1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 1: With the police banging on the door open up. 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,319 Speaker 2: The choice to be in that lineup was the last 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 2: choice I made as a free man. 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: A year later, I ended up writing the system. 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 3: I'm going to be one of those people who everyone 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 3: in the world is going to think as a monster 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 3: or suspect as a monster for the rest of my life, 8 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 3: and I'm just going to have to come to peace 9 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 3: with that. 10 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: Somebody was able to look at my picture in the 11 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: database and say that I was somewhere where I definitely wasn't. 12 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: I overheard three of the jailers discussing what part they 13 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: might have to play in my hanging. They had been 14 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: told that two prison officers would have to participate in 15 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: my execution. Now I walked back inside that prison for 16 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: the last time. Man, all help broke loose. 17 00:00:49,560 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 2: But welcome to another episode of Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flamm. 18 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: Today we have a very incredible person as our guest. 19 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 2: Our featured exonery today is Frankie Correo. 20 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 3: Korea was sixteen. In nineteen ninety one, fifteen sheriff's deputies 21 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 3: with guns drawn storm through the front door. Korea was 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 3: convicted of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. 23 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: Frankie was released. 24 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 3: From jail in downtown LA this afternoon after spending twenty 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 3: years in prison. Rio was released after the court found 26 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 3: evidence that Korea was framed through coerced testimony for a 27 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 3: fatal drive by shooting. The gang of corrupt LA Sheriff's 28 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,839 Speaker 3: deputies known as the Linwood Vikings co wer six witnesses 29 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 3: into identifying him in a photo lineup. 30 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: Frankie, welcome, Jason's good to be here. 31 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 2: So Frankie, your story begins when you were really just 32 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 2: a child and the baby man. Let's go back to 33 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 2: the beginning. You grew up in La, right, that's correct, 34 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: Southern California, and you had a pretty happy upbringing, right, Yeah, 35 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 2: I would say that. Yeah, everything was going along more 36 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 2: or less. Okay, nothing's easy about being a sixteen year 37 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 2: old boy, that's right. 38 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: Then one day it almost turned upside down. That day 39 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: was January twenty fourth, nineteen ninety one. I was just 40 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: a little color there. I was a high school student. 41 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: I was a child of a divorce family, four siblings. 42 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: My father had raised us in stage of nine, so 43 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: it's a very male dominated household. Dad and two boys. 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,279 Speaker 1: It was what I'd known for the past seven years. 45 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 2: And you had a sort of a unique situation too. 46 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:32,359 Speaker 2: It was is that your mom had did one day 47 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 2: just decided to check out. 48 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: That's it. Yeah. 49 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 2: It wasn't like it got separated and you spent half 50 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 2: the time. 51 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: With her or she just left. That was it. Yeah, 52 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: I mean, it's an unfortunate story, but that's what happened. 53 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, so you had been abandoned in a very real 54 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 2: way and experienced something that's obviously going to affect any 55 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 2: young man for the rest of his life. But that 56 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 2: wasn't the worst of what was to come by far. 57 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 2: And again, sixteen is really not a child, but you're 58 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 2: closer to a child than an adult. 59 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:04,799 Speaker 1: Right even though it was my age, I was sixteen, 60 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: Psychologically you're you're still a kid, you know, maybe operating 61 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: at thirteen fourteen level, not to minimize it, but I'm 62 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:11,839 Speaker 1: a boy, I'm a kid. 63 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 2: We were in tenth grade, tenth grader, tenth grade exactly, 64 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 2: So I'm saying tenth grade, you're you know, yeah, you're 65 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 2: closer to middle school than you are to college. And 66 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 2: they hadn't been shaved. 67 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: So it's like a good A good reference is that 68 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: you're at the point where like facial hair is sort 69 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: of developing, but you're not there yet, Frankie, like, hold 70 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: off right. 71 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 2: And then one night, fifteen cops bust in your house. 72 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,399 Speaker 2: What a surreal situation. You were asleep? 73 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: I was asleep, just a normal night. Yeah. Actually it 74 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: was early morning, so it was dark, but it was 75 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: it was six in the morning. This happened, and my 76 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: father and I went home and they couldn't get in. 77 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: They were pounding away, and ultimately I opened the door, 78 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: looked out the window and new was them. They were 79 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: screaming who they were, and they stormed in, stormed in, 80 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: ordered my father and I to the floor, And that's 81 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: the beginning of the nightmare. 82 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: Really, so they already it to the floor. Did they 83 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 2: tell you what was going on? 84 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: I wish it did? You know? It was pretty strategic 85 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: in all business, so they wanted to, like ram sack. 86 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: The home was their main objective. And you know, my 87 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: father and I really my dad was trying to exert 88 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: his position. This is my home, what are you doing here? 89 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: And he was being ignored. So he's telling me, like, 90 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: what's happening. I'm like I don't know, Like I have 91 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: no idea whither're here? Soon after, on the ride to 92 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: the sheriff station is when I learned that I had 93 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: been accused and ultimately now being arrested for a murderer 94 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: I hadn't committed. 95 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 2: So you get to the sheriff's station and what happens next. 96 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: Really, I was expecting my father to show up, but 97 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: what happened was I was placing into an interrogation room. 98 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: The people who showed up instead were these two sort 99 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: of cowboy detectives ready to play the good call bad 100 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: cop on me, and I played along. You know. They 101 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,559 Speaker 1: said what they're arrested me for and if I would 102 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: willing to talk, and I said, sure, I'll talk like 103 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: I have nothing to hide. 104 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 2: Right, And so you waved your Marana, right I did. 105 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 2: And that's such a crazy thing, Frankie, because I think 106 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:59,040 Speaker 2: it's hard for most people to understand why someone would 107 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 2: wave their miranda rights when you have the right to 108 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 2: a lawyer who is going to give that up. But 109 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 2: the fact is in your case, I think it's fairly typical, 110 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 2: which is that if you're innocent, and this is an 111 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 2: ironic thing, right, if you're innocent, a lot of people 112 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 2: go in they think, well, why do I need a lawyer. 113 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 2: I'm just going to answer some questions, and the justice 114 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 2: system is going to work because I'm an innocent person 115 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 2: who abides by the law, and then they'll see that 116 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 2: they made a mistake and then they'll go catch the 117 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 2: real guy. 118 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: Exactly right. 119 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, it's going to take stories like yours to help 120 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 2: educate people so that they don't do that. You do 121 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 2: not give up any information without getting a lawyer. 122 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: But I will adjason that when you're in that code 123 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: room and the power imbalance is obvious, you are in 124 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: a detention facility. Basically, you're in the stronghold, you're in 125 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: the sheriff's departments space, and you're there as a visitor. 126 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: You're there obviously being charged with this crime, in my case, 127 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: being wrongfully charged. And so to some degree, as a 128 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: young boy, you want these are adults. I'm looking at 129 00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: these men and you want to cooperate. You want it 130 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: like I'll talk to you. I have nothing to hide. 131 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: It is sort of my position looking back now. Obviously 132 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: I wish I wish there was a Civics class that 133 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,479 Speaker 1: would have said, you know what, no matter what, innocent, guilty, whatever, 134 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: the situation is just wait for your parents or wait 135 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: for a lawyer. 136 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: Yes, it's a tragic twist or irony that when you're 137 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 2: innocent and you go into the situation, you're more likely 138 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 2: to waive your Miranda rights and if you're guilty, exactly, 139 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 2: we're in that interrogation room. 140 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: How long were you interrogated for? 141 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 2: Do you even know? 142 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: You know? Surprisingly, I think back of that fived him 143 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: in interrogation, and I sort of left that room thinking, 144 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: you know, where was the lamp? You know, where were 145 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: these guys punching on me? Like, you know, you watch 146 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: enough TV to understand that this is supposed to unfold 147 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: a little bit differently than it did in my case. 148 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: At least, they were very quick to just say, there's 149 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: a young boy who witnessed a crime, who was adamant 150 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: that you were the guy who did it. So we 151 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: got you. Let's talk about you just confessing to it. 152 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: So it was really very brief, very precise on their end, 153 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: and I think I'm on a chuckle not to be 154 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: silly here, but it was just like so unreal, like 155 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: one you're are you sure you're talking to me? I'm 156 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: adamant that it was in me obviously, and their position 157 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 1: was like, we're beyond if you did it or not. 158 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: We just want you to just come clean, just confess 159 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: that you did it. And I was like, I can't 160 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: do that. 161 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 2: It ended after ten minutes. 162 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: That's it. Like they weren't trying to press me and 163 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: starve me out anything. They were just like, okay, well 164 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: we'll see you in court, like we're going to jail now, 165 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: Like that was it. 166 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 2: Hearing that and that's an unusual interrogation, and that it 167 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 2: went on for such a short period of time, it 168 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 2: sounds to me like at that point they actually did 169 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 2: think they had the right guy, because they were like, Okay, 170 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 2: well this guy's not gonna give it up, but we 171 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 2: got the right guy, so it's okay, We're we're gonna 172 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 2: get him no matter what. But as things unraveled, they 173 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 2: took steps that were corrupt and illegal. How did they 174 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 2: end up managing to convict you when you were so 175 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 2: obviously not the guy? 176 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: So you know, in Los Angeles at least, there's a 177 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: very familiar story about misconduct with the LAPD SO Rampart 178 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: Division scandal. It's more readily available knowledge. But my case 179 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: didn't involve laped involve the li Sheriff's Department, and there's 180 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: a well known at least locally of the Linwood Vikings. 181 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: So Lindwood is where this crime happened and where my 182 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: arrest was ultimately investigated. And the Linwood Vikings had become 183 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: a rogue police gang. So what I thought is a 184 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: naive boy, that I was dealing with law enforcement who 185 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: were abidened by the constitution and their policies in the department. 186 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: Some of the people on this investigation team were these 187 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: bad cops sort of fast forward in here of information 188 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: I knew, not at the time, but as the case developed. 189 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: And so when this young boy who was used to 190 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: identify me, who was shown a line of photo six 191 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: pack to ultimately say this is the guy who committed 192 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: the crime, the case sounded pretty cut and dry. There's 193 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: a witness, there's a heshoe was showing a photographic lineup. 194 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: He quickly identified the shooter. We got in the rest 195 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: slammed duck. And so there was a trial when I 196 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: was tried as an adult and move forward to a conviction. 197 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: But at some point it was discovered that this young 198 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: boy wasn't as innocent as you know. He was more 199 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: than just a witness. It was revealed that he was 200 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: an informant for one specific law enforcement officer, Deputy Ditch. 201 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: And so Deputy Ditch, Ditch, Deputy of all things, Deputy Ditch. Right, 202 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: I mean what a name, right, Craig Ditch is the 203 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: guy's name. He's now retired. The guy had this boy 204 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: under his wing as an informant, and he happened to 205 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: be at this crime scene, and so it was very 206 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: very easy to say, I'm your go to guy here. 207 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: So the story later was discovered that this young boy 208 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: was showing photographs after he'd been interviewed five times by 209 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:38,079 Speaker 1: other investigators with no results. They realized Ditch had a 210 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: relationship with this boy. Ditch shows up cases over. The 211 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: case was solved once Stitch arrived in less than eight hours, 212 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: and the story that was revealed that the young boy 213 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:49,760 Speaker 1: was showing the photographs as what was in the report, 214 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: and so he picks a random picture just to play along, 215 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: and Ditch says, that's the wrong guy. He's in jail 216 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: right now, try again. You know, I'm sure he's feeling 217 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: like an idiot. Point. You know, you're trying to help, 218 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: You're young, you're scared, so he picks another photograph, and 219 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: the deputy says, this guy's dead. What about this guy here? 220 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: We think he's trying to come up in the rankings 221 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: or whatever, And so the boy just says, yeah, I 222 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: guess that makes sense. I guess I guess that's the guy. 223 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: And this is the story. 224 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 2: He was looking at six photographs. 225 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: Yep, he was over too exactly. 226 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 2: He picked he picked very badly. He picked a guy 227 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 2: who was in jail and a guy who was dead. 228 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: Right. 229 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 2: That's yeah, really hard to make a case against those guys. 230 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: Right. 231 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:28,719 Speaker 2: And by the way, it's sort of odd that there 232 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 2: was a guy in the sixth pack who was dead. 233 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 2: Give me a break, right, Well, I mean you would 234 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 2: think they would take that guy out. Just I mean, 235 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 2: let me jump in here and say, well, you know, Frankie, 236 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 2: what's up. You're coming off as this high school student, 237 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 2: nice guy. What's your photograph doing in the sheriff's apartment? Like, 238 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 2: tell us about that. 239 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure that was your next question, right, I'm getting 240 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: to that what happened in this environment is so nineteen 241 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: ninety nineteen ninety one is over referencing here that specific 242 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: sheriff's department's policy was that if there was any anyone 243 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: that you thought was a potential bad kid or bad 244 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: guy or bad anything, let's do some racial profiling at 245 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: this point, right, gather intel. And so the photograph was 246 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: obtained in the summer between my sixth grade and seventh 247 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: grade vacation block. There, me and some of my buddies 248 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: just riding our BMX spikes through a local park, no 249 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: big deal, summertime, and this deputy Dept. Luna, I remember 250 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: the guy's name, sort of just rolls up next to us. 251 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,079 Speaker 1: He's it's done, the official lights on pull over. He stops, 252 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: We stop, start talking about who has a girlfriend, and 253 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: where do you live? And what's up with to you? Whatever? Right, 254 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: just pretty cool talking to a cop, No big deal. 255 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: Then the guy says, do you mind if I take 256 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: your photograph to the group? I don't remember us looking 257 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: around saying what do you think? Guys? We just like, 258 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: I guess like you're a cop, right, Like what do 259 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: we say? 260 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 3: No? 261 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,439 Speaker 1: And so this is the time when you had polaroad camera. 262 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: So the guy got out of his car, went into 263 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: the trunk and pulled out the little manual polaroid camera, 264 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: and one by one he just came to write where 265 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: we were on our bike standing and just snapped a photograph. 266 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: And so that photograph that was taken in a park 267 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: with trees in the background and whatever else was in 268 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 1: the background, I was smiling them picture. That photograph ended 269 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: up in the sixth pack. So talk about like a 270 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 1: chain of events here that fucks your life up, right, 271 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: Oh my. 272 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 2: God, I mean, that's really the most I've heard all 273 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 2: types of different stories, and you're right, that is a 274 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 2: question that people often ask, why was this picture? Now? 275 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 2: What we know is that if you live in a 276 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 2: poor neighborhood speticularly a poor minority neighborhood, the cops do 277 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 2: sweeps and they'll pick up everybody, right, and so your 278 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 2: picture could be in there because you had a joint, 279 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 2: or any other thing could be in there because you 280 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 2: were trespassing, right, I have air quotes under that one 281 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 2: or whatever. And so it's really true that a lot 282 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 2: of people have records for the most minor misdemeanors. In 283 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 2: your case, you had no record whatsoever. Actually, it was 284 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 2: probably I mean, thinking back to when I was in 285 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:46,440 Speaker 2: sixth or seventh grade, if a cop would have asked 286 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 2: to take my picture, I would have felt good, right, like, Wow, 287 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 2: this guy wants to take my picture. I'm pretty cool kid. 288 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 2: So your picture was in the lineup because this cop had, 289 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 2: in a sneaky way, racially profiled you as a thirteen 290 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 2: year old boy riding his bike in the park, which 291 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 2: is exactly as far as I can tell, what thirteen 292 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 2: year old boys are supposed to be doing. You were 293 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 2: identified in this insane process, right, which is literally like 294 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 2: it would be funny, except the results are so tragic. 295 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 2: So he eventually managed to come up with the answer 296 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,079 Speaker 2: that the cop wanted, which he could have saved himself 297 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 2: to trouble by just saying initially to the kid, hey, 298 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 2: this is the guy we want identify him. That would 299 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 2: have been simple, exactly. I would have saved five minutes. 300 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 2: So you're identified, you go to trial. 301 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: Well, I'm pre as an adult, I'm going to keep 302 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: parking this, but I'm a kid. So there's a process 303 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 1: here in California that determines if you're worthy of juvenile 304 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: court or you have to go with the big boys. Right, 305 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: And so this was a murderer and they felt that 306 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: it deserved it a higher punishment, and so ultimately went 307 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: to trial. Had an assigned attorney that the county who 308 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: wasn't a public defenders like a panel attorney. I have 309 00:13:58,160 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: to say this part here is when I walked into 310 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: the court and I was chained to you know, the 311 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,839 Speaker 1: chain gang there everyone's ever being arraigned, all adults, and 312 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: then was looking like what did you do, like steal 313 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: some candy and blah blah blah, and you know, they're 314 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: just ragging on me, these adults who had obviously been 315 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: there before. And so I'm the last guy to be arraigned, 316 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: and so everyone's freaking out like, oh shit, we weren't 317 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: expecting that charge for this kid, right And prior to that, 318 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: I will say that, and it's and it kind of 319 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: goes to just me being so naive here is that 320 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: I heard someone call my name and I'm like, I'm 321 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: so little. I'm like raising my hand like I'm over here. 322 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: And I looked over and I saw this good looking 323 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: white man with this amazing suit on, just like tanned suit, 324 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: walking towards me with the file and I was like, 325 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: oh my god, David, you have signed me the best 326 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: fucker in the room, man, Like this is all going 327 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: to be worked out, Like this is it? I got 328 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: the very sheck of the world. Sadly, it's just an 329 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: example of like where my mentality was, even my perception 330 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: of this new world. This courtroom was like sadly, like 331 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: a white guy come into your rescue, had like such 332 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: an impact from living in a society where the majority 333 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: of people around you are people who look like you 334 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: and who you know than the teacher or whatever, and 335 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: so I thought it was a sort of funny and 336 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: looking back at that moment, getting me so excited about 337 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: everything's going to be okay now right obviously. 338 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 2: Not obviously not. I mean the odds, the odds were 339 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 2: stacked against you. The government was willing to lie to 340 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 2: get the conviction. They were willing to use an incentivized witness, 341 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 2: and they convicted you, they did, and now you get 342 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: sent to maximum security prison. 343 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 1: At the time, they had a juvenile facility, so it 344 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: was like the Youth Authority for young adults. So I 345 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: went there and the sentence was thirty years to life, 346 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: with an additional six life sentences attached to that. So 347 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: I'll say that when I heard those words coming to 348 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: the judge's mouth, I couldn't imagine or perceive like a 349 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: week or a few months in my life. So now 350 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: to imagine thirty years to life plus life, I couldn't 351 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: even comprehend that. For someone wants to be sort of 352 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: funny and sort of mess with me, it meant like, 353 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: do thirty years to life die and then you're back 354 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: in prison, like even if you ever come back, right, 355 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 1: And it. 356 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 2: Was like, you mean, like if you get reincarnated. 357 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: I suppose, right, like you're you're setting you up for 358 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: your next life. It doesn't make any sense, right, and 359 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: none of this makes any sense. But that in particular 360 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: doesn't make any sense just in terms of the semantics 361 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: of it. It's interesting too, write because there was a 362 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: witness who actually wanted to come forward and who had 363 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: information that could have prevented you from being convicted in 364 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: the first place. There was, so he wasn't just a witness. 365 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: This guy that you're referring to was the actual killer. 366 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: So as a bizarre twist in this case, the investigator 367 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: had discovered who the murderer was, and your instigator there is. 368 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: It's a bizarre twist all this, And it's not to 369 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: minimize the bad police work here, but now it's also 370 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 1: bad defense work here. My defense attorney had an investigator 371 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: who had went out and become the world's best investigator 372 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: by tracking down who excumented the crime. Turns out he 373 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: knew the murderer, and so there was just this conflict 374 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: of interest of either get off the case or reveal 375 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: that this is the guy who did it. He had 376 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: this young man, the actual murderer, confessed to the crime. 377 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: There's a six page confession that he took from this man. 378 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 1: And what he tried to do. To his credit, he 379 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,160 Speaker 1: tried to convince this guy to come to the court 380 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: and just say, look, frank didn't do it, it was me. 381 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: And he arrived with an attorney. You would assume that 382 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: the judge would say, well, wait a minute here, before 383 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: Frankie goes down and he's sentenced, let's hear about this 384 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: guy in the hallway. And lo and behold, the judge says, 385 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: you're too late. You've been convicted by jury. All this 386 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 1: sort of like blast information that's apparently in the hallway. 387 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: Just deal with it in your appeal. 388 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 2: So after the jury renders you guilty and the guy 389 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 2: standing outside the doors of the courtroom exactly who's actually 390 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 2: holding the cards to your freedom? 391 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: Well, I mean it would have shed light. If someone 392 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: cared about truth, right, it would have been like, well, 393 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: let's bring this guy in. And so it failed me 394 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 1: even again at that point, that's such a crazy it's 395 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: a bizarre man. 396 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 2: You were like thirty feet from freedom sort of right, 397 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 2: the doors would have opened and this guy would have 398 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 2: been allowed to walk in and provided he actually came clean, true, 399 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 2: because he might have changed his mind. People do that. 400 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 2: But you had a real opportunity to avoid this most 401 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 2: nightmarish fate that anybody can possibly imagine. But that's not 402 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 2: what happened. And ultimately there were six witnesses who testified 403 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 2: against you, and the crazy thing is they all recanted, right, 404 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 2: eventually they all recanted. 405 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 1: They initially use this one boy, this fifty year old boy, 406 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: to arrest me based on this photographic lineup, and so 407 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: six months, which is bizarre. Here everyone was under eighteen, 408 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: so everyone was very young. Six months maybe even seven 409 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: months after the crime had occurred. For the first time, 410 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: the other five boys had been shown the photographic lineup. 411 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: And we all know about memory, and there's been studies 412 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,360 Speaker 1: and it's been proven that this is not a recording 413 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: dick you have on your phone in your mind memories 414 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: recorded a little bit differently. It's like little snapshots, and 415 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: as time goes on they fade and other information filters 416 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: in and it gets very tainted. So it's hard to 417 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: really recall, especially a dry by shooting the middle of 418 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: the night. You hear gunfire, you're ducking, you're running, so 419 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: to really capture that, it's like an immediate on the 420 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: scene interview is like the best one. So we're talking 421 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: about seven months later now where these boys are showing 422 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: photographs for the first time ever. Wow, And sure enough, 423 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: sure enough, one by one they say, yep, that's the guy. 424 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,880 Speaker 1: It's photograph number one. And it was obviously later determined 425 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: that's this young boy. The fifteen year old boy. Made 426 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: it a point to tell everyone else if they ever 427 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: show you photographs, believe me, I know who did it. 428 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: It was photograph number one. And so now we got 429 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: six people. 430 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 2: Right, And it's so absurd to think that seven months later, 431 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,159 Speaker 2: as you said, in the middle of the night, in 432 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: the dark and a drive by shooting, all the factors 433 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 2: are there for almost a guarantee of wrong fele identification, 434 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: a miss identification, and that's exactly what happened. So you 435 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 2: spent much more than half your life behind bars. You're 436 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 2: only really a cognizant human, right maybe for ten years 437 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 2: to a round number, so more than twice that amount 438 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 2: of time. You're now in a cage in a violent, scary, 439 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 2: hostile environment. How did you manage to make it through that? 440 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: You know? Well, you know, when I think back about 441 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: how I survived twenty years incarceration, what I remembered most 442 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:19,959 Speaker 1: about something my dad said sort of in passing or 443 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: just started giving me some advice up to dinner table, 444 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 1: which was, if there's adults around, go to them. He's 445 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: sort of instilling these things about just society, they'll help you. 446 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: And so I think, here, I am in a room 447 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,920 Speaker 1: full of adults. I'm an adult court, and I'm expecting 448 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 1: everyone to do the right thing just because you're an adult. 449 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: I'm a kid. You're supposed to be watching out for 450 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: the system and yourself and and everyone in the room. 451 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: And so that that went haywire. That that failed me. 452 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: But I think that this very fuzzy idea of humanity 453 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: was being born, and so I arrived in the place 454 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: that was very sad. I mean, it's dangerous when you 455 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,880 Speaker 1: hear about it from the outside from the inside. It's 456 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: a very somber and just a sad place where people 457 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: are being confined. And so I'm talking to you from 458 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: the ground level here other people who don't want to 459 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: be there, and they're also suffering on whatever level, and 460 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: you join in on this pity party about life, you know. 461 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: And so first couple of years of that, you know, 462 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: you're trying to sort of find your place. It's a 463 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: social dynamic there, and so you're moving in groups of 464 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,359 Speaker 1: your kind, and you know, you get a job and 465 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: you kind of get active in what's happening there. But 466 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: luckily for me, and I really thank my dad for 467 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: saying that, it's instilling in this idea that whoever they are, 468 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,679 Speaker 1: but people are good people. And in my case, I 469 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,479 Speaker 1: had to be careful with who I told that I 470 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 1: was innocent, because you know, that's back to the sort 471 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: of ranking about like you're a murderer in prison has 472 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: more status than if you're there for child molestation. And 473 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: so even in my environment, I think innocent is probably 474 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: below child molester. You don't even belong here, Like what 475 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 1: the fuck man, Like you're you know, I mean, a criminal, 476 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 1: Like we're all you know, we're all tough here. So 477 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: I learned that I made a mistake and told the 478 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: wrong guy that I was innocent, and the look he 479 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: gave me was like, oh shit, maybe I shouldn't be 480 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: telling people that I'm not like you, right obviously, like 481 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,119 Speaker 1: everyone else I read and I and I feel like 482 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 1: I'm in sound like a natural chameleon. So I just 483 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: adapted to my environment. I've been always been very diplomatic, 484 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: so I was always trying to be the peacekeeper, and 485 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 1: so that helped the pain. And also, like the hope 486 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: was that like somewhere, somehow someone was going to realize 487 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: that this was a huge mistake. And so the system 488 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: that failed me, the criminal justice system that failed me, 489 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: and everyone who makes that sort of term, you know, 490 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: happen and work though it's it's supposed to work. I 491 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: suppose I was expecting them to figure it out and 492 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: help me. It's sort of like suspending reality and thinking, 493 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: forget what just happened to you where you've been wrongly convicted, 494 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: and try to hold onto the one piece that these 495 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: people can do the right thing. And some expecting people 496 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: to do the right thing. 497 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 2: It's incredible that you would be expecting people to do 498 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 2: the right thing, when, with the exception of your father, 499 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 2: everybody who was supposed to have protected you either abandoned 500 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,160 Speaker 2: you or turned on you in the most vicious way, 501 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,639 Speaker 2: and yet you maintained this outlook like, if I just 502 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,959 Speaker 2: be me and be honest and be optimistic, then eventually 503 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 2: people are going to accept me for who I am, 504 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 2: which is an innocent guy trapped in a sentence that 505 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 2: doesn't belong to me. That's really there's a lot to 506 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 2: be learned from that, right, because all of us go 507 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 2: through little disappointments on a daily basements, right, or a 508 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 2: weekly basis or whatever, and so many people react to those, 509 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 2: and certainly being around you and the other exgneries, I 510 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 2: always say, it puts gratitude in my attitude, you know, 511 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 2: and I learned to be I think much more understanding 512 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 2: of life's little twists and turns, because they all seem 513 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 2: so trivial. When you deal with someone who's been through 514 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 2: hell right and managed to maintain not just sanity, but 515 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,200 Speaker 2: a sense of grace and kindness and optimism, it's remarkable, 516 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 2: you know. 517 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: I'm going to add to also, Jason, that there was 518 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: something happening that I didn't realize. This until many years later. 519 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 1: But we're all conditioned in the way, and specifically, when 520 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: we think of prison, we think of the ugliest human 521 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: from his behavior, what he did, or the way he 522 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: looks and the tattoos and ponytail whatever we have in 523 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: our minds etched out as like what a prisoner looks like. 524 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: And so imagine a guy who's great looking as I 525 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 1: am in a prison. You might think, oh, man, this 526 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:23,120 Speaker 1: guy's vulnerable to like sexual assaults, right, But the reality 527 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: is that pull perversion out of it. You're in a 528 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,640 Speaker 1: place where you're almost like a porcelain figurine in a bar, 529 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: and it's almost like people want to protect you, and 530 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: they're curious about, like, what's this guy with no tattoos 531 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: doing amongst us? Why is he so nice? Like, you know, 532 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: we're all mean and talking shit to each other, and 533 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: this guy's like talking about good morning and whatever. Right. 534 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: And so I learned that my humanity hadn't been detached 535 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 1: from me. There was no guilt that made me feel 536 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: like I couldn't be human. So I was just who 537 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: I thought I had to be. And as time went on, 538 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 1: I'd use it as a shield because I knew that 539 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: was happening, that there was like these social conditioning that 540 00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: was working in my favor, even just a survival part, 541 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: let alone the criminal justice be trying to get out. 542 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 2: Now that you've been out for six years, and hearing 543 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 2: you talk about it, you're very calm, and you paint 544 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 2: a picture that is I think either you're in a 545 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,159 Speaker 2: little bit of denial. You know, like they say, denial 546 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 2: is not a river in Egypt about how terrifying and 547 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 2: how I know it was a brutal experience no matter 548 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 2: all the things you're saying, notwithstanding, but I do want 549 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 2: to turn to the happy part of this story, your 550 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 2: exoneration and then what happened after you got out, because 551 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 2: America loves to come back. Yeah, man, and your story 552 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 2: is very uplifting. I mean, just the fact that you're 553 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 2: here now has got to be inspiring to so many people. 554 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,679 Speaker 2: So how did you Was it the Northern California Innocent's 555 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 2: Project that took your case? 556 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,159 Speaker 1: I think my exoneration is sort of twofold here, But 557 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: when it came to the legal components to it, I 558 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: did what many other people do. They write letters, and 559 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: they bother their families and that they have a friend 560 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 1: who they can nag about it. They do that like 561 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,360 Speaker 1: it's a constant scratching away at this right. And so 562 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,360 Speaker 1: for me, it was a fifteen year letter writing campaign 563 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: that went nowhere. I mean it was Oprah and twenty 564 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: twenty and forty eight hours and some row back, you know, 565 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,439 Speaker 1: along with Barry shk who wasn't interested in at the 566 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: time with a case who wasn't involved in DNA, which 567 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,919 Speaker 1: I understood. But as bizarre as it was, I was. 568 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: I was a folesome prisoner working as a teacher's aid. 569 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 1: I was, you know, helping the teacher correct papers and 570 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: do some algebra on the board, whatever, just pretty basic stuff, right. 571 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,160 Speaker 1: And Tony Carter, who was a teacher, she is about 572 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: to retire, and there was like this internal policy where 573 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: you can't get too close to the prisoners because they'll 574 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: fire you and so on. And so I knew that, 575 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,199 Speaker 1: and now I want to get her in trouble. So 576 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: she knew my plight, but I never never went as 577 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: far as to say, hey, Tony, would he help? But 578 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: now I figure she's done. You know, she's about to retire. 579 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: Now is the time, right, So on the last moments 580 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: she's walking away on that Friday, I say, Tony, Tony, 581 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,679 Speaker 1: and she looks back and she says, yeah, what's up? 582 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 1: Did you forget to say something? And sure enough I did? Right? 583 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: I said, would you help me? She's like, sure, Like, 584 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: what can I do for you? Right? You know my story, 585 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: if Nelliecher retired, if you're in your travels in the world, 586 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: if you come across a lawyer, a reporter, anyone you 587 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: think might be interested in my story, would you just 588 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: mind just sharing that with them? And I think anyone 589 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 1: would have said yes, it's pretty simple. Right, you're about 590 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: to leave, And so she says, sure, I can do that, 591 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: and I was really relieved because a letter I can 592 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,639 Speaker 1: do that all day long, but face to face it's 593 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 1: a different dynamic there. But I felt really happy that 594 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 1: I was able to muster the guts to do that. 595 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: And so turns out that six months after that conversation, 596 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: she was invited to a book club in Sacramento. This 597 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: guy named Bo mo'sof who's now has passed, was going 598 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: to do some book signing and she had seen him before, 599 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: and so she shows up and lo and behold, there's 600 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 1: an attorney in the room. And luckily for me, she 601 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: mentioned that she was a lawyer, because guess who was 602 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 1: listening Tony who says, oh shit, I guess this is 603 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:03,880 Speaker 1: I guess this is a calling, right, So she goes 604 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 1: over and says, I heard you're a lawyer, and you 605 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: know have this guy you know, I used to be 606 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: a former teacher in prison and there's a story I 607 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: want to share with you. And literally that's what's triggered it. 608 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,680 Speaker 1: This woman was Ellen Eggers, was a public defender working 609 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,959 Speaker 1: on death penalty cases in California, who then got in 610 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 1: touch with Northern California Innocence Project Morrison Forrester, and this 611 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: dream came together. It took them five years, and they 612 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,919 Speaker 1: could have taken them ten years. I didn't care. But 613 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 1: finally someone was going beyond the record and saying, let's 614 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 1: listen to this guy has to say. So they turned 615 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: stones over that had been ignored. They tracked down these 616 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: six boys, these now men, you know, they weren't kids anymore, 617 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,959 Speaker 1: and one by one it was almost like if they 618 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: were being freed from their own miseries. They all, from 619 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: what I hear, they were all so gracious to say, like, 620 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: you know what, thank you for finding me. I need 621 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: to tell you the truth, as if they were living 622 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: with this pain as well. There was witnesses that were 623 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: brought in to clarify. All things were described that happened 624 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: couldn't have happen, and so the evidence that was used 625 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: against me had gone away and there was a final hearing. 626 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 1: Luckily for me, the Los Angeles disc Attorney's office conceded 627 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 1: the case, so there was ultimately no fight. They agreed 628 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: that this had gone wrong and I was free to go. 629 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: And so the words I've been yearning to hear all 630 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 1: my life, well it seemed to be my entire life, 631 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: the judge said them, which is basically, get out of here. 632 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: They apologize. The DA's apologized in the room, which felt 633 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: really good. They came over and shook my hand. I 634 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: think the judge he gave more of like a philosophical 635 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: response to that, but it was less about him. It 636 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: was more about the DA's office. And it turned out 637 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 1: that the corporate the bad players here were just as 638 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: bad cop. I'm a big fan of law enforcement, but 639 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: in this situation, it was a bad cop who was 640 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 1: tied up with this internal gang situation and shit went 641 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: bad and I had to suffer. 642 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 2: Yes, you certainly did so you walked out of the courthouse. 643 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 2: You walked in while you were arrested, and you can't 644 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 2: walk in. You were taken in as a sixteen year 645 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 2: old boy. You walk out as a thirty seven year 646 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 2: old man. What's that like? You walk out? I mean, 647 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 2: what is freedom taste? And your dad had died in 648 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 2: the drum, right, so now you're an orphan yep, and 649 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,160 Speaker 2: you walk out into what would you do? Did you 650 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 2: go get something to eat? 651 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 3: Like? 652 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 1: What did you DoD? 653 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 2: I mean? 654 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: I wish I would have been released from the court room. 655 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: I was released from the Sheriff's Department's jail there the 656 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: county jail, I like county jail. And it was about 657 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: it was mid midweek, it was about maybe two in 658 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 1: the afternoon, and they called me out on my cell 659 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: and took me down to the street level when doors open, 660 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: and there was like a TMZ moment, really, all these 661 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: cameras bouncing on their shoulders trying to interview me, right, 662 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: and all the mics come out before my family lawyers 663 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: could get to me. And how does it feel to 664 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: be free? How does it feel to be free? Right? 665 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: And the big question? And I think I ignored that 666 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: one because I sort of thought about that for a 667 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 1: very long time when I was in prison, what's it 668 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: going to feel like? And it sort of felt stupid, 669 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: as safe, it felt as great or whatever. So but 670 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: I remember thinking that it was such a bright day, 671 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: the colors that just at my disposal now it seemed 672 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: to be like a century overload, which is my immediate 673 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: reaction was whoa the wind, the colors, the people, the attention, 674 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: because you know, Jason, the reality was that at a 675 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: very young age I had become like the man in 676 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: the iron mask, where my voice was taken away. My 677 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: existence before I had a chance to even blossom, was extinguished. 678 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 1: There was no chance for this young life to become anything, 679 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: and so I had to live with that. I lived 680 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:31,880 Speaker 1: with the fact that when I did try to make 681 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: an attempt to speak up for myself, I was ignored 682 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,680 Speaker 1: and that was minimized. So that was a personal struggle 683 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: that all kind of came together the day I was out, 684 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: So from no attention to like, hey, we're all here 685 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: for you, right, which was great. My attorneys were there, 686 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:47,960 Speaker 1: my family was there somewhow I hadn't seen them very 687 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: long time. 688 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 2: And so what happened, So then you're out. Yeah, where'd 689 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 2: you go? 690 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: And I was ushered into a car pretty quickly and 691 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: we went to Echo Park to a friend's home who 692 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 1: they had a good whole food sort of spread awaiting 693 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: for me. Right, so I went for a cafeteria food 694 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: for twenty years or prison food, which is even worse 695 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: to this long table of organic almonds and dried apricots. 696 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 2: You know. 697 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: So that was pretty cool. 698 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 2: Almonds and apricots. Find like, ahoya, man, thatunds a little biblical, 699 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,200 Speaker 2: you know, it's kind of funny, that's right. I was 700 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 2: thinking of you. I was thinking, you're gonna say you 701 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 2: got like a sandwiches, and you know, I was picturing 702 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,880 Speaker 2: more of a you know. I mean, if they had 703 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 2: almonds and apricots, I would have actually been pissed out 704 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,160 Speaker 2: of it, like come on, really, like can I get 705 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 2: a slice? Yeah, pizza something? I mean, come on, man. 706 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 2: So then you went home, and then you know, now 707 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 2: here it is. You rebuilt your life. You successfully filed 708 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:43,240 Speaker 2: a lawsuit, well you had two lawsuits, right, and one 709 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 2: was settled and the other one you won. Right, So 710 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 2: you're now unlike many of our xonneries, there's a bright 711 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 2: spot there because you know I talk about often, but 712 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,560 Speaker 2: the fact is, you know, so many exgonneries and something 713 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 2: we're working to fix do not receive compensation. You were 714 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 2: able to prove violations of your civil rights and other 715 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,120 Speaker 2: things that led to you being compensated in a meaningful way. 716 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 2: That's going to now allow you to help fix the system. 717 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,479 Speaker 2: That that would be a great full circle, wouldn't it. 718 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 1: You know, I can't wait, and I'm not minimizing the 719 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: money here because it makes my life very enjoyable. I 720 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,719 Speaker 1: think the true joyous moments for me since I've been 721 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: home is that before I even got out. And this 722 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: is this is I hope it can be sort of 723 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 1: passed along to those who are who were imprisoned rightly 724 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: or wrongly. But this idea that you have to before 725 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 1: you even get out. You can't sort of prepare yourself 726 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: the week to date that the week to the night before, 727 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 1: like okay, tomorrow is my big release date. Let me 728 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: kind of get my thoughts together. This has to happen 729 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: long before the door opens. And so I feel that, 730 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:43,560 Speaker 1: in sort of credit to myself and those who were 731 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: around me, that my transition phase happened long before the 732 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,960 Speaker 1: door opened, and so when the door opened, I felt 733 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: very prepared to just attempt to just now really be free, 734 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: because a common theme was when you got there, some 735 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: older guy kind of gave you some like advice. As 736 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: an example, you have five years years to do, and 737 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,440 Speaker 1: the advice was for the first four years, just kind 738 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: of hang out, man, you know you're in prison. Just relax, 739 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: just play some cards and shit, and if you know 740 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: you want to play dominoes, go work out. Right. But 741 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:12,880 Speaker 1: the last year, man, like the last year, like, you know, 742 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 1: go to church, or if you're smoking, stop smoking, get 743 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,399 Speaker 1: it together, right, And I thought that was pretty good advice. Shit, 744 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: why not, man? What else you got to lose? Right? 745 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: And at some point I realized that that even though 746 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 1: it was a lifer, that advice applied to me, and 747 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,319 Speaker 1: it was against suspending complete reality here. But it was like, 748 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm making all these efforts to try 749 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,560 Speaker 1: to get my case hurt and try to get some 750 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 1: attention here. Let me work on me too, Let me 751 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:37,960 Speaker 1: work on this idea that I need to prepare myself. 752 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: And so fast forward I went a month after I 753 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 1: got out with some good friends Scott Wooden and who 754 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:46,799 Speaker 1: ended up living with in Mannon Beach and his wife 755 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: Jeanie would. I enrolled at a great university in Los Angeles, 756 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 1: Loyola Marymount University. So I went from and I'm sort 757 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:55,360 Speaker 1: of funny here, but I went from one prison to 758 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:58,400 Speaker 1: another because it had all the elements that I needed, 759 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 1: and I felt like, for a guy like me, I 760 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 1: needed the structure that I had been accustomed to. And 761 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: it's not the put down, but it was the university 762 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:09,520 Speaker 1: gave me the camaraderie, the friendship. There was no Bob Wire, 763 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 1: but shit, I had deadlines, man, I had to show up, 764 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: you know. And so it went from a very negative 765 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:17,160 Speaker 1: environment that I was into a very very loving and 766 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: encouraging space, which was the school right along with just 767 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: sort of being active and being activism. How could I 768 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:25,440 Speaker 1: not support the Innocence Project and ways the end of 769 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: death penalty in California and other social issues around the state. 770 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 2: And that's just gotten a whole lot worse with the 771 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 2: speed up to death penalty referendum that passed in California, 772 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 2: which is absolutely unimaginable and unconscionable. That people would have 773 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,960 Speaker 2: been terrible because well, essentially they voted for guaranteeing that 774 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:47,280 Speaker 2: We're going to execute a lot of innocent people because 775 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 2: the changes to the law are devastating to people who 776 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 2: have claims of innocence. It's exactly what it sounds like. 777 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 2: It's the speed up to death penalty. Yep, none of 778 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:59,359 Speaker 2: it makes any sense. But voices like yours and all 779 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:04,160 Speaker 2: the closure that is the media is really driving interest 780 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,279 Speaker 2: in this issue, this issue of innocence, this issue of 781 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 2: mass incarceration and other related criminal justice problems that are 782 00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 2: sadly uniquely American problems because other countries are so much 783 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,840 Speaker 2: more evolved than we are. You know, it's incredible, Frankie. 784 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 2: We have five percent of the world's population at twenty 785 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,680 Speaker 2: five percent of the world's prison population. The point I'm 786 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 2: making is that when we process people at this rate, 787 00:36:29,239 --> 00:36:32,919 Speaker 2: where we just keep feeding this prison industrial complex, they're 788 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:35,200 Speaker 2: going to be mistakes. They're going to be more Frankie Correos, 789 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 2: we have to reverse the entire way of thinking that 790 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,960 Speaker 2: we have and start to become a more progressive society 791 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 2: in terms of the way we treat the people who 792 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 2: are really the least among us, people who find themselves 793 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,280 Speaker 2: in the situation that you are in. Not a wealthy 794 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,520 Speaker 2: person by any means, and then just being ground up. 795 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 1: By the system. 796 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 2: I want to get to last words because I always 797 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:58,840 Speaker 2: like to give our guests the opportunity to air anything 798 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:00,600 Speaker 2: that you can think of that you want to share 799 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,680 Speaker 2: with our audience. You've been through so much, You've come 800 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:09,760 Speaker 2: through sounding, looking, feeling, acting like a person who knows stuff. 801 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,760 Speaker 2: You have such a calm demeanor and such a positive outlook. 802 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,759 Speaker 2: It's almost unnerving to be honest with you, you know. I mean, 803 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 2: for a minute there you were making prison sound like 804 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,160 Speaker 2: it was like, yeah, you know whatever. The many years 805 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 2: that man, I'm like, it's just. 806 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:26,279 Speaker 1: You know, thank you Jason for these final words here 807 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:29,399 Speaker 1: that I think that for many people listening, and people 808 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,240 Speaker 1: even in my life now think, you know, like this dude, 809 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,239 Speaker 1: you know this optimism stuff is he's taken to a 810 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,160 Speaker 1: different level here, right, And you know, I wish that 811 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,000 Speaker 1: I can sort of either write a book or explain 812 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:41,440 Speaker 1: how I made it through and how these things weren't 813 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,239 Speaker 1: able to penetrate my armor here. But I suffer I 814 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: can't minimize that there are things and moments where I 815 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,239 Speaker 1: might hear a song that might trigger true sadness about 816 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:52,759 Speaker 1: what I'd experienced as a whole about the things that 817 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,839 Speaker 1: were lost, about you know, all the what ifs, right 818 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:57,520 Speaker 1: and very quickly, if I made it a point to 819 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: remember what anger and what revenge and what hatred does 820 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,440 Speaker 1: to someone, tell you even deeper here that when I 821 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:09,480 Speaker 1: was in prison, I think about those who had owned that, 822 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:13,000 Speaker 1: who had owned the anger and the revenge and the hatred, 823 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:15,920 Speaker 1: and I saw these men that were being blinded by it, 824 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 1: and I don't want to be that. And here we 825 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 1: are in a room full of statues, this beautiful art 826 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,920 Speaker 1: that predates all of us here, and I think about 827 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 1: if that was who I'd become in prison, I would 828 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,480 Speaker 1: I wouldn't be here one and two. If I had 829 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,439 Speaker 1: traces of that and I was out on some level, 830 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,319 Speaker 1: I would still be on the inside. I would be 831 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,920 Speaker 1: physically free, but the rage that would be living within 832 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,040 Speaker 1: me would be like a prison all to itself. And 833 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:42,319 Speaker 1: so I mean, I'm happy that I can make those 834 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:44,960 Speaker 1: connections of my own existence for my own personal healing 835 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,080 Speaker 1: and as a move forward to my life. And speaking 836 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 1: of that life, I'm happily married. I have three amazing children. 837 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:55,400 Speaker 1: I have theo Akiva and Frieda. My wife, ft is amazing, 838 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:58,080 Speaker 1: and life is great, and I think it's a responsibility 839 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: for not only myself my family to take on this 840 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 1: responsibility of giving people the pleasure of experiencing the cognitive dissonance, 841 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:10,560 Speaker 1: which is you are around or you hear, and you 842 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:13,960 Speaker 1: experience something that suspends you from and it shocks you 843 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,400 Speaker 1: into like this is not what I expected from a 844 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,360 Speaker 1: guy who had been in prison for all these years, 845 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,439 Speaker 1: And it challenges you your own beliefs, you know, things 846 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:24,799 Speaker 1: you've been carrying with you. This psychological moment says wow, 847 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,480 Speaker 1: like I need to change what I used to think 848 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,200 Speaker 1: about those who were on the inside. And so it's 849 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,840 Speaker 1: a responsibility for me and other exenreies, I feel that 850 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 1: to awaken that side of all of us to say, 851 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,879 Speaker 1: let's not do that. Let's not do that to each other. 852 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:38,880 Speaker 1: And when someone says, and it's not a joke anymore 853 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:43,319 Speaker 1: that they are innocent, let's listen, because we know many 854 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,600 Speaker 1: experiences in many stories that are tragic that we've been 855 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,719 Speaker 1: listening to this whole weekend of if only someone really 856 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 1: listened and cared. 857 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:52,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, and everybody out there has the power to make 858 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,560 Speaker 2: a difference. I always encourage our audience to get involved 859 00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:58,879 Speaker 2: and it's great to see that many of them are 860 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:03,279 Speaker 2: I know and hearing story. For me again, it puts 861 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:06,239 Speaker 2: gratitude in my attitude. It makes all those little wham 862 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 2: winds that we all have in life just seem so 863 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:13,320 Speaker 2: much easier to deal with and so much to surface noise, 864 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 2: right when somebody like you can come and have this 865 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,000 Speaker 2: sort of aura. And it's amazing, Frankie. You know, the 866 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,360 Speaker 2: fact is, to any of us in the movement and 867 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:24,960 Speaker 2: to other people on the outside, it's a source of 868 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:30,640 Speaker 2: never ending wonder and awe that every single Xonery I've 869 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:35,400 Speaker 2: ever met has some version of that type of higher 870 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 2: consciousness that you've managed to achieve. They have this state 871 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 2: of almost like a state of grace that is. It's 872 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,200 Speaker 2: just inspiring, that's all it is. And so I appreciate 873 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:49,920 Speaker 2: you taking the time to share your experience, strength and 874 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,040 Speaker 2: hope with us. And again, I'm just going to have 875 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,440 Speaker 2: to take a moment to process this, and then I'm 876 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:58,799 Speaker 2: going to go and get busy and get back to 877 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:00,279 Speaker 2: work on helping others. 878 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:00,799 Speaker 1: That's right. 879 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,320 Speaker 2: We've had a very unique experience because we've been recording 880 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:07,680 Speaker 2: the podcast in an idyllic environment. We're actually in a 881 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,440 Speaker 2: room in a home overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a cliff, 882 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:15,680 Speaker 2: surrounded by the most incredible African art. So I want 883 00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:19,440 Speaker 2: to thank our hosts Bill LaRock and Michelle Chicarelli Lo 884 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,240 Speaker 2: Rock for having us here and allowing us to record 885 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:30,360 Speaker 2: in their beautiful home. Don't forget to give us a 886 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,640 Speaker 2: fantastic review wherever you get your podcasts. 887 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:33,960 Speaker 1: It really helps. 888 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,239 Speaker 2: And I'm a proud donor to the Ennisis Project, and 889 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,000 Speaker 2: I really hope you'll join me in supporting this very 890 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 2: important cause and helping to prevent future wrongful convictions. Go 891 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 2: to Innocenceproject dot org to learn how to donate and 892 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:50,320 Speaker 2: get involved. I'd like to thank our production team, Connor 893 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,040 Speaker 2: Hall and Kevin Wartis. The music in the show is 894 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 2: by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure 895 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,640 Speaker 2: to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction and on 896 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:03,760 Speaker 2: faceboo book at Wrongful Conviction podcast. Wrongful Conviction with Jason 897 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:06,719 Speaker 2: Flamm is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts and 898 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:12,680 Speaker 2: association with Signal Company Number one