[tense music] - they convicted the wrong guys. - it's harder to accept being in here they convicted the wrong guys. >> it's harder to accept being in here when you know you didn't do anything. >> who better to have hit the

road than a journalist that could bring the truth to light? >> your motion to vacate your convictions is granted. >> you have one person that's absent. that's one too many. i was like yeah, you really need to talk to this guy. >> go out there and find the facts of my case. when you do that, you'll find that i'm innocent. >> the evidence that convicted jj was only eyewitness evidence. >> i don't know if i really picked out the right person. >> my grandchildren have had to live through this. >> what's happened to you is a product of what happened to me. >> i feel if you were there, it would be different. >> jj's lawyers bring the case to the da's office. when dateline aired, i thought people would take it seriously. .

- did you sign in already? - so i can get your autograph when i watch your video. did you sign in already? >> so i can get your autograph? >> thank you. >> all right. it's been eight months since we did your story. did you think you'd still be here? >> absolutely not. >> did you see the show? >> i was able to see the show. i watched it right here. >> from where? >> from right here on that screen. >> how has the reaction been from your fellow inmates? >> believe it or not, a lot of them are pieced off. everybody had hope in me but i'm still here. >> you're on national

television. >> i was on national television with a whole lot of people supporting me now. i'm still not being heard. [somber orchestral music] ♪

- even though i tried to make myself believe every year even timthough i tried to myself believe every year that i would be released, the more time i had in, the less i started to believe in that. and that was hard to accept. i started going to the law library at least five days a week. >> knowing what i was going through, i felt like obligated to try to help other people in my situation. i met harry when i got to sing sing. we started working together, and as we started to get closer, i started to realize that this guy has the same situation as me. and so at that point, i had to call dan, and i was just like

dan, we have another one. >> on your feet. >> oh! you're gonna film me? >> of course we're gonna film you. >> we saw velazquez this morning. >> i was talking to him the other night. >> how long have in here lingering every day wondering whether this mistake will be corrected. and that, you know, if the i'll ever get out of here. >> he told me he had been convicted of killing a cab driver by the name of bathe diap in 1995 in the bronx, and that five other people were charged with him, and they were all innocent. eric was 20 and a father to a newborn daughter

when he was arrested. >> she was just born. i got to see her come out. i was there at the hospital. we brought her home, and two weeks after that, they just showed up one day, and just arrested me. during the interrogation, they told me that they was arresting me for murder. and at that point, everything's become surreal. >> why? why is this happening to me? i don't know what's going on. >> mr. fields, i'm going to try. >> i just want to see my daughter. i just want to be with my daughter. if the i knew what took place that night, if i knew who did anything, i would tell you. i would tell you, sir. >> mr. fields, i'm going to give you your rights one last time. >> but i will tell you. >> make a statement or remain silent. i'm going to read you your rights first. >> i don't know what happened that night because i was not there. you blaming me for something i

don't know nothing about. >> the only evidence connecting eric to this crime was one woman's eyewitness testimony. she claimed that from her bathroom window, she could see everything that happened. she could see what they did, what they said, how bathe diap was shot, and she named all of these people, including eric glisson. but when i did my investigation, i go over to where she said she saw all of this happen, and i look out the window. and it is literally impossible to have seen what she said she saw. the lead detective never even did that. i couldn't believe it.

the more i'm learning about eric's case and the more i'm filming with him, the more outrageous this is becoming to me. he told me that from his cell, he figured out who the real killers were. >> i was doing freedom of information requests with the da's office. it took me nearly 16-17 years, and eventually i obtained the victim's cell phone records. the police said that after the cab driver murdered, his cell phone was stolen, and i found hundreds of calls after his death from these guys who were part of a gang called sex, money, murder. i write a letter to the u.s. attorney's office. miraculously, this letter landed on the desk of john malley. >> i'm an investigator with the united states attorney office and i'm assigned to the violent crimes unit. >> a decade earlier, federal

investigator john omalley investigated a gang called sex, money, murder, and two of those gang murders confessed to him they were the shooters. john omalley calls multiple times asking about an open homicide. they say we don't have an open cab driver murder on groves avenue. nine years later, eric glisson's letter arrives. >> weenie mentioned when he mentioned the cab driver, i knew the area, and i kept reading the letter. >> he said to himself i know who committed this murder. john omalley drives up to sing sing, and he sees eric. >> i said did you write this letter? and he said yes. he got very emotional, and he was i think he fell almost to his knees or at least sat down, and he said i didn't do this.

he says, you know, i didn't do this murder. so i said to him, look, i think i know who did it. >> as you sit here today, is it still your belief that the overwhelming evidence is that vega and rodriguez acted alone in the shooting and killing of bathe diap? >> yes. >> john omalley promises eric as soon as they leave the prison, i will call your attorney, and he did. >> hey! >> good to see you. >> mr. john omalley, he asked did i write that letter? i told him yes. he said we're sorry. i said sorry for what? he said i know you're innocent. i was so shocked. i said what do you mean by that? he said i know the guys who committed the crime you're in here for. >> the key is to try to get it resolved as quickly as possible.

i know every day you're here is a day you're at risk. >> why do they do this to people? >> federal investigator john omalle,where writes an affidavit explaining the history of the case and why he knows eric is innocent. and i got nbc's local news station to do a story about eric's plight. >> we turn to a news 4 exclusive. imagine spending 15 years behind bars for a crime you say relied on heavily questionable testimony. >> you're waiting to hear them say they made a mistake and you're free to go home. >> hey, eric. >> how you doing? >> good to see you. >> what's up? >> you're looking good. >> yeah. thank you. >> so you know i wouldn't be coming up here except for something that i think is

important. you know that. >> yeah. >> the da is now prepared to give you a conditional dismissal of the indictment and vacate the conviction. >> it hasn't set in yet. i'm in shock. all the fighting we've done over these years, um, i don't know what to say right now. >> they want you to wear a bracelet for 90 days. >> if that's a condition of my freedom. >> that's what i thought. >> what about college? i'm going to have to go from here out there to the campus. >> we can talk to mercy college about transferring you to manhattan. >> i need those credits, six credits. >> we don't want you to lose that. >> my heart is beating so fast. i don't know what, i mean you try to prepare yourself for

this day when you doing all of this detective work, putting pieces together. thank you. >> i'm so happy for you. >> thank you for all the work you've done for me. >> granted at this time on consent and further on consent each defendant is released on their own recognizance. >> [ cheering and applause ] >> i left a lot of innocent in sing sing, so my heart goes out to them.

their names is velazquez and richard rosario. my daughter. where's cynthia? hello. >> you got it upside down, eric. no, no, no. it's upside down. >> hmm? >> like this. >> oh, hello. yeah. i had the phone upside down. that was my first cell phone call. wow. wow! you know, i'm used to sleeping on a metal frame. >> i know jon-adrian is watching the news right now up in sing sing. i left him behind, so i can't

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there may have been issues that led to the wrong person being incarcerated. i'm like okay, this that day? we're talking about tuesday, the 27th. >> the 27th. >> did you actually meet at the apartment building that day? what was your routine like during that time period? you were just spending time with your family? >> yes. >> so there was no job? >> not at the time. >> i'm just trying to get a sense of what you were doing there. >> if you're trying to ask if i've ever sold drugs out there, i did. >> the questions were making me look like a bad guy. >> the drugs have to come from somebody. it has to get bagged up. there's a percentage gotten from that from the guys on the street. >> did you give anybody a cut? >> i worked by myself. >> you had the good cop-bad cop play going on, then this other person who's just observing every detail of my face. >> so when did you learn that the crime occurred on january 27th? >> what led to the phone call

with your mother in terms of did you call her, did she call you? >> if you could have it unfold for me, then i'll understand. >> in recalling it and going back and answering your question and answering your question and being bounced around, you know, my story is almost walking a different path. i didn't do this crime. >> these people aren't treating me like an innocent person. it was the furthest from my expectations. >> this was a long time today. >> absolutely. >> we appreciate your time. >> i appreciate your time too. and your consideration. thank you. >> and we'll just keep doing what we have to do. >> the ciu said they had interviewed numerous people, had looked at a lot of documentary evidence, and that they felt there wasn't enough to overturn jj's conviction. they were going to stand by it. but they never even spoke with

jj's alibi witnesses. >> you ready to go? >> good morning. the conviction integrity unit turned out to be a joke. the conviction integrity unit turned out to be a colossal waste of our time as attorneys and much more significantly a colossal waste of time for a man who sits in a jail cell. and that's why we've filed the exhibits and briefs far in excess of 100 pages today so we can go to a real, neutral arbiter, a judge. >> 15 years later, i'm standing here again. it's been a cruel joke what the da has played on this family. we trusted in him to bring us justice. and he didn't bring us justice.

i am hopeful and so is jon- adrian velazquez that we will get justice in this s4 court. the justice system must change. it must change the way it convicts people. thank you. >> [applause] >> this is also eric glisson who was recently released from prison. >> exonerated after 17 years and nine months. because of an unjust conviction. >> i'm going down this path learning more and more about how the system is built. this is an adversarial system where prosecutors have tremendous power. and once an innocent person is

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we would have been in a bad place. these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world. finding a cure for childhood cancer, it means everything. help st. jude give kids with cancer a chance. [audio logo] but you define them and make them bounce. tresemme flawless curls defining mousse. 24 hour. hydrating curl definition. style your life the way you want. ♪♪ tresemme, style your way. dear dan, justice has no place in my life. i am not simply innocent, i am clearly innocent. tell me, dan, what's it going to take? >> letters from sing sing, an nbc news podcast. listen now. now.

[soft dramatic music] [indistinct chatter] - when i speak to individuals who share a similar situation, at twhen i speak to individ who share a similar situation, it's not always what they say. it's how they say it. i met johnny in sing sing. he was a clerk in the law library, and when he saw the type of research that i was doing, he was like i got the same issues. johnny hincapie, he was wrongfully convicted. >> so paint the picture for me, what life was like for you leading up to this weekend. you had just turned 18. >> i started out as a young dj doing sweet 16s, birthday

parties. i was into the dj and dancing culture. when i was going out to roseland that night, everybody's having a good time. i'm with girls. i was just enjoying myself with my friends as a teenager. the next day, i wake up, turn on the tv. >> random violence has taken the life of a young tourist from utah here in the city tonight. he was murdered on a subway platform while vacationing in new york. a gang of youths armed with a knife and a box cutter approached. brian came to his mother's aid and was stabbed once in the chest. >> the motive for the mugging according to the cops, they wanted money to go dancing at roseland. >> i see all over the news about a crime and someone died in the subway station. they're mentioning roseland. i'm saying to myself, we got to manhattan on the subway, but no

one at roseland that night had ever mentioned anything to me about a crime. >> were you friends with some of the people who were participating in this crime? >> yes. a few hours later, detectives come to my house. and the detectives ask me if i was at roseland that night. i said i was. and they take me to the precinct. i get inside the room. detective casey immediately tells me he had all my friends in custody and that he already knew what happened. i kept telling the detective i was not a part of this. i didn't do anything. he keeps telling me that i'm a liar. he walked behind me, grabbed my hair, pushed my hair in front where i banged my head into the

table, and puts his shoe on my chest. i told him that i wasn't lying. so he said that if i wanted to go home, that all i had to do was memorize a story. i just listen attentively about what he wanted me to say, and he takes me to the other room. and when i'm in that room, i see a camera. >> we are currently at the midtown north precinct. with me in the room is detective donald casey and detective james christie. both are detectives with the new york city transit police. can you state your name? >> johnny hincaipe. >> did you make a previous statement to detective christie and detective casey who are currently in the room? >> yes. >> did emilio have his box

cutter out? >> yes, he did. he went behind a guy, tapped him on his shoulder, and said give me your money. >> what did you say? >> i didn't say nothing to nobody. >> was rock star displaying his knife at that time? >> not that i saw. >> okay. >> do you remember when you made a statement earlier to detective christie and detective casey, this was about an hour or two ago, that rock star also had a knife that he also displayed? >> yes. >> okay. and you knew you were going to participate in the robbery? >> yes. >> and you did participate in the robbery? >> yes. >> i thought i gave them what they wanted to hear in order for me to go home. >> do you have anything further you wish to say? >> no. >> okay. that concludes the interview. >> good at this, huh? >> moments later, they started fingerprinting me. and right there at that moment,

that was the very first time throughout that whole night, okay, that i knew that i was never going to go back home. - only one person out of the seven did the stabbing. - exactly. >> only one y person out of the seven did the stabbing. >> exactly. >> but everybody was arrested for murder. >> exactly. i was being charged with felony murder. but i had nothing whatsoever to do with this crime. >> they play your confession tape to the jury. >> yes. >> they come back with a verdict. >> guilty. the judge came back and he sentenced us to 25 to life. former parole board chairman.

>> two decades after johnny's conviction, an article by bill hughes caught the attention of a former parole board chairman. together, they tracked down a witness who said that johnny was not on the subway platform when the crime occurred. and in 2015, johnny was granted a new hearing. - in the-- in the bench. >> where did you and johnny speak? >> in the, in the bench. >> did you see him go on to the platform? >> no. >> luis montero was interrogated by some of the same detectives that questioned johnny hincapie.

>> they started to hit me. they just hit me, you know? so that's when the nightmares started, you know? >> several witnesses testified and then right in the middle of the hearing, a new witness came forward who saw the case in the news. she didn't want to be filmed, but she also testified that she was there that night, saw what happened, and johnny was not on the subway platform when the crime occurred. >> under the newly discovered evidence, the court does find that the defense has born the burden of proof. the court is going to set aside the convictions, and the court is going to order a new trial on those grounds. the court does not really believe that there's any reason for him to run, and therefore the court will allow him but

with the. >> [ cheering and applause ] >> eric, listen. can i talk to you? >> absolutely. >> eric, how you doing, brother? how's everything? listen, man, you know i was there for you when you got out, and i'm just so glad to hear you right now. you being there for me right now that i'm finally out, brother. - while i was reporting on johnny's case, jj called me, >> while i was reporting on johnny's case, jj called me. and he said to me, i have another case for you.

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accessories, and promo products, all backed by our guarantee at customink.com. accessories, and promo products, [soft dramatic music] all backed by♪our guarantee at customink.com. - richard rosario came to sing sing, and he ended up getting transferred out. richard rosario came sing sing and he ended up getting transferred out. his incarceration was a tough one. you can see years of pain drowning him. and when you start to look at

the facts, you realize this man had 13 alibis. 13 alibis that he was in florida when a crime was taking place in the bronx. like, how does this happen? so i felt compelled to help him. >> good to see you. >> velazquez was here yesterday. he says hi to you. >> what's going on with him, with his case? >> i don't even. >> they making it difficult for him? >> of course. they make it difficult for everybody. >> so your case, you're saying, is actually very simple. >> at the time, it could have been simple. >> a murder happened in the bronx. you say 13 people were with you in florida. >> yes. not only 13 people, documentary evidence could have proven i was in florida. >> so you gave 13 numbers. >> their phone numbers, addresses, descriptions of cars, apartments i've been in.

i gave them a western union transaction that had taken place around the time. >> and you gave them all of this that first day? >> everything. i went into the precinct, you know, voluntarily. i gave them all this information. why wasn't it investigated then? >> thank you, man. >> in 1996, a 17-year-old named george calattso was walking in the bronx, and a man came up behind him, and shot him in the head. two eyewitnesses picked out a picture of richard rosario. he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. no one from the nypd or the bronx district attorney's office never went to interview richard's alibi witnesses. and there was a miscommunication among his own attorneys, so out of the 13 alibi witnesses, only two of them testified at his trial.

clearly, the jury didn't believe them. so i got a list of richard's alibi witnesses from his new attorneys. >> your destination is ahead. >> and the people that i spoke with were, perhaps, the most credible alibi witnesses of any case that i've ever covered in my career. >> tell me what you do for a living. >> i'm a dipty sheriff for the county. >> why do you feel compelled to talk about richard rosario's case? >> it is 1,000% impossible for richard to have committed that crime. there's no way. he can't be in new york and florida at the same time. my son was born on june 20, 1996. and they're claiming that richard killed someone on june 19, 1996. which that's physically impossible because he was in my house when we were leaving for my wife to go to the hospital.

>> he was sitting on my sofa and i remember telling rich, you gotta go. my baby's coming. >> did you see him ever again? >> i did. i was discharged on the 21st, and he came by to see the baby. >> this is my oldest son. the scary part about it is when i look at him, this is how much time that's gone by that richard's been in jail. from the time that he was born, this is how long it's been. >> i'm an assistant pastor at the church. >> why are you here talking to us? why do you think this is important? >> well, if my grandson had not been born on the 20th of june, this would be nothing to me. richard walked up the step here and greeted me and told me that my daughter-in-law had just had the baby. and i know that he was here. that's all i know. >> yeah, he was here. from his wie

>> when richard was convicted and sent away, he was ripped away from his wife and two little children. it was like a grenade was thrown into his life and theirs. and theirs. >> growing up, i knew that he was in prison, i just never actually told people he was in prison. i just always said he was away. the first thing they're going to think is, he's a bad man. >> nothing good comes out of saying that someone's in prison. >> that someone's in prison, yeah. - [chuckles] what's up, baby? >> sup? >> hi, dad. >> you shaved. >> how are you?

>> what's up, baby? >> what's up, rich? what's going on? how was your trip over? >> it was good. it's cold. >> yeah? >> on the way over here, we were talking about the fact that we kind of, and i'm realizing how much we do it, we kind of try to make the visits as positive as possible. >> i've always told you if you want to ask me anything, you go ahead and ask me. >> i don't.. [ crying ] i feel like i can't even come up with the words of how i feel. >> just let it out now. >> it breaks my heart every time i have to come here. >> i get anxiety before i come. i get depressed when i leave.

and i feel like the older i get, the worse it gets for me. >> yeah. i ain't gonna let this take you out and destroy your life because what they did to me. i love ya'll, and i miss ya'll. i'm going to keep fighting. - year afterter year, >> year afterityear after year, every single time richard filed an appeal, it was denied. including in 2004 when he was granted a hearing and seven of his alibi witnesses testified.

but the judge ruled their testimony would not have changed the jury's verdict. then in january 2016, a new district attorney took office. >> he asked him to talk to me. >> that's the whole problem. because the two witnesses that did testify in the trial, he never even prepped them. they flew up, they came to court that day, he just put them on the stand. so i mean, that's part of the, you know, part of the things that i had to consider as well. >> before i took office, i met with the exoneration initiative about mr. rosario. he had an alibi defense that was never investigated. so the first thing i did was let's investigate the alibi. >> you sent somebody down to talk to them, right? >> yes, i sent somebody down. >> why has that not happened in 20 years? >> i cannot speak for that. and it's the way that i would have approached it. i need a chance to investigate

it more. but in the meantime, there's no reason for him to have to wait behind bars. the conviction is granted. and you are hereby released-- [applause] >> hereby ordered to vacate is granted. you are hereby released. >> [applause] ♪ >> free all the wrongly

convicted in the state. the st >> to see somebody that i was so close to walk out and i seen it with each instance, i saw it with richard rosario, i saw it with johnny hincapie, i saw it with glisson. every time, it just filled my heart more and more. first, because they all deserved it, and did not deserve to be there. but secondly, the more people that get out, the wider the door opens for the rest of us. . gummy vitamins from nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand.

regina king is in our studio looking radiant as ever. don't cover up your glow. ♪♪ flawless. all eyes on you. skin esteem is a beautiful thing. ♪♪

regina king is in our studio looking radiant as ever. don't cover up your glow. ♪♪ flawless. all eyes on you. skin esteem is a beautiful thing. ♪♪

i[soft dramatic music] - prison is designed for you to waste your life. prison is designed for you to waste your life.

you're totally ostracized. it's by design. but the reality is that i invested in my life. >> [applause] >> very excited to see a group of men who have decided to be role models in a place like a maximum security correctional facility. >> it represents success in humans who are motivated to move forward in life and live a fulfilled live and be the person who they were meant to be. >> jon-adrian velazquez. >> when i got this position as superintendent, i knew who jj was, but i didn't know him, know him. i saw the dateline show, and i felt bad that he was still lock up. it's difficult thinking about somebody who's in prison when you know they didn't commit the crime. or at least you believe they didn't commit it.

that's not an easy thing to live with. something about jj, he was a natural-born leader. >> we started working together to make prison a better place. >> how you doing? >> creating safe spaces. that's life changing. and that was something that superintendent capra was willing to support. so when i felt helpless and couldn't invest in my life, i poured myself into others' lives. and i had my own goals. and so i just need to figure out how to continue getting to that end goal, which is ultimately my freedom. >> after jj was denied by the manhattan d.a.'s unit, they filed a motion with the court to hold a hearing so he could call witnesses and prove his

innocence. >> i had all this hope about this decision that's going to be coming down from, you know, the judge. and found out that i had been denied. you know, i sat in silence for a lot that day. and then in the middle of the night, i realized i wasn't going to sleep, and i just started to write dan. >> i get this letter, handwritten, of course in his beautiful penmanship. and on the upper right hand corner, it stays 4:34 a.m. dear dan. >> it is with great regret that i must sit here at this lonely hour and inform you that justice has no place in my life. and that hope is just a cruel

joke. i'm writing this letter suffocating in this tiny cage by a decision to overlook such a terrible travesty. i want to scream loud but it won't make sense because i'm not being heard. do i have to jump off a prison cell with a noose around my neck to make people realize that wrongful convictions are a slow death? tell me, dan, what's it going to take? i'm sorry. i need to walk away.

- that letter... [sniffles] it was personal >> that letter, it was personal because i cared very much for jj. i was afraid my friend was going to kill himself. i felt such guilt. like i failed him, you know?

and i was ner going to stop but to not walk away. and i was never ever going to stop until he got out of prison. >> [ music ] - my son has been wrongfully convicted. he's been in prison going on 19 years. myself and his two children have suffered. the innocent must be let go. they must be free. - let go of the innocent! - yes. - now they don't have to be in prison. - and down for the guilty.