most by anyone without a victory. and that stands, though. hideki has been knocking on the door not only here but elsewhere, and just hasn't been able to finish it off. he's about ready to finish rickie off here in the fourth playoff hole. >> the pendulum has been swinging pointing towards both of them. different occasions here. either one of them could have won this. >> for par. >> this move a little left towards that water to his left? >> rog, i think that's a good call. it's not a lot. wants to go that direction. >> based on everything we've seen, we think this is going

>> he's been making all of these. >> up and out. that was pushed. >> well, turn out the lights, the party is over after an hour of playoffs. >> well, this hole is his nemesis. bogeyed it both times. >> gary documenting nine balls in the water through the years here at 17 that have his number. the. >> two-h putts, matsuyama, to

. >> well -- >> i think he can handle this one. >> you bet he can. matsuyama finally closes the deal on rickie fowler. three bogeys on number 17 this week for rickie fowler. on a hole that he should birdie half the time. >> he had a two-shot lead in regulation as he went there for the first time today. a bogey there. another costly one in the water there. hideki matsuyama with his second pga tour victory. if you missed any of today's action, you can get caught up with golf central on golf channel. next stop for the golf channel on the nbc team is the honda classic where the top players in the world pick out the bear

that's february 25th. coming up next "date line." for the entire golf channel on nbc, dan hicks saying so long from tpc scottsdale where hideki matsuyama survived a four-hole sudden death playoff over rickie

>> announcer: we now join "dateline" already in progress. >> that's curious. this is a family you would want to aavoid? >> i had my doubts. if he is in prison it is probably because he ises guilty. they would always say he was in know sent. >> i knew john was busy rung ning his construction story. how he was locked up for life. appeal after appeal had been turned down. >> i would give him details on daniel being convicted. i kind of knew that they didn't have representation. and heap lost his case. and he lost his case. >> reporter: by then daniel had

years. >> in the evening. they're sitting there crying. >> i mean, cries of desperation. >> reporter: daniel's parents had been trying to find a legal group or agency, an attempt that their son was innocent the they just received their final rejection. daniel's sister michelle was there too. >> and that was my last hope and it seemed there was nothing we could do. >> reporter: these are his parents. >> i fell apart. i was just like, what did i do to my baby? i vowed i was going to protect him. slightest. >> reporter: they were telling you, forget it. >> reporter: daniel's appeals had failed. there didn't seem to be any way out. and then, there in the middle of all of that gloom, he said something naive, foolish perhaps.

the family at the moment. so i told him -- let me take the returned from you and let me look ate. and let me see what i could do. but, please stop crying and don't worry. >> we were all like, "yes, of >> reporter: but really what could he do? didn't have a clue about the case that put daniel in prison in the first place or about the workings of the law. oh, these sudden impulses. if john had known what was coming, what it would do to him and everybody else, would he have been a little more prudent? would he have kept his mouth shut? >> his family insists he is innocent. even though a jury found him guilty. if it wasn't daniel, who was it? when we come back -- >> here you had this person who killed these two boys. and was out there with a weapon, who else could this person kill?

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>> reporter: he was a building contractor by trade, knew nothing abut the law, and knew

killer named daniel villegas, now john levella. pouring through the massive case file of a 12-year-old double-murder trying to make sense of all of the intricate details of the case. it was some police reports. >> reporter: who knew there would be so much? but a promise is a promise. so, membella treated the tax like a second job. by day ran his company. by night played amateur detech tichlt -- detective. >> i read it over and over. >> reporter: this went on for weeks. lucy barely saw him. >> got home from work. and wow, it was serious. >> reporter: here is the story, membella pieced together from the court files. good friday, 1993. a warm spring evening. around midnight, four teenage

party and a gang infected neighborhood known as northeast. as he read the case file he noticed one of the boys, jesse hernandez, told police what happened. how out of the night, a '70s maroon colored car looking something like this one, rolled up beside them. whatever model the car was, it was trouble. >> my heart started racing, i was like, "oh, man, we are going to get in an altercation." so the cart was doing this kind of, cat-and-mouse, back and up. it would back up, it would take off a little further. and then back up. and then just stopped. we have got to get home. >> reporter: then relieved the car left. the boys kept walking. but, 15 minutes later and several blocks away, the car appeared again. slowed to a crawl. turned off its lights.

>> i was like, "uh-oh. guys, please, let's go. let's go, let's go." as jesse told the police back then. the boys didn't listen. instead his friends approached the car, started yelling. >> before i know it i started hearing gunshots. i could swear i saw lights flash towards me and hit the fence. it was just, tat-tat-tat. >> the same car that bothered you before? >> yeah, yeah. all i was thinking i want to go home. i want to be in a safe place. >> reporter: he and his other friend, ran, ran for their lives, didn't look back. when bobby and mondo failed to turn up behind them. the two went back to find them. >> i could already see, flashing lights, red and blue. i knew something was wrong. >> reporter: it was. jesse's best friends, mondo and bobby were dead.

i'm going to wake up soon. i'm going to wake up now. the more i tried, i didn't wake up. >> reporter: the murder was big news in el paso. he dug up old newspaper clippings reported on what looked at first like a gang shooting. yet the victims were not gang bangers, just innocent kids caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. tv reporter maria garcia has been covering the case for years. >> people were on edge about it who killed these two boys for no good reason. and was out there with a weapon. and if he killed armando lazo and robert england who were popular, good kids. who else could the person kill? this was an alarming case. >> reporter: alarming and puzzling. who would want to kill these kids? why? he looked up what he could of their background. their personal stories.

military family by all accounts, a kind friendly young man. mando was extremely popular, fun-loving and cared deeply about his friend. >> he was always watching out for me. he was always very protective of me. i would feel his hand on me. touch. i hope i never lose that feeling. and i could still remember him. >> reporter: mando and bobby's murder got a lot of attention from the cops. and then, a break. a tip. someone in the neighborhood was boasting that he blew away mando and bobby with a shotgun. the boaster, the young man he had accepted as a kind of unofficial brother-in-law. daniel viellegas. coming up -- two very different sides of daniel emerge. >> that kind of made it hard for me to understand that daniel might be innocent.

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>> a patient who wants to die. >> we are supposed to be saving lives. >> i will terminate you. >> she doesn't have to die. >> clear. i said clear. >> reporter: it was not like john to make rash promises. especially a promise to

outside of his skill set. but he was so determined that the daniel villega she knew was no murderer. >> i didn't believe it. he was a kid. just always having fun. >> did he seem like the sort of person who was capable of that? >> no, not at all. he was a clown. he liked to joke around a lot. a lighthearted guy. >> reporter: kindhearted or not. daniel wasn't a choirboy. a rap sheet for a few misdemeanors. expelled from school. he looked to party. maybe too much. but boast about murder? that sounded to him like more than a party prank. but daniel's parents said that's just how daniel was. immature, jokester, they said, trying to navigate life in a dangerous neighborhood. >> i think he was frying to trying to be tough. in a tough area. >> a lot of gangs. >> they feared him.

survival. >> if that's what it was, he figured wrong. because it certainly caught the attention of detectives of the el paso police department. not surprising late one night they showed up at the villegas' front door and took 16-year-old daniel downtown for questioning. >> my mom was telling him not to say anything. she would get him a lawyer in the morning. but he didn't make it to the morning. >> reporter: no, he didn't. sometime before the morning came, daniel confessed that he killed those two boys. and there, all of these years later, he saw what was daniel's indelible signature, swearing it was true. >> that kind of what made it hard for me to understand that done yell might daniel might be. he confessed. >> reporter: the signed confession got daniel charged with capital murder. and daniel's confession was backed up by two other neighborhood boys who gave el

stating they were in the car with daniel when he fired the fatal shots. when daniel went on trial in 1994, the new da, jaime esparza decided to personally prosecute the case. >> you will have to sort through all of the evidence. you will have to sort through all of the lies. daniel's defense attorney argued that his confession was coerced that. he had an alibi. he was babysitting and watching a movie with friends at this apartment. in the end, 11 jurors voted to convict. but one held out for acquittal. a hung jury. a relief for daniel's family despite his confession still insisted he was in know sent. daniel had just become a father. seemed to think he might be able to stay with his infant daughter. >> very important. >> reporter: but jesse hernandez, a witness for the

with that hung jury. >> i remember the d.a. said, "don't worry. we are going to keep pushing. we are going to get hem." >> reporter: sure enough, the da tried daniel again. the villegas family was out of money. so the court appointed an attorney who had very little time to prepare for trial. >> they called one witness to the stand. daniel's prior defense attorney called 18 witnesses. >> reporter: and he was found guilty in a hurry. >> yes. >> reporter: in 1995, daniel was sentenced to life in prison. he was just 18 years old. >> it was solved. the murderer went to prison. the two victims got their justice. case closed. >> reporter: case closed for everyone. except daniel and his family. s to them the verdict was a complete shock. >> it was a nightmare to see his face. we tried to hug him before they were going to take him.

shock, that he didn't move for us to hug him. so they grabbed him and whisked him away. >> reporter: but remember, daniel bragged to his friend that he did it. confessed to the cops that he did it. he read all that. the police reports. the trial, the appeals. saw they were all denied. yet to this layman's eye, something seemed to be missing. it just didn't add up. >> i'm like, "my god hour, did they convict this kid without any physical evidence whatsoever." >> reporter: but he still couldn't answer that one central question -- why would anyone confess to a murder he didn't commit? >> coming up -- daniel speaks out. did he confess? or did he just give in? >> he said "if you don't make a statement. i will make sure you get the electric chair and i will fry your --"

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[ pickles whines ] they're always on television. what? >> reporter: of the thousands of

through, there was one that puzzled him more than any other. daniel's confession. signed at the bottom, which meant that daniel approved what was written there. it was his ticket to a life term in prison. and yet -- >> this confession did not match anything of what the police report said. >> reporter: he looked again and again. maybe he was mistaken. but no, daniel said the color of the car was white. but he was wrong according to a surviving eyewitness. is was it was maroon. the way he described the sequence of shots, differed from what a neighbor told 911. he also said he was accompanied by a driver and passenger it turned out were nowhere near the crime that night. very strange. so, of course, it was probably some explanation that didn't mean daniel was innocent. so, he wrote him a letter.

he was innocent or not. but the main thing i wanted to let him know is that being a catholic, i wanted to have faith in the fact if he was guilty. >> reporter: the letter went to the french robertson unit prison in abileen, 450 miles from el paso. >> i thought we had the best system. >> reporter: this is daniel villegas. by the time, he wrote his letter a veteran of the texas prison system. daniel was 29 then. wouldn't be eligible for parole until he was in his 50s. he had just written his sister a letter telling her he wanted to end it all. saying he couldn't wait on some miracle that wasn't going to happen. >> i was worried that he would do something drastic. but i didn't even blame him. if he was in that kind of misery. i didn't want him to live like that.

and crying. >> reporter: in between the decision to take his own life and the final act. daniel for the first time in years said a little prayer. >> i can't deal with this. i am not asking you to let me out. if you are, give me a sign i'm coming home. >> next day he got my letter. >> reporter: coincidence? of course. what else could it be? but, daniel decided maybe hope was worth having after all. when he went to see him in prison. what he heard from daniel was far different than anything he en stow what hap so what happened the night the boys were murder. in fact, daniel had no idea. yes he did brag to his friends, stupidly. he was the tough guy who did it. sure enough before too long, said daniel.

juvenile investigative service office, handcuffed to a chair, facing ved teran detective. alfonso marcus. marcus' retz sume includes an appearance on "cops" where he was featured on this episode from the same year, 1993. >> is there anything, any final thing you want to same? >> reporter: daniel was 16. terrified. certainly, naive. he was read his miranda rights. four times. but never asked for an attorney. marcus, according to daniel. demand he confess. >> if you don't. he said i will take you out to the the desert. handcuff you to my car, kick your ass. let you walk back to the highway. pick you up again. kick your ass. take you to the county jail with a bunch of [ bleep ] and let them rape you. >> he protested he had nothing to do with the murders of the two teams.

you little punk. i know you did this." sit hit men the back of the head, "do you hear me, punk?" >> offered him a deal, said daniel. cop to the crime and go to juve instead of prison. he said it went be bad on you. if you don't make a statement, you will get the electric chair. i will fry your ass. >> reporter: if you confess to committing a murder you will get a lighter sentence. if you didn't confess he would make sure you got the death penalty. >> yeah. he was going to pull the switch on it. i would do anything possible to get away from him. so i said, okay, you know, i will make a statement. >> reporter: that was after four hours in custody. frightened, exhausted. you said yes to everything. >> yeah. >> reporter: you didn't think when you said those things this means i will be in prison for life. >> no, i didn't. >> reporter: come on, really? >> not even thinking of the future. just thinking the present moment. >> reporter: getting out of there? >> exactly. >> reporter: detective marcus,

request for an interview. as the did the el paso police department. but the da's office says, marcus was never alone with daniel. even if he was, he wouldn't have had the time to do what daniel said he did. assistant d.a. john williams, who helped prosecute daniel in the first trial said the confession looked legitimate. >> thatality case that its presented. that's the case that is presented. that's what you go for. the police get a confession. they mark it solved crime. give it to the da's office. push it off on the prosecution. exactly. >> reporter: by the time, he drove home from his prison visit, he was convinced. daniel was telling him the truth. it was the confession that was a lie. >> he seemed like a very, nice, naive, young kid. i could sense there its no way he could have really committed this crime. >> well, you know everybody in prison says i'm innocent. but the vast majority of them are not.

false confession? >> i did a lot of research on false confessions. that confession that daniel gave and i read, fit exactly what -- what the researchers say false confessions are. >> reporter: all the classic symptoms were there? >> they were. >> reporter: with daniel's appeals already exhausted, what could he do? he needed help. no idea then that someone who did help convict daniel had aster a ster story to still. he just needed to find him. >> coming up -- he was almost shot by the killer, how could detectives think he was the killer? even stranger, he almost confessed. >> i said, you know what they're going to fry you. >> fry you? >> yeah. >> sound familiar? when dateline continues. ontinues. u that the better choice for him is aleve. he's agreed to give it up. ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. yeah, i

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zumba class? >> reporter: el paso, 2007. john was ever more focused on one major project. daniel villegas. >> had a few people criticize why i was trying to help a killer get out of jail. but the more i dug into his

he had no idea. not a clue what he was goat etting into. legal learning curve. hurdle. expense, the system. the whole impossible process. he might have stopped right there had he known. instead convinced daniel was innocent, he decided the thing he should do was take what he learned to the man who put daniel in prison in the 90s. da jaime esparza. and daniel was a cold-blooded killer. >> i think there is enough believable and persuasive evidence in the case. >> reporter: nevertheless, he arranged a meeting. >> everybody thought it was crazy. they said, john he is the guy that convicted daniel. why would you go talk to him? >> reporter: good question. >> i'm like, he needs to know the truth. >> reporter: he marched into the da's office confident esparza would see the light, correct his mistake and free daniel.

confession was coerced. you have got the wrong guy. >> reporter: and? >> he tells me, "john, i can't do anything about it. you have to is nesh nitiate it. get an appeals lawyer." >> reporter: he hired a lawyer. who said you have zero to slim chance of getting this kid off. >> reporter: what was it look to hear that? >> my heart sank. i'm look -- but he is innocent. he's like, doesn't matter, john. the system doesn't care. it is about wing. and losing. >> reporter: the attorney told him there was really only one thing he could do. file a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus, last ditch appeal, that daniel had been falsely and unlawfully imprisoned. >> it will cost you $20,000. i can tell you these things take up to ten years. and no guarantee.

succeed. >> rarely sequester seed. >> reporter: he wrote the check. the petition would take months to prepare. and he was not particularly good at waiting around. >> john got in, private investigators. >> i hired freddie bonilla, a homicide detective for el paso for 20 years. >> reporter: he spent a couple weeks reviewing the file. and? >> there was no weapon. no car. no identification. no nothing. except a confession. >> reporter: bonilla started an investigation. they fanned out from the crime scene, poured over the police reports, dug for new clues, and -- >> there is not one single thing that i would go to court and say, yeah, this guy ended up with this. there is not one piece of evidence. >> reporter: they also tracked down witnessed and found him. jesse hernandez.

the shooting and testified against daniel. when they found him. jesse was divorced. reclusive and bad case of survivor's guilt. he persuaded his friend to go out that night. and 15 years later, he was still haunted by it. >> my friends would still be here today. it wouldn't have happened. >> reporter: it was late at night when the two came to call. >> i opened the door. i said, yes, can i help you. they were like, jesse hernandez. yes. >> we identified ourselves. we are here wanting information of the murder of armando and robert. >> i said, murder. i'm sorry, you got the wrong guy. i don't know anything about no murder. >> reporter: jesse said he had no idea what they were talking about. then he explained how he believed daniel had been wrongly convicted for killing his friends.

>> i go, confession. confession that we believe was falsely coerced. >> he turned white. >> reporter: why did jesse hernandez turn pale? because of what happened to him. soon after the murder, said jesse he was called to police headquarters for an interview. there he said the same detective marcus told him, write down what he remembered about the shooting. jesse did. and -- for he said, you know this is bull [ bleep ]. you know and i know you did it. how could you be saying it? i didn't do anything? yes you did. that's not true. these are my friends. i love my friends. and i said you, know what, you are going to have to explain toot to the to the judge. they're going to fry you. i couldn't stop crying. marcus he said had him convince heed had a

friend. he came close to a confession. but jesse's mother found out what happened and called the cops. furious about what detective marcus had done to her son. and jesse was not questioned by marcus anymore. and was never charged with anything. now, all of these years later, jesse looked at the copy of daniel's confession that novella had given him. >> i started reading it. hold on, that's not how it happened. jesse said he still remembered vividly the color of the killer's car. the direction it was driving. the sequence of the shots. daniel's confession was wrong on all of them. what's more neither the car the killer drove nor the murder weapon was ever found. and no physical evidence of any kind implicated daniel. >> how did they convict daniel? i kempt thin pt thinking he was look me. he wanted out. he wanted to go home.

whatever they wanted. i had to do something. >> reporter: so he called him. i said, john, it's going to be hard for me. but i will do what i can. with jesse on board. he went looking for more legal muscle. to help further daniel's cause. in 2010 he contact the the northwestern university school of law center on wrongful convictions of youth. which specializes in cases involving false confessions by teenagers. attorney josh teffer was co-director back then. >> we said that, we will take a look at it. and as soon as we did. we were hooked. and john was right. we had to be involved. >> reporter: in fact, northwestern has reviewed hundreds of cases like daniel's, kids who claim they signed their lives away under pressure. >> it doesn't take much for a young person to cave and actually admit to something that they didn't do under that type of pressure. >> reporter: the only way you get out of this room is tell us what we want to hear. >> exactly.

endorsement added legitimacy to the case and national attention too. but novella, contractor during the daytime and legal scholar at night. hoped it might encourage the da to support daniel's case and persuade the judge to grant daniel's writ of habeas corpus and order an evidentiary hearing. in which all evidence could be presented? >> i had been told, evidentiary hearings are very rare. >> reporter: about the only shot daniel had at freedom. but novella knew before the judge made his decision he would hear from the other big player in the case, da jaime esparza. three years earlier, epsarza turned novella away. this time, he was confident given all the new detal he had unearthed the da would be persuaded. but weeks went by. months. they waited. then, several days before christmas, the da's office announced it reviewed the

its recommendation. and -- >> we get the response from the da asking the judge not to give us an evidentiary hearing. >> look he put the bullet through your possibilities? >> that's it. >> reporter: hope is a dangerous thing in prison. daniel knew. novella was quickly learning. >> there were times when he started to give up hope. i would try to encourage him as much as i could. >> got to have faith. got to have faith. >> we try. >> yeah, i know it is hard. in then everything is going to work out, okay. >> i told him, "daniel, i am never going to stop fighting for you. so don't give up. because i am not giving up." fight. and went looking for the fastest gun in town. somebody who could navigate the

fighting chance. good luck with that. >> coming up -- an old lead. >> the police department never really followed those leads thoroughly. >> offers new hope. >> i literally saw an injustice. i saw a wring that ong that needed to be righted. treatment. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine,

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>> reporter: the holiday season of 2010 was not a joyous time for john. the da to his other surprise recommended daniel not get a new hearing. so now, he braced himself for the judge's final decision. and with christmas approaching he liked shopping not for gifts but for a tough courtroom lawyer. just in case the long shot came

and daniel did get his day in front of a judge. >> i asked abound and said who is the best lawyer for daniel. everyone i asked, said joe spencer. >> reporter: so he set up a meeting, made his pitch. >> i said, he had two trials. >> yeah. >> he confessed? >> yes. >> double homicide? yes. >> already exhausted his appeal? >> yes. >> i go what do you want? >> reporter: spencer had seen a lot of cases in his day. got a lot of people off. this case wasn't just a long shot. it was a sure fire loser. >> you don't understand, john, this is texas. in texas i give you about 0 to 5% chance of being successful. closer to 0 than to 5. i am telling you that, i don't think that we can win this case. >> reporter: nevertheless, spencer took the beg file

red through it front to back. >> really saw an injustice. really saw a wring that need ong. i wanted to be part of it. >> reporter: spencer started on the man who took daniel's confession. detective alfonso marcus. whose investigation, spencer thought was inadequate at best. >> the physical evidence, forensic evidence, the eyewitness testimony did not match and contradicted daniel's confession. surely, if a statement like that is made and compared to the facts, they throw out the statement. >> you would think. >> something else in the file that caught joe spencer's eye. statements from police from two potential suspects. the flores brothers. javier dead. and his brother rudy. both had been cleared by the cops. but this was weird. the flores brothers were known gang members. according to murder victim's friends.

for mando lazzo. two weeks before the shooting. >> rudy flores. according to what we know from police documents had said he was going to kill armando lasso. and police had investigated those claims. >> reporter: before the shooting? >> before the shooting, yes. >> reporter: after the shooting? >> when questioned by police, rudy flores admitted to being in the vicinity of the shooting at the team of the shooting. from what we can see, the police department never really followed those leads thoroughly. >> they did not even look at rudy flores' statement thamt he t he puts himself at the scene of the crime. if they looked at that they would have seen there is something wring here. i think the detectives, developed tunnel vision. when they got daniel to confess they were oblivious to anything else. >> reporter: so sitting there in his cell with the new high-powered legal team behind

building his case. daniel allowed him tefl self to see possibilities. >> having more, more, hope, miracles do happen now adates. happen all the time. i just hope some of the miracle. >> reporter: his parents had his room ready, hoping after a decade and a half behind bars, he would finally be coming home. thanks to novella. >> i just remember myself thinking, "thank you, god. i got someone who listened. someone who was trying." >> reporter: privately, john knew that there was no hope he would bring jaime esparza around to his way of seeing things. esparza's mind was made up. that's when he got an idea. [ horn honking ] >> reporter: an in-your-face-kind-of-crazy idea. coming up. daniel gets a second chance at justice.

detective who he said threatened to putt him in him in the electric chair and fry him, himself. >> when "dateline" continues. take one of and take a big smell. they smell really fresh what if we told you we washed these sheets 7 days ago. really? no way downy? downy fabric conditioner give us a week, your bed forever. want more freshness? add new downy fresh protect.

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first. around town. then more popped up. >> best thing i could do is bring awareness. this is wrong. maybe we can change things. >> reporter: tv reporter maria garcia garcia. >> he believes in the cause with all his heart.

lengths to try to get other people to believe. >> reporter: and he took up the cause. like a marching band. >> full force. he spent a lot of money. hundreds of thousands of dollars. he has the added a sense of credibility, of legitimacy. i think people started to pay attention. >> reporter: the d.a. was paying attention too. well aware of the street campaign and how it was helping shape public opinion. >> i think he has taken it in some way personally. because this was a case that was important to him. this is an affront to justice. every time we have come to the el paso courthouse and tried to talk to d.a. jaime esparza. he shut us down.

prevented from doing so. so we had to parse together the d.a. point of view based on his court filings and what has leaked out to other report ears long the way. which is, the da is still convinced daniel is a killer. he was not about to let him get a shot at a third trial. especially since he was convicted fair and square in esparza's view years ago. a rare public comment for local tv. >> i have to believe in the evidence. i would have never asked that jury to convict if i thought i had douchlts i would never have asked them to do that. had doubts. i would have never asked them to do that. one of the victim's families agreed and supported the da decision. the judge would have the final say. judge sam madrano. noted carefully the da objection. spent months reviewing the file. finally decided -- yes.

he granted daniel's writ of habeas corpus and a hearing whether there was evidence to warrant a trial. >> we knew we had to get the hearing, we had a chance of freeing daniel. we got it. >> reporter: there would be no jury at the hearing. the judge alone would hear witnesses and then decide whether or not to recommend to the texas court of criminal appeals that daniel get a new trial. >> hope started to build. we all knew it was an uphill battle. this was the last chance. >> reporter: a few weeks before the hearing. daniel headed west on the prisoner transpart bus to el paso. he was in high spirits. the first time he had been to his home town in 15 years. we met with him shortly after he arrived at his new residence. the county jail. >> to finally see the city again after so many years. you are still hoping that, a court will take a decision that courts very rarely take. so you may not get out.

>> reporter: you faced up to that? >> yeah. i faced up to that. too much happened. too many people together. too many miracles had been happening. and you never would have thought that happening, was happening. then on a hot june day in 2011. in judge madranoa's packed courtroom. filled with daniel's supporters. we saw no one from the victim's family. the hearing daniel had been waiting for, for so long. finally began. burden of proof was on the defense. which would make the case that daniel was coerced into a confession and railroaded into a >> the odds were completely against daniel. here he was, back in el paso. back in the court house where he was convicted. >> reporter: by this time, da jaime esparza wasn't at the prosecution table.

nonsense prosecutor that made the case throughout the hearing justice had been served when daniel was convicted in 1995. >> we know that his allegation of actual innocence was all just a sham. and we know that for the last 17 years, he has been praying to good to let him out though he is not innocent. god's not letting him out. he needs you to let him out, judge. attorney joe spencer called a parade of witnesses. 33 of them. including, him. marquez. >> reporter: detective alfonzo marquez was to face accusations himself. >> here he was with the detective. who he said, threat tuned put him in the electric chair and fry him, himself. >> reporter: this time the tables would be turned. as spencer gave marcus a

was there any physical evidence between your investigations that tied daniel villegas off to the scene? >> no. >> was there any forensic villegas to the scene? >> no. >> reporter: what about coercing that confession out of daniel the night of his arrest? marques denied it when asked by >> prir to or to obtaining the statement did you ever physically strike him? >> no, i did not. >> ever physically assault him? >> no, sir i did not. >> threaten him in any way to give that statement? >> no, sir. >> marques insisted his investigation was thorough, that he did not suffer from tunnel vision when it cam to e to daniel and he did consider other suspects. >> y'all followed up some of the leads as well. right? >> yes, sir, we did.

one of those original suspects. interviewed by the el paso police. they called, aldolfo ruiz in his 30s. serving time. the man with his now dead brother, the defense believed was the killer. in a sworn affidavit, flores denied involvement. joe spencer hoped to pull a confession out of him. what he got is all most as the dramatic. >> i refuse to answer any questions. invoking my fifth amendment right to remain silent. rudy flores was keeping his secrets. whatever they were. >> i refuse to answer any questions. >> reporter: one witness was very eager to talk to make the case for daniel villegas. that was daniel. >> coming up -- weeks of hearings. months of waiting. all rise! then finally a decision. >> ran to my son's office.

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>> reporter: summer 2011. request for a new trial. dragged on and off for weeks. daniel trooped back and forth to do that? >> no doubt in my mind he was going to carry out his threats. >> assistant da john briggs asked daniel about his alibi, he was baby sitting at an apartment with several friends? >> why didn't you tell detective marques, hey, you got the wrong guy. i was babysitting? >> i told him i didn't do it. he wouldn't hear. >> you didn't tell him that, did you?

>> assistant da briggs was emphatic. daniel did do it. that his teenage boasting and above all his confession proved his guilt beyond a doubt. and something a jury had decide the. it was all done by the book. legally obtained, he setd aid. protocol followed. in the closing, briggs told the judge, daniel's claim offen know sense was little more than a media event. because then they get their great big send sags sational story. judge, are we going to succumb to the media pressure. or going to follow the law? popular or unpopular as the that may be. your choice. >> at the hearing that's when there was a huge, huge, huge movement support for daniel. >> reporter: that was the court of public opinion. the only opinion that really

he was the one who would recommend to the texas court of criminal appeal, whether or not daniel should be granted a new trial. a negative word from the judge and it was all but over for daniel. and yet another christmas came and went. the 17th christmas without daniel. the villegas' decorated their tree, hoped for next year and new year's passed. and easter. and fourth of july. no news. torture. it's like we had done all we could do. and all we could do now is -- is sit and wait. >> reporter: finally, august 2012. judge madrano announced he made a decision. and all of them, filed back into his courtroom. hearts in their mouths. to hear what it was. >> it this court's recommendation to the texas

the applicant daniel villegas' request for a new trial should be granted. [ applause ] >> all of the years of anguish just came on. i was overwhelmed buy that time. all the 19 years, just washed out. >> overwhelm, man. overwhelm. i feel so happy for daniel. >> reporter: not everybody was happy with the judge's finding. assistant da, john briggs. >> daniel villegas is a convicted murderer. his day to carry the burden on the writ. i am not persuaded by anything that he presented that we have the wrong person. >> we still had one more hurdle. >> reporter: yes, a very big one. judge madrano's recommendation wasn't the final word. the texas state court of criminal appeal, ultimately decide whether daniel got a new trial.

whose decision would take several months and announced with little fanfare on line. where once a week, always a wednesday, the court posted decisions. so every wednesday morning, daniel awoke in his cell with a state of extreme anxiety. called my mom. and follow the list. she would tell me you are not on the list, baby. got to wait another week. just kempt pt going on. week after week after week. >> reporter: the legal rarity that had gotten daniel this far, lost its momentum. another christmas passed. birthday too. and a host of holidays. the long delay, daniel understood was not a good sign. as the he expressed to his brother. over the jail phone. don't blame god. just having a bad day. awe haufg this is every day. this ain't just today.

the next day. every saturday, john visited daniel. used whatever he could to keep hope alive. >> i have to give him some kind of encouragement. so somebody offered to sell me this convertible. i said what a perfect way to encourage daniel. you. don't worry about it. you are coming home. >> reporter: on the wednesday before christmas, 2013, 16 months after at peels court got the case -- the appeals court got the case. daniel's mother checked the court website look always. this time, there it was. a decision from the justices revealed in three words. relief is granted. >> i fell to the ground. screaming. >> did she make any sense when she talked to you? >> no. >> i had to call her back. what happen. what happened? >> it's granted. it's granted. it's granted. the texas court of criminal

grant daniel a new trial. john novella's phone rang. his lawyer with the news. he says, yes, we goilt t it, john. i ran to my son's office. and hugged him. and we all cried. we got it. >> reporter: and a moment that will live with you for the rest of your days, huh? >> that was probably the happiest day of my life. >> pretty much going to finish it. i couldn't believe it was happening. >> reporter: over a year you were waiting? >> 16 months. most stressful 16 months of my life. >> reporter: texas court of criminal appeal not only granted daniel a new trial. it vacated his convicted.

he had never been put on trial. meaning. >> i wasn't a convicted felon. that was the most beautiful part there. >> clean. no record at all. >> none. >> what's more like any one awaiting trial it was possible daniel could be release on bail. mumbella spent six figures. bail would be set in the million. beyond his ability to pay. meaning, daniel would quite possibly remain just where he was. behind bars. coming up -- will the da try for trial number three? >> were 're praying that does not happen. when "talt dateline" continues. continues. and trained as a nurse. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. p so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain. r lyrica may cause serious

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>> reporter: january 14, 2014. 20 years. depending on what happened in it all depended on the bail hearing. for once again, judge madrano

this time setting the amount. john novello worried it would be astronomical. >> have to come up with money. >> to everyone's surprise the judge set bail at $50,000. of which only a small percentage would have to be paid. over $1,000. oh, my god. another happy, happy moment. it's like -- that i think i can live with. probably the smallest check i have written so far. john novella happily wrote the check. before very long -- [ cheers and applause ] yes! >> priceless. >> it was priceless. >> we had waited for so long for that moment to happen. >> daniel!

too. somebody he had never met. jesse hernandez. >> i said, daniel. he turned around. he looked at me. i whispered to him. i am so sorry the i am so forefor what fore sorry for what happened to you. i really am. but i am so happy for you. you are out, you are enjoying this. an oh, man. and he gave me a kiss. a few minutes later, daniel was whisk add way ed away in the red convertible. in the dark days. >> what better way than to present him his car. and let him ride away in that car. pretty amazing day. >> very amazing. >> couldn't believe that this day had finally come. >> they want to church. they went to church. then they had a feast. his first steak in years.

>> delicious. >> he came home to yellow ribbons. >> experiencing all the new things. while reacquainting himself with the old. >> it's ben a long time. >> including his daughter. just an infant when he was imprisoned. now 20 and married and in college. since his release, daniel has been making up for lost time. he has the a job. at novella contractors, naturally. and a new baby. all of which in a happy ending sort of world would have been the conclusion of our story. but as everyone knows, the world sometimes has the other plans. as does da jaime esparza, the da despite the court rulings and public sentiment remains convinced daniel is a killer and should be locked up for life. he is promised to try him all

>> let's have the jury deside whether or not -- decide whether or not he committed the crime or not. that's our policy. we do our talk in court. though the da declined our interview request until after the case. he is planning to introduce new allegations one from a man who says he now remembers more than 20 years after the fact. hearing daniel confess, sometimes around his two trials. also allegations that daniel can be heard in a much dispult ted phone call with his mother mumbling something that the prosecutor hears as i'm not innocent. and also, mumbella and daniel in prison telephone calls, conspired to influence witnesses when they can be heard stralt strategizing. a claim which according to mumbella amounts to a smear campaign by the da. are they trying to get at the truth?

i believe they're just trying to hide the truth. >> reporter: does the da have a case? judge madrano has thrown out much of the state's evidence. daniel's confession. inadmissible because the it was coerced. all of those hours of prison phone calls, ruled out as simply irrelevant. the judge did not hear any confession on those tapes. the da determined to move forward is appealing that particular decision. around el paso. in and out of legal community, we encountered many people who wondered why the da will not let it go. one of the doubters, the da's own co-counsel. >> i don't know why they're pursuing it. to be honest with you. they talked to some of the officers who are also involved. and a lot of the people any way have regrets. >> reporter: maybe that was a rush to judgment. >> right.

esparza up for re-election and faces opposition. the villegas is controversial in the campaign. one of his opponents says if elected she will review the case to deter men whether mine if it should be pursued. barring earth shattering evidence, another candidate says, he'll drop the case. for now, john mumbella is bracing for trial number three. >> you know, we are praying that that doesn't happen. it would be a sham to e to put daniel and his family through it again. >> i don't know if we are going to go to trial. win it. or drop the charges. either way. 19 years ago i didn't have a chance to be here, you know. >> at the edge of the prompt sits a small empty office, waiting for its new occupant. this is the future home of proclaimed justice, a brand new

paso daniel and mumbella plan to open shupd ould the case be dismissed or daniel be acquitted. >> i am real excited about that. we have got to get a lot of people that are in prison, little really hundreds of us still in there that don't got a john in their life. we got to be that john for them. >> reporter: and john, he plans to reap tire tire from the contracting business. once they called him the king of construction here in el paso. the thing he hoped to be remembered for. and then he walked into a bank and met a woman. who gave him along with her love, the challenge of his life. >> it would be probably the best thing i have ever done. every penny, every hour i spent on daniel's case, was worth it. because now daniel is with his family. >> reporter: how many more hours and more pennies will depend on