WEBVTT - #556 Jason Flom with Franky Carrillo 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:08.879 With the police banging on the door open up. 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.280 The choice to be in that lineup was the last 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:13.760 choice I made as a free man. 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:17.880 A year later, I ended up writing the system. 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:20.200 I'm going to be one of those people who everyone 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:21.840 in the world is going to think as a monster 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:24.000 or suspect as a monster for the rest of my life, 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:25.320 and I'm just going to have to come to peace 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:25.560 with that. 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:29.520 Somebody was able to look at my picture in the 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:33.040 database and say that I was somewhere where I definitely wasn't. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.440 I overheard three of the jailers discussing what part they 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:39.680 might have to play in my hanging. They had been 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.919 told that two prison officers would have to participate in 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:47.120 my execution. Now I walked back inside that prison for 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.520 the last time. Man, all help broke loose. 0:00:49.560 --> 0:01:06.319 But welcome to another episode of Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flamm. 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:10.440 Today we have a very incredible person as our guest. 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.199 Our featured exonnery today is Frankie Correo. 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.440 Korea was sixteen. In nineteen ninety one, fifteen sheriff's deputies 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.360 with guns drawn storm through the front door. Korea was 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.520 convicted of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:24.920 Frankie was released. 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:27.840 From jail in downtown LA this afternoon after spending twenty 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.640 years in prison. Rio was released after the court found 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:34.039 evidence that Koreo was framed through coerced testimony for a 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.240 fatal drive by shooting. The gang of corrupt LA Sheriff's 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.800 deputies known as the Linwood Vikings co wer six witnesses 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.320 into identifying him in a photo lineup. 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.280 Frankie, welcome, Jason's good to be here. 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.640 So, Frankie, your story begins when you were really just 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.400 a child and the baby man. Let's go back to 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.920 the beginning. You grew up in La, right, that's correct, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:02.120 Southern California, and you had a pretty happy upbringing, right, Yeah, 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:02.640 I would say that. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.440 Yeah, everything was going along more or less. 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.280 Okay, nothing's easy about being a sixteen year old boy, 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:08.959 that's right. 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:12.320 Then one day it all was turned upside down. That 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.760 day was January twenty fourth, nineteen ninety one. I was 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:17.959 just a little color there. I was a high school student. 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.240 I was a child of a divorce family, four siblings. 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:23.840 My father had raised us in stage of nine, so 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:27.000 it's a very male dominated household. Dad and two boys. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:28.919 It was what I'd known for the past seven years. 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.040 And you had a sort of a unique situation too it, 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:32.480 which is that your mom had did one day just 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:33.799 decided to check out. 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:34.320 That's it. 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.000 Yeah, it wasn't like it got separated and you spent 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:39.160 half the time with her or she just left. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.480 That was it. Yeah, I mean, it's an unfortunate story, 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:42.520 but that's what happened. 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.480 Yeah, So you had been abandoned in a very real 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:51.360 way and experienced something that's obviously going to affect any 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.720 young man for the rest of his life. But that 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.040 wasn't the worst of what was to come by far. 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.880 And again, sixteen is really not a child, but you're 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:01.880 closer to a child. 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:02.440 Than an adult. 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:04.760 Right even though it was my age, I was sixteen, 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.840 Psychologically you're you're still a kid, you know, maybe operating 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.360 at thirteen fourteen level, not to you know, minimize it, 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:11.799 but I'm a boy, I'm a kid. 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.800 We were in tenth grade, tenth grader, tenth grade, exactly 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.320 what I'm saying. Tenth grade, you're you know, yeah, you're 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.079 closer to middle school than you are to college. 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:21.240 And they hadn't been shaved. So it's like a good, 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.040 good reference is that you're at the point where like 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:26.120 facial hair is sort of developing, but you're not there yet, Frankie, like, 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:26.880 hold off right. 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.640 And then one night, fifteen cops bust in your house. 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.359 What a surreal situation. You were asleep. 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:35.320 I was asleep, just a normal night. 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.760 Actually it was early morning, so it was dark, but 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.520 it was it was six in the morning when this happened. 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:42.320 And my father and I went home and they couldn't 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.720 get in. They were pounding away, and ultimately I opened 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:47.600 the door, looked out the window and new was them. 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:50.440 They were screaming who they were, and they stormed in, 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:52.680 stormed in, ordered my father and I to the floor. 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:54.560 And that's the beginning of the nightmare. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:57.880 Really, so they already had to the floor. Did they 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.120 tell you what was going on? 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:00.360 I wish it did? 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:00.560 You know? 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:03.200 It was pretty strategic in all business, so they want to, 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:06.120 like ram Seck, the home was their main objective, and 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.200 you know, my father and I. My dad was trying 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:11.680 to exert his position, this is my home, what are 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.080 you doing here? And he was being ignored. So he's 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.000 telling me, like, what's happening. I'm like I don't know, 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.520 Like I have no idea why they're here. Soon after, 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.080 on the ride to the sheriff station is when I 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:23.440 learned that I had been accused and ultimately now being 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.279 arrested for a murderer I hadn't committed. 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:29.600 So you get to the sheriff's station and what happens next. 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:32.200 Really, I was expecting my father to show up, but 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.800 what happened was I was placed into an interrogation room. 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:37.279 The people who showed up instead were these two sort 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.120 of cowboy detectives ready to play the good call bad 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:42.480 cop on me, and I played along. You know. They 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:45.279 said what they were arrested me for, and if I 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.880 would willing to talk, and I said, sure, I'll talk 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:49.200 like I have nothing to hide. 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.039 Right, And so you waved your marana, right I did. 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.760 And that's such a crazy thing, Frankie, because I think 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:59.040 it's hard for most people to understand why someone would 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:00.880 wave their miranda when you. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.800 Have the right to a lawyer who would going to 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:04.400 give that up? 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.640 But the fact is, in your case, I think it's 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:08.920 fairly typical, which is that if you're innocent, and this 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:11.800 is an ironic thing, right, if you're innocent, a lot 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:13.880 of people go in they think, well, why do I 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.120 need a lawyer. I'm just going to answer some questions, 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.600 and the justice system is going to work because I'm 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.400 an innocent person who abides by the law, and then 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:23.600 they'll see that they made a mistake and then they'll 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:24.800 go catch the real guy. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:25.599 Exactly right. 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:29.640 Unfortunately, it's going to take stories like yours to help 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:33.039 educate people so that they don't do that. You do 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.359 not give up any information without getting a lawyer. 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:38.640 But I will adjason that when you're in that code 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:43.159 room and the power imbalance is obvious, you are in 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.840 a detention facility. Basically, you're in the stronghold, you're in 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:50.240 the sheriff's departments space, and you're there as a visitor. 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:52.839 You're there obviously being charged with this crime, in my case, 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.840 being wrongfully charged. And so to some degree, as a 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:57.640 young boy, you want these are adults. Some look at 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.800 these men and you want to cooperate. You want it 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:01.839 like I'll talk to you. I have nothing to hide. 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.000 It is sort of my position looking back now. Obviously 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:07.440 I wish I wish there was a Civics class that 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:10.479 would have said, you know what, no matter what, innocent, guilty, whatever, 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:13.520 the situation is just wait for your parents or wait 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:14.560 for a lawyer. 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:17.920 Yes, it's a tragic twist or irony that when you're 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.680 innocent and you go into the situation, you're more likely 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.839 to waive your Miranda rights and if you're guilty. Exactly 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:25.480 in that interrogation room, how long were you interrogated for? 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:25.960 Do you even know? 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.440 You know? Surprisingly, I think back of that fived him 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.440 minute interrogation and I sort of left that room thinking, 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:33.480 you know, where was the lamp? You know, where were 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:35.719 these guys punching on me? Like, you know, you watch 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.920 enough TV to understand that this is supposed to unfold 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:40.600 a little bit differently than it did in my case. 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.000 At least, they were very quick to just say, there's 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:45.880 a young boy who witnessed the crime, who was adamant 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.480 that you were the guy who did it. So we 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:50.040 got you. Let's talk about you just confessing to it. 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.280 So it was really very brief, very precise on their end, 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:55.719 and I think I'm go on have chuckle not to 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.640 be silly here, but it was just like so unreal, 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:01.400 like one, you're are you sure you're talking to me? 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.039 I'm adamant that it wasn't me obviously, and their position 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.599 was like, we're beyond if you did it or not. 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.360 We just want you to just come clean, just confess 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:13.400 that you did it. And I was like, I can't 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:13.680 do that. 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:15.680 It ended after ten minutes. 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.120 That's it. Like they weren't trying to press me and 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:21.640 starve me out anything. They were just like, okay, well 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:23.880 we'll see you in court, like we're going to jail now, 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:24.840 Like that was it. 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:28.040 Hearing that and that's an unusual interrogation, and that it 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:29.920 went on for such a short period of time, it 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.280 sounds to me like at that point they actually did 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.280 think they had the right guy, because they were like, Okay, 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:35.480 well this guy's not gonna give it up, but we 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:36.920 got the right guy, so it's okay, We're gon We're 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.240 gonna get him no matter what. But as things unraveled, 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:45.800 they took steps that were corrupt and illegal. How did 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.120 they end up managing to convict you when you were 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:49.160 so obviously not the guy? 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.520 So you know, in Los Angeles at least, there's a 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:56.480 very familiar story about misconduct with the LAPD SO Rampart 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:00.520 Division scandal. It's more readily available knowledge. But my case 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:04.520 didn't involve LAPED involved the LA's Sheriff's department, and there's 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.480 a well known at least locally of the Linwood Vikings. 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.080 So Lindwood is where this crime happened and where my 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.120 arrest was ultimately investigated. And the Linwood Vikings had become 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:18.600 a rogue police gang. So what I thought is a 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.760 naive boy, that I was dealing with law enforcement who 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:25.080 were abided by the constitution and their policies in the department. 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:27.640 Some of the people on this investigation team were these 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.679 bad cops sort of fast forward in here of information 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.120 I knew, not at the time, but as the case developed. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.360 And so when this young boy who was used to 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.360 identify me, who was shown a photo line of a 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:41.880 photo six pack to ultimately say this is the guy 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.080 who committed the crime, the case sounded pretty pretty cut 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:47.800 and dry. There's a witness, there's a he show was 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.559 showing a photographic lineup. He quickly identified the shooter. We 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.000 got in the rest Slamm Dunk. And so there was 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:56.440 a trial when I was tried as an adult and 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.360 moved forward to a conviction. But at some point it 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.760 was discovered that this young boy wasn't as innocent as 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:05.560 you know. He was more than just a witness. It 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.320 was revealed that he was an informant for one specific 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.559 law enforcement officer, Deputy Ditch. And so Deputy Ditch, Ditch, 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:13.480 Deputy of all. 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:14.560 Things, Deputy Ditch. 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:16.679 Right, I mean what a name, right, Craig Ditch is 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:18.880 the guy's name. He's now retired. The guy had this 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:22.360 boy under his wing as an informant, and he happened 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.000 to be at this crime scene, and so it was 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.360 very very easy to say, I'm your go to guy here. 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.800 So the story later was discovered that this young boy 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:34.439 was showing photographs after he'd been interviewed five times by 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:38.040 other investigators with no results. They realized Ditch had a 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.760 relationship with this boy. Ditch shows up cases over. The 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.480 case was solved once Stitch arrived in less than eight hours, 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.440 and the story that was revealed that the young boy 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:49.760 was showing the photographs as what was in the report, 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.080 and so he picks a random picture just to play along, 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.480 and Ditch says, that's the wrong guy. He's in jail 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.400 right now, try again. You know, I'm sure he's feeling 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:01.480 like an idiot. Point. You know, you're trying to help, 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:04.360 You're young, you're scared, so he picks another photograph, and 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.440 the deputy says, this guy's dead. What about this guy here? 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:09.360 We think he's trying to come up in the rankings 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.680 or whatever, And so the boy just says, yeah, I 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.000 guess that makes sense. I guess I guess that's the guy. 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:15.280 And this is there. 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.880 He was looking at six photographs. Yep, he was over 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:21.000 too exactly. He picked. He picked very badly. He picked 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.040 a guy who was in jail and a guy who 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.400 was dead. Right. That's yeah, really hard to make a 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:26.720 case against those guys. Right. 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:28.679 And by the way, it's sort of odd that there 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:30.600 was a guy in the six pack who was dead. 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:32.240 Give me a break, I mean, you would think they 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.200 would take that guy out just I mean to let 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:35.920 me jump in here and say, well, you know, Frankie, 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.040 what's up. You're coming off as this high school student, 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:41.320 nice guy. What's your photograph doing in the sheriff's apartment? Like, 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.000 tell us about that. I'm sure that was your next question, right, 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:45.959 I'm getting to that what happened. 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.120 In this environment is so nineteen ninety nineteen ninety one 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.840 is what we're referencing here. That specific sheriff's department's policy 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:53.840 was that if there was any anyone that you thought 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:57.080 was a potential bad kid or bad guy or bad anything, 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.959 let's do some racial profiling at this point, right, gather intel. 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.200 And so the photograph was obtained in the summer between 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:07.920 my sixth grade and seventh grade vacation block. There, me 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.080 and some of my buddies just riding our BMX spikes 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.280 through a local park, no big deal, summertime, and this deputy, 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:15.880 Deputy Luna, I remember the guy's name, sort of just 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.120 rolls up next to us. He's done of the official 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.400 lights on pull over. He stops, We stopped, start talking 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.280 about who has a girlfriend, and where do you live? 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.560 And what's up with you? Whatever? Right, just pretty cool 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.440 talking to a cop, No big deal. Then the guy says, 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.840 do you mind if I take your photograph to the group? 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.960 I don't remember us looking around saying what do you think? Guys? 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.280 We just like, I guess like you're a cop, right, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:38.520 Like what do we say? 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:38.640 No? 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.400 And so this is the time when you had polaroad camera. 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:43.719 So the guy got out of his car, went into 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:46.520 the trunk and pulled out the little manual polaroid camera, 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:48.640 and one by one he just came to write where 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:52.040 we were on our bike standing and just snapped the photograph. 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.400 And so that photograph that was taken in a park 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.480 with trees in the background and whatever else was in 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:02.199 the background, I was smiling them picture. That photograph ended 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:04.679 up in the sixth pack. So talk about like a 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.040 chain of events here that fucks your life up, right, 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:07.559 Oh my. 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:10.400 God, I mean, that's really the most I've heard all 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.040 types of different stories, and you're right, that is a 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.000 question that people often ask, why was this picture? 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:14.520 Now? 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:16.960 What we know is that if you live in a 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.920 poor neighborhood spetiicularly a poor minority neighborhood, the cops do 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.240 sweeps and they'll pick up everybody, right, And so your 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:26.160 picture could be in there because you had a joint, 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:28.520 or any other thing could be in there because you 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.640 were trespassing, right, I have air quotes under that one 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:35.240 or whatever. And so it's really true that a lot 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.600 of people have records for the most minor misdemeanors. In 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.720 your case, you had no record whatsoever. Actually, it was 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:44.800 probably I mean, thinking back to when I was in 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:46.440 sixth or seventh grade, if a cop would have asked 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:48.320 to take my picture, I would have felt good, right, 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:49.360 but like, wow, this guy. 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:50.920 Wants to take my picture. I'm pretty cool kid. 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.480 So your picture was in the lineup because this cop had, 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:10.520 in a sneaky way, racially profiled you as a thirteen 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.400 year old boy riding his bike in the park, which 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:15.360 is exactly as far as I can tell, what thirteen 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.040 year old boys are supposed to be doing. You were 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.960 identified in this insane process, right, which is literally like 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:22.400 it would be funny. 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.079 Except the results are so tragic. 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.040 So he eventually managed to come up with the answer 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:29.080 that the cop wanted, which he could have saved himself 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.360 the trouble by just saying initially to the kid, hey, 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:33.640 this is the guy we want identify him. That would 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:35.439 have been simple, exactly. I would have saved five minutes. 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:37.760 So you're identified, you go to trial. 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:39.240 Well, I try as an adult. I'm going to keep 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:39.679 parking this spit. 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:40.439 I'm a kid. 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.120 So there's a process here in California that determines if 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.800 you're worthy of juvenile court or you have to go 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:47.520 with the big boys. Right, And so this was a 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.480 murderer and they felt that it deserved it a higher punishment, 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.240 and so ultimately went to trial, had an assigned attorney 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.000 that the county. It wasn't a public defenders like a 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:58.959 panel attorney. I have to say this part here. And 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.079 when I walked into the court and I was chained 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.800 to you know, the chain gang there, everyone's there being arraigned, 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.240 all adults and then was looking like what did you do, 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.800 like steal some candy and blah blah blah, and you know, 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.640 they're just ragging on me, these adults who had obviously 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.679 been there before. And so I'm the last guy to 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:17.360 be arraigned, and so everyone's freaking out like, oh shit, 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:19.960 we weren't expecting that charge for this kid, right And 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.160 prior to that, I will say that, and it's and 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:25.280 it kind of goes to just me being so naive 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:29.800 here is that I heard someone call my name and 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:31.680 I'm like, I'm so little. I'm like raising my hand 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:33.440 like I'm over here. And I looked over and I 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:37.360 saw this good looking white man with this amazing suit on, 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.320 just like canned suit, walking towards me with the file 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:42.760 and I was like, oh my god, David, you have 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.200 signed me the best fucker in the room, man, Like 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:46.960 this is all going to be worked out, Like this 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:50.200 is it? I got the very sheck of the world. Sadly, 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.640 it's just an example of like where my mentality was, 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:56.280 even my perception of this new world. This courtroom was 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.640 like sadly, like the white guy come into your rescue 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.840 had like such an impact from living in a society 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.320 where the majority of people around you are people who 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.360 look like you and who you know than the teacher 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.640 or whatever, and so I thought it was a sort 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:11.640 of funny and looking back at that moment, getting me 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.680 so excited about everything's gonna be okay now right obviously. 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.720 Not obviously not. I mean the odds, the odds were 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.120 stacked against you. The government was willing to lie to 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.800 get the conviction. They were willing to use an incentivized witness, 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.120 and they convicted you, they did, and now you get 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:30.360 sent to maximum security prison. 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:32.560 At the time, they had a juvenile facility, so it 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.800 was like the Youth Authority for young adults. So I 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.920 went there and the sentence was thirty years to life, 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:41.840 with an additional six life sentences attached to that. So 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:43.840 I'll say that when I heard those words coming to 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:47.440 the judge's mouth, I couldn't imagine or perceived like a 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.440 week or a few months in my life to now 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.240 to imagine thirty years to life plus life, I couldn't 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.440 even comprehend that. For someone wants to be sort of 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.680 funny and sort of mess with me, it meant like, 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:02.720 do thirty years to life die and then you're back 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:04.600 in prison, like even if you ever come back, right, 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:05.080 And it was. 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.440 Like, you mean, like if you get reincarnated. 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:09.720 I suppose, right, like you're you're seting you up for 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:10.720 your next life. 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.200 It doesn't make any sense, right, and none of this 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.080 makes any sense, But that in particular doesn't make any 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.040 sense just in terms of the semantics of it. It's 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.320 interesting too write because there was a witness who actually 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.000 wanted to come forward and who had information that could 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.200 have prevented you from being convicted in the first place. 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.320 Is there was, so he wasn't just a witness. This 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.400 guy that you're referring to was the actual killer. So 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:35.120 as a bizarre twist in this case, the investigator had 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:39.680 discovered who the murderer was, and your investigator there and 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:41.840 this is it's a bizarre twist all this. And it's 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.200 not to minimize the bad police work here, but now 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:47.560 it's also bad defense work here. My defense attorney had 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.520 an investigator who had went out and become the world's 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.880 best investigator by tracking down who excumented the crime. Turns 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.360 out he knew the murderer, and so there was just 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.000 this conflict of interest of either get off the case 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:03.280 or reveal that this is the guy who did it. 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.080 He had this young man, the actual murderer, confessed to 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.600 the crime. There's a six page confession that he took 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.159 from this man, and what he tried to do. To 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.640 his credit, he tried to convince this guy to come 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.240 to the court and just say, look, Frankie didn't do it, 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.520 it was me. And he arrived with an attorney. You 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:22.800 would assume that the judge would say, well, wait a 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.840 minute here, before Frankie goes down and he's sentenced, let's 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:28.919 hear about this guy in the hallway. And lo and behold, 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.560 the judge says, you're too late. You've been convicted by 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.480 a jury. All this sort of like last information that's 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.600 apparently in the hallway. Just deal with it in your appeal. 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.720 So after the jury renders you guilty, and the guy 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.199 standing outside the doors of the courtroom exactly who's actually 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:45.600 holding the cards to your freedom? 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.359 Well, I mean it would have shed light if someone 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.359 cared about truth, right, it would have been like, well, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.720 let's bring this guy in. And so it failed me 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.880 even again at that point, that's such a crazy it's 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.080