carol covlin: theyre holding it together as best they could. andrea canning : sheles children are growing up without much contact with sheles side of the family. andrea canning: is there anything that you want the children to know about their mother and how you feel about them? eve karstaedt: their mother, with every breath she took and every ounce of her, she adored them. andrea canning: that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. craig melvin, and this i something is wrong here.v. the system doesn't want to acknowledge that they made a mistake. but you made a mistake. a detective was like, you're going to tell us who did this.

and i'm like, man i ain't did nothing. you hear the judge say, guilty. everything just froze. narrator: two brothers convicted of murder fight back against the justice system. twice is a pattern, a pattern of how to gain a conviction. i knew they were innocent and the question was, do we have enough? you've got several witnesses saying their testimony was coerced. can they all be lying? if i have to die in this situation, let it be said, that i would die trying to prove that i was 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're about to meet, say that nightmare felt all too real.

through a decades long journey to prove their innocence, they faced countless roadblocks. giving up was not an option, but would their fight lead to freedom? here's the long road to freedom. tulsa, oklahoma. look at a list of top places to live, and you'll often find it. 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'll find the city divided. segregated. and if you walk deeper into north tulsa past the boarded up houses and the broken basketball hoops, you'll hear a story that's all too familiar. the truth is man, i've had to deal with the pain. i've had to deal with the anger, the frustration, sadness, the misery, you know.

narrator: 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 protests nationwide, malcolm scott wants his story told. because if we don't know that it exists, how can we do anything about it? narrator: 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's a story about two brothers, malcolm and corey. and a bond that could not be broken not even in the face of unimaginable odds. what was it like growing up in north tulsa? oh you felt like you were always home. you know, familiar faces always around you.

large family too, as i understand it. 12 brothers and sisters. 12? yeah. so yeah, it was crowded. i was really big into sports. like i love, you know, me getting hold to a football in my hand and running was like, , you know, life. narrator: malcolm caught the football bug from corey, who was his older half brother and best friend. we have a beautiful relationship. my mom would tell me. you know he's crazy about you, you know. he do everything you do. narrator: as a young teenager, malcolm dealt with a father who struggled with alcohol addiction, and sometimes abused him. corey 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 didn't fear him. and i felt kind of safe with him. narrator: 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 3, 1990, was typical. on the corner of atlanta and fourth, a gun was fired. corey says, he happened to be driving through. i looked to where the shot came from and i seen the dude fall. and as we got right there, and i looked and seen his chest was still moving. he was still breathing. and i was like, man somebody call the ambulance for him. narrator: when police arrived, they found 29-year-old james lane, a small time drug dealer, dead on the sidewalk. he'd been shot once in the chest and robbed. police stopped corey at the scene. some of his friends were known gang members, and police thought corey was too. but he had no criminal record. and they ordered us out the car and they searched my car

and 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 lane's death, a 16-year-old named doane thomas told police he saw the shooter. it was corey. police arrested corey and charged him with first-degree murder. i was taken to the homicide division. and the detective was like, you're going to tell us you did this. and i'm like, man, i ain't did nothing. narrator: at trial, doane thomas became the prosecution's star witness. and prosecutors had more evidence. they played an interrogation video of corey's friend ben king, who was with him that night, in which he, too, told detectives that corey was the killer. corey took the stand in his own defense and testified he tried to help the victim not kill him. i can remember the da.

he said, you know if they don't believe you, you going to the penitentiary for the rest of your life. and i just-- and i said, yeah. but the truth going to come out. narrator: the jury did not believe him and found corey guilty. on june 25, 1991, he was sentenced to life and shipped off to a maximum security prison. just like that, he was out of malcolm's life. corey left when i was no more than 13. and that was hard. narrator: to fill the void, malcolm started to hang out more with de'marchoe carpenter, a lanky basketball player and neighborhood jokester. i was going to be a comedian. you know i used to think i was so funny. you know i was tell jokes and get the girls and make them laugh. narrator: but in north tulsa, fun could easily turn tragic in a split second. malcolm and de'marchoe were at a party spot

late one night in december, 1993, when a drive by shooter hit the place. malcolm was grazed, but de'marchoe was badly injured. he was rushed to the hospital, malcolm by his side. saying just hang in there. keep your eyes open. you know, and he was holding my hand. and i remember him squeeze. hold, hold on. hang in there. narrator: 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 corey had been around. he's always been the one they said, man, no. you don't need to be involved with none of that. you need to be in school. or you can go get that football. narrator: malcolm had always wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps and he was about to. soon another tulsa murder and another shock

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here's an inescapable fact of growing up in a violence ridden, low income community, like north tulsa then and now. if you're a 17-year-old black teenager like malcolm was in 1994, you're on the police's radar whether you're in a gang or not. i frequently heard complaints from kids about being arrested for no reason. being hassled. being stopped. being labeled gang members when they may have worn certain color. narrator: ziva branstetter was an investigative crime reporter for the tulsa world newspaper for 22 years. i think the vast majority were good cops doing the job, trying to keep up, going from call to call. but there are other reports of you know, indiscriminate arrests. narrator: branstetter says that 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 is about 43%. if you were a kid back then, it was easier to grow up in south tulsa than north tulsa. absolutely. i raised two kids in south tulsa and i didn't have to worry about my boys being pulled over for no reason. i didn't worry about, you know, the safety of my sons. how bad was the gang problem in tulsa then. the gang problem was bad. people were afraid. there were reports regularly about crips and bloods warring, you know. the tulsa police department was trying to deal with a very high violent crime rate. a lot of guns on the street. narrator: 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 while it did involve a tragic loss of life of a young mother who was an innocent victim, it was not highly unusual in tulsa. narrator: 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 mike huff paid a visit to michael wilson, a well-known member of the bloods. huff noticed a maroon sedan parked in wilson's driveway. it matched the description of the drive-by car. mike huff says, hey, i want to talk to you about this shooting. what do you know? and michael is trying to hide a gun. huff sees the gun and takes the gun. ballistics tests showed that that was the gun that was used to kill karen summers. narrator: it seemed damning. but wilson told detectives he was hiding the gun from malcolm's friend de'marchoe. and had given de'marchoe the bullets. wilson was arrested for holding the gun.

but his story lined up with what police were hearing from two eyewitnesses. malcolm and de'marchoe killed karen summers. these witnesses said that they saw malcolm and de'marchoe there. they saw the shooting. they identified them. narrator: suddenly malcolm was in almost the same situation his brother had been in three years before. and telling a tulsa homicide detective exactly the same thing. i'm innocent. i'm like, whoever, you know, is telling you this is obviously mistaken. i didn't have nothing to do with it. narrator: but despite the fact that no physical evidence pointed to malcolm and de'marchoe, prosecutors believe they were the shooters. so they cut a deal with michael wilson. they allowed him to plead guilty to a lesser charge, in exchange for testifying against malcolm and de'marchoe. at trial, the prosecution presented the two eyewitnesses and what wilson had told them.

then de'marchoe said the prosecutor approached him about a deal. say that malcolm did it and we'll cut you a break. i thought that he was insane for even asking me that. you didn't even consider it. no. definitely not. why would i do that? why would i throw him under the bus? narrator: de'marchoe 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 couldn't hear nothing. i'm seeing faces and people was crying. but i didn't hear nothing. narrator: a judge sentenced malcolm and de'marchoe to life in prison plus 170 years. everything just froze. it's like time just suspended for a second. narrator: malcolm thought of his older brother corey. 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 get out of here first, better come get the other one. narrator: the odds malcolm and corey could keep that promise were 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 id'd malcolm and de'marchoe as the killers. and he couldn't even look me in the eye. he said, man, i've been carrying around a burden. those boys didn't do that. narrator: when dateline continues.

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answers first thing in the morning. when you need to go deep inside washington and hear from someone who's been there. you need your morning joe weekdays at six. only on msnbc. >> we're going to start with. breaking news on. capitol hill. >> mounting questions over the future of tiktok in the us. >> reporting from. >> philadelphia. >> el paso in. >> the palisades, virginia. >> the palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc world corey atchison had been in prison for 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 been denied parole five times. was there a point over the last 20 plus years, where you thought, i'm going to die here? times when you get denied in court, you feel low.

you just want to say give sometimes. so what was your lowest point? it would probably been in situations when i wanted to be out there with my daughter and help her, and i couldn't. narrator: corey's daughter courtney was born a couple of months after her father started his life sentence. they sent me paperwork trying to forfeit my custody. saying i was unfit because i was in prison. and it feel like i was failing her. and it felt like it wasn't even my fault. narrator: corey felt that sense of failure and helplessness again, when he heard about malcolm. what did you think when you heard that your little brother was convicted? at first i was like, this is my fault. because he follow in my footsteps. felt like this is my child being taken away.

narrator: did you know that your brother told us that he feels partly responsible for you going to prison. i mean there's no blame on my brother at all. and i definitely can't hold him responsible for something that i didn't even do myself. narrator: when malcolm entered prison he thought he'd get out as soon as he filed his first appeal, then his second, and third. denied. denied. denied. narrator: so malcolm and his friend de'marchoe started writing letters. who'd you write to? anybody in the legal field that you can think. what would you see in these letters? i'm a innocent man. you know, i just need somebody to look at this case. and they will see. narrator: they wrote thousands of letters day after day for 11 years. finally, in 2006, private investigator eric cullen, the son of a tulsa homicide detective,

took on the case. i kind of describe malcolm and de'marchoe's letters as kind of scratches on a wall. i just kind of imagine what it must be, you know, to be dropped in a hole 30 feet deep and good luck getting out. there's no such thing as a criminal justice system. it's just a system. it's not always fair and it's not always right. narrator: cullen tracked down the first eyewitness who had identified malcolm and de'marchoe as the killers. and he couldn't even look me in the eye. he said, man, i got-- i got-- i've been carrying around a burden. man, those boys didn't do that. narrator: the man told cullen, he shot at the drive--by car as it sped away. and claimed that detectives threatened to put him behind bars for firing his weapon, if he didn't testify against malcolm and de'marchoe. he says that they told him he could be charged with felony murder for firing that gun.

and that it might have been him that killed karen summers, who knows. narrator: now, that he was making progress, cullen needed help. so he turned to someone who's been a champion against wrongful convictions for years. tiffany murphy, then the director of the oklahoma innocence project. it wasn't the first time a tulsa case had landed on murphy's desk. i was seeing a lot of cases where there were no facts that supported what i was seeing on these convictions. when you're seeing that lack over time, involving the same departments, sheriff's office, police department, prosecutors office. that's what really bothered me. narrator: cullen and the innocence team tracked down the second eyewitness who testified he had seen malcolm and de'marchoe. but police records showed he had been shot in the buttocks and his back was turned. common sense tells you if he got shot in the butt, you're running away. you're not able to see anything.

narrator: the eyewitness recanted and he claimed detectives had coerced his testimony too. this is a kid who got pressured into saying something he did not see. i was just watching him and i could tell 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. narrator: now, only one of the prosecution's key witnesses remained, michael wilson. michael is it. whatever he had to say, had to kind of tie everything together. narrator: and the team knew exactly where to find michael wilson, on death row. coming up. my name is michael lee wilson. i was incredibly nervous because i knew what was on the line from malcolm and de'marchoe. narrator: michael wilson's jaw dropping admission.

i wasn't trying to shoot karen summers. she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. narrator: 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. narrator: when dateline continues. so you. >> wake refreshed for a. >> more. >> productive day. >> get 24 hour continuous relief that. >> does not fade. >> does not fade. >> be wise. new to the big city? yeah. -i'm mara. -hi. apparently progressive lets homeowners and renters bundle with their auto policy. 24/7 protection for all of my...things. [ scary music playing ] [ gasps ] hey, i love that you protect all my stuff, but could you tone down the creepiness? sorry. i'd do anything for you, emily. -still creepy. -right.

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i'm craig melvin. convicted for murder, malcolm scott and de'marchoe carpenter wrote thousands of letters asking for help to prove their innocence. finally, private investigator eric cullen answered. working with the oklahoma innocence project, cullen methodically poked holes in the prosecution's case. now, they would visit key witness, and death row inmate, michael wilson. but could they reach him in time? back to the long road to freedom. narrator: by 2013, malcolm had been in prison for 19 years. his brother corey for 22. you ready to go mom? ready to go? narrator: the days when their mom, ruthella, came to visit helped them hold on. the brothers drew strength from her. man, that lady 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.

narrator: 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'd given de'marchoe 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'd get a lesser sentence of life without parole. if michael had-- had been executed without talking to us, we don't have a case. we don't have enough, with what we've got so far, to win. i'm hoping that someone can help me. narrator: but de'marchoe wasn't ready to give up.

shout out to president obama, russell simmons, kevin durant, blake griffin, ice cube, shaquille o'neal. so you started making videos. yes. from in prison. yes at last i checked, you weren't supposed to have cell phones in prison. no. but i had to do what i had to do to try to regain my freedom. i felt like i had to take this risk. narrator: while malcolm and de'marchoe waited, wilson lost his final appeal on january 2nd, 2014. he was set to die by lethal injection a week later. and then the phone rang. it was wilson's lawyer. and so she said to us, if you want to talk to him, this is the window you've got. and it was literally, i think, 48 hours before his execution. my name is michael lee wilson. narrator: when murphy met with wilson in a death row visiting room, a video camera was rolling. i was incredibly nervous because i knew what was on the line for malcolm and de'marchoe.

narrator: 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 wasn't trying to shoot karen summers. i was just-- she was-- one of those type of things, you know, and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. narrator: 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 kind of 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. narrator: wilson said it seemed the detective had already made up his mind that malcolm and de'marchoe were the killers. and he just played along. all i had to do was answer questions, yes or no. did i give some bullets to malcolm-- i mean to de'marchoe carpenter. i said yes. did de'marchoe give you a gun? no. he didn't give me a gun. he asked me, did de'marchoe carpenter give you a gun?

i said, yes. that's what i had to say and that's-- they let me out. narrator: and that's why he was free to kill that convenience store manager, a murder that never would have happened had wilson been in jail and charged with karen summers' death. you have people who would be alive, families not affected, not destroyed by this horrible crime. that doesn't happen if he's arrested for this. narrator: malcolm got the call soon after wilson's confession. it was all there, captured on video. de'marchoe carpenter and malcolm scott is innocent. they didn't do this crime. narrator: the words he had ached to hear for 20 long years. i stood on my faith. i stood on my faith. you never lost that faith. i refused to let it go. narrator: the team presented its evidence to a judge.

but police and prosecutors denied they coerced any witnesses and insisted that what wilson had said on that video was a lie. the police, from their standpoint and the prosecutor's, say this guy is going to die. so if he goes out and helps two of his neighborhood friends, what has he got to lose? narrator: would malcolm and de'marchoe have a shot at freedom? it was all up to the judge now. coming up. i have to die in this situation, let it be said that i would die trying to prove it. that i was an innocent man. narrator: and-- twice is a pattern. a pattern of conduct. a pattern of how to gain a conviction. narrator: a fresh look at corey's case, including new evidence from three eyewitnesses. they all describe someone 5' 7-ish. that was an aha moment, because corey atchison's 6' 2". no one is going to misinterpret corey atchison for being 5' 7".

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don't change or stop asthma or other medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about dupixent. without talking tulsa county courthouse, may, 9th, 2016. a day almost 22 years in the making. the last time malcolm and de'marchoe faced a judge here, they were sentenced to life in prison. now, they hoped another judge would set them free. if i have to die in this situation,

let it be said that i would die trying to prove it. that i was an innocent man. never that i gave up. never. narrator: the judge agreed with malcolm and de'marchoe that police pressured witnesses and that wilson's video confession was credible. they didn't do this crime. narrator: malcolm and de'marchoe, she declared, were actually innocent of the murder of karen summers. you remember that morning you got out. i remember the skies was beautiful. i looked up and it was right there, the sun. it was finally beaming on me. narrator: 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 felt good. interviewer: 20 years later. what do you do now? oh man. i'm not sure yet.

yeah, but i know i'm going to go get in the jacuzzi. yeah. narrator: actually, before he did anything, he called his brother corey. he said, bro, it's over with. i cried like tears of joy. i felt like i was getting released. it's like a burden being off my shoulders, even if it don't ever happen for me. you know, i'm happy that it happened for him. narrator: remember they had a pact, first one out gets the other one out. when i talk to my attorneys off the top, now what can we do about getting my brother out. they're like, man, you haven't even enjoyed being home yourself. i won't be completely able to. i need him home. narrator: private investigator eric cullen was now working on corey's case. and as he pored 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 was a coincidence. narrator: colin teamed up with defense lawyer joe norwood. and he discovered a 15-year-old testifying at a preliminary hearing, claimed police had threatened him with jail time if he did not say corey was the shooter. partway through his testimony, he goes, you know what? i can't do this. what i just testified to isn't the truth. i was told to say it by these detectives. i didn't see corey do anything. narrator: next, norwood tracked down the prosecution's star witness, doane thomas. and he told him he had lied, too, when he identified corey as the killer. doane thomas' claim is that the police pressured him to say it. and then, the prosecutor, tim harris, got him through the trial getting him to say it. narrator: then there was corey's friend

who'd been with him the night of the shooting, ben king, the one who said on that interrogation video that corey did it. but king said he had told police twice before that corey did not do it. i kept telling them, we didn't do it. we didn't do it. corey didn't do it. they didn't want to hear that. they didn't want to hear the truth. narrator: and when police brought him in a third time and pressured him again, king said he'd had enough and just wanted to leave. they wouldn't let me go. and i didn't have an attorney or nothing. after being down there 9, 10 hours all day, i thought, well i've been telling the truth. he didn't do it. so i thought, well i'll tell him a lie and go home. narrator: king said that when prosecutor tim harris asked him to testify against corey at trial, he refused. tim harris kept trying to get me to say he did it. and i wouldn't do it. so then, that's when they went in there and brought the tape in and played it. and i told them that was a lie. it was a lie.

it was police words, not mine. it was coerced. narrator: to norwood, the parallels between malcolm's and corey's cases were unmistakable. these teenagers were threatened with being charged themselves, if they didn't say what they detectives wanted them to say. you know, once, twice is a pattern. a pattern of conduct. a pattern of how to gain a conviction. narrator: but in corey's case, it wasn't just allegations of coercion. norwood found three different eyewitnesses who told police someone else was the shooter. none of them testified at corey's trial. they all describe the exact same physical appearance of somne 5' 7-ish, 150-ish. that was an aha moment. because corey atchison's 6'2". he's a big dude. no one is going to misinterpret corey atchison for being 5'7", 150.

ok. narrator: given all this new evidence, malcolm thought his brother finally had a chance to get out of prison. corey atchison (on phone): hey bro. what's up bro? corey atchison (on phone): what's up with ya? every time i talk to you, like when we were talking about you coming home, i'm like, i was just on the other side. you know what i'm saying? corey atchison (on phone): when you locked up, it's like you're buried in a casket under the ground. recording (on phone): this call will be terminated in two minutes. corey atchison (on phone): you've got to climb up out of there and-- or don't give up. you know? that's what it is. corey atchison (on phone): yeah. one little piece at a time man. every little step we take it is going to get us to that final, to that big goal. you know what i mean? to that big one that we reaching for. narrator: will corey and malcolm finally reunite? coming up. you know there are also other witnesses who-- who recanted. i don't know that. ok. i don't know who said what. narrator: the da in corey's case faces some questions.

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>> once again, nine tablets. for just $7. >> is. >> is. >> try fri welcome back. malcolm scott was exonerated but his freedom was only the beginning. he and his brother corey had a pact,

first one out gets the other one out. as the focus turned to corey, investigators allege they found a disturbing pattern of coercion by law enforcement. with his future at stake, corey's lawyers were determined to right the wrong. but a judge would have the final say. now, the conclusion of the long road to freedom. is this-- is it going to happen this time? i'm just thinking about everything. narrator: it's one day before a judge will decide whether 47-year-old corey atchison becomes a free man or spends the rest of his life in prison. but even if corey gets out, life will not be easy. take de'marchoe. what's it been like being on the outside? it's been a struggle. you know, i'm still trying to figure out who i am and what i want to do. you know i missed out on so much.

narrator: 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 corey that she said to him. when she finally makes that final decision, you're a free man. i feel like that's when it's over man. hey. that's mom right here. momaroo. how are you? fine. been waiting for this day now. i've been waiting for a long time. i've been praying for this day. narrator: family and friends assembled at the tulsa county courthouse. no cameras were allowed inside the courtroom. but i was there to hear the judge's words. she declared there had been a fundamental miscarriage

of justice, and found there was clear and convincing evidence that corey atchison did not commit this crime. [indistinct chatter] his daughter courtney, 28 years old, a parent herself, was overjoyed. when you heard the judge say corey atchison, you're a free man. what'd you think? there is no words to explain, like i'm just so happy. i'm just ready for him to come home and be there is no words to explain, there for me and my baby. narrator: dateline repeatedly asked the tulsa police department to respond to the allegations, it threatened teenage witnesses in both malcolm's and corey's cases. we also asked the da's and the mayor's office for interviews. they all declined. but we did speak to tim harris, tulsa's former district attorney, who prosecuted corey. and who doane thomas said coerced him into lying that corey was the shooter.

i said the allegations are patently false, untrue. they're lies. i says, as in the elected district attorney in this community for 16 years, i've never coerced. i've never forced. and i've certainly never presented false testimony, not only of mr. thomas, but in any case in my career. what about ben king? i can't remember what mr. king said. that was 28 years ago. but you know there are also other witnesses who-- who recanted. i don't know that. i don't know who said what. but you could see how someone who's looking at this case from the outside, who would say, you've got several witnesses all saying their testimony was coerced. can they all be lying? i don't know what they said. ok. but if they're present at the scene and they're saying mr. atchison was not the shooter, then tell me who is. all i know is i've presented the evidence that was presented

to me at a jury trial, and 12 citizens listened to all the evidence, and decided that mr. atchison was guilty of first-degree murder. although the judge today said had those same 12 jurors listened to all of the evidence, they would have likely reached a different conclusion. you know that's her 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. and the fact that it happened twice in the same family is-- there are no words. narrator: in 2020, the oklahoma innocence project worked on a staggering 145 potential wrongful conviction cases in tulsa. there is a problem here. and it continues to be a problem. narrator: and of course, it's a national problem, especially for african-americans. a 2017 study of the national exoneration registry,

showed that innocent black people are about seven times 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 than 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 an honest conversation about how do we get here. narrator: in june, 2020, just weeks after george floyd's murder, a tulsa police major said that the police are not systematically racist. citing crime statistics, he said, showed police are shooting african-americans, quote-- african-americans, quote 24% less than we probably ought to be based on the crimes being committed. tulsa's first african-american police chief and it's mayor. what came out of his mouth is, in no way, reflective of what we're trying to accomplish

in the city of tulsa or in the tulsa police department. narrator: then this body cam video of tulsa police forcefully arresting a black teenager in north tulsa for jaywalking went viral. hey, why are you twist-- why are you putting your hands on me? narrator: meanwhile, malcolm and de'marchoe are suing the city of tulsa and the individual police officers, who they claim coerced testimonies used to convict them. the city and the 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. because my heart is strong about every single one of those people that's going through that fight and that struggle to prove their innocence. i know the pain. i know to hurt. that's what this is about for me. giving that next man a chance. hey. welcome to freedom.

narrator: corey's struggle to prove his innocence is done. my other guy, right here. narrator: malcolm, their mom, family and friends, get ready to welcome corey, as he takes his first steps as a free man in 28 years. i would imagine that you spent many a nights thinking about how this is going to go. yeah. yeah. yeah. i had this dream. i remember, i woke up with tears in my eyes and one of my partners came in my cell. he said, what's up. i said, man, i'm going home. here he comes y'all. here he comes. here he comes. [laughing] narrator: a little over a year after his release, corey atchison sued the state of oklahoma for wrongful conviction. in june of 2021, the state settled the claim. while denying liability, officials paid corey $175,000, the maximum allowed under oklahoma law.

that's roughly $6,250 for each of his 28 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 6,000 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.