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Speaker 1: Welcome back to playing dirty sports scandals. I'm Jay Harris,

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Speaker 1: a veteran ESPN sportscaster and your bold barista ever, ready

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Speaker 1: to serve up a potent blend from the dark side

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Speaker 1: of sports. Today we steep deeper into the murky saga

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Speaker 1: of Darryl Henley. Once an NFL standout cornerback, Daryl soon

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Speaker 1: found himself drowning in bad decisions, cast as a central

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Speaker 1: figure in a crime that reads like a paperback thriller. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: this is not a book or a blend that anyone

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Speaker 1: would want to find themselves in the thick of. But

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Speaker 1: at the end of last week's episode is where Darryl

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Speaker 1: Henley was stepping out of his La Rams unifor and

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Speaker 1: into a jail house orange jumpsuit, with his reputation teetering

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Speaker 1: on the brink as federal charges related to drug trafficking

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Speaker 1: were filed against him. The charges and his alleged involvement

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Speaker 1: shocked Darrell's friends and family alike. His devoted dad, Tom

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Speaker 1: Henley insisted to La Times reporter T. J. Simers that

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Speaker 1: Darryl is not exempt from doing wrong. But Daryl is

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Speaker 1: not a dummy. Here's a young man ready to take

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Speaker 1: off with the rams. Why would he jeopardize himself and

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Speaker 1: the family he loves so much for some stupid stuff.

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Speaker 1: I know he's innocent, but while Daryl's nearest and dares

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Speaker 1: continued to believe in his innocence, the facts were leading

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Speaker 1: authorities in a different direction. Darrel's only real hope of

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Speaker 1: evading the law was for his ex girlfriend, drug mule

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Speaker 1: and former friend Tracy donaho to refuse to cooperate with authorities.

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Speaker 1: And why would she do that given the gravity of

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Speaker 1: her situation being caught smuggling twenty six point four pounds

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Speaker 1: of cocaine in Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport and Darrell's cleared

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Speaker 1: duplicity in her own predicament. It wasn't long before Tracy

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Speaker 1: agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for lenient sentencing.

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Speaker 1: Tracy Donahoe's willingness to turn state's evidence against Daryl Henley

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Speaker 1: and other members of the drug trafficking ring provided federal

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Speaker 1: agents with a detailed inside look at the operation, revealing

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Speaker 1: the mechanics of how the drugs were moved across state lines.

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Speaker 1: She also identified the roles of the individuals in the

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Speaker 1: trafficking conspiracy, including Daryl Henley. I was very excited that

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Speaker 1: Darrell seemed to be interested in me. Tracy testified under

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Speaker 1: questioning from Assistant US Attorney John Rayburn, painting herself as

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Speaker 1: having been an enamored, unwitting participant in the operation rather

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Speaker 1: than a key trafficker. Tracy further admitted that Darrell once

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Speaker 1: pulled the gun from his glove compartment during one of

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Speaker 1: their dates, and that he made her listen to part

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Speaker 1: of a rap song about drug dealers recruiting a young

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Speaker 1: girl to help them distract police, softening the image of

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Speaker 1: herself further as a victim rather than a complicit dirty player.

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Speaker 1: Tracy's testimony became a cornerstone for the prosecution, detailing how

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Speaker 1: Daryl had masterminded the logistics of transporting large quantities of

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Speaker 1: cocaine from California to various drop off points across the country.

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Speaker 1: In the sixty six page statement, Tracy wrote, in the

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Speaker 1: months following her July nineteen ninety three arrest, she spilled

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Speaker 1: all the information she knew about the drug trafficking ring,

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Speaker 1: and in doing so, effectively assured that Daryl would be

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Speaker 1: spending time behind bars. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Tracy

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Speaker 1: Donahoe in return for her cooperation, and Daryl Henley was

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Speaker 1: left to reap what he had allegedly sung. Daryl's beloved

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Speaker 1: La Rams also grappled with the fallout from their cornerback's

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Speaker 1: very public come upance. In a desperate attempt to maintain

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Speaker 1: team focus, the Rams applied for and received a roster

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Speaker 1: exemption from the NFL. This exemption, which was part of

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Speaker 1: the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league,

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Speaker 1: meant that Daryl continued to receive a salary drawing two

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Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five thousand dollars in the option year

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Speaker 1: of his contract, even as he stepped away from the

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Speaker 1: gridiron and into the glaring lights of his public court battle.

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Speaker 1: But this money was surely very small consolation for Daryl,

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Speaker 1: who had brought shame to the team he'd aspired to lead,

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Speaker 1: and who was now going head to head for his

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Speaker 1: freedom alongside several criminal associates in the U S District

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Speaker 1: Court in Santa Ana. His old pal turn threat, Rafael Bustamante,

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Speaker 1: was also in the spotlight on charges related to the

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Speaker 1: trafficking ring. At just twenty eight years old, Raphael was

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Speaker 1: accused of providing multi kilogram quantities of cocaine to Daryl,

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Speaker 1: underpinning the operation with a hefty supply of narcotics destined

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Speaker 1: for cross country distribution. While their trafficking partnership wasn't exactly

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Speaker 1: cartel level activity the operation, Daryl and Rafael stood accused

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Speaker 1: of orchestrating still bore serious weight as a public threat.

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Speaker 1: Joining Daryl Henley and Rafael Bustamante and facing the consequences

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Speaker 1: of the drug ring were Willie McGowan and Gary West.

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Speaker 1: You remember Gary, right, the guy who couldn't figure out

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Speaker 1: how to get Tracy Donaho a flight home after her

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Speaker 1: first drug drop. Yeah, let's just say that Gary and

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Speaker 1: Willie certainly weren't the head honchos of the operation, but

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Speaker 1: their involvement was still key. Willie was charged with packaging

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Speaker 1: the drugs into suitcases that Tracy then transported across the country,

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Speaker 1: and Gary West was found responsible for collecting these drug

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Speaker 1: laden suitcases in Tennessee then distributing them within the network.

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Speaker 1: Willie McGowan was arrested following a federal warrant, and Gary

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Speaker 1: West was already detained in a Memphis jail on unrelated

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Speaker 1: charges of course, the indictments extended beyond drug trafficking because

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Speaker 1: Rafael Bustamante, along with Alejandro Figaro Equavis and James Timothy Says,

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Speaker 1: faced additional charges of extortion. This was the trio that

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Speaker 1: it previously confronted Darryl Henley at gunpoint at the RAMS

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Speaker 1: practice facility in Anaheim, demanding six figures from him for

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Speaker 1: the cocaine shipment intercepted by the DEA in Atlanta. These

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Speaker 1: extortion charges had serious penalties, with the potential for each

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Speaker 1: of the men to face up to twenty years in

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Speaker 1: prison with fines reaching two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: But more importantly, this superseding indictment by prosecutors was strategically

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Speaker 1: done so that all the defendants could be tried together,

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Speaker 1: painting a picture of a tightly knit criminal network, and

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Speaker 1: US Attorney Deirdre z Elliott argued at the center of

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Speaker 1: that criminal network was Darryl Henley. The indictment alleges that

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Speaker 1: this was a sophisticated drug trafficking ring that extended from

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Speaker 1: southern California to Tennessee and Georgia. Darryl Henley allegedly played

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Speaker 1: an integral role US Attorney Elliott declared Daryl was staring

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Speaker 1: down a potential life sentence and fines of up to

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Speaker 1: eight million dollars if convicted on counts of conspiracy and

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Speaker 1: intent to distribute cocaine. As his high stakes trial commenced

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Speaker 1: at the US District Court in Santa Anna, California, it

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Speaker 1: initially drew outsized media attention. Famed defense attorney Roger Cossack,

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Speaker 1: who would just one year later become the legal analyst

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Speaker 1: for CNN and go on to host the award winning

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Speaker 1: legal show Burden of Proof, took center stage as Darrell's council,

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Speaker 1: presenting a narrative to the jury of entrapment and deceit

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Speaker 1: gambits aimed at exonerating his client. In his opening statement,

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Speaker 1: attorney Cossack artful portrayed Daryl as a victim of a

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Speaker 1: calculated frame up orchestrated by former RAMS cheerleader Tracy and

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Speaker 1: Donahope and her parents. Now, this is a classic defense

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Speaker 1: tactic to attack the cooperating witness, and sometimes it actually works,

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Speaker 1: but not often. Federal prosecutors have a nearly ninety nine

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Speaker 1: percent conviction rate, making losses extremely rare. Still, the stats

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Speaker 1: didn't stop Attorney Cossack from trying. There is a conspiracy

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Speaker 1: in this case, a nasty, nasty one, Attorney Cossack told

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Speaker 1: the jurys emphatically. He suggested that the conspiracy was hatched

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Speaker 1: within the Donahoe household by Tracy's parents, specifically to ensnare

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Speaker 1: Darryl Henley and shield their daughter from severe legal consequences.

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Speaker 1: According to Attorney Cossack, Tracy Donahoe, who had pleaded guilty

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Speaker 1: to conspiracy to transport cocaine in nineteen ninety three, was

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Speaker 1: an unreliable witness whose testimony was motivated by her desire

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Speaker 1: to avoid prison. But the prosecution painted a starkly different

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Speaker 1: picture of Daryl Henley. Assistant US Attorney Deirdrezi Elliott described

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Speaker 1: Henley as the mastermind behind the cocaine trafficking operation, a

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Speaker 1: legend that he exploited his status as an NFL star

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Speaker 1: to lure Tracy Donahoe into criminal activities. The prosecutor's theory

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Speaker 1: was that Darrell had seduced young and impressionable Tracy with gifts, money,

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Speaker 1: and trips, convincing her to transport suitcases filled with what

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Speaker 1: he claimed was real estate money, but which in fact

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Speaker 1: contained cocaine. The case against Daryl was further supported by

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Speaker 1: a variety of traditional evidence, including bank records, car rental receipts,

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Speaker 1: and other documents that prosecutors argued linked him to the

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Speaker 1: drug trafficking ring. These people left paper trails all over

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Speaker 1: the place, Elliott asserted, indicating that the financial transaction and

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Speaker 1: logistical arrangements would definitively tie Darryl Henley to illicit activities.

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Speaker 1: Defense attorney Cossack countered the prosecution's damning claims by insisting

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Speaker 1: that Darrell's connections to the co defendants, all of whom

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Speaker 1: had prior criminal records, were innocent and that his client

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Speaker 1: had never knowingly engaged in any drug conspiracy. He further

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Speaker 1: argued that Darrell's signature was forged on certain receipts, casting

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Speaker 1: doubt on the authenticity of the evidence presented by the prosecution. Naturally,

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Speaker 1: Attorney Cossack also highlighted Darryl Henley's well known background as

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Speaker 1: a model citizen and a dedicated athlete, suggesting that the

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Speaker 1: charges against him were out of character and fabricated by

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Speaker 1: those seeking to exploit his celebrity status. And let's face it,

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Speaker 1: with Darrell's family background of high achievement and ingrained ethics.

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Speaker 1: Attorney Cossack's tactics could have worked, especially since a drug

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Speaker 1: conspirac seems so wildly out of character for Daryl and

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Speaker 1: so unnecessary giving his high earnings from the NFL. Why,

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Speaker 1: the defense veteran argued, would a successful young NFL cornerback

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Speaker 1: need money from narcotics trafficking? It was a reasonable question

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Speaker 1: to ask, and it opened the door for defense attorney

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Speaker 1: Cossack to attempt to remind the jury of Darryl Henley's

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Speaker 1: many achievements instellar track record prior to the drug trafficking allegations.

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Speaker 1: Darryl Henley is a young man who, but for this,

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Speaker 1: has the world by the tail, Attorney Cossack concluded, suggesting

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Speaker 1: that his client had everything to lose and nothing to

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Speaker 1: gain from involving himself in illegal activities. As Darryl Henley's

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Speaker 1: trial was heating up in Orange County, it was overshadowed

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Speaker 1: by another sports scandal that gripped the nation, the oj

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Speaker 1: Simpson murder trial. On March twenty eighth, nineteen ninety five,

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Speaker 1: the very same day that Cat o'kalin stepped down from

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Speaker 1: the witness stand in downtown Los Angeles, the less publicized

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Speaker 1: federal drug trial involving Daryl Henley was reaching its critical stages,

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Speaker 1: Yet despite its serious implications, Darrell's trial struggled to capture

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Speaker 1: nearly as much public attention as OJ Simpson's courtroom drama,

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Speaker 1: which was unfolding just twenty miles away in Judge Lance

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Speaker 1: Edo's courtroom. Losing the media spectacle that had swarmed Daryl

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Speaker 1: Henley's legal proceedings prior to the OJ Simpson trial was

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Speaker 1: ironically unfortunate because issues arose within the jury of Daryl

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Speaker 1: Henley's trial that threatened the integrity of the judicial process,

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Speaker 1: and there weren't impartial journalists reporting on these issues sufficiently

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Speaker 1: due to their collective focus on OJ Simpson's fate. One

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Speaker 1: juror and the Darrell Henley case exhibited clear racial bias

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Speaker 1: by referring to the defendants using racial slurs, the same

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Speaker 1: juror voice the prejudiced expectation of the trial's outcome, suggesting

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Speaker 1: that the defendants were quote gonna hang unquote. This blatant

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Speaker 1: bias alone raised alarming questions about the fairness of Darrell's

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Speaker 1: trial and severely compromise the impartiality required of jurors. After all,

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Speaker 1: if a juror exhibits or advocates a racially biased attitude,

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Speaker 1: they can't possibly be fair to a defendant like Daryl Henley,

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Speaker 1: who was African American. Racial bias is a massive constitutional issue,

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Speaker 1: and in and of itself can be grounds for a

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Speaker 1: defendant to receive a whole new trial. Further complicating the

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Speaker 1: proceedings integrity, a second juror admitted to using methamphetamine throughout

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Speaker 1: the duration of Daryl Henley's trial. This substance abuse could

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Speaker 1: have significantly impaired this juror's ability to process information and

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Speaker 1: make judicious decisions based on the evidence presented, not to

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Speaker 1: mention that this thisch juror likely lied in jury selection,

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Speaker 1: since all prospective jurors must have been asked about their

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Speaker 1: drug usage before being picked for a drug trafficking trial.

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Speaker 1: As if all of this wasn't bad enough, a third

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Speaker 1: juror not only discussed the case with other jurors outside

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Speaker 1: the courtroom, an act which is strictly prohibited to preserve

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Speaker 1: the integrity of the trial process, but also engaged in

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Speaker 1: a direct attempt to tamper with the trial's outcome. This

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Speaker 1: juror approached Daryl Henley's residence unsolicited and proposed a bribe

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Speaker 1: if he helped deliver a not guilty verdict. The discussion

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Speaker 1: about this bribe extended to a detailed negotiation over payment,

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Speaker 1: which was to be between twenty five thousand and fifty

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars. The juror requested to speak directly to Daryl

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Speaker 1: and subsequently made a phone call to arrange the details

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Speaker 1: of the bribe, initially agreeing to accept the money before

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Speaker 1: ultimately deciding against participating in the scheme. Darryl Henley was

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Speaker 1: apparently willing to pay the bribe money and willingly engaged

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Speaker 1: in these discussions with the juror. Wow These incidents of

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Speaker 1: misconduct underscored a fundamental breach of the principles that underpin

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Speaker 1: our justice system, particularly their requirement for an impartial jury.

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Speaker 1: But despite the serious concerns raised by the behavior of

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Speaker 1: three out of twelve jurors that's twenty five percent of

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Speaker 1: the jury, the trial proceeded to its conclusion. Now, to

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Speaker 1: be fair to the court, most of these issues were

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Speaker 1: uncovered after the trial had long ended, and once the

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Speaker 1: depth of the issues came to light, it did prompt

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Speaker 1: a response from higher courts. In two thousand and one,

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Speaker 1: after extensive FBI investigation and court testimony, the Ninth Circuit

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Speaker 1: Court of Appeals strongly admonished the trial judge Gary Taylor,

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Speaker 1: emphasizing that the presence of bias from even a sink

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Speaker 1: ingle juror violates the sixth Amendment, which is fundamental to

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Speaker 1: ensuring a fair trial. But none of this covered up

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Speaker 1: information helped Daryl Henley. On March twenty eighth, nineteen ninety five,

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Speaker 1: when the jury delivered a guilty verdict, several jurors reportedly

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Speaker 1: wept as they exited the courtroom, reflecting the emotional weight

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Speaker 1: of their decision and possibly their guilt in not coming

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Speaker 1: forward about any misconduct to which they've been witnessed. I

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Speaker 1: feel bad, juror Sean O'Reilly, of forty one year old

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Speaker 1: truck driver, told the La Times, I don't like to

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Speaker 1: see anyone go to jail. But he dealt in misery.

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Speaker 1: Cocaine ruins a lot of lives. Michael McKnight, who spent

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Speaker 1: eight years researching Daryl Henley's rise and fall for his

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Speaker 1: book Intercepted, noted that many jurors found it difficult to

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Speaker 1: accept that Daryl Henley would be sentenced to at least

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Speaker 1: the mandatory minimum of ten years in federal prison, and

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Speaker 1: they had a dilemma establishing his motive too. After all,

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Speaker 1: how could they rationalize Darrell's participation in the drug trafficking

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Speaker 1: when there was no reasonable motive for him to have participated.

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Speaker 1: Why would someone so successful get involved in something like this?

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Speaker 1: Set a juror named Dave who declined to reveal his

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Speaker 1: last name. That was a number one reason people at

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Speaker 1: a hard time agreeing on a guilty verdict. The god

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Speaker 1: was making up with a six hundred thousand dollars a year.

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Speaker 1: It did seem way out of character for Daryl Henley,

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Speaker 1: but the jury's incredulity was not enough to sway their

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Speaker 1: final verdict in light of the evidence presented, and Judge

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Speaker 1: Gary Taylor certainly did not let sentimentality cloud his sentencing.

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Speaker 1: He hammered Daryl Henley, sentencing him to twenty years in prison.

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Speaker 1: In the tumultuous aftermath of Daryl Henley's conviction, his friends

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Speaker 1: and family provided unwavering support. I'm speechless, said La Rams

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Speaker 1: defensive team captain Anthony Newman when he learned about the

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Speaker 1: guilty verdict. When I walked in the door and found out,

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Speaker 1: it was like my heart had broken in half. I

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Speaker 1: don't stand up for anybody dealing in drugs or anything

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Speaker 1: like that, but Daryl is like a brother to me,

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Speaker 1: and I don't believe he had anything to do with

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Speaker 1: drug trafficking. And that's what I will believe until the

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Speaker 1: day I die. I've been around the guy for seven years.

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Speaker 1: I don't care if they convicted him or not. There's

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Speaker 1: no way he did this. Those are some powerful words

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Speaker 1: from her friend and teammate who knew Daryl well. Tom Henley,

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Speaker 1: Darrell's father, also didn't pull any punches and expressing his

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Speaker 1: disbelief publicly, Darrell had everything. There is just no reason

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Speaker 1: for him to traffic drugs. Tom asserted, encapsulating the family

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Speaker 1: shock and confusion over Darrell's alleged role as a drug lord.

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Speaker 1: Dorothy Henley, Daryl's mother, also grappled with the verdict, her

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Speaker 1: faith deeply shaken. Carrying a three page letter from Daryl

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Speaker 1: in her purse like a talisman, she remembered the moment

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Speaker 1: the verdict was delivered. When the verdict came down, I

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Speaker 1: was upset at God. I felt like God had failed me.

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00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,960
Speaker 1: Daryl's friends and family may have thought that they'd reached

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Speaker 1: rock bottom with his conviction, but unbelievably, things got worse.

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Speaker 1: As Darrell awaited the outcome of his appeal for a

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Speaker 1: new trial to jurymas conduct, he became embroiled in a

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Speaker 1: shocking murder for higher plot from behind bars. How in

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Speaker 1: the world could such a thing happen? While the plot

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Speaker 1: unfolded with Darryl Henley using a mobile phone that had

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Speaker 1: been smuggled to him by Rodney Anderson, a guard at

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Speaker 1: the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. Darrel paid Rodney

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Speaker 1: three thousand dollars a month for the phone and told

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Speaker 1: the guard that he needed it to maintain contact with

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00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,919
Speaker 1: his infant daughter, Gia and her mother, Alisa, whom he

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00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:09,080
Speaker 1: reportedly married while serving time. And while this may well

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00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,520
Speaker 1: have been initially true, Daryl's phone linked to the outside

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00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:17,880
Speaker 1: world soon spiraled in a more sinister direction. After being

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00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,280
Speaker 1: given a phone number by a cellmate to call an

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00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,480
Speaker 1: individual Daryl believed to be Joey Gambino, an older mafioso.

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Speaker 1: The fallen Cornerback found himself snared in yet another legal

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00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,280
Speaker 1: mess because although Darrell thought he was speaking to Joey

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Speaker 1: Gambino on the phone, he was in fact talking to

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00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:40,720
Speaker 1: Mike Bansmur, an undercovered Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA agent,

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Speaker 1: and Mike Bansmur was recording all of his phone conversations

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Speaker 1: with Daryl Henley. According to Darryl Henley's biographer Michael McKnight,

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Speaker 1: over the phone, this mafioso offered Henley a stake and

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00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,680
Speaker 1: a lucrative heroin deal. Henley, who was appealing as conviction

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00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,000
Speaker 1: based on the jury's misconduct and the prosecut cutian's zealous

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00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,040
Speaker 1: drug war tactics, but had run out of money following

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00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,359
Speaker 1: a long and cost the trial, considered the mafioso's offer,

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00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,760
Speaker 1: then accepted it. Now, Darryl should have known something was

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00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:16,080
Speaker 1: amiss when, after he told Joey Gambino that he didn't

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00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:20,000
Speaker 1: have any upfront cash for the drug deal, Gambino offered

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00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,399
Speaker 1: to murder the cheerleader Tracy Donaho and the presiding judge

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Speaker 1: Gary Taylor, and to take his fee for those hits

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Speaker 1: out in Daryl's imminent drug earnings. No need for any

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00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:37,160
Speaker 1: front money, Gambino said, but instead enraged at the injustices

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Speaker 1: Daryl felt had been committed at trial and humiliated by

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Speaker 1: the shame he had heaped upon his family. Darrell agreed

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00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,840
Speaker 1: to this deal during a cell phone conversation that, like

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Speaker 1: all the other ones, was recorded by Joey Gambino, which

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00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,639
Speaker 1: wasn't a mafioso at all. With this undercovered DEA agent

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Speaker 1: with a voice like Don Corleone's. The convict on Daryl

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Speaker 1: Henley's cell block who had put the fake mobster in

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00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,320
Speaker 1: touch with Daryl was an informant who was released from

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Speaker 1: prison the day Darryl Henley was charged with murder, solicitation

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Speaker 1: and heroin trafficking. Now, what had been orchestrated by the

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00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:22,840
Speaker 1: DEA is very arguably entrapment, but nonetheless undercovered DEA agent

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Speaker 1: Mike Bansbur had captured Darrel's willingness to participate in a

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Speaker 1: drug deal and in the orchestrated assassinations of both Judge

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Speaker 1: Gary Taylor, who had presided over his drug trial, and

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Speaker 1: Tracy Donaho, whose testimony had been pivotal in his conviction.

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Speaker 1: For such a naturally intelligent guy, Darryl Henley sure made

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Speaker 1: some shockingly foolish decisions. I behaved quote like an idiot,

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Speaker 1: Daryl would admit later, I did it purely for the money.

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Speaker 1: I had a baby daughter, my family was broke. I

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00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 1: wanted to fight the verdict. Darryl Henley never denied what

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Speaker 1: had transpired. He came clean immediately, saying, yeah, I was

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00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 1: part of the conspiracy to commit murder. But when it

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00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,600
Speaker 1: was brought up to me on the phone in jail,

335
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,879
Speaker 1: I said, how ridiculous. But an hour later I'm entertaining

336
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,480
Speaker 1: the idea, and then I'm on the phone listening to

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00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,120
Speaker 1: how it can actually be done. The whole process started

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00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 1: on a Thursday night and ended the next Wednesday, and

339
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:27,160
Speaker 1: shaped the rest of my life. Driven by a mix

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00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 1: of desperation and perceived sense of injustice over his sentencing,

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00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,360
Speaker 1: Darryl Henley had undeniably agreed to the plan proposed by

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Speaker 1: DEA agent Mike Badsbur under the guise of mafioso Joey Gambino.

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Speaker 1: He'd been clearly recorded discussing paying one hundred thousand dollars

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Speaker 1: for each murder, seeking to eliminate those he blamed for

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Speaker 1: his legal predicament. Shockingly, Darryll's brother, Eric Henley and another associate,

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00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:02,480
Speaker 1: Jimmy Washington, were also drawn into the wild scheme. Now

347
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,880
Speaker 1: Darryl Henley faced additional charges of participating in a drug

348
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Speaker 1: conspiracy to raise funds for planned assassinations. His sentence was

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00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,720
Speaker 1: extended by an additional twenty one years for soliciting murder.

350
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Speaker 1: What a catastrophic trip from NFL star to twice convicted felon.

351
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 1: Darryl Henley's reality was now forty one years in prison

352
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Speaker 1: without parole. Time off for good behavior was still possible,

353
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Speaker 1: but it would never exceed a maximum of fifteen percent

354
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 1: of his sentence time. This defendant should be locked down

355
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:41,439
Speaker 1: in the maximum security Marian Facility, US District Judge James

356
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,600
Speaker 1: Iiman said, because it is obvious that he is even

357
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Speaker 1: more dangerous in custody than out of custody. At the

358
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Speaker 1: time of Daryl's sentencing, Marion was known as the toughest

359
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Speaker 1: prison in the federal system, where inmates were locked down

360
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 1: up to twenty three hours per day. Meanwhile, Darrell's brother,

361
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Speaker 1: Eric Henley, was sentenced to time at the Federal Penitentiary

362
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,679
Speaker 1: in Big Springs, Texas, for his participation in negotiating the

363
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,520
Speaker 1: heroin deal, which was part of the scheme to secure

364
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,320
Speaker 1: financing for the hits On. Judge Gary Taylor and Tracy Donahoe.

365
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Speaker 1: He would not have been in jail if it wasn't

366
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Speaker 1: for me. Darryl Henley lamented of his brother's predicament. It

367
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: just takes one second to try and pull yourself out

368
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,919
Speaker 1: of a spin, and you can find yourself in so

369
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:31,000
Speaker 1: much crap just one second. Tom and Dorothy Henley's resilience

370
00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:32,879
Speaker 1: was put to the test as they were dealt with

371
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Speaker 1: the gut punch of having two of their beloved sons

372
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Speaker 1: behind bars. Life is just devastating. Tom told the La Times.

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Speaker 1: Seen your son in those jail uniforms just makes you sick.

374
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Speaker 1: The public embarrassment also paying the Henleys who had sacrificed

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Speaker 1: so much to ensure that their boys would be upright,

376
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Speaker 1: high achieving citizens. How can I go to work, Tom

377
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:58,199
Speaker 1: asked reporter T. J. Simers. People looked up to me.

378
00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 1: I was a supervisor, and everybody knew Tom Henley was

379
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,159
Speaker 1: somebody you could go to for counseling or help. I

380
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:08,960
Speaker 1: was that father figure for them, and now I have

381
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,960
Speaker 1: to go back to work, to my community, to my

382
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,639
Speaker 1: church with everyone hearing about all this stuff. I was

383
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 1: a deacon in my church for twenty some odd years,

384
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,800
Speaker 1: and I had to resign because the scripture says, if

385
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,639
Speaker 1: you cannot run your household, how can you be an

386
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:31,720
Speaker 1: example for someone else. On August eleventh, twenty fifteen, Sports

387
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:35,080
Speaker 1: Illustrated ran an article titled why is Darryl Henley still

388
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 1: in prison? By twenty fifteen, Daryl had served twenty years

389
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 1: of his forty one year sentence and had been relocated

390
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:47,200
Speaker 1: to the low security Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi.

391
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,400
Speaker 1: He had earned the transfer there by keeping his head

392
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:52,960
Speaker 1: down during the years he spent at two of the

393
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:58,119
Speaker 1: worst federal prisons in the country, USP Marion in Illinois

394
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 1: and ADYX Florence in Colorado, and by using the education

395
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,160
Speaker 1: he gained in parochial schools and at UCLA to help

396
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 1: inmates earn their GEDs. Darrell's co conspirators in the initial

397
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 1: drug trafficking ring, Rafael Bustamante, William McGowan, and Gary West,

398
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,879
Speaker 1: had all been released from prison ten years earlier, but

399
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,800
Speaker 1: Daryl was still facing at least another sixteen years behind

400
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,359
Speaker 1: bars for his participation in a drug conspiracy to raise

401
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:32,119
Speaker 1: funds for planned assassinations. In the Sports Illustrated article, penned

402
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,199
Speaker 1: by Michael McKnight, a compelling case was made for Darrell's release.

403
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:41,159
Speaker 1: The case for reconsidering Daryl Henley is not an outraged

404
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,120
Speaker 1: declaration of his innocence, the article explained. It merely asks

405
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,480
Speaker 1: whether the twenty years he has served for his crime

406
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,120
Speaker 1: so far, when all of the circumstances are weighed, has

407
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 1: been punishment enough. It is a case for rethinking the

408
00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:59,880
Speaker 1: complex and serpentine facts within Daryl Henley's downfall, including his

409
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:04,120
Speaker 1: in defensible crimes and his hubris, the trait that by

410
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 1: all accounts led to his doubtfall in which by all accounts,

411
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,840
Speaker 1: including the Bureau of Prisons, has faded over the last

412
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: twenty years into a quiet peace that lingers on him

413
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,080
Speaker 1: between visits from his elderly parents Tom and Dorothy, or

414
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:22,879
Speaker 1: his only daughter, Jea, who is now in college. And

415
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 1: whether you agree with the position that Darryl Henley has

416
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 1: earned due consideration for earlier release or not. The Sports

417
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:34,639
Speaker 1: Illustrated articles certainly re emphasized important questions about our justice system.

418
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,920
Speaker 1: After all, just five years after Daryl Henley's initial conviction,

419
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,240
Speaker 1: the Ninth Circuit highlighted the racial bias exhibited by jurors

420
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,520
Speaker 1: during his trial. This is in fact the revelation that

421
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 1: prompted a reconsideration of the cases of Daryl Henley's co defendants,

422
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,880
Speaker 1: Rafael Bustamante, William McGowan, and Gary West, leading to their

423
00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: early release due to the compromised integrity of the jury. However,

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00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,320
Speaker 1: Daryl remained incarcerated due to the plea deal he had

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00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:08,120
Speaker 1: accepted in the drugs for Murder scheme orchestrated by undercovered

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00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,960
Speaker 1: DEA agents posing A mobsters. Just imagine the mental anguish

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00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 1: of Daryl Henley and his family as they realized he

428
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,160
Speaker 1: too could have been released but for this horrible, desperate decision.

429
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 1: The harsh reality of his lengthy prison sentence and the

430
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,960
Speaker 1: mistakes that led him to incarceration have weighed heavily on

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00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,160
Speaker 1: Daryl Henley over the years. It's hard to feel sorry

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00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 1: for anyone accused of wanting to kill someone, And how

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00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,719
Speaker 1: do you feel sorry? Daryl reflected, I don't want anyone

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00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 1: to feel that way about me, but I need to

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00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 1: salvage the life that I have left. My daughter asks Daddy,

436
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 1: when are you coming home? When she leaves here? It

437
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,600
Speaker 1: breaks my heart. I've gotten mad at God. Why did

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00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,400
Speaker 1: you let me have a kid? I have a family

439
00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: and they depend on me, and so there has to

440
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,920
Speaker 1: be something progressive and positive about life. There's too much

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00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:08,040
Speaker 1: at stake. Despite the severity of Darryl Henley's crimes, the

442
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,440
Speaker 1: question of proportionality in sentencing has lingered, prompting calls for

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00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 1: clemency over the years, akin to those granted by President

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00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 1: Obama in July twenty fifteen to other nonviolent drug offenders.

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00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:24,040
Speaker 1: But clemency has never been granted to Darryl Henley, who

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00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,480
Speaker 1: must be looking forward to his eligibility for release, now

447
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 1: set for April twenty twenty six, after having spent more

448
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 1: than half his life behind bars. Darryl Henley's story is

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00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,640
Speaker 1: a complex blend. In any way you slice it, there's

450
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: more than one dirty player in the mix. Blah, can't

451
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 1: you taste the undertones of iniquity. Darryl Henley's case, even

452
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 1: as his time in jail comes ever closer to completion,

453
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:57,200
Speaker 1: demands another look, particularly at the entrapment like tactics employed

454
00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,440
Speaker 1: by the DEA to secure twenty one additional years of

455
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 1: his life. This behavior by the DEA raises significant questions

456
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:09,320
Speaker 1: about the ethics of that institution's operations. In fact, a

457
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,960
Speaker 1: slew of similar controversies led to the resignation of the

458
00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 1: Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Michelle Leonhardt on April twenty first,

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00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:23,200
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. In the end, Darryl Henley's saga serves as

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00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,680
Speaker 1: a profound reflection on justice, punishment, and the capacity for

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00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,840
Speaker 1: personal growth even in the darkest of times. Daryl is

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00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:34,360
Speaker 1: now a man who will likely be released at age

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00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: sixty one, and who, despite the overwhelming odds and severe

464
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 1: consequences of his actions, continues to seek peace and purpose,

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00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,920
Speaker 1: clinging to the possibility of a future where he can

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00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 1: reconcile his past with a meaningful presence in his daughter

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00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 1: Jia's life, and advocate for prison reform from the outside.

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00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,400
Speaker 1: I'm your host and Barista extraordinaire, Jay Harris, bringing you

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00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,760
Speaker 1: the scandalous sports story Is it Matter? Join me next

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00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:15,960
Speaker 1: week for another juicy episode of Playing Dirty Sports Scandals.

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00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 1: Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is a production of Dan Patrick Productions,

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00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,200
Speaker 1: Never Ever Productions and Workhouse Media from executive producers Dan Patrick,

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00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,320
Speaker 1: Paul Anderson, Nick Panela, Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Clary, Hosted

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00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:39,600
Speaker 1: by Jay Harris, Written and produced by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks,

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00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:51,440
Speaker 1: Maya Glickman and Jennifer Clarem