attorneys' office and we know your client is innocent. >> i thank god every day for john o'malley. looked in that man's eyes, i seen a man who has integrity and a man who was honest. >> o'malley's affidavit was enough for the bronx da to re-open the case and to get in front of a judge, but that would take time. two more months. but now at least eric had reason to hope, and in his cell he assembled a little photo gallery of others who had been exonerated. >> this is my wall of hope. everybody here has been unjustly convicted and freed. >> on august 5th, 2012, eric's lawyer goes to court. cross is joined by his assistant, and by now they have worked on eric's case for six years. >> i want to see him out. i told him the last time i went up to sing sing, i said i am not visiting you again. this is it. >> cross argues his case to the judge. >> my client has spent 17 years plus in jail for a crime he didn't commit. >> prosecutors do not admit there has been a terrible mistake. >> we will be seeking time. >> how much? >> 30 days. >> another month. cross is frustrated. >> they told me they

his name, john o'malley, an investigator for the u.s. attorney in new york.ing eric's letter, o'malley made a personal trip to see eric in sing sing. >> immediately john o'malley just stood up and he asked me, "did you write this letter?" and i said, "yes." he shook my hand. and he said, "i'm sorry." and i said, "sorry for what?" he says, you know, "i know you're innocent." when he said that, i said, "what are you talking about, sir?" he said, "listen, i know the guys who committed this crime." >> reporter: how did o'malley know? it turns out o'malley worked with detective forcelli on that gang case ten years earlier. and back then, those two gang members, jose and gilbert, actually confessed the cab driver shooting to o'malley. >> he said, "when i read this letter, everything just came back to me from that day. i put it all together from that day when these guys confessed to me." >> reporter: o'malley didn't want to appear on camera but told us he also checked with the nypd after getting those confessions in 2002, and like forecelli before him, o'malley was

fascinating to watch is martin o'malley trying to outhumane the rest of the democratic field and then perry and ted cruz trying to outconservative and outhawk -- >> on that point, john in the gop take the issue of immigration reform and run with it jeb bush style and say i'm going more on the liberal side of the issue? is it possible with that primary electorate? >> they wouldn't call it the liberal side but, sure, there is. there's an opening there. if you look at the polling data, there is support among even republicans for a path to citizenship. the problem is in the context of a campaign and a primary, it gets really tough to carry that message. you have to do it in a cautious and well turned way and it's not easy, especially if you're jeb bush when you've got conservatives who have other questions about your stance -- >> ask marco rubio what he thinks. i would start with that. >> you take that idea you better win florida. >> iowa is tough. >> jonathan martin, perry bacon, shira center, thank you so both. at 10:00 a.m. eastern, jose diaz-balart anchors outside the los angeles convention center where la raza is meeting. do not miss that from jose. >>> before a qu