1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: For a woman who spent over two decades in prison, 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Belinda Goff is full of life and humor. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,879 Speaker 2: I do laugh. I have to say I never stopped laughing. 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 2: It just became less frequent, but it was still there. 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: But one day the laughter was totally gone, and she 6 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: considered ending her life. But then Belinda thought about her kids. 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 3: So you feel, looking back, you're glad you made the decision. 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: To live and fight. 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I bet your kids are too. 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 2: They see them might be all right. 11 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: Belinda knows her situation is no laughing matter, particularly what 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: her conviction did to her three. 13 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 2: Kidsful incarceration impacts the children of those wrongfully convicted. It 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 2: is I mean, it's monstrous that their entire world was shattered, 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 2: and nobody in authority took consideration for that whatsoever. I mean, 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 2: the truly innocent babies are being scarred. 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: Belinda's son Mark says growing up with his mother in 18 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: prison indeed scarred him. 19 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 4: I had to grow up really fast, and so I 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 4: was cooking and cleaning and taking care of things by ten. 21 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: But he wouldn't let those circumstances define him. 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 4: The system didn't decide what I was going to do 23 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 4: with my future. The system had no bearing on what 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 4: I decided I wanted to be, how hard I could work, 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 4: what I could put in. 26 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: So Mark joined the Marines and says boot camp was 27 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: the first time he felt like he understood what his 28 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: mom was going through in prison. 29 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 4: Opened my eyes a little bit to what maybe she 30 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 4: was experiencing a little bit, and so there was connection there. 31 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: Mark remembers talking on the phone with his mom all 32 00:01:59,240 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: the time. 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 4: I prayed with her on the phone so many times. 34 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 4: Our letters meant a lot. 35 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 2: But Belinda says, there's nothing that can take the place 36 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: of being impresent with them. Nobody give me my children, Maggie, 37 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:24,839 Speaker 2: I don't mean my girl and children. Nobody can bring 38 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 2: my six year old boy back to me. But the 39 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 2: goal is this stops happening to people. I am Belinda Goff, 40 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 2: and I was wrong to be incarcerated for twenty three 41 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 2: almost to the day calendar years for Rome. I did not. 42 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: Commit from LoVa for good. This is wrongful conviction with 43 00:02:47,560 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: Maggie Freeling today. Belinda Goff. Belinda Goff was born in 44 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: August twenty seventh, nineteen sixty one, in Streeter, Illinois, about 45 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: two hours away from Chicago, and mom and I. 46 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 2: Had dad use and Lyle and I had three siblings. 47 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 2: So there were a total of four of us, one 48 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 2: boy and three girls, and we lived in the Midwest. 49 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: Belinda was the middle child, and she says, out of 50 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: all of her sisters, she's proud to be the tallest. 51 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 2: I'm the tall one of the girls, so and I'm 52 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: like maybe five four. I just thinking of myself as 53 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 2: the average kind of girl, you know. I mean as 54 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 2: far as my looks and how I am, I I'm 55 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 2: like medium average everything. 56 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: Belinda says, like her size, her life was also modest. 57 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 2: We didn't have a lot of money. Originally my mother 58 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: was in nursing, but I think after four children she 59 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: had to stay home and be mom. My dad was 60 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 2: in a militourney. He was in the army, and when 61 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 2: he got out of the army, he took up the career. 62 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 2: Where As a meat cutter. 63 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: To be clear, she says, a meat cutter is not 64 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: a butcher. 65 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 2: There is a very big difference. 66 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: A butcher deals with the whole animal, while a meat 67 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: cutter works with the pieces for customers. 68 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 3: I did not know that difference. 69 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 2: It is, it is, it is a difference. 70 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,359 Speaker 1: Belinda's parents were also spiritual people, and they brought the 71 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: family to church. 72 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 2: It was a little small Baptist church there or close 73 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 2: just to whatever, a few blocks from where a house was, 74 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 2: and you know, we did the regular Sunday service, and 75 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 2: you know, I was very involved with the church. 76 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: And then in the summers, Belinda got to leave Northern Illinois. 77 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 2: I was also raised in the cotton fields of Mississippi. 78 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: When school was released for the summer break, we went 79 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 2: to see Grandma in Mississippi. 80 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: Belinda's mom was born and raised in Mississippi, and her 81 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: family still lived there. 82 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 2: Some of my fondest memories are during the time that 83 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 2: we stayed there. We had water from a water pump. 84 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 2: You wanted water, you went outside and you pumped. Well, 85 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 2: my great grandfather, my grandmother's father, uh was was still alive. 86 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 2: He liked to pick on us, you know. He just 87 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 2: would do things copy with a rubber band or you know, 88 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 2: little things like that, and it would be so irritating 89 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 2: at that But I look back at them and I think, 90 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 2: how fun that was, How fun that was to just 91 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 2: live and be with family, and not a lot of 92 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 2: people get to know their great grandfather, you know, or grandmother. 93 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: Life was good for kid Belinda golf. But as she 94 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: got older. 95 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 2: You know, like most teenage young girls, there's there's a 96 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 2: lot of confusion. I think there's rebellion, There's there's a 97 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 2: part of you that is just growing because you're you're 98 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 2: you're stepping into young adulthood. And so teenage Belinda, young 99 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 2: teenage Belinda was very home oriented, but at the same 100 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 2: time trying to explore her young womanhood. 101 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 1: So Blinda was going out and meeting other teens. 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 2: I met a lot of friends that are still my 103 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 2: friends to this day. 104 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: And at sixteen she met a boy. 105 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 2: I met my daughter's father, the first love, if you would, 106 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 2: you know, And that's how that began. 107 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: They weren't dating for long and then I think. 108 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 2: My mom knew instantanancy almost and I still don't know 109 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 2: how she did, because she kept asking me if I 110 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 2: was pregnant and I kept saying no, But she wound 111 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 2: up taking me, forcing me to go to a doctor 112 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 2: and you know, doing examining her pregnancy test, and that's 113 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 2: how she factually found out, you know, that I was pregnant. 114 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 3: Was she was your family supportive of you. 115 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 2: You have to under understand the history with this as 116 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 2: my mother, and that's a scenario she was born into, 117 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 2: so she had to She was born out of wedlock 118 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 2: with my grandmother. So for her, it was much more 119 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 2: than just her daughter. Getting pregnant was like gay day, 120 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 2: the repeat of a nightmare that she remembered as a nightmare. 121 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 2: What the instant knee jerk response by both families was 122 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 2: to just keep us away from each other. 123 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: So Belinda and the boy were split up and he 124 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: was to have nothing to do with the baby. Belinda 125 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: was on her own. But over time, she says, her 126 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: family came around to her being pregnant. 127 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 2: You know, reality is what it is, and we're going 128 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 2: to have this baby, meaning we as a family, the 129 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 2: family unit, my dad, my siblings. You know, my siblings 130 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 2: were very supportive. Had I not had their support and 131 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 2: during that time, I'm not sure how that would have gone. 132 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: In August of nineteen seventy eight, Belinda gave birth to 133 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: a baby girl she named Bridget. 134 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 2: I was sixteen, a week from a week away from 135 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 2: being seventeen years old when she was born. Literally, it's 136 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 2: our birthdays are one week apart seven days. To me, 137 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 2: she is just truly a gift from God. But I 138 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 2: feel that way about all my children, just in different ways. 139 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 2: I have three children, and every one of those three children, 140 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 2: oh one hundred percent in my heart. And I know 141 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: the math doesn't hand what it's effect. 142 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: But before she had her other kids to share her 143 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: heart with, nearly a decade later, it was just Belinda 144 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: and Bridget. 145 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 2: Well, you know, the reality is is a kid having 146 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 2: a kid, a child having a child. Sixteen is not grown, 147 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 2: seventeen is not grown. And I don't know if you 148 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 2: can relect, most of us can reflect back at that 149 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: age where we think we're grown, but we're not. 150 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: Blinda struggled for a bit. She had to drop out 151 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: of school, and she took multiple jobs in factories and 152 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: retail to support herself and Bridget. Then a few years later, 153 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: Belinda was working at a convenience store when a man 154 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: came in and caught her attention. 155 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 2: Just one day he came in to get a cup 156 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: of coffee, and I felt he was a very and 157 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 2: some good looking man. He was a very German Man. 158 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 2: He could just talk to anybody, I think, and we 159 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:09,959 Speaker 2: just had a way of being able to wait to 160 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 2: people and connect with people individually. 161 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: His name was Steven goff Head. 162 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 2: One of the best viewers of anybody yet still to 163 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 2: meet in my life, and those cups of coffee just 164 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 2: kind of extended. 165 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: Belinda says she was happy around Steven. 166 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 2: He'd like to laugh, and we did that. We could 167 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 2: laugh at ourselves. He was he had a really good humor. 168 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 2: But he was also a man of God and he 169 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 2: loved the Lord and a big part of what he 170 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 2: did and focused on, what was the passion in his 171 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 2: life was Christian music. He could sing, he could play, 172 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 2: and he could write, and he was just very gifted musically. 173 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: Belinda was smitten. Do I have correct that y'all were 174 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: only together for three months before you got married, as. 175 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 2: You can't remember them the time frame, but it was 176 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 2: very short. It was very short. I think both of 177 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 2: our families were free shocked. 178 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: Belinda and Steven got married on June twenty second, nineteen 179 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: eighty six. 180 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 2: We got married. Then we had two sons. So in 181 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 2: Togalo I had three children. 182 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: Mark was born in nineteen eighty seven and Stephen Lee 183 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: came in nineteen ninety one. 184 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 4: We had fun in the home. 185 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: This is Mark again. 186 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 4: My dad was a goofball. He loved to laugh and 187 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 4: make games out of nothing. 188 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: Mark remembers a really bad thunderstorm one day. 189 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 4: There was one that was shake in the apartment, the 190 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 4: windows rattling. Both me and my brother were you know, 191 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 4: we were scared. 192 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: So Steven started a farting contest, and he. 193 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 4: Had a unique skill of basically being able to do 194 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 4: that on command. So we went from being scared of 195 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 4: a thunderstorm to busting out in laughter. 196 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: Stephen and Belinda have been described as Yin and yang. 197 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 4: I think her humor's a different kind of goofy, but 198 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 4: she's I think like your typical mom. She wants everything 199 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 4: in order and making sure everything is going how it should. 200 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 4: You know, both of them worked really hard, so the 201 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 4: time we got was little, so I think we just 202 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 4: made the most of that time. 203 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: Mark remembers that time fondly. 204 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 4: We would go, you know, rent movies back when they 205 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 4: had VHS tapes, you know, and we'd go and get 206 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 4: like four or five movies for the weekend, and it 207 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 4: wasn't uncommon for us to just get a pizza and 208 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 4: hang out, watch a movie and just enjoy the time 209 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,200 Speaker 4: at home. It was a simple life, but a good life. 210 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: Mark says his parents were also people of faith and 211 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: tried to live those values. 212 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 4: It was a love and acceptance of just grace and 213 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 4: understanding that we're broken human beings and we're all in 214 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 4: the same you know, we're all in the same broken 215 00:11:59,160 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 4: world together. 216 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 3: Do you think your parents enjoyed each other's company and 217 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 3: enjoyed being together? 218 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 4: Oh, they absolutely did. I mean, you know, no marriage 219 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 4: is perfect, but I never I never witnessed any real 220 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 4: fighting or arguing. I can't look at my childhood and 221 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 4: say that anything was a red flag or alarming. 222 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,359 Speaker 1: But Mark is right, despite his and Belinda's happy memories, 223 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: no marriage is perfect, and those imperfections would end up 224 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: playing a devastating role in Belinda's fate. In nineteen ninety four, 225 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: the Goths were living in Green Forest, Arkansas, a town 226 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,319 Speaker 1: of about three thousand people. The family had moved there 227 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: a few years earlier because of Stephen. 228 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,719 Speaker 2: We came to Arkansas because that's what he wanted to do, 229 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 2: because he had he felt he had some connections down 230 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 2: here well in the Brandson area, and at the time 231 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 2: he had a band, a Christian band. 232 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 4: His dream was, you know, being a musician, and he 233 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 4: chased that as hard as he could. 234 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 2: Legal was to hopefully break into maybe the brandsoon area 235 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 2: or whatever. The music area never. 236 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 4: Really came to fruition, but you know, of course I 237 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 4: viewed him as the musical hero. Anyway. 238 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: Steven's band was made up of a bunch of friends 239 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: and it was called Friends. And although the name wasn't unique. 240 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 4: They had a unique show. They had a guy who 241 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 4: kind of had was like almost like a clown. Basically 242 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 4: they put on these little skits in between things, but 243 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 4: vocally and how he performed honestly remind me of Elvis 244 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 4: a lot, I think, and Elvis was his like that 245 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 4: was his hero. 246 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,439 Speaker 3: Do you remember listening to a lot of. 247 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 4: Elvish I do. Elvis was around for sure, and I'm 248 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 4: sure I got I mean, I loved Elvis too, but 249 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:16,839 Speaker 4: I'm sure that absolutely was by Osmosis. 250 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. 251 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: Belinda worked at a Tyson Chicken plant at this time, 252 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: though she had to take leave for a bit to 253 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: recover from a hysterectomy having her uterus removed. Belinda says 254 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: it was a painful recovery. The incision went from hip 255 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: to hip like a big smiley face on her abdomen. 256 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: I've never had a c section. I've never had my 257 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: abdomen ripped open. I mean, were you able to could 258 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: you physically lift your arms over your head? 259 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 2: No, there was no when how you progress is just 260 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 2: being able to stand up on your legs, but you 261 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 2: cannot stand up straight because you know, so the the process, 262 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 2: in the initial process of probably at least a couple 263 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 2: of weeks, is just trying to stand up straight. That's 264 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 2: not kind of walking, or that's putting it bet on 265 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 2: the floor your week, I guess is you know how 266 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 2: else do you say it? Like what you take for granted, 267 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 2: like going in here to the kids room and grabbing 268 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: a launder basket of dirty laundry just to run over 269 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 2: the washingroom, you know whatever, you know, those simple things. 270 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 2: I could not do those simple things because it required 271 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 2: everything to be healed, that you know what. 272 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: On the evening of Saturday, June eleventh, Belinda was having 273 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: dinner with her husband and youngest son. It was supposed 274 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: to be an anniversary dinner at first, until Belinda and 275 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: Stephen realized she'd been off by almost ten days. 276 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 2: I had the wrong day for our anniversary. And then 277 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 2: he was very amused by the fact that I was not, 278 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 2: that he was not the one that messed up the 279 00:15:55,200 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 2: anniversary that I did. So we were just having a 280 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 2: nice dinner at home and nothing per se out of 281 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 2: the ordinary, and he got a phone call and and 282 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 2: that's where everything begins that nobody knows what he is 283 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 2: or was. 284 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: After the phone call, Stephen left. 285 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 2: I do not know what he was going to do. 286 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 2: I know what he told me. He told me he 287 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 2: was going to go on to get some smoke, some cigarettes, 288 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 2: which I felt was a ruse. 289 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: Did he normally not really tell you the truth of 290 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: where he was going? Like, why did you think cigarettes was? 291 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 2: I thought it was off because I knew he had some, 292 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 2: But yeah, I don't know what to have. There was 293 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 2: nothing else I can elaborate on that. I don't know 294 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 2: who was on the phone. I don't know what their 295 00:16:53,560 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 2: conversation was, so I can't. It's a hard one for me. 296 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 2: I had honored it for a very long time, decades. 297 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 2: I've hondered that, and there's something to come to a point. 298 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 2: You have to stop, you have to let go because 299 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 2: you will drive yourself insane. 300 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: After Stephen left, Belinda got her youngest son ready for bed, 301 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: Bridgette was away, and Mark was staying at a friend's 302 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: house for the second night in a row. 303 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 4: I wanted to stay another night and asked could I 304 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 4: do that? And they had. You know, my mom told 305 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 4: me that the we're going to have steak dinner. You know, 306 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 4: are you sure you're going to be missing out? We 307 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 4: were always into steak. The steak was a very popular meal, 308 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 4: and so I elected to miss out on steak dinner 309 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 4: and stay with my friend that night. And yeah, of 310 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,679 Speaker 4: course the story played out as it did. I of 311 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 4: course had no idea that was the last time I 312 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 4: was going to see him. 313 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: Belinda says she put her youngest son in bed and 314 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: then fell asleep on the couch. 315 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 2: The next thing I remember was I woke up and 316 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 2: went to bed. 317 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: On her way to the bedroom, she noticed Steven still 318 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: wasn't home. Then she got into bed and fell asleep 319 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: again until her alarm went off. 320 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:25,159 Speaker 2: I hait snoos my first thing with the Hits news. 321 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 1: Sometime around four point thirty am, her alarm went off again, 322 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: and Belinda realized Stephen still wasn't in bed, so she 323 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: got up, thinking maybe he'd passed out in the living room. 324 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,360 Speaker 2: I was just thinking I was going to go out 325 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 2: and find him on the couch to tell him to 326 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 2: get up, and I found him in our doorway, not 327 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 2: on the couch. 328 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,360 Speaker 1: She found Stephen by the front door, bludgeoned and bloody. 329 00:18:55,240 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 2: My first reaction with a lot of hysteria, screaming and 330 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 2: running for the phone. 331 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: She called first responders. 332 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:19,640 Speaker 2: I was, I was, I was so freaked, so out 333 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 2: of control. This is not something that I would normally be, 334 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 2: but I mean leaning out of control of my emotions. 335 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 2: I was crying and scared and screaming, and my son's 336 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 2: in here and I'm trying to, you know. And there 337 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 2: was no rhyme or reason. There was just panic. It 338 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 2: was just panic, and that's all I could say. I 339 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 2: was shocked. I was total I was a. 340 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: Shock, and that state of shock would almost immediately be 341 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: used against her. Here's Jane Puture, senior staff attorney at 342 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: the Innocence Project. 343 00:19:54,440 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 5: The response from investigators coming to the scene and seeing 344 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 5: her and seeing her state of shock, and the fact 345 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,439 Speaker 5: that she was in a really stunned position, as you know, 346 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 5: one I think understandably would be. They're just sort of 347 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 5: were assumptions and arrest to judgment that it had to 348 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 5: be her, that she somehow had to be involved. 349 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: Jane says, the police described her behavior as suspicious. 350 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,640 Speaker 5: And you know, that initial taint, that sort of initial 351 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 5: focus kind of clouded everything out from there on out. 352 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 3: When did you realize you were a suspect? 353 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 2: By that afternoon was pretty clear that I was a suspect, 354 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 2: because they were, you know, I mean it went on 355 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 2: for hours and hours hours, you know, I went down 356 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 2: to the police station, questioning and all those things, and 357 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 2: it just, you know, it became really clear, you know, 358 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 2: because they were just relentless, relentless, and I just confess, 359 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 2: you confess, And they weren't looking were facts and then 360 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 2: building a case. They were trying to find anything they 361 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 2: could mold around and create a scenario to fit what 362 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 2: they had decided was the case. 363 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,199 Speaker 1: Police were also quick to focus on another sign they 364 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: thought pointed to Belinda. 365 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:20,880 Speaker 5: Because her husband's body was leaned up against the front door. 366 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 5: It would have been quote unquote impossible for a person 367 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,200 Speaker 5: to have killed him, left his body inside and gotten 368 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,199 Speaker 5: out because of how his body was positioned. 369 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: They didn't think someone could have gotten out of the 370 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: apartment because Stephen's body was allegedly blocking the door from opening, 371 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,919 Speaker 1: so the killer had to still be inside and the 372 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: only people inside were Belinda and her three year old son. 373 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: Belinda was released after questioning a police station that day, 374 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: and Mark remembers when she picked him up from his sleepover. 375 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 4: She came to pick me up early, and it was 376 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,120 Speaker 4: with a friend who was driving. It wasn't our car, 377 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 4: and I got in the back seat and my mom 378 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,439 Speaker 4: was bawling in the front seat, and I knew something 379 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 4: was wrong. 380 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: They rode in the car in total silence. 381 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 4: I think she had to collect herself, as I can't 382 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,439 Speaker 4: even imagine as a parent, trying to explain something like 383 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 4: that to your kids. 384 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 1: Mark says. When they got to Belinda's friend's house, Belinda 385 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: let him know. 386 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 4: She said Dad's in heaven, and I, yeah, processing that 387 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 4: was impossible. She let me know that he had been 388 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 4: hurt by other people. He was killed by other people. 389 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 4: I had remembered that. You know, my dad was in 390 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 4: a martial arts and in a karate I remember thinking like, well, 391 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 4: that can't be because he would he would totally be 392 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 4: able to whoop whoever came at him. You know, like 393 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 4: there was the thoughts as a kid I was having. 394 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 4: I remember them, and uh it, I can't even I 395 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 4: can't tell you how I processed it. I can't tell 396 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 4: you what it really did. I think it was just 397 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 4: a nuclear explosion that I've probably been catching up with since. 398 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: Over the next year, police built their case against Belinda. 399 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 3: So what was that year like? 400 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 2: It was a very difficult bit or sweet year, because 401 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 2: I believe that justice would be prevail if you would 402 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 2: so I really was so formor and lost with what 403 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,880 Speaker 2: I was dealing with because I was so nice. 404 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,440 Speaker 4: The feeling with the friends and family at the time 405 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 4: was that, Okay, well this makes no sense, but there 406 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:12,120 Speaker 4: was this trust in evidence and truth and the system. 407 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,880 Speaker 4: And I think that most people in general have this 408 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 4: bias that says that the system is going to do 409 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 4: the job that it is supposed to do. 410 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: But in May nineteen ninety five, nearly a year after 411 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: her husband was found dead in their home, Blinda Goff 412 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: was arrested and charged with first degree murder. She went 413 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: to trial the following year, and right before it was 414 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,639 Speaker 1: to begin, she was offered a plea. 415 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 5: A ten year sentence that would have gotten her out, 416 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 5: you know, in fewer than ten years, and she turned 417 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,679 Speaker 5: it down because she is innocent and she's always known 418 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,440 Speaker 5: that she did not do this and could not admit 419 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 5: that she did anything she didn't do. 420 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: In his opening, Deputy prosecutor Kenneth Elser told jurors, quote, 421 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:05,640 Speaker 1: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Remember Mark 422 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: said no marriage is perfect, and Belinda's was no exception. 423 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: That's because Stephen had been unfaithful. She'd even kicked him 424 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: out at one point, and Elser told the jury the 425 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: cheating drove Belinda to murder. The prosecution found out that 426 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: Stephen had affairs with at least two women in the past. 427 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: They surmised maybe it was happening again, So when Stephen 428 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 1: came home that night, they said, Belinda attacked him in 429 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: a jealous rage. A friend of Belinda's named Anita Belfoy 430 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: testified for the prosecution that about one year before Stephen 431 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: was killed, Belinda said, next time Stephen was unfaithful, she 432 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: would quote bash his head in. 433 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,919 Speaker 5: You know, women scorned and what a woman might do 434 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 5: if she suspected something of her husband when there was 435 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 5: it's just no record, no evidence to support that. Often 436 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:11,160 Speaker 5: in women's trials, particularly for violent crimes, stereotypes and tropes 437 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,160 Speaker 5: about what women are supposed to do and how they're 438 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 5: supposed to act play an outsize role in the state's 439 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 5: evidence presents it against them. I mean, sometimes it's the 440 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 5: whole case, and frankly, in this case, it was most 441 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 5: of the state's case against. 442 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:32,160 Speaker 1: Them, Jane says. The police also relied heavily on how 443 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: Belinda acted when they arrived at her home. 444 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 5: According to investigators who were first at the scene, Belinda 445 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 5: was sitting stunt, she was in shock, and that fact 446 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,159 Speaker 5: that instead of just throwing herself over his body and 447 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 5: sobbing hysterically, that that wasn't the immediate response became a 448 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 5: huge part of the state's argument, you know, to show culpability, 449 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 5: that you know that she had to have done something 450 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 5: wrong because she wasn't in hysterics, and that is an 451 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 5: extremely stereotypical, biasing view of how women are supposed to act. 452 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,800 Speaker 5: It's really troubling to see that that would become so 453 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 5: much of the case, a lot of grasping its straws 454 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 5: and an attempt to sort of pull a case together 455 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 5: where there wasn't one. 456 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: There was no physical evidence linking Belinda to the crime, 457 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 1: no murder weapon, no bloody clothes. 458 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 5: The majority of the state's case came from the lead investigator. 459 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 5: He sort of developed this version of events that, as 460 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 5: we talked about before, you know, the person who killed 461 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 5: mister Golf had to have been inside the home. 462 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 1: But Belinda's defense attorneys, Charles Davis and Stephen Vell said 463 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: that just wasn't true. 464 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 5: Ems you know, responders, particularly one of the responders who 465 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 5: who testified at the trial, you know, about coming to 466 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,920 Speaker 5: the house, opening the front door, gaining act says he 467 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 5: was able to get in and out with no problem 468 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 5: and he was no disrespect him. But he was a 469 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 5: very large man, and there was actually testimony about that 470 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 5: a trial about how he was very tall and heavy 471 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,879 Speaker 5: set and had no issue getting in and out of 472 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 5: the home. So the idea that this could not have 473 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 5: happened because it would have had to have been committed 474 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 5: by someone inside the home is just ludicrous. 475 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: The defense team also presented the jury with the fact 476 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: that Belinda was recovering from a hysterectomy. 477 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:31,360 Speaker 5: She was still very limited in her mobility. She wasn't 478 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 5: supposed to lift any kind of heavy weights. She was 479 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,280 Speaker 5: moving slowly at the time, very much in recovery. 480 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: In fact, the defense said she slept through the bludgeoning. 481 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 5: She was still on painkillers and sleep aids to help 482 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 5: her deal with the pain after that surgery. 483 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 1: Belinda testified to this. At trial. She was able to 484 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: tell the jury about the hysterectomy and Stephen's strange phone 485 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: call and him abruptly leaving their dinner, but it wasn't 486 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: enough to convince the jury that Belinda hadn't killed Stephen, 487 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: and so on August fifth, nineteen ninety six, Belinda was 488 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: convicted of first degree murder and later sentenced to life 489 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: without parole. When you heard that, what was your reaction? 490 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:26,239 Speaker 2: I was broken differently, It just did. It broke me. 491 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 2: Everything I believed in about our country was shattered and 492 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 2: laying my food in pieces. Everything I believed spiritually was 493 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 2: shattered and laying in my foot. And I was just 494 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 2: a very broken person at that point. You know, I 495 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 2: hear my children wailing crying behind me, not just crying. 496 00:29:53,880 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 2: They were repeat There's a difference. There are certain big, 497 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 2: certain songs she will never forget and it will never 498 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 2: forget those. 499 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: By the time she was convicted, Belinda's oldest child, Bridget, 500 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:29,720 Speaker 1: was off to college. 501 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 2: I only daughters growing up the university. 502 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: Yelow and Mark and his brother were raised by their Grandma, 503 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 1: Belinda's mom. 504 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 4: There was such a loss of identity. You know, I 505 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 4: had all of your identity as a kid is kind 506 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 4: of wrapped up into your mom and your dad and 507 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,920 Speaker 4: your family, and that's where you developed that sense of it. 508 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 4: And I just felt like all of that was stripped 509 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 4: and I was just lost. 510 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: But Belinda says she did the best she could. 511 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 2: The phone company made a ton of money off of 512 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 2: my family during those years because I was on the 513 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 2: phone just about every day raising my children. On the phone. 514 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,959 Speaker 2: They knew if I called, like it might be six 515 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 2: thirty in the morning or something, and they's supposed to 516 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 2: be a good ready for school, and they knew it 517 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 2: was me saying good morning. 518 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 4: She always wanted to know what was going on. She 519 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 4: wanted to be involved. She had questions, didn't matter whether 520 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 4: it was me dating or sports or school. And she 521 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 4: also wasn't afraid to reach through the phone and say, 522 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 4: you know, get your crap together, you know your grades 523 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 4: aren't what they should be, or you know. So she 524 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 4: was a mom, She was absolutely a mom. 525 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: But it wasn't the same as being together, and that 526 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: distance took a toll on Belinda. 527 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,640 Speaker 2: There was a point early on in my wrong phonecarceration 528 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 2: that I had to make a conscious choice as far 529 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 2: as going to live and die, and that was because 530 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 2: of the pain of the laws from their children. And 531 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 2: I really did have to make a conscious choice of 532 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 2: over I at that time, I remember very well. And 533 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 2: then I just decided that outside of being your mom, 534 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 2: when they grew up someday, well, kind of human beings 535 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,600 Speaker 2: were they going to see. Are they going to see 536 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 2: one that gives up textailed accepts it. Are they going 537 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 2: to see somebody who fought with everything with them or 538 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 2: they get back to them and to stand up in 539 00:32:53,040 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 2: their face of adversity against justice. So that's what I 540 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 2: chose to do. I chose to live and show them 541 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 2: with their global was beata. 542 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: She wrote every organization she could find that might be 543 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 1: able to help her. 544 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 2: I just wrote letter after letter after letter to them, 545 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 2: trying to get them to help me. 546 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,840 Speaker 1: She would include pictures of her children and would say. 547 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 2: This is why I need to go home, this is 548 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 2: what was taken from me. 549 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 1: And then in twenty thirteen, the Innocence Project took her case. 550 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,040 Speaker 5: When we started to work on the case, you know, 551 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 5: we kept peeling back the onion layers thinking, are we 552 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 5: going to discover more? Was there anything else connecting her? 553 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:46,440 Speaker 5: And there just wasn't. 554 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 1: Off the bat. Jane says they were surprised at how 555 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: little evidence there was connecting Belinda to Stephen's death. 556 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 5: But the way this investigation was handled set things off 557 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 5: in a complete misdirection from the very beginning meant that 558 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 5: there wasn't real investigation into who actually committed this crime? 559 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:12,160 Speaker 1: So who did? When they started investigating, the team learned 560 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:16,800 Speaker 1: that Anita Belfoy's statement had been fabricated. Then the Innocence 561 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 1: Project discovered people who were never called to testify, like 562 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:24,720 Speaker 1: neighbors who had heard knocking on the door and commotion 563 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 1: at the Goth's apartment around two am. Another neighbor said 564 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: she'd seen two strange men with a baseball bat in 565 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:35,280 Speaker 1: front of the Goths the day before Stephen was killed. 566 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: They appeared to be casing the apartment. So Jane and 567 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 1: her team started thinking. 568 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,120 Speaker 5: Who actually would have had a motive to hurt this person? 569 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,320 Speaker 5: Who would have had the means and the physical ability 570 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:48,480 Speaker 5: to hurt this person. 571 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,640 Speaker 1: Jane says that there actually were people who had motive. 572 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: Stephen was allegedly involved in some criminal activity it appeared. 573 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,239 Speaker 5: That mister Gough owed someone a lot of money an 574 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 5: arson for higher scheme that had gone awry. 575 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,359 Speaker 1: There were some things that really should have been looked into. 576 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 5: There were. 577 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,959 Speaker 1: At a post conviction hearing, Belinda's brother testified that he'd 578 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 1: gotten calls from Stephen. 579 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,359 Speaker 5: Saying that he was in trouble and that he owed 580 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 5: people money, and that he had been receiving death threats, 581 00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:19,760 Speaker 5: and that of course lines up with the neighbors seeing 582 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:24,120 Speaker 5: people casing their home and threatening him from outside. 583 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:29,040 Speaker 1: Belinda's brother also testified that he'd received an anonymous phone 584 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: call threatening him, saying that if he said anything, he 585 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: would find himself quote laying right next to Steve. Jane 586 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,399 Speaker 1: thinks this is the direction the police should have gone 587 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:43,319 Speaker 1: in their investigation. 588 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 5: Instead of doing real investigation and following leads into who 589 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:51,760 Speaker 5: committed this crime, the state focused on this poor woman 590 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 5: based on stereotypes and tropes. I mean, the fact that 591 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 5: that is the version that the state went with is 592 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:07,319 Speaker 5: frankly offensive. It's very disturbing to read the record and 593 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,720 Speaker 5: to look at what was used, because it really begs 594 00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:13,400 Speaker 5: the question over and over again, why didn't anyone stop 595 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 5: and say, does this really make sense. Is this really 596 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,480 Speaker 5: doing justice? Is this really the person that we should 597 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 5: be focusing on. 598 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:25,600 Speaker 2: A jury thinks that they are sitting down in a 599 00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 2: trial and they're going to hear one of the facts 600 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 2: of the case, and that is so not true. Juries 601 00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 2: are forced to hear a case in a vacuum and 602 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 2: they don't even realize it. 603 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,359 Speaker 1: Belinda and Jane believe that if these neighbors had testified 604 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 1: at her trial, the outcome may have been different. 605 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:52,359 Speaker 5: Like there was clear evidence of the motive and third 606 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,400 Speaker 5: party culpability that wasn't presented. 607 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: Jane and her team also did several rounds of DNA testing. 608 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 5: Unfortunately, a lot of the evidence that was, you know, 609 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:04,280 Speaker 5: that we had most hoped to test, had been lost 610 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,800 Speaker 5: or destroyed by the state before we ever got involved. 611 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: Including fingernail clippings and a hair. 612 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:13,360 Speaker 5: But everything that we did do testing on from the home, 613 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:18,280 Speaker 5: we did not find her DNA on anything that potentially 614 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 5: could have been touched by the assailant that existed. 615 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:24,880 Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, Jane and the Innocence Project were finally 616 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:29,840 Speaker 1: able to bring all this evidence or lack thereof, to court. 617 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:34,439 Speaker 5: The fact that Belinda had no blood on her had 618 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 5: no injuries, had no evidence on her body that she 619 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 5: had struggled with anybody, that she had been in any 620 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 5: kind of altercation. You know. Putting aside the fact that 621 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 5: she also again was recovering from this massive surgery and 622 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 5: not able to cause anybody harm, was all strong evidence 623 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 5: that she wasn't involved in this, and. 624 00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:55,720 Speaker 1: A judge agreed. According to court records, Carol County Circuit 625 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:59,480 Speaker 1: Judge Scott Jackson said that if Belinda were tried today, 626 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 1: she would be acquitted. 627 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 5: By the time we had this hearing in twenty nineteen, 628 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:06,560 Speaker 5: she had served twenty two years and seven months of 629 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 5: her life sentence. You know, in some instances, in some 630 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 5: states and even in Arkansas, the remedy could have been 631 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:17,480 Speaker 5: to vacate her conviction, to overturn her conviction, and then 632 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:19,879 Speaker 5: let the state decide if they're going to retry her 633 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,319 Speaker 5: or not. I mean, the standard of what should have 634 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 5: been put forward to have her conviction be overturned was 635 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 5: met here, but the remedy was resentencing. 636 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:35,600 Speaker 1: Judge Scott Jackson re sentenced Belinda to time served, and 637 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:39,640 Speaker 1: Belinda Goff walked out of prison in June twenty nineteen. 638 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:49,040 Speaker 4: I absolutely remember the first embrace as a free woman. 639 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 3: Man, what did that feel like? 640 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 2: You know? 641 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,840 Speaker 4: I just I really just felt. I just felt joy 642 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:03,319 Speaker 4: for her. I felt like the kid that wanted her 643 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:11,560 Speaker 4: free as mom wasn't there anymore, but as a man, 644 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:18,440 Speaker 4: I wanted it for her, and I just it was 645 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,399 Speaker 4: a sense of relief, a sense of excitement, a sense 646 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,640 Speaker 4: of hope the war is over type of thing. 647 00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:30,080 Speaker 1: Today, Belinda is still catching up on over two decades 648 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:33,720 Speaker 1: in prison, like figuring out the first gift she received 649 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 1: when she got out. 650 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:37,120 Speaker 2: So I opened the box and I had no idea 651 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 2: of what I was holding except I recognized the word phone, 652 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:45,800 Speaker 2: which was iPhone. It was an iPhone, and I, wow, 653 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,960 Speaker 2: what do I do with this? Wow? What less than 654 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,640 Speaker 2: my first ding iPhone? 655 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:53,880 Speaker 1: And just as much as she and Mark talked on 656 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:57,360 Speaker 1: the payphone in prison, she talks on her iPhone today. 657 00:39:57,840 --> 00:39:59,960 Speaker 1: But their calls are no longer timed. 658 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:04,440 Speaker 4: And we're so used to that automatic clickoff. There's no 659 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,239 Speaker 4: saying goodbyes, there's no it's just you wait until the 660 00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:11,799 Speaker 4: phone call's done. And I remember talking to her for 661 00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:16,280 Speaker 4: probably two hours on the phone, going is this not cool? 662 00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:19,879 Speaker 4: Is this not awesome? That here we are and the 663 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:21,800 Speaker 4: only way this phone call ends as if we agree, 664 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 4: it ends something that simple. 665 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:29,840 Speaker 1: Belinda also relishes in the joy of her grandkids. 666 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:31,919 Speaker 2: I FaceTime my grandchildren. You know. I have a little 667 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:35,279 Speaker 2: two year old Granda. She's figured out how to call 668 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:37,480 Speaker 2: Grandma and I just willdre it. 669 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,720 Speaker 1: Mark got married while Belinda was in prison and saved 670 00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,800 Speaker 1: her a seat. He had a son, now ten years old, 671 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:51,200 Speaker 1: and he reflects on all the momentous occasions he's missed 672 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:52,080 Speaker 1: with his parents. 673 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:54,880 Speaker 4: And I think that's one of the tough things is 674 00:40:54,920 --> 00:41:01,680 Speaker 4: that with the wrongful incarceration, it's almost as if there 675 00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:05,160 Speaker 4: really isn't a time where you get to just mourn 676 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 4: the family member that was killed. The victim in it 677 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,080 Speaker 4: was my dad. But with the judicial system and the 678 00:41:13,239 --> 00:41:15,879 Speaker 4: messed up process and the messed up people in it, 679 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:21,120 Speaker 4: you kind of lose that ability to just mourn the 680 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:27,480 Speaker 4: actual the loss of my dad. And that hasn't escaped me. 681 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:32,000 Speaker 4: You know, I've my entire life. I've had all these 682 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,560 Speaker 4: moments and things that I hope he's looking down. I 683 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,480 Speaker 4: hope he can see. 684 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:41,960 Speaker 1: Although Belinda is out, she's not exonerated. She accepted time served, 685 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 1: so she still lives with a felony conviction looming over 686 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:46,680 Speaker 1: her head. 687 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:53,759 Speaker 3: Do you feel like you never fully got justice since 688 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,799 Speaker 3: you're still a convicted felon I. 689 00:41:56,719 --> 00:41:57,480 Speaker 2: Do feel it way. 690 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:02,000 Speaker 5: This is a woman who should have been exonerated. You know, 691 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:06,440 Speaker 5: we have like the evidence clearly was sufficient to overturn 692 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:12,919 Speaker 5: her conviction, and it is it is really unfair that 693 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:18,080 Speaker 5: she continues to walk around with these convictions when she 694 00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:21,400 Speaker 5: never should have been even questioned as a suspect in 695 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:23,959 Speaker 5: the first place, let alone convicted and meant to live 696 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:25,359 Speaker 5: with this hanging over her head. 697 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:27,360 Speaker 1: But Belinda keeps moving forward. 698 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,200 Speaker 2: Sometimes, you know, when you get to be my age, 699 00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:32,560 Speaker 2: can learn to look back at different phases of who 700 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 2: you are or who you were and need at previous 701 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:38,480 Speaker 2: times in your life. Sometimes you might remember a little 702 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:42,560 Speaker 2: five year ago you were, or you might remember the teenager, 703 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,880 Speaker 2: and I remember myself at that time, and I feel 704 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:51,799 Speaker 2: sadness for that movement. But at the same time, I'm 705 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:52,359 Speaker 2: proud of her. 706 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:57,520 Speaker 1: Belinda is proud she made that choice to live and 707 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:01,360 Speaker 1: fight to get out. Now you can finally enjoy the 708 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:03,560 Speaker 1: simple life like she always wanted. 709 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,799 Speaker 2: It's nice to just go to work and work and 710 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:12,880 Speaker 2: come home and just and make a little money, So 711 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:16,359 Speaker 2: I'd just like to appreciate. I like to reappreciate the being, 712 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,000 Speaker 2: the creation. You know, for so long I couldn't see 713 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,600 Speaker 2: a star, so, you know, or hear the birds sing, 714 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:28,719 Speaker 2: or feel a breeze on my face or my hair. 715 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 2: So it gives me an extra gratitude to be able 716 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:35,440 Speaker 2: to participate in that now. 717 00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:42,279 Speaker 1: Two of those grandkids, Belinda Facetimes, by the way, are 718 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:47,080 Speaker 1: Bridget's daughters. One is named Belle after Belinda, and the 719 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:51,640 Speaker 1: other is named Liberty in honor of her grandmother's struggle. 720 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:03,400 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling. 721 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,319 Speaker 1: Please support your local innocence organizations and go to the 722 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,200 Speaker 1: links in the episode description to see how you can help. 723 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:14,240 Speaker 1: This episode was written by me Maggie Freeling, with story 724 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,239 Speaker 1: editing and sound designed by senior producer Rebecca Ibarra. Our 725 00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:22,359 Speaker 1: producer is Kathleen Fink. Our researcher is Hallie Dolce. Our 726 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:26,240 Speaker 1: mixer is Josh Allen. Our executive producers are Jason Flam, 727 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:29,640 Speaker 1: Jeff Kempler, and Kevin Wordis, with additional production help by 728 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:32,879 Speaker 1: Jeff Cleiburn and Connor Hall. The music is by three 729 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:37,040 Speaker 1: time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Make sure to follow 730 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:39,960 Speaker 1: us on all social media platforms at Lava for Good 731 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:43,080 Speaker 1: and at Wrongful Conviction. You can also follow me on 732 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:47,200 Speaker 1: all platforms at Maggie Freeling. Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling 733 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 1: is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association 734 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,439 Speaker 1: with Signal Company Number one