1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: So as as you and I both know, Jason, the 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: majority of the people we talk to are men wrongfully incarcerated. 3 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: But when we do talk to women, I actually haven't 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: talked to many women who were mothers. They were locked 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: up before being mothers. Have you experienced a lot of 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: women you've talked to trying to navigate motherhood through prison. 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's that's a rough one. I can't 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 2: even begin to imagine severing that bond between mother and 9 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 2: child and taking that caregiver away from the child that 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 2: they love, that they birth, that they have a primal 11 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 2: need to care for. I honestly don't know how any 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 2: mother goes through that and doesn't lose her mind. 13 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. 14 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 4: I cut from the same class as over and over. 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 4: That'sul the drink and that sleep. All I could think 16 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 4: about is who has the kids? Where are they? What's 17 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 4: going on with them? 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 5: From love of for Good, I'm Maggie Freeling and this 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 5: is wrongful conviction with Maggie Freeling today, Patti Prewit. In 20 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:29,199 Speaker 5: the early hours of February eighteenth, nineteen eighty four, Patty 21 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 5: prewe It was awakened by a loud noise. Someone then 22 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 5: pulled her hair to drag her out of bed, and 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 5: she was raped in the dark. After the intruder left, 24 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 5: she heard her husband, Bill, making gurgling noises as if 25 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 5: he were struggling to breathe. She was unable to turn 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 5: on the lights in the house, so she grabbed her 27 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 5: kids and ran to a neighbors to call nine one one. 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 5: She would later learn Bill had been shot in the 29 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 5: head and died. When the police arrived at their home, 30 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 5: they over looked critical evidence from the scene. Instead, the 31 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 5: police paid attention to Patty's collection of murder mystery novels 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 5: and Bill's life insurance policy. Patty, not wanting to draw 33 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 5: attention to herself in the face of her husband's death, 34 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 5: never mentioned she was raped. By nine am that morning, 35 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 5: neighbors were already getting calls about Bill's murder, and word 36 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 5: was his wife, Patty had killed him. Police found out 37 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 5: that she was the beneficiary of Bill's life insurance policy 38 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 5: and that years earlier she had some sexual relationships outside 39 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 5: of her marriage. These discoveries became the motive for the 40 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 5: police and prosecution, and Patty was arrested, charged and convicted 41 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 5: of capital murder, But key evidence about Patty's innocence never 42 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 5: came out during the trial, and decades later, Patty, who 43 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 5: was now a great grandmother, feels her chance at ft 44 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 5: ereadom is quickly dwindling. 45 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 4: I'm an old lady, seventy two. I've been in prison 46 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 4: way too long. I'm the oldest of my siblings, and 47 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 4: I'm the only one alive. I was just looking out 48 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 4: the window. There's a buzzard out there circling, and I 49 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 4: was wondering if he's circling because I'm getting ready to die. 50 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 4: I'm Patty Putt, and geez, I'm a prisoner in Missouri 51 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 4: and have been for nearly thirty six years. I did 52 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 4: not till my husband. 53 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 5: Patricia Prewitt was born on July third, nineteen forty nine, 54 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 5: to Frank and Anne Slaughter. She grew up on a 55 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 5: six hundred and forty acre farm in Lone Jack, Missouri, 56 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 5: thirty miles from Kansas City. 57 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 4: It was like a cattle ranch. All we had horses. 58 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 4: It was multi generational, my grandparents, our family, my uncle 59 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 4: and his kids. And it was wonderful. It was absolutely wonderful. 60 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 6: And how about your parents. 61 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 4: They were so in love. Daddy saw my mama when 62 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 4: she was in eighth grade, and he saw her somewhere 63 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 4: downtown in this little town, and he told his brother that, 64 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 4: when that girl grows up, I'm going to marry her. 65 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 5: Patty and Bill met when they were in middle school, 66 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 5: but at that time they were polar opposites. 67 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 4: He was one of the jocks and cool kids, and 68 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 4: my best friend Nancy and I were complete nerves. 69 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 5: She says. It wasn't until senior year of high school, 70 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 5: when they had a class together that they became close and. 71 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 4: Hit it off and never looked back. 72 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 6: Tell me what it was about him that you loved. 73 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 4: He was so sweet, just very great, quickie is handsome, 74 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 4: that's always a plus, and time and smart as a whip, 75 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 4: and came from good people, as my mom and dad 76 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 4: would say. That was always a prerequisite in our family, and. 77 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 5: So her family accepted him, she says, and Bill loved 78 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 5: coming out to the country to visit despite. 79 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 4: What would happen, and we were evil to laim. We 80 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 4: put him on the workforce we had, and we did 81 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 4: all kinds of ruble things, but he still stuck it out. 82 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 5: So in nineteen sixty eight, at just nineteen, Patty and 83 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 5: Bill got married. It was the height of the Vietnam War, 84 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 5: and the draft was active. Although the special exemption for 85 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 5: married men was no longer in place at the time, 86 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 5: Patty says she and Bill got married in hopes that 87 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 5: it could still keep him from going off to war. 88 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 5: They tried to use every exemption that existed so he 89 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 5: could stay, including college and kids. After they married, Patty's 90 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 5: father gave them a small house on three acres of 91 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 5: land in Lone Jack, Missouri, and they opened a lumberyard business. 92 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 5: In nineteen sixty nine, they welcomed their first child, Jane. 93 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 7: Life with my parents was great, you know, her and 94 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 7: dad were both very involved parents, both of them. I 95 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 7: remember that they were really hard working but really quick 96 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 7: to laugh. That they were both really funny people, and 97 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 7: that they loved music, they loved dancing. Like we just 98 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 7: had a lot of fun together all the time. 99 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 5: You know. 100 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 7: You remember things as a kid like that my dad 101 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 7: would pat my mom on the bottom when she'd be 102 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 7: cooking dinner. 103 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 5: You could say they were living the American dream. That 104 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 5: is until nineteen seventy four. That's when Patty was raped 105 00:06:55,320 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 5: for the first time, a decade before Bill's murder. But 106 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 5: he says she was walking to the park and was 107 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 5: grabbed by three men. They dragged her behind some bushes, 108 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 5: where they all raped her. When a woman walked by, 109 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,239 Speaker 5: the men quickly ran away. Patty and the woman agreed 110 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 5: not to call the police because of the stigma in. 111 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 4: Those days, nobody had counseling and nobody told stuff. You 112 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 4: kept it to yourself. This did not tell because not 113 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 4: only sit there, I think it's just awful. Who wants 114 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 4: to talk about a horrible thing, you know? So he 115 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 4: just decided not to talk about it. 116 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 5: But Patty did tell Bill. She says he was helpful 117 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 5: and sweet at first, but then things changed. Bill became 118 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 5: standoff fish. 119 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 4: I think from Bill's point of view, he was supposed 120 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 4: to protect propect jas and media and the kids, and 121 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 4: to have something horrible happen like that, he's guilt. Guilt. 122 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 4: I felt guilt because that would I went on a 123 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 4: little sun dress. It's a horrible thing that you don't 124 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 4: want to talk about it. Nobody wants to talk about 125 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 4: what happened. And then you just get farther and farther 126 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 4: and farther away from each other, and then it gets 127 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 4: work and work, and then how do you reach back? 128 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 5: Their happy marriage crumbled under the weight of what had happened, 129 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 5: and so Patty and Bill decided to separate. 130 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 4: And so it was kind of convenient as far as 131 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,079 Speaker 4: not having to tell the family what was going on, 132 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 4: for us to be separated, because they. 133 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 5: Had just bought a new farm, Patty says, so now 134 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 5: they had two places to live. 135 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 4: And Bill lived at the original place and the kids 136 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 4: and I moved to the new place. And everybody thought 137 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 4: he was just working on the house, but we were 138 00:08:53,280 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 4: actually separated and kind of discussing maybe divorced. 139 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 5: During this time. By mutual consent, they were both seeing 140 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 5: other people. 141 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 4: When you're living apart and when you're not part of 142 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 4: each other's lives, it just seems like this natural thing. 143 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 4: You're not sleeping together. 144 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 6: So you guys agreed. 145 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 5: You know, we're separated, we're living apart, we can see 146 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 5: other people. 147 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 4: Right. 148 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 5: In nineteen seventy seven, Patty became pregnant with another man's 149 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 5: childs Breaking this news to Bill shattered her. 150 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 4: It was horrible, I mean really horrible. That really wasn't 151 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 4: part of our agreement. But he God, he always sposed 152 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 4: to be. He loved children, and we certainly were not 153 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 4: going to not have the baby and I told him, 154 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 4: but it's up to you whether I do this a 155 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 4: single or we do this together. So how do we 156 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 4: want to do this? And I think it was kind 157 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 4: of like the breaking point as far as we did 158 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 4: love each other and we did want to have our 159 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 4: family together. That was when we just kind of came 160 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 4: to the agreement that we would come back together as 161 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 4: a family and work this out. 162 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,839 Speaker 5: And they did. Later that year June nineteen seventy seven, 163 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:32,479 Speaker 5: baby Morgan. 164 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 4: Was born, and Bill didn't treat him like he was 165 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 4: anything but his own child. 166 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 5: By now, Patty and Bill were raising five kids. Having 167 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 5: their family back together made Patty feel like everything was 168 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 5: right in the world. 169 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 4: But I look back, I think we were so lively fine. 170 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 4: I mean, we ball kings. We were coaching the kids, 171 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 4: our business was doing good. All our kids were smart, 172 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 4: good looking, and everything was good. Our problems were small problems, 173 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 4: you know, nothing serious, nothing can through. 174 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 5: Patty and Bill had no idea what was about to 175 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 5: come crashing down on their family. 176 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 4: We were all could, our kids were growing up with 177 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 4: Dylan the and yeah, then boom, it's all over. It's 178 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 4: all over. 179 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 5: This episode is underwritten by AIG, a leading global insurance company, 180 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 5: AIG is committed to corporate social responsibility and to making 181 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 5: a positive difference in the lives of its employees and 182 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 5: in the communities where we work and live. In life 183 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 5: night of the compelling need for pro bono legal assistance, 184 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 5: and in recognition of AIG's commitment to criminal and social 185 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 5: justice reform, the AIG pro Bono Program provides free legal 186 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 5: services and other support to underrepresented communities and individuals. On 187 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 5: February eighteenth, nineteen eighty four, Bill and Patty went out 188 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 5: to a barbecue at their friend's house, and then they 189 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:34,840 Speaker 5: all went out to a bar for a little while, 190 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 5: and Patty and Bill got home around two am. Their 191 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 5: oldest daughter, Jane, was at a friend's house, and the 192 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 5: rest of the kids were fast asleep in bed. Patty 193 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 5: tidied up some dishes the kids had left in the sink, 194 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 5: and then she joined Bill, who had already climbed into bed. 195 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 5: Shortly after, Patty was awakened by what she thought was thunder. 196 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 5: She says she was then pulled out of bed by 197 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 5: her hair and raped, but it was dark and she 198 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 5: couldn't see the man. After the intruder left, she heard 199 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 5: Bill making gurgling noises, struggling to breathe, but the lights 200 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 5: wouldn't turn on, and the phone wasn't working. She couldn't 201 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,199 Speaker 5: see Bill, and she couldn't call the police. She quickly 202 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 5: woke the kids up and ran with them to a 203 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 5: neighbor's house to call nine one one. Specifically, she headed 204 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 5: for the home of Cliff Gustin, a former police officer. 205 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 4: When was that to the neighbor's house. One in the bathroom, 206 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:33,199 Speaker 4: and I put on one of her century napkins because 207 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 4: I was bleeding. 208 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 5: But after that, Patty says, she quickly forgot about her 209 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 5: attack and focused on Bill and her children. 210 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 4: The kids were diff rot. Everybody's going crazy, and it 211 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 4: seemed like not a time for me to even say 212 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 4: anything about me. And I never even never even thought 213 00:13:57,880 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 4: about me anymore. 214 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 5: Well, I imagine you were, you know, as a mother 215 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 5: to five kids, you were probably in survival mode. 216 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 4: Oh, definitely, definitely. I was certainly secondary. When you have mama, 217 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 4: you're pretty much secondary. Twice for seven I can't even 218 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 4: explain how my brain didn't even work. It was like 219 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 4: there was a buzzing in my head and nothing made 220 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 4: an expense except at say, the kids. That was the 221 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,479 Speaker 4: only thing that made any sense whatsoever. 222 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 5: When the police arrived, they found that the breaker panel 223 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 5: to the entire house's power had been switched off. They 224 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 5: turned the power back on. However, police records show they 225 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 5: did not take any fingerprints from the breaker panel, nor 226 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 5: did they take any other fingerprint evidence from the home 227 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 5: or ask Patty if she had been hurt. They instead 228 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 5: took note of Patty's collection of murder mystery novels and 229 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 5: Bill's life insurance policy. They did find a box of 230 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 5: twenty two caliber rounds in the house, the same kind 231 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 5: of bullets used to kill Bill, and Patty told police 232 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 5: that Bill actually had two guns in the house, but 233 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 5: the police could only find one. Eventually, the second gun 234 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 5: by twenty two, what they presumed was the murder weapon, 235 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 5: would be recovered in a shallow pond on the prove 236 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 5: It property. Later that night, Patty was interrogated at the 237 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 5: police station by Detective Kevin Hughes, the lead investigator, and. 238 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 4: When he said he wanted to swap my hands for 239 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 4: a night break, you see if you fired firearms up 240 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 4: gun and I was like, oh yeah. But as he's 241 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 4: swabbing my hands, I'm thinking, well, why would he want 242 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 4: to swap my hands, and that was kind of when 243 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 4: I went in my head. I was like, oh my god, 244 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 4: he's not even listening to me about Phill's murder. He's 245 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 4: not an anting to me at all. 246 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 5: The gun residue test came back negative. By this time, 247 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 5: standard procedure would dictate that Patty should have had a 248 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 5: rape kit because she did tell the police the man 249 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 5: in the house who presumably killed Bill had pulled down 250 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 5: her pants and was struggling with his belts. But remember 251 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 5: she never said she was actually raped. Detectives did, however, 252 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 5: collect her pajamas she was wearing, started. 253 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 4: Asking me about the insurance and things like that. Then 254 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 4: I was like, oh my god, this is nobody paying 255 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 4: any attention to me. For not pay attention to what 256 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 4: I have to say. So went on and on and on. 257 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 4: It becomes to a point, well, you don't even know 258 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 4: what you're saying. 259 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 5: Detective Hughes and who investigators immediately started digging into Patty's 260 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 5: life after they found out about what they called her 261 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 5: quote affairs and quote infidelity. They seemed set with this 262 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,400 Speaker 5: aspect of her personal life as a motive. After less 263 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 5: than a day of investigating, Detective Hughes announced that Patti 264 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:27,360 Speaker 5: Pruett was the lead suspect in her husband Bill's murder. 265 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 5: Two days later, on February twentieth, Patty was again questioned, 266 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:38,159 Speaker 5: this time for about sixteen hours. Only fifteen minutes of 267 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,360 Speaker 5: the interview was actually recorded. 268 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 4: It was like some kind of culture thing that's a 269 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 4: to drink, no sleep. All I could think about is 270 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 4: who has the kids? Where are they? What's going on 271 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:04,439 Speaker 4: with them asking me the same stupid questions. And I 272 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 4: kept answering the same questions over and over, and then 273 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 4: they would play places and they would scream at me, 274 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,120 Speaker 4: and then they come in and go the nice you know, well, 275 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 4: we can make this okay. All I have to do 276 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 4: is some staff and they'll all go away. We'll understand. 277 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 6: Did you know that you could ask for a lawyer? 278 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 4: No, No, I had no idea. What was nobody This 279 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 4: may sound crazy, Nobody in my family had ever been 280 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 4: so much as pulled over, arrested or anything. Ever. 281 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,199 Speaker 5: Patty was arrested that day and charged with capital murder. 282 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 5: She was released on bond awaiting trial, and as she 283 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 5: and the children struggled to adjust to the loss of 284 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 5: their husband and father, things only got worse, Patty was 285 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 5: harassed with anonymous phone calls, threats, and robberies. She noticed 286 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 5: strange people wandering on her property, and she even found 287 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,159 Speaker 5: three of her dogs dead on a nearby farm, apparently poisoned. 288 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,639 Speaker 5: When she got a new dog, he was hung by 289 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 5: his collar. Patty was virtually branded with a scarlet letter 290 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:18,440 Speaker 5: by the community, Considered both an adulteress and a murderer. 291 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 5: Patty was offered a plea deal that would reduce her 292 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 5: charges to six or seven years, but she refused it, 293 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,640 Speaker 5: saying she didn't want to be taken from her children. 294 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 5: She insisted she was innocent. The trial started on April sixteenth, 295 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 5: nineteen eighty five. Patty's family, children and friends, as well 296 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 5: as Bill's relatives all attended. Tom Williams was the prosecutor, 297 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 5: and due to the lack of evidence against Patty, he 298 00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 5: instead emphasized that she was an adulteress and used sexist 299 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 5: tropes and gender biases to paint Patty out to be 300 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,640 Speaker 5: a horrible woman and mother who would kill her husband. 301 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 3: The cornerstone of the case, the opening statement of the prosecution, 302 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 3: is you know this was a woman motivated by lost 303 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 3: and greed. 304 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 5: This is Patty's attorney, Brian reichardt he first came across 305 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 5: Patty's case in twenty ten when he was in law school, 306 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 5: and it stuck with him. 307 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 3: You know, when I first read the trial transcript, I 308 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 3: was disturbed and I thought, you know, there very well 309 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 3: could be a wrongful conviction here. But over the years, 310 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 3: as I've learned more about the case, as I've been 311 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 3: able to study the investigators records, as I've been able 312 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 3: to read accounts from the prosecutor who prosecuted this case, 313 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 3: I've become convinced that this is indeed a wrongful conviction 314 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 3: and something that needs to be addressed. 315 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 5: Bryan says one of the key facts to pay attention 316 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 5: to in this case is that Patty's sixteen hour inn 317 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 5: with Detective Hughes was not recorded again, only the first 318 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 5: fifteen minutes were, and he says this freed Hughes to 319 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 5: be able to put forth his version of what Patty 320 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 5: supposedly told him. 321 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 3: Because it was unrecorded, the lead investigator is able to 322 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 3: take the stand and characterize the interview, and so he 323 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 3: says things like, oh, you know, I asked her about 324 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 3: why she had these affairs, and she says Oh my, 325 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 3: my sexual engine is hotter than most. 326 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 5: Did you say that? 327 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 4: Nobody, no woman in the face of the earth ever 328 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 4: said that. I mean really, certainly, no woman who's being 329 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 4: interrogated for the murder of her husband ever said going 330 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 4: like that. The fact that he said that read romance 331 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 4: novels or something. 332 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 5: What that another thing? Detective Hughes alleges Patty said over 333 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 5: the course of the instigation. 334 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,719 Speaker 6: Did you invite him to dinner before you went to prison? 335 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 4: Oh? My god, he was so mean to me. No, 336 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 4: I did not. I mean good dinner. I just wanted 337 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,400 Speaker 4: to get home to my kids. If I'd never saw 338 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 4: him again, I would have been more than having. 339 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 5: According to the trial transcripts, here are some of the 340 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 5: phrases used by prosecutor Williams during the trial to attack 341 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 5: Patty's character. Quote the defendant was motivated by sheer greed 342 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 5: and sexual lust and had been for years. Quote. She 343 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 5: disregarded her marital vows and the noticeable obligations of motherhood. 344 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 5: Quote she pursued one sleazy affair after another, one two 345 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 5: at a time. Williams even called three of Patty's former 346 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 5: partners to testify against her. Two of them eventually said 347 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 5: that they were coerced by the police and prosecution to 348 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 5: do so, and these were partners she had while she 349 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 5: and Bill were scept and knew that the other person 350 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 5: was seeing other people and agreed to it. Partners she 351 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 5: had five years before Bill's murder. 352 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 3: I mean, if you just take a step back, the 353 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 3: state had to argue that a mother of five was 354 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 3: going to would kill her husband, and what kind of 355 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 3: person would do that? The states I did that the 356 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 3: way they were going to move the jury is to 357 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,640 Speaker 3: paint this mother as a bad mother in an unfaithful life, 358 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,359 Speaker 3: and so that was so much of their case. 359 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 5: Patty's daughter, Sarah, who was thirteen years old at the time, 360 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,240 Speaker 5: testified that as she was leaving the house that night, 361 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,400 Speaker 5: she saw a flashlight under the basement stairs and heard 362 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 5: someone moving around down there, but her testimony seemed to 363 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 5: hold little weight against Prosecutor Williams's case. He also called 364 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 5: pathologist James Bridgens to review the autopsy. Bridgins and his 365 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 5: testimonies would later become discredited on multiple occasions. For example, 366 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 5: in nineteen ninety when he had ruled a case that 367 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,639 Speaker 5: a woman was stabbed to death. Well later, X Ray 368 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 5: showed that she was actually shot four times. Patty's attorneys, meanwhile, 369 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 5: never called their own expert to refute his findings. Any 370 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 5: potential evidence from Patty's pajamas was never brought up. The 371 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 5: defense also did not acknowledge that her alleged affairs were 372 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 5: in fact known and agreed to by Bill at the time. 373 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 5: Now you might be wondering why Patty never screamed from 374 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 5: the roof that this was all consensual. Well, it was 375 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 5: Patty's decision. She insisted to her attorneys that she did 376 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 5: not want Bill criticized in front of their kids, whether 377 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 5: it hurt her or not. She did not want them 378 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 5: to know that Bill also had affairs and that they 379 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 5: both knew about each other's relationships. She figured it was 380 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,120 Speaker 5: bad enough the whole town was already gossiping about their mom. 381 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 4: I don't want to say to think badly or Badham. 382 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 4: I didn't want his family to feel badly Abadham. He 383 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 4: wasn't there to extand his decision. I don't know. I 384 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 4: just didn't think it was anybody's dog on business. He 385 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,880 Speaker 4: was such a good guy. She hadn't deserved a heavy 386 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 4: black marks, and. 387 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 5: Her own rape during the murder was also never mentioned 388 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,119 Speaker 5: during the trial, because remember, she never told the police 389 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 5: about it. All she told them was that the intruder 390 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 5: held something to her throat, tried to unbuckle his pants 391 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 5: while her pants were down, but fled. 392 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 3: One of the things they argued against, you know, Patty's 393 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 3: account that she was attacked, and one of the arguments 394 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,919 Speaker 3: the prosecutor made, you know, in front of the jury was, 395 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 3: this is a direct quote from the case, why would 396 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,880 Speaker 3: you do this to enjoy Patty's often enjoyed sexual favors. 397 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 5: Patty didn't tell the police about her rape the night 398 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,719 Speaker 5: of Bill's murder, but she did tell her toes about it. 399 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 5: She also told them to keep it out of court 400 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 5: and out of earshot from her kids. However, Patty's daughter 401 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 5: Jane says she noticed evidence of the assault days later 402 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 5: when they were getting ready for Bill's funeral. 403 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 7: And that morning, Mom didn't want me to come in 404 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 7: the bathroom, like she's kind of pushing against the door, 405 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,360 Speaker 7: and I didn't understand what was happening, and I pushed 406 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 7: and then I saw her and she was so horribly bruised, 407 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:32,400 Speaker 7: her hip bones, her thighs, the inside of her thighs, 408 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 7: and I assumed that the police knew this or saw 409 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 7: her body, or that her friends or our family. 410 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,359 Speaker 5: But they didn't. A rape kit was never done, and 411 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 5: that crucial evidence is gone forever. 412 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,479 Speaker 7: And even though I was fourteen, I thought of her 413 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 7: as being much bigger than me, and that morning I 414 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 7: remember thinking, she's not that big, like she seemed small 415 00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 7: to me, and she'd been hurt. 416 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 5: Jane never testified, but her sister Sarah, the one who 417 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 5: saw the light under the basement, did. 418 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:10,200 Speaker 3: If you look at the women's accounts, it's interesting how 419 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,159 Speaker 3: the voices of women in this case were ignored and 420 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 3: the voices of men, even though when there was reason 421 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 3: to be suspicious of those arguments, they were raised as truth. 422 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 5: The trial lasted four days. At the end the jury 423 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 5: was deadlocked. They were told to go back and try harder. 424 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 5: They eventually came back with a unanimous guilty verdict and 425 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,679 Speaker 5: Patty was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility 426 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 5: of parole but after fifty years. She's eligible in twenty 427 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 5: thirty six, when she'll be eighty six years old. 428 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 7: When the verdict came, everybody just lost it. I mean, 429 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 7: the judge was telling us all to be quiet. Nobody 430 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 7: wanted to be quiet. My brother's sisters were just screamed, mean, 431 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 7: just screaming, and one of my sisters ran out out 432 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 7: of the courthouse into the street like it was a 433 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 7: really traumatic time. I don't think that any of us 434 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,719 Speaker 7: could have been emotionally prepared to be there for that 435 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 7: and hear the verdict, and to hear fifty years life 436 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 7: with no parole for fifty years, that was just unbelievable. 437 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 5: Was there anything in their relationship or from your memory 438 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 5: that would indicate to you that your mother would murder 439 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 5: your father? 440 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 7: No, No, not at all. They no, No, Like you know, 441 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 7: they were really good friends and they seemingly had a 442 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 7: lot of fun together, and I think that when things 443 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 7: were tense, even when they were younger, when we were 444 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 7: all young, that they worked it out. And she was 445 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 7: not that kind of person at all. 446 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 3: The lead investigator made a decision very early on that 447 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 3: Patty was the prime suspect, and that colored the way 448 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 3: he conducted the investigation, and he led the investigation. 449 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 5: This is Patty's attorney, Brian Reichard again talking about Detective Hughes. 450 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 5: Even before trial. He says things went horribly wrong with 451 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 5: Patty's investigation. 452 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 3: And one of the primary things we've seen is this 453 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,720 Speaker 3: concept of tunnel vision, when a lead investigator gets it 454 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 3: in their head that somebody is the prime suspect and 455 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,479 Speaker 3: focuses all of their energy on confirming that suspicion and 456 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:54,080 Speaker 3: ignoring everything else. You know, if you knew there were 457 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 3: areas like the breaker box that cut off the electricity 458 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 3: to the house, you know, whoever committed this crime touched that, 459 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 3: you know, you would ust that for Prince and lift prince. 460 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 3: They didn't do that. You would collect hair, they didn't 461 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 3: do that. You would follow leads. For example, you know, 462 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 3: Patty's daughter shared an account of seen a light from 463 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 3: the basement when they were leaving the house, and so 464 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 3: that would indicate somebody's in the basement. There's no evidence 465 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 3: that they followed up on that report from Patty's daughter. 466 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,200 Speaker 5: And also one of the neighbors had tried to issue 467 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 5: a report with the sheriff's office stating she had seen 468 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 5: a suspicious vehicle parked on the wrong side of the 469 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 5: road facing the preu at home hours before the murder, 470 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 5: but it was ignored. So this information was never disclosed 471 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 5: to the defense. 472 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 3: And again, this is rural Missouri, so it's abnormal for 473 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 3: there to be a car in the middle of the 474 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 3: night that the neighbors don't know about. The lead investigator 475 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 3: did nothing about this. 476 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 5: One of the most bizarre things about Patty's case is 477 00:30:55,600 --> 00:31:00,120 Speaker 5: that in twenty sixteen, decades after her conviction, a book 478 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 5: written by the lead prosecutor, Tom Williams was published called 479 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 5: Practice to Deceive. Williams had died two years before his 480 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 5: book came out after his death. Now, the book does 481 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 5: not say Patty is innocent, but it does criticize what 482 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 5: Williams acknowledges was a shoddy investigation, and Williams boasts that 483 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 5: if it were not for his own prosecutorial skills, Patty 484 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 5: would be free right now. 485 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 3: He described sloppy evidence management. He describes a forensic expert 486 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 3: who was a star Warsness as a doctor cop. He 487 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:41,320 Speaker 3: describes how he gratuitously asked questions of Patty on the 488 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 3: stand to portray her as a bad mother to move 489 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 3: the jury. I mean, he admits this. He's affirming everything 490 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 3: we're saying about tunnel vision. 491 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 5: And Williams also discusses detective Hughes. 492 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 3: He describes this investigator as an ambitious young I mean 493 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 3: you think he was twenty seven deputy sheriff who had 494 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 3: ambition to move up, and he needed a case with 495 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 3: a lot of interest where he could take the lead 496 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 3: and get publicity. That's the words of the prosecutor. 497 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 5: And he did. Hughes went on to become a private 498 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:15,280 Speaker 5: detective in Wyoming. He later resigned following an internal investigation 499 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:24,440 Speaker 5: into his conduct. Up until twenty seventeen, crucial evidence in 500 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 5: this case was presumed to be lost. This included Patty's pajamas, 501 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 5: and once this evidence was uncovered, Patty's team petitioned the 502 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 5: courts to test her pajamas for DNA along with other evidence. 503 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 5: Remember DNA testing was not available in nineteen eighty four, 504 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,239 Speaker 5: the year of the crime, a hearing was granted by 505 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 5: Judge Robert L. Kaufman. 506 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:50,320 Speaker 3: And it was an extraordinary moment because as we're making 507 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,800 Speaker 3: this argument, the judge, who was a different judge than 508 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:57,280 Speaker 3: the trial judge, didn't work on Patty's case, but was 509 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 3: still in the courtroom at the time of the trial. 510 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:00,400 Speaker 2: Oh. 511 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:04,880 Speaker 3: I remember this case because I remember she testified that 512 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 3: her sexual engine burns hotter than others. I remember that 513 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,240 Speaker 3: that's what makes this case unique, and that was just 514 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,720 Speaker 3: an astounding moment for a number of reasons. 515 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,080 Speaker 5: It goes to show the impact that misogyny had on 516 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 5: Patty's case even decades later. Judge Kaufman quickly denied the request, 517 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 5: writing quote, you cannot believe her story, and DNA findings 518 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 5: of any kind do not change that fact. In other words, 519 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 5: Kaufman believed that because of Patty's alleged promiscuity, the presence 520 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,960 Speaker 5: of DNA on Patty's pajamas would not necessarily confirm that 521 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 5: she was raped or that she wasn't the murderer. He 522 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 5: also notes, quote, it should be kept in mind there 523 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,920 Speaker 5: were numerous showings that Miss Pruett was not a truth teller. 524 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 5: Patty's legal team says there were other people in the 525 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 5: community who could have had motive, means, an opportunity, and 526 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 5: may have wanted Bill out of the picture. 527 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,520 Speaker 3: Bill and Patty were active in their community, and what 528 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 3: we've heard from folks who lived in Holden at the 529 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:14,800 Speaker 3: time was there was concerns about drugs, and Patty and Bill, 530 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 3: as parents of kids, were concerned about their kids and 531 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,759 Speaker 3: started to look into what was going on in their 532 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 3: community with the drug trade. 533 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 5: Police did not thoroughly investigate this or other leads, including 534 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 5: the unknown car that Patty's neighbor had seen on the street. 535 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 5: DNA testing might have helped Patty's case, but by now 536 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 5: Patty has exhausted her appeals. Her only hope is clemency. 537 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 5: Patty has applied for clemency multiple times. Her petition from 538 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 5: December of twenty ten is still waiting a response for 539 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,480 Speaker 5: Missouri Governor Mike Parson. It is one of more than 540 00:34:51,600 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 5: three thousand clemency petitions he has yet to review. While 541 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 5: she waits, Patty and her family have had thirty six 542 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:11,799 Speaker 5: years to process their losses, including the death of Patty's son, 543 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 5: Matt in nineteen ninety two when he was just eighteen. 544 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:18,799 Speaker 5: His death was ruled a suicide, and at the same 545 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,400 Speaker 5: time Patty lost her kids when she was sent to prison. 546 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 5: They also lost their mother. You know, when you're sixteen, 547 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 5: you're going through the most formative time of your life. 548 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:32,319 Speaker 5: You know, boyfriends or girlfriends or whoever in periods and 549 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 5: those kinds of things. I mean, who did you go. 550 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:35,799 Speaker 6: To for that? 551 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,120 Speaker 7: Mostly Mom's sister, my aunt Mary, who has since passed. 552 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 7: She was great about all those kind of things, which 553 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:47,920 Speaker 7: was which was great but she was also you know, 554 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 7: young mom was only thirty six when she left for prison, 555 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,840 Speaker 7: and Mary would have been thirty three, and she was 556 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 7: a single mom with two little boys, so she had 557 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 7: a lot on her place also, right right, absolutely, so 558 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 7: you kind of you know, even if you have people 559 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 7: in your life, you still kind of feel like you're 560 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 7: a burden when it's not your parents taking care of you. 561 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,560 Speaker 5: And since Patty was unable to be a parent to 562 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 5: her own kids, she became a proxy mom for young 563 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:21,200 Speaker 5: women in prison. 564 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,640 Speaker 4: Well, what person matter is I'm a mama at my core, 565 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 4: and when I came to prison, I was thirty foot 566 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 4: and most kids in prison are much younger. So I 567 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 4: came in as an adult. And if you can to 568 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,960 Speaker 4: help people, what's the used to being alive? 569 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,680 Speaker 3: You know, she has every right to be angry at 570 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 3: the world. You know, she's lost so much. She obviously 571 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,719 Speaker 3: lost her husband, she effectively lost her children. Just in 572 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:00,720 Speaker 3: the last twelve years, I've seen her lose her father, 573 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:05,759 Speaker 3: her mother, her sister, and her brother, and obviously she 574 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,480 Speaker 3: lost her son years earlier. She hasn't been able to 575 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,840 Speaker 3: go to any of those funerals, and just the pain 576 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,640 Speaker 3: that she's been through and as I said, she has 577 00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 3: every right to be angry at the world. And what 578 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,400 Speaker 3: is she doing. She's mothering and mentoring generations of women 579 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,960 Speaker 3: behind bars and women who are doing well now and 580 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:29,239 Speaker 3: they credit Patty, and it's really it's awe inspiring and 581 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,680 Speaker 3: it's extraordinary. 582 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:34,760 Speaker 5: Many of the women Patty has met in prison credit 583 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,040 Speaker 5: her with their rehabilitation and ability to pursue their dreams. 584 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,320 Speaker 5: In a video created by Patty's legal team, these women 585 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,239 Speaker 5: urge Governor Parson to grant Patty clemency. 586 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,440 Speaker 8: Patty never stopped believing in me. She always encouraged me 587 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:53,040 Speaker 8: to write, to improve myself, to exercise, to just simply 588 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 8: do the next right thing and believe in myself. She 589 00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:58,920 Speaker 8: changed my entire life and I was a repeat offender, 590 00:37:59,000 --> 00:37:59,960 Speaker 8: not looking to be anything. 591 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 5: But if she could do that for me, imagine what 592 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:04,360 Speaker 5: she can do for the world. 593 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,920 Speaker 4: So the only way these kids are ever going to 594 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,279 Speaker 4: be somebody and get out of this endless loop of 595 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:23,439 Speaker 4: incarcration is to believe in themselves and realize that they're 596 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:28,479 Speaker 4: good people, as they deserve a good life. And if 597 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 4: that's why I'm in this damn place, then I will 598 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,120 Speaker 4: try to stay as many of these kids as I did. 599 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 5: Who's your cheerleader, Patty? When you're helping everybody and be 600 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 5: in the mama, who's there for you? 601 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 4: Listen, I'm a big girl. I'm gonna don't so helping 602 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,919 Speaker 4: them is what helped me if I didn't have these 603 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,719 Speaker 4: kids around me. Good lord, I'm an old lady. I 604 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,400 Speaker 4: know all the new songs, I know the new dances. 605 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:01,879 Speaker 4: I mean, the kid's keep me young. 606 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,879 Speaker 5: Despite her circumstances, Patty has made the best of it. 607 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,960 Speaker 4: I'm a student in Washington University out of Saint Louis. 608 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,040 Speaker 4: That is still is amazing to me that this opportunity 609 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:15,799 Speaker 4: has come to me. 610 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,680 Speaker 5: Patty says she's committed to one day getting her bachelor's degree, 611 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 5: and if she gets out of prison, she also has 612 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 5: a lot more planned. 613 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:27,319 Speaker 4: And I've got all these kids and grandkids, and I've 614 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:29,880 Speaker 4: got a book I'm writing. I know they've wrought some 615 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,759 Speaker 4: books out there by prisons, but I would like to. 616 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:40,360 Speaker 4: But especially women, know what Christmas like. People keep adding 617 00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:44,680 Speaker 4: money to a conference to build prisons. It's not doing 618 00:39:44,719 --> 00:39:50,239 Speaker 4: any good. It's just the opposite. And I would love 619 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:55,800 Speaker 4: to lobby. They would hate me with the capital because 620 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 4: I would be like to tend So, Yeah, I'm going 621 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 4: to cause some problem. That's what. That's Michael. 622 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,760 Speaker 6: There's nothing better than an old lady wreaking havoc. 623 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,480 Speaker 5: If you have any information about this case or want 624 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:22,279 Speaker 5: to help Patty, go to Pattiprouit dot com. On our 625 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:26,320 Speaker 5: next episode, how does a guy with nineteen alibi witnesses 626 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:28,160 Speaker 5: get convicted for murder? 627 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:30,719 Speaker 6: It didn't matter what I had to say, what type 628 00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:33,880 Speaker 6: of evidence of the alibis that I had to present, 629 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:35,640 Speaker 6: It just didn't matter. 630 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,160 Speaker 4: Only one it was to get in an arrest. 631 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 5: Next time on Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling, Melvin Ortiz, 632 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:52,400 Speaker 5: thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling. 633 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,680 Speaker 5: Please support your local innocence organizations and go to the 634 00:40:55,719 --> 00:40:57,640 Speaker 5: links in our bio to see how you can help. 635 00:40:58,239 --> 00:41:01,440 Speaker 5: I'd like to thank executive producers Bason Flamm Kevin Burtis, 636 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,719 Speaker 5: as well as our senior producer Annie Chelsea, researcher Lila Robinson, 637 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:10,600 Speaker 5: and story editor Sonia Paul, with additional production by Jeff Cliburn. 638 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,480 Speaker 5: Music in this production is by three time OSCAR nominated 639 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:17,840 Speaker 5: composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram 640 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,920 Speaker 5: at Wrongful Conviction, on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction podcast, and 641 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,040 Speaker 5: on Twitter at Wrongful Conviction, as well as Lava for Good. 642 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:27,880 Speaker 5: On all three platforms, you can also follow me on 643 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:31,759 Speaker 5: both Instagram and Twitter at Maggie Freeling. Wrongful Conviction with 644 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,839 Speaker 5: Maggie Freeling is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts 645 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 5: and association with Signal Company Number one