> i just want him to be happy. >> walter ogrod filed a civil suit against the city of philadelphia and several police officers, including detective devlin. the defendants have all denied any wrongdoing. meanwhile, as the case makes its way through the courts, police has reopened the investigation into barbara jean 's murder. tom lowenstein has investigated the little girl's case longer than anyone. it is a journey that he is grateful he took. >> when walt got out on june 5th, there is that sense of, like my dad saying, that notion of being useful and doing something useful in life. and i definitely, that day, it felt useful.

>> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning, thank you for watching. >> happy saturday and welcome to morning joe weekend, it was another busy week with growing legal troubles for former president donald trump. we will get into all of that, plus some of the week's other top stories, take a look. the jury found trump liable for sexual abuse and then there was new court filing, a judge clarified that the jury found that donald trump acted rape writer e. jean carroll. and that was in the way that the word is commonly used. the jury handed down that verdict during a civil trial between the rider and the former president,