so. with a degree in legal studies. she went on to work on a paralegal in a law form and talked about a founder in a law office -- happening to see katie on dateline inspiring a program called ignite you first. it's dedicated to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma. >> and never have been a role model in my life, so i was never told what kind of man i should look for. i was never taught what kind of humans and people, and friends that i needed in my life. >> her hope is that by being part of that program, she can help teens and adults make better choices. >> something like this happens, it gives you purpose. and life has no meaning without purpose. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> >> i'm craig melvin, this is dateline. >> something is wrong here. the system doesn't want you to acknowledge that they've made a mistake, but you made a

mistake. >> the detective was like you will tell us you did this, and i'm like man, i didn't do anything. >> you hear the judge say guilty -- >> everything froze. >> two brothers convicted of murder fight back against the justice system. >> twice as a pattern, a pattern of how to gain a conviction. >> i knew they were innocent and the question was do we have enough? >> you have witnesses saying the testimony was coalhurst, can they will be lying? >> if i have to die in this situation, led it to be said that i would die trying to prove that i was an innocent man. never that i gave up. never. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. imagine spending nearly your entire adult life, behind bars

for a crime you did not commit. the men that you are about to me, say that nightmare felt all too real. three decades long journey to prove their innocence, they face countenance roadblocks. giving up was not an option. but, with their fight lead to freedom? here is, the long road to freedom. tulsa, oklahoma. look at a list of top places to live, and you will often find. a city of promise of a new kind of energy, as its motto says. but look a bit closer. just over the railroad tracks that separate the north from the south side. and you will find a city divided. segregated. as and if you walk deeper into north tulsa, past the boarded up houses, and broken basketball hoops, you will hear a story that is all too familiar. >> theth

had to deal with the pain, the anger, the frustration, the sadness. the missouri, you know. >> like the families of george floyd, ahmaud arbery, breonna taylor, michael brown, and hundreds of other young african americans whose names are being chanted in protest nationwide, malcolm scotts, wants his story told. >> because if we do not know it exists, how can we do anything about it? >> his story, starts like so many other black lives, that have struggled to matter. raised in poverty, under the watchful suspicious eye of the police.

and destined to a life of run-ins with the law. but at its heart, it is a story about two brothers, malcolm and cory, and a bond that could not be broken. not even in the face of an imaginable odds. what was it like, growing up in tulsa? >> you felt like you are always home. familiar faces always around you. >> large family, very upstanding. >> 12 brothers and sisters. >> 12? >> yeah, it was crowded. i was very big into sports. me having a football in my hand was life. >> malcolm caught the football bug, from cory. who was his older half brother, and best friend. >> we have a beautiful relationship. my mama would tell me he is crazy about you. he would do everything you do. >> as a young teenager, malcolm dealt with a father, who struggled with alcohol

addiction. and sometimes abused him. cory, was his safe haven. >> i had to protect him. >> did he kind of start to play the role of dad? >> i could better relate to him. i did not fear him. and i felt kinda safe with him. >> feeling safe, was rare, in north tulsa. this was where the poorest of the poor lived. a place with very few social services, but lots of crack cocaine, and gang violence. the night of august 3rd, 1990, was typical, on the corner of atlanta and forth. a gun was fired. cory says, he happened to be driving through. >> i looked to where the shot came from, and i saw the dude fall. and as we got right there, and i looked and saw his chest was still moving, he was still breathing, and i was like, man, somebody call an ambulance for him. >> when police arrived, they found this man, 29-year-old james, a small time drug dealer, dead on the sidewalk, he had been shot once in the chest, and robbed.

police stopped cory at the scene. some of his friends were known gang members, and police thought cory was too. but he had no criminal record. >> and they pulled us out of the car, they searched my car, they searched us down, and let us go. >> investigators, were not able to develop any leads, and the case went cold. but six months after his death, a 16-year-old told police, he saw the shooter. it was cory. police arrested cory, and charged him with first degree murder. >> i was taken to the homicide division, and the detective was, like you are going to tell us you did this. and i was like, man, i ain't did nothing. >> at trial, thomas became the prosecution star witness, and prosecutors had more evidence. they played an interrogation video of cory's friend, ben king, who was with him that

night. in which, he too, told detectives, that cory was the killer. cory took the stand in his own defense, and testified that he tried to help the victim. not kill him. >> i can remember the da, said if they don't believe you, you are going to the penitentiary for the rest of your life. and i just, i said yeah but the truth will come out. >> the jury did not believe him. and found cory, guilty. on june 25th, 1991, he was sentenced to life and shipped off to a maximum security prison. just like that, he was out of malcolm's life. >> cory left when i was no more than 13. and that was hard. >> to fill the void, malcolm started to hang out more with demarco carpenter. a basketball player, and neighborhood jokester. >> i was going to be a comedian. i thought i was so funny. i always told jokes.

and get the girls, and make them laugh. >> but in north tulsa, fun could easily turn tragic in a split second. malcolm and demarco were at a party spot, late one night, in december 1993, when a drive-by shooter hit the place. malcolm was grazed, but demarco was badly injured. he was rushed to the hospital, malcolm by his side. >> he said hang in, there keep your eyes open. and he was holding my hand. and i remember him squeezing, hold on, hang in there. losing his brother to prison, then seeing his friend almost die, hardened malcolm. he inched a bit closer to the streets. in fact, police caught him with a handgun, something he says, probably would not have happened, if cory had been around. >> he's always been the one to say man no, what are you doing. you do and none of that. you need to be in school. are you need to get that football. >> malcolm, had always wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps. and he was about to.

soon, another tulsa murder. and another shock, for young malcolm. coming up. fingers are pointed at malcolm, and his friend. >> these witnesses said they saw malcolm and demarco there. they saw the shooting. they identified them. >> i just froze. it's like, time just suspended for a second. >> when dateline continues. kayaking is my thing. running is awesome. but her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. now i'm staying ahead of it. dupixent helps heal your skin from within. so, they can have clearer skin and less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about dupixent.

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growing up in a violence ridden, low income community like north tulsa. then, and now, if you are a 17 year old black teenager, like malcolm was in 1994, you are on the police radar. whether you are in a gang, or not. >> i frequently heard complaints from kids about being arrested for no reason. or being hassled and being stopped. being called gang members when they have worn certain color. >> ziva branstetter was an investigative crime reporter for the tulsa news paper for 22 years. >> i think the vast majority were good cops, doing their job, trying to keep up. going from call to call. but there were other reports of you know, indiscriminate arrests. >> she says what she saw in tulsa, reflected the stark

reality all across the country. >> tulsa was roughly 10% african american, but the arrest rate among african americans, was 43%. >> if you are a kid back then, it was easier to grow up in south tulsa, the north. >> absolutely. i raised two kids in south tulsa, and i did not have to worry about my boys being pulled over for no reason. i did not worry about the safety of my friends. >> how bad was the gang problem in tulsa? >> the gang problem was bad. people were afraid. there were reports, regulated by crips in blood's warring, the tulsa police department was trying to deal with a high violent crime. lots of guns on the streets. >> september 10th, 1994, was just that kind of day in north tulsa. another drive-by shooting. another senseless death. this time, it was 19 year old

karen summers, the mother of a baby boy, who was gunned down at 2:30 in the morning as she was hanging with friends at a party. >> frankly, this kind of case, well it did involve a tragic loss of life, a young mother who was an innocent victim, it was not highly unusual in tulsa. >> the murder had all the signs of a gang crime. and lots of crips were at the party. so a day later, tulsa homicide investigator, paid a visit to michael wilson. a well-known member of the bloods. he noticed a maroon again parked in the driveway. it matched the description, of the drive by car. >> mike hough, said i want to talk to you about this shooting.

and michael is trying to hide a gun. huff sees the gunman takes the gun. ballistic test show that that was the gun, that was used to kill karen summers. >> it seemed damning. but wilson told detectives, he was hiding the gun for malcolm's friend, demarco. and he had given demarco the bullets. wilson was arrested for holding a gun. but his story lined up with what police we're hearing from two eyewitnesses, malcolm and demarco, killed karen summers. >> these witnesses said that they saw mel commit demarco there. they saw the shooting. they identified them. >> suddenly, malcolm was in almost the same situation his brother had been in three years before. and, telling a tulsa homicide detective, the exact same thing. i am innocent. >> i am like, whoever is telling you this, they are obviously mistaken. i had nothing to do with it. >> but despite the fact that no physical evidence pointed to malcolm and demarco, prosecutors believed they were the shooters. so, they cut a deal with michael wilson. and they allowed him, to plead guilty to a lesser charge, in exchange for testifying against malcolm and demarco. at trial, the prosecution

presented the two eyewitnesses, and what wilson had told them. then, demarco said the prosecutor, approached him about a deal. seeing malcolm did it, and we will cut you a break. >> i thought that he was insane, for even asking me. that >> you did not even consider it? >> no, definitely not. why would i do that. why would i threw him under the bus? >> demarco, turned down the deal. but just nine hours later, he stood horrified, as the jury delivered its verdict. the two friends, were both found guilty, of first degree murder. >> i could not hear anything. i could see faces, and people were crying. but i did not hear anything. >> a judge sentence malcolm into marco, to life in prison, plus 170 years. >> everything just froze. it's like, time just suspended

for a second. >> malcolm thought of his older brother cory. now, they were both serving life, for murders they said they did not commit. but, they were determined to stay strong, and to help each other. >> we basically had made a pact with each other. we said man, whoever gets out of here first, has to help the other one. >> the odds malcolm inquiry good keep that promise, we're next to impossible. the road to freedom, if it ever came, would be long. filled with unexpected twists and revelations. coming up. a private investigator, tracks down one of the eyewitnesses, who ided malcolm and demarco, as the killers. >> he could not even look me in the eye. he said man, i have been carrying around a burden. those boys did not do that.

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28 years when i sat down with him. he said he spent almost every day of it, trying to prove his innocence. but, he had exhausted his appeals, and had been denied parole five times. was there a point over the last 20 plus years, were you thought, i am going to die here?

>> at times when you've been denied in court, you feel low. you just want to say give sometimes. >> what was your lowest point? >> it would've probably, been situations where i wanted to be out there with my daughter. and help her and i could not. >> cory's daughter courtney, was born a couple of months after her father started his life sentence. >> they send me paperwork, trying to forfeit my custody, saying i was unfit because i was in prison. and, it felt like i was failing her. and it felt like, it wasn't even my fault. >> cory felt that since a failure in helplessness again, when he heard about malcolm. >> what did you say when you heard your younger brother was

convicted? >> at first, i was like, this is my fault. because he is falling in my footsteps. i felt like, this is my child, being taken away. >> did you know your brother told us that he feels partly responsible, for you going to prison? >> i mean there is no blame on my brother at all. and i definitely cannot hold him responsible, for something that i did not even do myself. >> when malcolm entered prison, he thought he would get out as soon as he filed his first appeal. then his second. then third. >> denied. denied. denied. >> so, malcolm and his friend demarco, started writing letters. >> who did you write to? >> anybody in the legal field that i could think of. >> what did you say in these letters? >> man, i just need somebody to look at this case. and they will see. >> they wrote thousands of letters, day after day. for 11 years.

finally, in 2006, private investigator eric collin, the son of a tulsa homicide detective, took on the case. >> i kind of described malcolm and demarco's letters as scratches on the wall. i just kind of imagine, would it must be like to be dropped in a whole 30 feet deep, and good luck getting out. there is no such thing is a criminal justice system. it is just a system. it is not always fair. and it is not always right. >> he tracked down the first eyewitness, who had identified malcolm and demarco as the killers. >> and he could not even look me in the, i he said man i have been carrying around a burden. man, those boys did not do that. >> the man told colin, he shot at the drive by cars as it sped

away and claimed that detectives threatened to put him behind bars, for firing his weapon, if he did not testify against malcolm and demarco. >> he says that they told him, he could be charged with felony murder, for firing that gun. it might have been him that killed karen summers, who knows. >> now that he was making progress, he needed help. he turned to someone who has been a champion against wrongful convictions, for years. tiffany murphy, then director of the oklahoma innocence project. it was not the first time that a tulsa case landed on murphy's desk. >> i was seeing a lot of cases, where there were no facts that supported what i was seeing in the convictions. when you are seeing that lack, overtime, involving the same departments, sheriff's office, police department, prosecutors office, that's what really bothered me. >> colin in the innocence team, track down the second eyewitness you testified, that he had seen malcolm in demarco. but police records show that he had been shot in the buttocks,

and his back was turned. >> common sense tells you, if you got shot in the butt, you are not able to see anything. >> the eyewitness, recanted, and he claimed detectives had coerced his testimony too. >> this is a kid who got pressured into saying something, that he did not see. i was watching him. and i could tell that this was a man, who was remembering something that was extremely traumatic. and as a black woman, i get that. i understand that, you know, the fear of the police is a real thing. >> now, only one of the prosecutions key witnesses remained. michael wilson. >> michael is it. whatever he had to say, he had to tie everything together. >> and the team knew exactly where to find michael wilson. on death row. coming up. >> my name is michael wilson. >> i was incredibly nervous,

because i knew what was on the line, for malcolm and demarco. >> michael wilson,'s jaw-dropping admission. >> i was not trying to shoot karen summers. she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> and what he has to say about the police. >> all i know is, i had a murder weapon on, me and they let me go. >> when dateline continues. ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ 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 makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler... ...for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed.

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breaking news, the next phase of the war between israel and hamas appears to be imminent. the israel defense force is beefing up military personnel and equipment at the gaza border expand where officials are calling and integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land. meanwhile, plane -- is now in egypt heading to help stem the humanitarian crisis, hundreds of thousands of people in gaza are being forced to evacuate their homes. now, back to dateline, more later. mor later.

welcome back to dateline, i'm craig melvin. convicted malcolm scott and demarco carpenter, wrote thousands of letters to prove their innocence. finally private investigator eric collin answered. working with the oklahoma innocence project, colin methodically poked holes in the prosecution's case. now, they would visit key witness and death row inmates, michael wilson. but, could they reach him in time, back to the long road to freedom. >> by 2013, malcolm had been in prison for 19 years. his brother cory, for 22. >> are you ready to go? >> the days when their mom ruth ellen came to visit, help them hold, on the brothers drew strength from her.

>> that lady had been right there, i never had to wonder, if she still cared, or if she was still fighting for, me still believing in me, still praying on me. >> and malcolm was hopeful his mom's prayers would be answered. two prosecution witnesses had told his investigative team, that their testimony, was a lie. that left michael wilson, the man who told police he had given demarco bullets, and hid the murder weapon for him. if he recanted too, malcolm thought they had a chance. but michael wilson, refused to talk. and he had a good reason. he was on death row, for the 1995 murder of a convenience store manager. wilson, seen here in this surveillance video, while he committed the crime, was appealing. hoping he would get a lesser sentence, of life without parole. >> if michael had been executed, without talking to us, we do not have a case. we do not have enough with what we have so far, to win. >> i'm hoping someone can help

me. >> but demarco, was not ready to give up. >> a shout out to president obama, russell simmons, kevin durant, ice cube, shaquille o'neil. >> so you start making videos, from in prison? >> yes. >> last i checked, you are not supposed to have cell phones in prison. >> no, but i had to do when i had to do to gain my freedom. i felt like i had to take this risk. >> while malcolm into marco waited, wilson lost his final appeal, on january second, 2014. he was set to die by lethal injection, a week later. and then, the phone rang. it was wilson's lawyer. >> and she said to us, if you want to talk to him, this is a window you have. and it was literally, 48 hours before his execution. >> my name is michael wilson. >> when murphy met with wilson,

in a death row visiting room a video camera was rolling. >> i was incredibly nervous, because i knew it was on the line, for malcolm and demarco. >> now, what might be their last chance at freedom, came down to whether a condemned man, would decide to come clean. within minutes, he did. >> i was not trying to shoot karen summers. she was, she was one of the type of things that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> wilson confessed to killing karen summers. and even said he thought it was all over, when police actually caught him with the gun he used. >> it blew me away, that i got caught with a gun, and they just let me go. all i know is, i had a murder

weapon on me, and they let me go. >> wilson said, is seemed the detective had already made up his mind, that malcolm and demarco were the killers. and he just played along. >> all i had to do is answer the question, yes or no. did i give bullets to malcolm and demarco? >> i said yes. >> demarco give you a gun? >> he said, did demarco give you a gun and i said yes. that's what i had to say. and that's when i set. and they let me out. >> and that is why he was, free to kill the convenience store manager. a murder, that never would have happened, and wilson been in

jail and charged with karen summers's death. >> you have people who would be alive, families not affected, not destroyed by this horrible crime. that does not happen, if he is arrested for this. >> malcolm got the call soon after wilson's confession. it was all there, captured on video. >> demarco carpenter, and malcolm scott did not do this crime. >> the words he had ached to here, for 20 long years. i still have my faith. i still have my faith. >> you never lost their faith? >> i refused to let it go. >> the team presented its evidence to a judge. but police and prosecutors deny they court hearst any witnesses. and insisted, that what wilson had said on the video, was a lie. >> the police, from their standpoint, and the prosecutor standpoint, said this guy is going to die. so if he goes out and helps to have his neighborhood friends, what does he have to lose? >> would malcolm and demarco have a shot at freedom? it was all up to the judge now. coming up. >> if i have to die in this situation, let it be said, that i will die trying to prove that i am an innocent man. >> and-- >>twice is a pattern. a pattern of conduct, a pattern of how to gain a conviction. >> a fresh look at cory's case, including new evidence from three eyewitnesses.

>> it all describes someone 5'7 ish, if that was an aha moment. because cory is 62, and no one is going to misinterpret cory, for being 57. okay? >> when dateline continues. is no exception. it's time you had a proven choice to help restore what's yours. opzelura is the first and only fda-approved prescription treatment for nonsegmental vitiligo... proven to help repigment skin... over time. restoring what's yours. it's possible... with a steroid-free cream that you can apply... yourself. opzelura can lower your ability to fight infections including tb or hepatitis b or c. serious lung infections, skin cancer, blood clots, and low blood cell counts occurred with opzelura. in people taking jak inhibitors, serious infections, increased risk of death, lymphoma, other cancers, and major cardiovascular events have occurred. the most common side effects were acne and itching where applied. if you're on the pursuit, repigmentation may be within reach.

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were sentenced to life in prison. now, they hoped another judge would set them free. >> if i have to die in the situation, let it be said that i would die trying to prove that i was an innocent man. never that i gave up. never. >> the judge agreed with malcolm and demarco that police pressured witnesses, and that wilson's video confession was credible. >> they didn't do this crime. >> malcolm and demarco she declared were actually innocent of the murder of karen summers. >> you remember that morning you got out? >> the skies were beautiful. i looked up, and right there, the sun. it was finally beaming on me. >> the first thing malcolm did, as a free man, he says, was to let go of his anger. >> i had to free my mind. i had to free my heart. that's all good.

>> what do you do now? >> i'm not sure yet. i wanna get in the jacuzzi. >> actually, before he did anything, he called his brother, corey -- >> he said, bro, it's over with. i cried tears of joy. i felt like i was getting released. it's a burden being lifted off my shoulders. even if it doesn't ever happen for me. i'm happy that it happened for him. >> remember, they had a pact. first one out gets the other one out. >> when i talk to my attorneys, what can we do about getting my brothers out? they're like, you haven't even enjoyed being home yourself. i won't be, completely, able to. i need him home. >> private investigator, eric collin, was now working on corey's case.

as he poured over police and court records, he noticed that, just like with malcolm, there were several allegations of coercing witnesses. >> most investigators don't believe in coincidence, and i did not believe that that was a coincidence. >> he teamed up with defensive joe norwood, and he discovered a 15 year old testifying, claiming that police had threatened him with jail time, if he did not say that cory was a shooter. >> part way through his testimony he says you know what i can't do this. would i just testified to is not the truth. i was told to say it by these detectives. i didn't see cory do anything. >> next, norwood tracked down the prosecution star witness. he told him, he had lied to. >> when he identified cory's killer. >> his claim is that the police

pressured him to say it, and then, the prosecutor got him to the trial, getting him to say it. >> then, there was cory's friend, who had been with him the night of the shooting, ben king. the one who said on that interrogation video that cory did it, but king said, he had told police twice before, that cory did not do it. >> he didn't do, it we do, and cory do it. they didn't want to hear that. they didn't want to hear the truth. >> when police brought him in a third time, pressuring him again, king said that he had enough. he just wanted to leave. >> they wouldn't let me go. after being down there, nine, ten hours a day, -- i thought, well, i'll tell him a lie and go home. >> king said, when prosecutor, tim harris, asked him to testify against cory at trial, he refused. >> tim harris kept trying to get me to say he did it, and i wouldn't do it. that's when they went and

brought the tape and played it. i told him it was a lie, was a lie. they were police words, not mine. it was coerced. >> to norwood, the parallels between malcolm and cory's cases were unmistakable. >> these teenagers were threatened with being charged themselves, if they didn't say what detectives wanted them to say. once -- twice is a pattern. a pattern of conduct. a pattern of how to get a conviction. >> but in cory's case, it wasn't just allegations of coercion, norwood found three different eyewitnesses, who told police that someone else was the shooter. none of them testified at cory's trial. >> they all described the exact same physical appearance of someone. 5'7, 1.50, that was an aha moment. because cory's six two.

he's a big dude. no one is going to misinterpret cory for being 5'7, 1.50, okay? >> given all this new evidence, malcolm thought his brother finally had a chance to get out of prison. >> hey, bro. >> what's up, bro! >> every time i talk to you and we're talking about you coming home, i'm like, i was just on the other side. >> when you locked up, it's like you're buried in a casket, under the ground. >> this call will be terminated in two minutes. >> you've got a climb about of there, and not give up. >> that's what it is. one little piece at a time. every little step we're taking is gonna get us to the big goal, you know what i mean? to the big one we're reaching for. >> will cory and malcolm finally reunite? >> coming up -- >> you know there are other witnesses who recanted? >> i don't know that.

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malcolm scott was exonerated,

but his freedom was only the beginning. him and his brother cory had a packed. first one out, gets the other one out. as the focus turned to cory, investigators alleged that they found a disturbing pattern of coercion by law enforcement. with his future at stake, corey's lawyers were determined to write the wrong. but, a judge would have the final say. now, the conclusion of the long road to freedom. >> is it going to happen this town? just thinking about it-- >> it's one day before a judge will decide of 47 year old, cory, becomes a free man. or, if he spends the rest of his life in prison. even if cory gets out, life

will not be easy. take demarco. >> was it like being on the outside? >> it's been a struggle. i'm still trying to figure out who i am and would i want to do. i miss not on so much. >> malcolm, on the other hand has adjusted well. he lives in texas, where he works as a personal trainer. and, he's in love. but, malcolm said his life would not be complete until the judge said those same words to cory that he said to him. >> once he finally makes that final decision, you're a free man, i feel like -- [laughs] -- >> hey! >> that's mom. >> how are you? >> i'm fine.

i'm worried about to stay. i've been waiting for a long time. i've been praying for it. >> family and friends assembled at the tulsa county courthouse. no cameras were allowed inside the courtroom. i was there to hear the judges words. she had declared there had been a fundamental mitch's carriage of justice, and found there was clear and convincing evidence that cory atchison did not commit this crime but. his daughter, courtney, 28 years old, was overjoyed. >> when you heard the judge -- what did you think? >> there are no words to explain. i'm so happy. i'm ready for him to come home and be there for me and my baby. >> dateline repeatedly asked the tulsa police department to respond to the allegations that it threatened teenage witness in both cases. we also asked the t. a.'s and

the mayor's office for interviews. they all declined. we did speak to tim harris, tulsa's former district attorney, who prosecuted cory and -- coerced him to lie that court was a shooter. >> i said, the allegations are patently false. untrue. their lies. as an elected district attorney, in this community for 16 years, i've never coerced. i've never forced, and i've never presented false has the money. not only to mr. thomas, but in any case in my career. >> what about ben king? >> i can't remember what mr. king said. i was -- that was 28 years ago. >> you know that there are other witnesses who recanted? >> i don't know that. i don't know who said what. >> but you can see how somebody

who's looking at this case from the outside, who would say, you've got several witnesses all saying the testimony was coerced. can they all be lying? >> i don't know what they said, okay? if they're present at the scene, and they're saying mr. atchison was not the shooter, and tell me, who is. all i know, i presented the evidence that was presented to me. 12 citizens listen to all the evidence and decided that mr. atchison was guilty of first degree murder. >> although, the judge with the same 12 jurors listen to the evidence, they would've likely reach different conclusion. >> that's your opinion. i respect it. i certainly disagree with it.

>> the system doesn't want to acknowledge that they made a mistake. but, you made a mistake you! made a horrible mistake. the fact that it happened twice in the same family is -- there are no words. >> in 2020, the oklahoma innocence project worked on a staggering 145 potential wrongful conviction cases in tulsa. >> there is a problem here. it continues to be a problem. >> of course, it's a national problem. especially for african americans. a 2017 study, the national exoneration registry, shows that innocent black people are more likely to be convicted of murder than innocent white people, and that police

misconduct is 22% more likely to play a role in their exoneration then with white defendants. >> now people are saying, how can we fix it? but, very few people, on the state side, want to sit down and have the honest conversation, how did we get here? >> and june 2020, just weeks after george floyd's murder, a tulsa police -- are not systematically racist, citing crime statistics. -- 24% to less than how they ought to be, based on the crime has been committed. tulsa's first african-american police chief, and its mayor, criticize those remarks. >> what came out of his mouth is in no way reflective of what we're trying to accomplish in the city of tulsa, or the tulsa police department. >> then, this body cam video of tulsa police forcefully arresting a black teenager for jaywalking went viral.

meanwhile, malcolm and marco are suing the city of tulsa and the individual police officers who they claim coerced testimony used to convict them. the city and officers have denied the claims and are fighting to dismiss the lawsuit. malcolm says, he's not looking for blame, he wants to provoke change. >> my heart is strong about every single one of those people that's going to the fight and that struggle to prove their innocence. i know the pain. i know the hurt. that's what this is about for me. giving that next man a chance. >> welcome to freedom. >> cory struggled to prove his innocence is done. malcolm, their mom, family and friends, get ready to welcome cory, as he takes his first steps as a free man in 28 years. >> i would imagine that you spent many nights thinking about how this is going to go. >> yeah. i had this dream.

i remember, i woke up with tears in my eyes and one of my partners came in myself and he said, what's up? i said, man, i'm going home. the >> hearing comes. >> a little over a year after his release, corey atchison sue the state of oklahoma for wrongful conviction. in june of 2021, the state settled the claim. while denying liability, officials paid cory $175, 000, the maximum allowed under oklahoma law. that's roughly $6,250 for each of his 20 years behind bars. from 2016 to 2020, 374 people wrongfully convicted of murder, 61% african americans have reunited with their families. together, they spent over 6000 years in prison. years they will never get back. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. >> i thought there was a burglar in my house. before i knew, would i fired four shots at the door. >> he is struggling a lot with

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