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.

let go of the innocent. - yes. - let go of the innocent. - yes, let them go. - we're marching for justice for the wrongfully convicted. - what do we want? [together] justice. - when do we want it? [together] now. - when do we want it? [together] now. - it's the second day of the march for justice to albany-- [all chanting] - --from the tappan zee bridge all the way to sing sing. free jon-adrian velazquez. free jon-adrian velazquez. here we are at the sing sing correctional facility sending positive vibes inside the prison for the safety of all the prisoners and for jon-adrian velazquez. [together] here we come. albany. - here we come. albany. here we come. albany. here we come. albany. - i'll walk another 300 miles. - we deserve-- [together] justice. - we deserve-- [together] justice. - we are going to be pushing for legislation on justice

for the wrongfully incarcerated and hold those prosecutors accountable. [cheers and applause] - free the innocent. [together] now. - free the innocent. [together] now. - free jon-adrian velazquez-- [together] now. - free jon-adrian velazquez-- [together] now. - free jon-adrian velazquez-- [together] now. [tense music] ♪ ♪♪

[horns honking] [indistinct chatter] - i support your son. he deserves to be home. fingers crossed. ok? - thank you. - with everything that we've uncovered since this trial, we're looking to this appellate court to say, give him a chance. let him call witnesses. let a judge evaluate the credibility of the witnesses after seeing and hearing the witnesses. let him take a fresh look at this case. give him a hearing. [pensive music] ♪ ♪♪

[birds chirping] - i was losing faith. how many times are you going to get denied before you start to realize what you're really up against?

[train rumbling] - jj was out of options. his lawyers were telling me, game over. there's going to be nothing unless we find something new. i refused to accept that. i knew there were dozens of police reports that were withheld from him prior to his trial. but i had never been able to get my hands on them. it's march 21, 2017, 15 years after i started this investigation. and i get home last night, and there's this big yellow envelope in my mailbox, no return address. and inside are all of the police reports from jj's case, --including all those police reports that were never turned over to him before trial.

and i don't believe his defense ever saw it either, because there's a couple in here that are particularly important. i see one that i think is a bombshell. it's a report called dd5-93. that's what they call police reports in the police department. this is an interview with the co-defendants father, saying that the night before the murder, his son was with a friend who was light-skinned with braided hair, which was a description of the shooter. ♪ ♪♪ in that police report, it says that a detective spoke with derry daniel's father, and the father told this detective that the night before the crime, his son, derry, came to his apartment with a friend who he owed money to. and the father described derry's friend as a light-skinned black man with braids, and said he could identify him.

this was a lead that absolutely should have been followed up on, because the eyewitnesses described the shooter as a light-skinned black man. and some said he had braids. ♪ ♪♪ what did the cops do? nothing. no one ever contacted the father again. no one ever turned over that report to the defense before trial. the defense had no opportunity to know that that really happened. i felt that he had a right to know about this information. i've seen some of the police reports that were missing. one was an interview with derry daniel's father. the father said, 19 hours before the murder or so, that derry had come over to his apartment with a friend

that he owed money to. and the father described the friend as a light-skinned black man with braids, and said he could identify him. - why am i finding this out 20 years later? there's no justice in this justice system. there's no justice in this justice system. - from my understanding, your attorney is in touch with people. and this very well might be a key for you to open that door again. - i lost 20 years of my life, man. what does it matter?

i got five years left for the sentence that they gave me. i'm so numb at this point that i can do it. and as we already discussed, this is not a normal habitat to live in. i spent half of my life in prison because people want to hold back information, because people want to continue to perpetuate lies. i didn't deserve this. my children didn't deserve this. my mother didn't deserve this. [sniffs] these people destroyed my life, destroyed my family. and that's time we can't get back. [somber music] ♪ ♪♪

- today, more than 17 years after jon-adrian velazquez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, the truth has emerged. he had been victimized, victimized by a prosecutor who deliberately withheld significant information. and so we filed the motion to throw out mr. velazquez's conviction. we're demanding a new trial. enough is enough. - you cannot maintain the public's trust by keeping an innocent man in prison for a crime he did not commit. you want to maintain the public's trust? then serve justice by liberating him and freeing

the innocent man that he is. and that's why i'm here, because people did that for me. [applause] - we will continue to tell the truth. and i will never, never stop the fight. i will keep coming back again and again and again until he's free. enough is enough. free the innocent. free the innocent. free the innocent. [together] free the innocent. free the innocent. how are folks 60 and older having fun these days? family cookouts! ♪♪ playing games! ♪♪ dancing in the par... (high pitched sound) (high pitched sound) (high pitched sound)

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[tense music] in theaters now. [birds chirping] [horns honking] [gentle music] ♪ ♪♪ [indistinct chatter] ♪ ♪♪

♪ [applause] - jacob velazquez. [cheers and applause] - jacob! - jacob! [upbeat music] - i missed both of my sons' graduations. the reality is, i missed the majority of their lives. they were present for me, but i wasn't present for them.

they kept me strong. and i wasn't able to do the same. [somber music] ♪ ♪♪ - jj would write to me. and he would talk about this generational cycle of incarceration and how they were the collateral damage, jon jr. and jacob. ♪ ♪♪ you can't give them those years back. ♪ ♪♪ - i knew that my son wasn't ready for the consequences of the choices he was making in his life. it just became a repetitive cycle, where you know, like, he was really starting to rebel against authority. and he was getting himself in more and more trouble. - jj's mother called me and said that jj jr. was in trouble. the police were looking for him because he had violated his parole, because he got in some incident

with a robbery. and maria told me that he was hiding out in a motel room and he didn't know what to do. - dan knew how much, you know, what my son was going through, was hurting me. and so he went and checked on my son because i couldn't. - [knocks] you look so stressed, man. i'm not here to pass any judgment at all. why are you here, in this room? - just to get away from everything.

i mean, i'm just thinking about it a lot. it's like-- thinking about it a lot. that's really what it is. like, just a lot going through my mind. i'm trying to figure out what i'm going to do. but until i figure that out, i know that i'm just going to stay here. - they're saying you violated parole? - yeah, they're saying i violated it. so-- - why? for what reason? - i mean, i caught police contact, which is already a violation. - you're saying no matter what happens, the fact that you were arrested last week is a violation of parole? - yep. yeah, i have seven months of parole left, but i just came out of jail on monday. like, i just don't want to go right back right now. it's too much.

- what's your plan? - i'm not too sure yet. that's another reason for being here, to make one. - well, have you thought it through? - not yet. - well, let's do that, ok? let's talk about every option you have. your parole officer said you need to come in, right? ok, we know that's a fact. so now, what are your options? tell them to me. all of them. just dream them up. what are all your options? - to go there. - ok. option two? - to not go. - option three? - there really is no option three. it's just two choices. - you know, i was looking at some old tape recently. i don't know if you remember this, but did an interview with you in front of your old building.

and you talked about how you never liked to go to jail to see your dad, and that you wanted to be an internal affairs officer because you wanted to fight for what was right and justice. and you never wanted to go to jail. you talked about that as a kid. do you remember that? - yeah. - so how does it feel to sit where you are today, having been through what you've been through? - i don't know. that's hard. everything just changed from that point until now. it's hard to even look back then. so much has happened. - i'm sorry, man. i'm sorry. when was the last time you had somebody hug you? - i don't know.

- you're going to be ok. i care about you. you need to make smart choices. i'm not here to tell you what they are. - you have a prepaid call from-- - jon-adrian. - hey. - hey. - he's going to have to make decisions, right? - yeah, definitely. - i did my best to help him think through all of the options that he has before him. - well, i thank you for that. - it's heavy stuff, man. - since he was 15, he's been going in and out of situations with the criminal justice system, and he's testimony to-- to the fact that it's not working. whatever they're doing with him while he's institutionalized it's not working. it's obvious that he needs something else. he needs help. and he's not getting it in here. - let's hope that you can be out soon so you can--

get this-- get all this back in order. - i'll pray for it. [somber music] it's hard to speak about my son. he has become a statistic. children that have parents in prison are more likely to come to prison. and that has become his reality. ♪ ♪♪ my so has got caught up in this repetitive cycle in the system. and while my son may not be doing the right thing out there, they should have never taken me from him. they should have given me an opportunity to be a father to him. we want our lives back. ♪ ♪♪

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i- this is how jje. listens to music. is your camera on? - ooh. when's the last time you saw a cassette tape? this is a cassette tape. where did you get this case from? - --trying to open that. - why don't you tell us about this? - come on, people-- people know what a cassette tape is. - can i tell you something? most people under the age of 40 have never seen that before, is my guess. - i'd say 30. - under the age of 30. - yeah, say that because i just-- i just came over the hill of 40. - that's true, 30. 30, yeah. - "7 habits of highly effective people." i listen to books on tape. - your audio good? all right, so where are we going? - all right, so we're just going to frame this up first. - how much did this police report and this motion that bob filed in june breathe new life into your case?

- i feel hopeful. i have a court date coming up on december 7th. and, you know, i'm hoping to be heard. - what are your expectations, going into that in a few weeks? - listen, if i'm the narrator of this story, i walk out that courtroom in a few weeks. but i'm not. the judge will have a final decision to make. and he will determine whether i receive justice or not. - jj's attorneys argued that there was a lot of information that wasn't handed over, that wasn't known at trial. and the judge grants the motion. there will be a hearing. for the first time since 2000, jj was going to be in a courtroom again. [funky music] - in a quarter mile, turn slight left onto i-87 south. - jacob and i are on our way to the robert gottlieb's law

office to bring court clothes for jon-adrian so he'll look like the man that he really is when he faces the judge in court. - i'm just going to break down when i see him in court. - he said that he wants his belt to match his shoes. he doesn't care if that's not the fashion or not. he took one of his friends to the prom. he had on a pair of those caramel-colored shoes, and i think he had a plaid shirt. and i said, who dressed you? [laughter] he makes his own fashion. - [laughs] yeah. - [laughs] - i picked this out. - what? - prom.

- you have arrived at your destination. [classical music] ♪ ♪♪ - what is unbelievable about today is that after 18 years, mr. velazquez is going to be present in court. ♪ ♪♪ this man has a chance to listen, not only to arguments, but to have a glimmer of hope that maybe the judge is not just going through the motions. ♪ ♪♪ it is a unique day in the history of-- of this battle. - jonathan adrian velazquez, 693-90.

♪ ♪♪ - we are ready. we've been ready from the first goddamn day. - good afternoon, everyone. my understanding is that the issue is the significance of a police report that everyone agrees was not turned over to the defense before trial. the police report indicated that the father of the co-defendant saw the co-defendant the night before the incident in the company of another person. and the issues are whether or not that information was potentially exculpatory and material. mr. gottlieb, if you'll go first. - your honor, thank you very much. i appreciate that. your honor, knowing what this case is all about, knowing that the entire case was based on unreliable eyewitness identification, it is reasonably possible that if that db5 had been turned

over to the defense, its information presented to the jury would have, at minimum, had had a reasonable possibility to change their verdict from guilty to not guilty, and would have saved mr. velazquez 18 years of his life served behind bars. it deprived the defense of the opportunity to show that the people rushed to judgment, and that the police arrested mr. velazquez without thoroughly investigating solid leads, that the police dropped the ball and failed to pursue danny daniels as a witness as well as others. this information and the people's withholding of it, your honor, strikes at the heart of the entire process, at the integrity of the trial and the verdict, a process that resulted in mr. velazquez's wrongful conviction and unjust imprisonment. and mr. velazquez's conviction must be vacated. thank you. - all right. thank you. - thank you, your honor. - go ahead. - we, too, are interested in justice.

we're interested to see that the right person is convicted. and we're interested to see that the person who shot al ward at point-blank range in the head is where he should be. so the question really boils down to whether or not that db5 was favorable. if it turns out that this is referring to another person, then so what? so what that 19 hours before, the co-defendant was in the company of someone else at his father's apartment? and this generic description of male, black, and braided hair applies to a universe of potential individuals that to assume that that person who was with him 19 hours before was the robber is just rank speculation. we respectfully ask the court to deny the defendant's motion to set aside the verdict. - all right. thank you. we'll make a decision and advance the matter and notify you of the decision. so thank you very much to everyone for your hard work

and dedication to this matter. [pensive music] ♪ ♪♪ - a few months later, the judge said that the brady issue was moot and had no significance and would not disturb a jury verdict. ♪ ♪♪

i'm not scheduled to appear in front of a parole board for another five years, at the very least. now i'm going to have to face a parole board that's not going to be open to the fact that i am a crime that i did not commit. ♪ ♪♪ for people who feel limited by the unpredictability of generalized myasthenia gravis, season to season, ultomiris is continuous symptom control, with improvement in activities of daily living and reduced muscle weakness. and ultomiris is

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if keytruda could be [tense music] right for you. [rain pattering] - after jj is denied in 2018, every day, i'm trying to figure out what to do, who to call, how to push this forward. i wanted to keep his spirits up. we're speaking on the phone five times a week. i'm visiting him on a weekly basis.

and all of a sudden, covid hits. - on edge, coronavirus cases skyrocket from coast to coast with numbers in the u.s. expected to spike this week. - i couldn't visit anymore. the programs were closed. but jj still could make phone calls. - new york remains the biggest coronavirus hotspot, accounting for more than half of the country's cases and nearly a third of the deaths. - hey, man, how are you? - i've never seen anything like this in my life. right now, every time somebody gets off the phone, they're talking about somebody else that they know that's sick. that person dies, and then you have whatever last memories you have. you can feel the fear in the air. well, it's important to be able to contain that fear and that tension, because prison is a place where a lot of things can happen from confusion, which ends up turning into chaos.

- let's talk about for a second. describe your personal living situation. - i wash my hands six to eight times an hour. every time i touch something, i feel like i have to wash my hands. i wouldn't say i'm a hypochondriac, but like, i'm going crazy in here. and it's the people-- you have one minute left - --to-- in society, that keep me grounded. they're like, listen, you know, this is going to pass. you're going to be all right. and you know, i'm fortunate in that, in that sense. ♪ ♪♪ - in the middle of covid, more people start getting involved. and jj's supporters made a big push for the governor of new york to grant him clemency. [uplifting music] ♪ ♪♪ now, that doesn't mean that he would be exonerated, but it would mean that he would be eligible for an early release.

but that was still a long shot. the governor gets thousands of applications every year, and only a few dozen are granted. - every year, i was getting information that i was a primary candidate, that there was, you know, top-level people pushing for me. and every year, names would get mentioned, and people would get released, and it wasn't me. ♪ ♪♪ - on august 17, 2021, my phone rings, and it's superintendent capra. - good? - yeah. - all right. - thank you. you all right? - yeah. no problem. - what are you going to do? record this all the way up? - i'm going to-- why not, man? - this is-- this is history. - we're going up. wait a minute. listen, we'll do it right here. we just were notified minutes ago, half an hour ago,

after so many years, we're going to tell jj velazquez that he got executive clemency. i have to say, in my 40 years of service, this is one of the more exciting times in my whole entire career. - why is it so-- - because i know he doesn't belong here. because i know he doesn't belong here. and he's going to do fantastic things when he gets out. - how does it feel to be the one that's-- - i'm overwhelmed. i really am. right? see, she said, i have goose bumps. i said, you don't even know. i've been working with him for 9 years. - and how about 19 for me? - and 19 for you. so this is going to be incredible. yeah, i'm going to tell him that he's being transferred to-- and i'm going to give his mother's address. [radio chatter] - hey, how are you? - hey. - let's go. - ok. - what's going on? - what's up? - you all right? - yeah. [radio chatter] - copy that.

- you're being transferred. - where? - you don't know? - no. - you know where haverstraw, new york is? - absolutely. - that's where you're going, bro. - thank you, man. - that's where you're going. [applause] - thank you. thank you. - september 9th you're out. - thank you. appreciate you. - i'm really proud of you, buddy. god bless you. you deserve it. [cheers and applause] [indistinct chatter] - my brother.

- hey, tiger. jacob, what's up? i got a surprise for you. you know, for 23 years, i've been telling you that i'm going to come home one day, right? well, now i can officially tell you. cuomo granted me clemency, and i'm coming home next month. [sentimental music] you all right? it's real this time, champ. one breath at a time. we're almost there. i'm coming home within a month. september 9th might be the date. yeah, that means you guys got to start cleaning my room. [laughter] call jj real quick.

yo, what's up, man? what's going on? your father's coming home within a month. that's what's going on. i just got clemency. that is the best birthday gift in the world, huh? your birthday's tomorrow. happy birthday, my son. we're about to make everything right in this family. you guys just stay focused. you guys check on grandma tonight because she's going to be emotional, ok? i love you, too. ♪ ♪♪ life has twists and curls. 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.

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it's our son, he is always up in our business. ask your gastroenterologist it's the verizon 5g home internet i got us. oh... he used to be a competitive gamer but with the higher lag, he can't keep up with his squad. so now we're his “squad”. what are kevin's plans for the fall? he's going to college. out of state, yeah. -yeah in the fall. change of plans, i've decided to stay local. oh excellent! oh that's great! why would i ever leave this? -aw! we will do anything to get him gaming again. you and kevin need to fix this internet situation. heard my name!

i swear to god, kevin! -we told you to wait in the car. everyone in my old squad has xfinity. less lag, better gaming! i'm gonna need to charge you for three people. [tense music] - i'm actually going toge hear him say good morning and hear his footsteps in the house and his voice. this is the bed that he slept in as a youth. and i've never had the heart to throw it away. so once he's home-- [laughs] --it's going in the garbage, and he'll be picking his own bed and mattress. so it will be his room once again.

- a lot of emotions, a lot of up and down. sometimes i can't sleep at night. i've officially moved out here to be with my father. and now i get to build a better bond with my father as a free man. we have a lot to accomplish out here. it's going to be a hell of a road. i'm looking forward to it. [distant train whistle] [alarm beeps] - lock the front door. - it's a big day for us. it's a day that we've longed for for a very long time. [gentle piano music]

governor cuomo granted his clemency. and-- and we'll continue, you know, to fight to get him exonerated on the outside. ♪ ♪♪ - oh, man, so it's a big day. that's all i can say. - when we met dan, it was like hope that we were going to go somewhere, that things were going to happen. all doors started opening. - 20 years. - 20 years?

- ready to go home, brother? i'm taking you home. i'm taking you home, man. ♪ ♪♪ - what? ♪ ♪♪ finally empty. - has it even hit you yet? - it hit me, but it doesn't hit me the way people expect it to be. but i've always been expecting this. i haven't been exonerated yet. i still have a fight ahead of me. but the one thing that just trumps everything is that today i'm going to be with my children and my mother and you. - let's go home. - let's go home. - all right. this is the last time you're leaving this cell. ♪ ♪♪ - this is it, brother. - love you too, man. - stay focused. - you did it. - oh, man. - what's up?

- you take care, man. [applause] - the only way that i can accept this experience and give some type of sense to it is to say that i found purpose and strength to continue to survive and to continue to strive to be better b ♪ ♪♪ i have to go and report to a parole officer at 9:00 in the morning tomorrow. and she's going to give me stipulations, right? i'm going to have a curfew at 9:00 at night. i'm a grown man. i haven't been in society for 24 years. and i have to go to my house and be in my house every day by 9:00. i have to ask permission to leave new york state. - this is your old stuff you can take home with you. - thank you. i have to go to programs that are not suited for me.

put real clothes on now. they want me to go to a violence program. they want me to go to substance abuse program. this is what i have to live. i have to continue living a lie. mm. mm, mm. ok, we fitting. - oh. - huh? - oh. - this is what a free man looks like. ♪ ♪♪ - here's your clemency signed by cuomo and his secretary. congratulations, sir. - thank you. - let's get ready to go. your family's waiting outside. - all right. ♪ ♪♪ the objective has always been to go on that side.

♪ ♪♪ it's really over. ♪ ♪♪ - coming in. ♪ ♪♪ - this is it. ♪ ♪♪ - ahh! ahh! oh, my god! - ahh! - [sobbing]

♪ ♪♪ [uplifting music]

♪ ♪♪ - ♪ i've seen the swollen sea ♪ ♪ rolling through the dark ♪♪ ♪ cold wind blowing through our trees ♪ ♪ steal away the spark ♪♪ ♪ searching for forever ♪♪ ♪ i'll be gone the whole night through ♪ ♪ but in the morning light ♪♪ ♪ i will be with you ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪ i have seen a thousand stars ♪

♪ they shine until they fade ♪♪ ♪ burned into my memory ♪♪ ♪ along in lost parade ♪♪ ♪ waiting for ♪♪ - i love you, man. - i love you, too. - yes, you do. you look great. - you look better. -- ♪ come marching through ♪♪ ♪ but in the morning light ♪♪ - dude, i like your shoes. - thank you. - i like your suit. - thank you. on this new hour of "ayman," trump goes after the fourth estate, doubling his attack on the free press as a loyalty test in the senate. plus, who or what can keep the incoming president from turning the doj into his personal law