WEBVTT - Ep. 9 - Shattering The System: "It Should Have Been More" 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.880 In this podcast, we're going to talk frankly but sensitively 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:07.040 about issues some people might find disturbing, including rape and suicide. 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.320 If you or someone you know is suicidal in the 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:14.160 US Down nine eighty eight, check out this podcast notes 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:18.000 page for information on LGBT plus mental health resources in 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.560 your community. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.040 This is Shattering the System. I'm Sinarian Glinton. By now 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.560 you're likely familiar with the name at Buck. Ed Buck 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.080 was indicted on two counts of distribution of methan fetamine 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.479 resulting in death. He was accused of four counts of 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.440 distribution of methen fetamine, one count of maintaining a drug 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.800 involved premises, and two counts of enticement to travel in 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.840 inter state commerce for prostitution. The two counts of distribution 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.320 resulting in death were for the deaths of Jammel Moore 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:51.400 and Timothy Dean. 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:56.840 We believed these victims, We believe that what they said 0:00:56.920 --> 0:01:00.600 happened to them actually happened to them, and we wanted 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.680 to keep Buck from doing this to anybody else. 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.720 Lindsey Bailey is an assistant US attorney. She was the 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:09.759 lead attorney in the case against that Buck. She lays 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.640 out each of the charges first, there were the distribution 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.760 charges that didn't result in death. Those were for the 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.319 four victims who testified and survived. 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.800 We had four victims here who because they lived and survived, 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.880 their cases were just charged as distribution cases. There's no 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.640 mandatory minimum. The statutory maximum is I think in that 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:33.760 case twenty years. 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.960 And this is a distribute for like. Yes, then there 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.880 were two counts of enticing someone to travel across state 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.240 borders for prostitution. That was because of the evidence that 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.200 Buck had offered to and paid for Jamel to travel 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.760 from Texas to California for sex. And then there was 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:54.640 one count of maintaining a drug involved premises. Well, that 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:58.000 seems straightforward. Buck was accused of using his home as 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:02.160 a drug house. Bailey says none of those charges had 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:03.680 mandatory maximums. 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:05.680 Though it always drives me crazy when they say, well, 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.600 they're looking at a maximum sentence of this. Usually when 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.800 you're charged with that crime, it's very rare that anyone 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.799 is sentenced anywhere near the maximum. So for those cases, 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:17.080 you're looking at, you know, a year, five years, maybe 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.519 if you're lucky, ten years for that type of distribution. 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.799 For the death resulting cases, now, this is. 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:27.200 The important part. The real charges against ed Buck, the 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.760 ones that the government thought would be a deterrent, where 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:34.160 the distribution resulting in death that ed Buck gave Jamal 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.720 and Timothy the drugs that killed them. 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.120 I distributed drugs to you and you died, or I 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.760 distributed them to someone and someone died, whether it's methamphetamine 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.880 in Buck's case, or you know. More often we're seeing 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:50.359 this with fentanyl cases. It's an automatic twenty year mandatory minimum, 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.600 and then the guidelines range is much higher, so you're 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.399 looking at a minimum of twenty years, but it could 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:00.760 go up anywhere to life imprisonment. He is in class 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.640 all in his own and I think the reason that 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.680 our office brought charges against mister Buck is we saw 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:13.119 an individual who was essentially praying on vulnerable communities with impunity. 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.840 He seemed to have no remorse for what he was doing. 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.359 He was putting people's lives in danger on a regular basis, 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:24.600 and not just people, but specifically vulnerable communities. Really what 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.400 he was doing was pretty horrific, and so there was 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:31.680 a strong desire to bring charges specifically, I think against 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:35.120 mister Buck because of the number of victims he had, 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:38.160 because he was doing this with impunity because multiple people 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:42.120 had died as a result of his actions, and so 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.480 for mister Buck, I think that was the main reason 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.200 that we were looking to bring charges against him as 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.960 opposed to know your average drug dealer on the street. 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:56.400 After nine days of hearing testimony that even a judge 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:57.640 found disturbing, the. 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.480 Trial recessed for the jury to figure out a verdict. 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.920 Jonathan Unger is one of the producers of this podcast. 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.360 Jonathan and I were there for the reading of the 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:11.480 verdict in the case of the United States versus ed Buck. 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:13.400 That happened at nine point thirty in the morning of 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:16.920 They were back with their verdict by one fifty pm 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.600 that same afternoon, and I think that shocked everyone. 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:20.200 Because it. 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.640 Hinted that it was a unanimous decision. But the fact 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.160 that happened that quickly, that kind of also gave over 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.240 one hope as we as we entered the viewing room 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:30.480 before the verdict. 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.120 This was the moment ed Buck was charged with nine 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:38.080 federal counts. In the rooms set aside for visitors, the 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.440 room quieted as people strained to hear the judge over 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:45.599 the closed circuit television. I remember thinking how many queer 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.560 people there were assembled in this very non gay setting. 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.640 This was a first for me. We were all in 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:58.040 our version of courtroom drag, trying to serve respectability, realness, 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.919 and I remember seeing multiple people bolt make the sign 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:04.280 of the Cross. When the moment came. 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:19.160 Guilty guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:24.320 on all nine counts. Buck gave no indication that he 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:28.320 even heard the verdict. I don't remember hearing teers or shouts. 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:34.120 It was as if the entire courtroom exhaled guilty on 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.560 the two counts. With mandatory minimums, ed Buck would have 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.600 to serve jail time for his role in the deaths 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:45.480 of Jamel Moore and Timothy Dean. Jamel Moore's mother, Letitia Nixon, 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:50.920 would get a guilty verdict exactly four years after Jammel's 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:51.719 tragic death. 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:55.440 A big weight has been lifted off of a need. 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.239 I know that we were going to get justice. 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.240 This is shattering the system. I'm scenario Glinton. We hear 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:08.200 from the family of Jamel Moore and Timothy Dean, and 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.960 the government learns that ed Buck wasn't alone in exploiting 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:13.000 the gay community. 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:18.279 He exclusively targeted gay men who he met on the 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:25.000 dating app Grinder, and when he met them, he used 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.800 gay dating culture in a way that allowed him to 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.360 really violently exploit these men. 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.400 The aftermath and the lessons learned from ed Buck, that's 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:54.720 after this quick break. This is shattering the system. I'm 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:58.880 sinarian Glinton. Jurors found ed Buck guilty on all nine charges. 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.760 Remember the important ones were the two with mandatory minimums. 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.280 When the judge read the verdict, there was silence, and 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:09.000 as the courthouse emptied, it seemed as if an emotional 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:13.360 valve had opened. Tears flowed from the spectators, with family, 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:17.040 victims and lawyers embracing as they walked out of the 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:21.080 courthouse into the blazing California sun. The viewers of the 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.600 trial were a genuinely diverse group of people that was 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.640 in star contrast to the other lack of diversity in 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.960 the LA press that gathered to cover the trial. The 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.800 divide between the family and friends the victims, and the 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.160 largely white straight press corps was clear as the families 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.280 stepped up to the microphones on the steps of the 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:42.160 Federal courthouse. 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:50.640 My name is. 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:59.480 Nixon, Joanelmore's mom. I'm so happy and pleased that we 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.400 could put this part behind us. We want to send 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.040 a message to all the other at Bucks, y'all better 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.560 stop what y'all doing. We're gonna get y'all. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.120 If Jamel Moore's mother was happy with a guilty verdict, 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:16.280 that would mean that the work to get justice was done, 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.239 she would continue with the civil suit that would seek 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.600 to get ed Buck to be financially responsible for the 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:23.640 damage he'd done. 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:25.760 I saw want to put a play out to all 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.880 of the politicians, all the ed Bucks' friends, so retire 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:32.640 that dirty money, return it back to us so that 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.400 we can help these other victims, and we can go 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:40.400 forward in our civil suit. All the ed Bucks friends, 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:44.079 these dirty politicians. Y'all know who y'all are. It's all 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:44.760 I have to say. 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.280 There a lot of pressure to get law enforcement to 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:51.680 pack to the cases. Yes, are you an open out 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:55.719 doubtful change and help me? 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.679 Almost definitely. This really increased my faith. 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:04.720 Yes, the verdict in twenty twenty one is what many 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.640 of the friends and family would call a victory in 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.680 the West. One of the disappointments, though, would come with 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.000 the sentencing in twenty twenty two. The judge didn't give 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.800 Buck a life sentence. She stopped at what she called 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:20.160 an effective life sentence. Buck was sentenced to three hundred 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.800 and sixty months, that's thirty years in federal prison for 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.520 providing fatal doses of methamphetamine to two men who died 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.360 at his apartment after he injected them with the drug. 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.199 Buck was sixty seven at the time of sentencing. If 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:36.680 he gets out, he'll be ninety seven. 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:41.680 You know what, It's fine, he's sixty seven, he'll be 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:47.040 ninety seven. I'm happy with that. Yeah, this has been 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.240 almost five years since twenty seventeen when we couldn't get 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:55.280 Jackie Lacey to filing me charges and no one wanted 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.480 to touch this. This has been a long time coming. So 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.440 very happy and I'm just I'm ready to just put 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.040 this behind me and go, you know, ahead with healing 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.400 because I haven't been able to heal me, nor my 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.160 other kids, my mother, rest of my family. I'm just 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.480 I need to focus on healing. I came and did 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:19.280 what I had to do. 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.800 Letician Nixon was able to give an impact statement, and 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.400 she said Jammel was the love of her life and 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:30.120 how his death had upended her own life. The detail 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:33.040 that stands out was she explained how she'd been there 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.960 for patients as they were dying, and ed Buck had 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.520 let her son die naked and alone without anyone to 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:43.240 comfort him. Meanwhile, ed Buck would ask the court to 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:47.720 consider his activism in West Hollywood, including his fight for 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.880 animal rights. We're going to listen to the press conference 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:54.440 after the sentence single, so let's start with Letitia Nixon. 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:58.480 A big weight has been lifted off of me. I 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.640 knew that we were going to get just this. I 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:02.400 knew that he was going to get some time because 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:05.480 he's guilty. He had, you know, they got his own 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:10.679 factorah evidence that he kept hisself, so he basically convicted hisself. 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:14.760 So I'm happy, but you're still crushing they keep it 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:15.880 foll hear. 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.880 I'm a little frustrated, but I'm happy with the results. 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.200 I'm Joanne Campbell. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.839 I'm not completely satisfied with it. Thirty years. I was 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:31.360 hoping for more time for this man that killed my brother. 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:35.320 But I can live with the thirty years knowing that 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.480 it's going to be a very long time before he 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:43.360 gets out, So I can live with that. But I'm 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.920 just so proud of the prosecutors that prosecuted this case 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.800 and the great job that they did to bring this 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:54.160 justice to this man. So no amount of time can 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:58.280 bring my brother back. But I feel some kind of 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.920 solace and some kind of renege for my family that 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.160 he will be in prison for a very long time. 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:11.640 What did you think about what it was said about 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:11.880 an accident. 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:17.240 That's not love when you kill someone. And I don't believe. 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.199 He was a friend to my brother and he loved 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.679 my brother, so that was just something he was saying, 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:26.480 hopefully to get some sympathy from the judge. But I 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:30.840 don't believe and buy any of it. If law enforcement 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:34.080 had acted in the beginning when Jamel Moore was killed, 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:36.560 it wouldn't have been a Timothy Jean's death because this 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.320 man would have been put away. So I do believe 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.840 that they should have acted a lot quickly and we 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:48.600 would be here and thank you everything. Hi. I'm Joyce Jackson, 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:54.040 Timothy Jan's sister. Today is a good day, So not 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.400 the best day, but it is good and I can 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.959 go home today feeling a whole lot better and try 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.200 to get my life back together. And when I say that, 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.640 I have not been able to visit my brother's grave site, 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:08.560 so I can go home now and go to his 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:12.120 grave site and have a conversation with him. There is 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:15.360 victory in the West. I did want to see more 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:19.040 time for him. However, I'm good with these thirty years. 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:20.440 Where's brother Ferry. 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:26.640 He's in Tampa, Florida at a beautiful grave site. So 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.000 I'm glad that I'll be able to leave here and 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:32.920 finally go to his grave site. I just wish that 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.880 this date would have never occurred. However, we're here. We've 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.640 got to deal with it, and I'm ready to start 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:42.520 healing because I have not been able to heal, and 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:44.400 that's been one of the most hardest things for me. 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:46.120 Hi. 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:50.800 Everyone, my name is Dane, last name Brown. I'm the 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:55.800 final victim of bed bunts. My response to since seeing 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.040 it's like they said one and a half times what 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:03.000 he's old, and I don't feel that it's fair for 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.520 all the victims because he only got a little bit 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:11.040 of what he deserves. It's something better than nothing. But 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:16.400 you know, I wish the courts would have done more. 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:20.320 It should have been a lesson. It should have been swift, 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.640 should have been hard, it should have been more, you know, 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.600 regardless of his age. He's done a lot of wrong 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:30.760 things to a lot of people. He's destroyed families, and 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.320 he's destroyed lives, so he needed to be It needed 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.680 to be a lesson to other people out there who 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:39.920 are trying to do the same things, are not knowing 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.800 that they're doing the same things. They needed to They 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.960 needed to see that the government doesn't play around when 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:49.280 it comes to lives. And we got some but not all. 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.960 I'm grateful that he won't get out for a very 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.120 long time, but I wish it was more done. And 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.880 that's pretty much all I have to say. It should 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:02.760 have be in life, should have been a live. 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:06.640 Tell us about your experience. 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:14.760 Going through this trial. I try my best not to 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.680 think about it. I'm trying to take each day as 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:21.320 it comes and knowing that you know, each date gets 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.680 better and better. But coming back to the trial, it 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.640 takes me back to a different time in my life, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.280 and I'm glad that I'm past that point. 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.960 Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Tracy Wilkinson. I'm the United States 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.040 Attorney for the Central District of California. 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:41.360 Tracy Bolcason would succeed Nick Hanna as US attorney briefly 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:42.240 with me or. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:47.840 The ausas that prosecuted this case, ed Buck committed horrible, 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:53.960 unimaginable crimes. The United States Attorney's Office took it very seriously, 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.520 the jury took it seriously, and today the judge took 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.240 it seriously and sends him to third years in prisoned. 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:04.480 It was not the life term that we had advocated 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:09.120 so persuasively for, but it is still a significant sentence 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:14.640 that recognizes his serious, serious crimes. And I know that 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:17.600 no sentence, frankly, even a life sentence, would not have 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.960 been enough to bring back your family members to undo 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.640 the harm that's been done to you. But I hope 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:26.320 that you will now be able to begin the healing 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:30.480 process because you know that this man is going to 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:34.800 be in prison for a very long time. Hotey, you agree. 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:40.840 I'm immensely grateful for the continuing support of the victims 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:44.800 and families who have entrusted us with the memory and 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.200 justice for their loved ones. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.760 It has been immeasurable in terms of. 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.840 Not only building the case, but giving us the passion 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.080 to keep pursuing it even when we sought when we 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:01.320 faced adversity in this case. And I also just want 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:03.800 to say that I think in my opinion, one of 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:05.840 the things that was the most persuasive today were the 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:07.560 statements of the victims who came in. 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:09.200 And gravely spoke. 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:09.600 Again. 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.679 They some of them testified a trial, some of them 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:15.760 weren't able to and were able to give make their 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.439 voices heard today. But I think of all of the 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:20.640 things that happened today, that was one of the most 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:21.320 powerful and. 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:22.600 One of the most persuasive things. 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.160 And you know, I am grateful to the US Attorney's office, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.320 and particularly grateful to Chelsea, who is a wonderful partner 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:31.800 to work with on this case. And I'm just grateful 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:33.439 that I was able to have any sort of an 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.560 impact on the line of these people who had met 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.080 and who were hurt so badly by ed Buck, and 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.879 that we were able to receive some sort of justice today. 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:42.359 So thank you. 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:47.320 The prosecutor, Lindsay Bailey points out what a chore it 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.800 was for victims to testify. Ed Buck picked victims who 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:53.840 wouldn't be believed, and we heard from those who testified 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:56.760 that the police weren't kind. They would show up early 0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:58.920 in the morning to do interviews, and many of those 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.000 who testified were still dealing with the horror of dredging 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.080 up some of the worst moments of their lives. 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:08.760 He took a tremendous amount of courage to do what 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:14.119 they did. They did not want fifteen minutes of fame, 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.760 as the defense counsel accused them of. They were viciously 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:22.560 attacked on cross examination, and they held up remarkably, and 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:27.120 I am so proud of how valiantly they testified and 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.320 kept their heads hel high. 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.520 It would be a victory to get nine guilties. Here's 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.840 Corey McClain, one of Jamel Moore's friends over the years. 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.399 He was there for most of the moments along the 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:42.120 road to get ed Buck convicted. 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:44.600 So this is Jamel's ashes, and I take him with me. 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.240 I've spread them in Hawaii, in Miami, and in the 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:49.919 Hollywood Hills, and on days like this, I like to 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.359 wake them up to channel his energy and to answer 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:56.119 your question about the sentencing. He feels like this a 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:58.680 slap in the face, like thirty years is stupid. 0:18:58.680 --> 0:18:59.159 Like it is. 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.760 However, we fought long and hard and it's been so draining. 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:04.840 So we have to just accept this and move on. 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:08.080 So hopefully we all find healing in peace. And I 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:10.920 pray that everyone that's affected by this gets some type 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:14.320 of counseling. If it's not by the government or someone 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:16.360 that they can provide it to these victims that had 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:19.600 to relive these situations over But from this moment on, 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:23.320 I don't want to think of Jamail Moore and ed 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:25.520 Buck in the same sentence. I want to separate the 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:29.200 two and just find healing in peace from this moving forward, 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:33.080 and thank you all for being a part of this journeys. Yeah, 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.360 I travel the world, so everywhere I go, I take 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:37.840 him with me, just so we can keep creating memories. 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:40.000 Because I believe in energy. His energy is still here 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:41.040 with us. 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:44.879 The Fed's got their man. Ed Buck is likely to 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.000 spend most of his life in the federal prison system 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:50.439 when he gets out of jail. If he does, he 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.439 will be ninety seven years old, nine and guilties. How 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:53.960 does that feel? 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:57.640 It's indescribable. 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:00.920 Chelsea Norell was one of the lawyers tried ed Buck. 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:07.280 It was the ultimate relief to be able to secure 0:20:07.320 --> 0:20:10.760 that for the people that had stood by this case 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:14.879 from the beginning, for the victims, for the family of 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:21.160 their loved ones who perished. It was it was surreal. 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:25.200 I had in my mind and vision tearing those words, 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.280 and it was out of body to actually hear them. 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:34.200 Come back on the four year anniversary of Jimmelmore's death 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:37.879 and have that be a new memory for his mom, 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:41.159 who said that that was the worst day of her life. 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:43.760 And now it's also the anniversary of the day she 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:47.240 got justice for her son. And that's just a gift 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:50.600 that I will always be so grateful for that. The 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.240 jury returned on that day. 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:57.240 At Buck's landlord filed to victim two months after he 0:20:57.320 --> 0:21:00.359 was arrested. It would only be a couple of months 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.600 before the verdict in this case, before ed Buck's things 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:07.760 were finally removed from one two three four North Laurel Avenue. 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:11.840 Both families would pursue civil cases against Buck, but the 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:14.600 case of the US versus ed Buck would end with 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.680 ed Buck being found guilty. Here's Lindsey Bailey, the prosecutor. 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:23.080 You know, sentencing is not necessarily just about the individual. 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:25.680 It's about the message that it sends to the community 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:28.919 as a whole. And so we were arguing specifically for 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:33.240 a quote life sentence because we wanted to send the 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:35.800 message to the community that like, it's not okay for 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:40.080 you to pray on vulnerable people. It's not okay for 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:42.879 you to assert power over people who have less power 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:45.960 than you and really send that home to anybody else 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.400 who who may be in that sort of a position. 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:52.600 But look, at the end of the day, it was 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:55.040 a thirty year sentence, which for someone like Buck, who 0:21:55.080 --> 0:21:58.399 is you know, a lifelong Matthews or in his sixties, 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:02.040 is essentially going to be a life sentence. He's not 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.400 just going to be walking around free after thirty years, 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.159 if he's even still alive then. So I think we 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.159 were disappointed in the sense of the message that a 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:13.040 life sentence would have sent both to the community as 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:14.720 a whole and to the families of the victims and 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:16.919 the victims themselves that this is a case that was 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:19.320 going to be taken seriously. But I think as a 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:23.960 practical matter, you know, and I think my speculation is 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:26.200 that this is what the judge was kind of going for, 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.600 is that this is effectively a life sentence for him, 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:31.360 even if it is not quote a life sentence. 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:34.760 The defense would file a motion during the trial to 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:38.600 ask the court to quit ed Buck before the jury 0:22:38.640 --> 0:22:42.800 could deliberate, because all the evidence hinged on quote the 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:48.000 testimony of a parade of financially motivated, houseless individuals and 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:52.639 drug addicts and should not have been believed. The judge 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:56.679 denied the motion, and each of those guilty verdicts showed 0:22:56.680 --> 0:23:04.680 a jury did believe those black men. This is shattering 0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:22.680 the system more after this quick break, this is shattering 0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:26.920 the system. I'm Sinari Glinton. Ed Buck's crimes weren't in isolation. 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:30.320 Jamel Moore died months before the Me Too movement began. 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:33.920