WEBVTT - #345 Maggie Freleng with James Richardson

0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:08.440
<v Speaker 1>In June two thousand and nine, basketball star James Richardson

0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:12.039
<v Speaker 1>was back in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, visiting

0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:14.840
<v Speaker 1>friends and family. A few of his friends wanted to

0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.240
<v Speaker 1>have a night out, so they hopped around and eventually

0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.240
<v Speaker 1>wound up at a nightclub called The Other Place.

0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.160
<v Speaker 2>Bombay and drinks for pretty much everybody at the club.

0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:27.120
<v Speaker 1>We haven't fine, but at some point in the evening

0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:28.960
<v Speaker 1>a scuffle got out of hand.

0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.320
<v Speaker 2>I don't know who pushed me, but when they pushed me,

0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:34.160
<v Speaker 2>scenes like all everything you broke loose.

0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:39.360
<v Speaker 1>By closing time, the scene was pandemonium, spilling out onto

0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:43.480
<v Speaker 1>the sidewalk, shots were fired, and two local, well known

0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.320
<v Speaker 1>white men were killed. Within a few days, James found

0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:50.080
<v Speaker 1>himself under arrest for their murders.

0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.199
<v Speaker 2>When I get to a police space there, that's the

0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:54.520
<v Speaker 2>last time that I've been out.

0:00:57.200 --> 0:00:59.360
<v Speaker 1>Do you think race had anything to do with us?

0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:04.240
<v Speaker 2>Yes, as far as me getting convicted, I do. When

0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:09.400
<v Speaker 2>they felt like a black person kill two white individuals,

0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.759
<v Speaker 2>I feel like people went harder. They feel like, okay, yeah,

0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.920
<v Speaker 2>we got to show him, but I didn't do it.

0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:18.919
<v Speaker 2>So you know what I'm saying, you got the wrong person.

0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:25.080
<v Speaker 2>My name is James Richardson. I've been incarcerated for thirteen

0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.320
<v Speaker 2>and a half years.

0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:31.760
<v Speaker 1>From Love of for Good. This is wrongful conviction with

0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:55.520
<v Speaker 1>Maggie Freeling today James Richardson. James Richardson was born on

0:01:55.560 --> 0:02:00.200
<v Speaker 1>April thirtieth, nineteen seventy seven, in Greenville, North Carolina. He's

0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:01.680
<v Speaker 1>the middle child of nine kids.

0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.600
<v Speaker 2>You know, we grew up in the projects. Really didn't

0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.000
<v Speaker 2>have a lot, and so I lived in one of

0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.040
<v Speaker 2>like the oldest and roughest like projects in Greenville, North Carolina,

0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:13.880
<v Speaker 2>which is still there.

0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:18.440
<v Speaker 1>It was called Kearny Park. It opened in nineteen sixty

0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.720
<v Speaker 1>two and is notorious for its violence.

0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.639
<v Speaker 2>All night every night, you know, gunshots and so much

0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.320
<v Speaker 2>stuff going on. And as a kid, you're coming home

0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.200
<v Speaker 2>and you got to worry about that, and you had

0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.920
<v Speaker 2>to worry about You're trying to do your homework and

0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.320
<v Speaker 2>different stuff, and there's so much, you know, going on.

0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.920
<v Speaker 1>James's father wasn't really in his life growing up. He

0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.200
<v Speaker 1>was raised by his mother, Dorothy Ann Richardson, as well

0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:44.720
<v Speaker 1>as his older siblings.

0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:47.760
<v Speaker 2>Why you're not having a father figure, I kind of

0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:50.200
<v Speaker 2>lean on my brothers as well as you know, coming

0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.240
<v Speaker 2>to some of the guys as you know, there was

0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:54.840
<v Speaker 2>in the neighborhood to kind of just to help you know,

0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:56.919
<v Speaker 2>they would be there and just like, you know, give

0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.440
<v Speaker 2>me advice on different things that I didn't know that,

0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:01.600
<v Speaker 2>you know, I feel like a father should be able

0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:02.320
<v Speaker 2>to should teach you.

0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:07.079
<v Speaker 1>James's brother, Donald, taught him to play baseball. One day,

0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.200
<v Speaker 1>Donald took him to try out for a little league.

0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:11.880
<v Speaker 1>The tryouts were in a different section of town than

0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:15.120
<v Speaker 1>where they lived, and for the first time James saw

0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.560
<v Speaker 1>what life looked like outside of the projects.

0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:22.120
<v Speaker 2>Right, Wow, it's so different. Everything was over there just

0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:26.440
<v Speaker 2>like grass, green grass, and everything is like clean and

0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.920
<v Speaker 2>no trash nowhere and everything. So it was different for me,

0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.760
<v Speaker 2>and I met different people and really just became friends

0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:35.839
<v Speaker 2>with a lot of the guys.

0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.520
<v Speaker 1>And the friends James made were from all different walks

0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:39.080
<v Speaker 1>of life.

0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.320
<v Speaker 2>I guess for me that was just it was like

0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.520
<v Speaker 2>a turning point of something. I was just motivated to

0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.720
<v Speaker 2>just get out. Just because I lived, you know, when

0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.240
<v Speaker 2>I was born and I lived here in this project, right,

0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.520
<v Speaker 2>doesn't mean that I had to just be here and

0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:58.360
<v Speaker 2>settle for this. So I kind of wanted to do

0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:00.960
<v Speaker 2>something with myself, make it out of there because I

0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.600
<v Speaker 2>didn't like, you know, the conditions that I was living in.

0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:05.760
<v Speaker 2>I didn't like what I had to go through.

0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.520
<v Speaker 1>James dreamed of making it up and out, and not

0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:10.720
<v Speaker 1>just for himself.

0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:13.560
<v Speaker 2>I looked at what my mom, you know, what she

0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.599
<v Speaker 2>went through by raising nine kids and really having no help,

0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.760
<v Speaker 2>and I just wanted to, you know, be able to

0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:22.880
<v Speaker 2>help her and move her out of the projects.

0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:29.320
<v Speaker 1>James saw baseball as his ticket out until he discovered basketball.

0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:35.119
<v Speaker 2>That was my getaway from a lot of the things

0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:36.919
<v Speaker 2>that was going on around me. You know, when I

0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.760
<v Speaker 2>was on that court, nothing else mattered to me. And

0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:42.080
<v Speaker 2>I just picked the game up and I just started playing,

0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:43.280
<v Speaker 2>and I loved it.

0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.200
<v Speaker 1>At six foot seven and two hundred and fifteen pounds,

0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.480
<v Speaker 1>James was all but perfect for the court, and with

0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.159
<v Speaker 1>his light skin and green eyes, he stands out in

0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.960
<v Speaker 1>the crowd. James became a star high school basketball player

0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.600
<v Speaker 1>and went on to play in college professionally.

0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:06.320
<v Speaker 2>I end up saying being blessed to make get out

0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:08.840
<v Speaker 2>of the hood to go to college. I got a

0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:10.520
<v Speaker 2>full ride scholarship.

0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:15.279
<v Speaker 1>James attended Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. He went on

0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:18.320
<v Speaker 1>to travel the world and play for several European countries,

0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.919
<v Speaker 1>including Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Greece.

0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:26.960
<v Speaker 2>France was my first job at the first time I've

0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:29.599
<v Speaker 2>ever been out of the country. You know, I was

0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.000
<v Speaker 2>happy because you know, you get paid, you get paid

0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.800
<v Speaker 2>real good old season. I was able to go over

0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.640
<v Speaker 2>there and you know, do you know out there play

0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.320
<v Speaker 2>a game that I loved. My mom was happy. I

0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:42.880
<v Speaker 2>was able to send money back to my family to help.

0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.279
<v Speaker 1>And on his first day in France, James made a

0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:47.839
<v Speaker 1>new friend.

0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.560
<v Speaker 2>I came out with this little kids like may play

0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.960
<v Speaker 2>eight years old and he was sitting on my step

0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:59.320
<v Speaker 2>and when I come out, he said basketball, basketball right,

0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.800
<v Speaker 2>and so night, okay, tell him looking around right because

0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.960
<v Speaker 2>I didn't speak rich and so I started to get it,

0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.080
<v Speaker 2>like okay, he tried to sail you the basketball player.

0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.920
<v Speaker 1>The boy waited for James every day and followed him

0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:15.839
<v Speaker 1>everywhere to the store, to the gym. And James noticed

0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.800
<v Speaker 1>that the kid wore the same clothes every day. He

0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.039
<v Speaker 1>was from one of the poor areas of town.

0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:24.240
<v Speaker 2>So what I did was I took a liking to

0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:26.520
<v Speaker 2>him and I bought them clothes. I bought him shoes,

0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.200
<v Speaker 2>I made sure he could bring his family. He brought

0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:31.200
<v Speaker 2>his mom and them, they came to the game. I

0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:32.600
<v Speaker 2>just trying to just be there.

0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:37.840
<v Speaker 1>On That was when James knew what he wanted to

0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:38.719
<v Speaker 1>do in life.

0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:40.839
<v Speaker 2>I always wanted to get back there. I want to

0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.080
<v Speaker 2>get back to you know, the kids. I think they

0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:43.600
<v Speaker 2>deserved it.

0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.919
<v Speaker 1>So when he returned to the States, James became a

0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:54.400
<v Speaker 1>mentor for kids in his community, coaching them one on one,

0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.040
<v Speaker 1>advocating for them when they needed extra support, and helping

0:06:58.080 --> 0:06:59.960
<v Speaker 1>out at youth basketball camps.

0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.240
<v Speaker 2>I like helping. I like giving back. I think that's

0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.680
<v Speaker 2>something big with me. And I tell a lot of

0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.040
<v Speaker 2>people that money thing doesn't matter to me. I care

0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:12.520
<v Speaker 2>about people because I feel like, you know what I'm saying,

0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.520
<v Speaker 2>we put on this earth to help to help others.

0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:19.320
<v Speaker 1>In his early thirties, James moved to Atlanta and started

0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.679
<v Speaker 1>working as a party promoter. He used his celebrity status

0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.120
<v Speaker 1>to draw other players to events, attracting crowds of fans

0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.200
<v Speaker 1>and attendees. One night, he was hanging out with his

0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.400
<v Speaker 1>cousin and some friends when he met someone.

0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:33.640
<v Speaker 3>It was really casual.

0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:35.680
<v Speaker 4>We kind of just were hanging you know, we're all

0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:40.320
<v Speaker 4>hanging out one night, and that initial meeting, James and

0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.560
<v Speaker 4>I had like great conversation. It was just very organic.

0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:45.960
<v Speaker 1>This is Hibba Elawad.

0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:51.880
<v Speaker 4>The conversation just was so fluid and so natural. And

0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.720
<v Speaker 4>after that we really built a strong friendship. You know,

0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:59.120
<v Speaker 4>James and I used to talk about dreams and aspirations

0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.080
<v Speaker 4>and five to ten years plans, things that you don't

0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.000
<v Speaker 4>usually talk about, you know, with someone that you just

0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:04.000
<v Speaker 4>meet right off the bat.

0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:07.880
<v Speaker 1>Hibba wasn't looking for a relationship at the time, but

0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:10.920
<v Speaker 1>there was just something about James.

0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:13.600
<v Speaker 4>He was unlike any other man that I had met.

0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.080
<v Speaker 4>The conversations were always about how he wants to help people,

0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:19.240
<v Speaker 4>how he wants to give back, you know, how he

0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:23.840
<v Speaker 4>wants to make his mark and in this world by

0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.480
<v Speaker 4>doing for others what you know, maybe he didn't get

0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:31.360
<v Speaker 4>or didn't have growing up. You know, his love for

0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:35.200
<v Speaker 4>children is out of this world. Like every time we chatted,

0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:36.320
<v Speaker 4>I learned something new.

0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.120
<v Speaker 1>The two were developing a strong friendship, but before they

0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:58.080
<v Speaker 1>could explore their relationship further, something completely unexpected happened. Near

0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.480
<v Speaker 1>the end of June, James headed back to Greenville for

0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.720
<v Speaker 1>a visit. He was just back from overseas and didn't

0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:05.520
<v Speaker 1>have a car of his own yet, so he had

0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.040
<v Speaker 1>borrowed one, a white BMW to make the trip from Atlanta.

0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:11.360
<v Speaker 1>He spent a night in Rally on the way, and

0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.120
<v Speaker 1>a friend there asked him to give a ride to

0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.560
<v Speaker 1>a couple of guys who joined James for the ride

0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.000
<v Speaker 1>down to Greenville. When he arrived in his hometown on

0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:22.720
<v Speaker 1>June twenty ninth, James made his rounds visiting family and friends,

0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.520
<v Speaker 1>and eventually landed at the house of a childhood friend,

0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.920
<v Speaker 1>Darryl Powell. James's friends wanted to go clubbing, and they

0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:29.840
<v Speaker 1>asked him to join.

0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.040
<v Speaker 2>I had some balling shorts and like some nikes sandals

0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.520
<v Speaker 2>out with you and want to go, and so everybody

0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:38.280
<v Speaker 2>else like, oh, well let's go, let's go, let's go.

0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:41.840
<v Speaker 2>So you know, let me now want to disappoint people,

0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.840
<v Speaker 2>because that's how I am. I said, Okay, end up going.

0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.320
<v Speaker 1>The guys that drove from Rally with James ended up

0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.680
<v Speaker 1>taking the BMW, so he borrowed Dryl's Cadillac to meet

0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.240
<v Speaker 1>his brother Andre at Doctor Unk's Club. While there, the

0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Rally guys showed up and asked to take the Cadillac instead.

0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:04.760
<v Speaker 1>Of the BMA you, so James switched cars with them.

0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.040
<v Speaker 1>Around midnight, the group decided to move over to the

0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:11.040
<v Speaker 1>Other Place nightclub, which was known as Ops. James arrived

0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:12.000
<v Speaker 1>in the white BMW.

0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.840
<v Speaker 2>I'm buying everybody drinks. We haven't fine, I'm buying drinks

0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:17.200
<v Speaker 2>for pretty much everybody at the club.

0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.840
<v Speaker 1>Soon the rally guys returned with the Cadillac and gave

0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:25.000
<v Speaker 1>James the key. James, wearing basketball shorts with no pockets,

0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:27.920
<v Speaker 1>put the key in his sock and continued to party.

0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:34.000
<v Speaker 2>So at some point still bump me. I tell him, yo,

0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.080
<v Speaker 2>can you please stop bump me? Okay? So a few

0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.160
<v Speaker 2>miss lady, he bought me again, but he trunk.

0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:43.200
<v Speaker 1>The club was crowded and the bumping continued.

0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:46.360
<v Speaker 2>He still like, he bumped me stuff, and so I

0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:48.319
<v Speaker 2>tell him to stop. You know, the next time he

0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:50.120
<v Speaker 2>bumped me, like the third time, I said, listen, man,

0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:54.199
<v Speaker 2>go over there. By this time, you know, his friends

0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:56.360
<v Speaker 2>come over and taught him like that. You know, I'm

0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:58.839
<v Speaker 2>telling everybody, let it go, and it'd be bought tend

0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:00.600
<v Speaker 2>to come. So what's going on? I don't know, I said,

0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:02.360
<v Speaker 2>guy it right here. I guess he's drunk. If he

0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:04.960
<v Speaker 2>bumped me. You know, I'm just telling him go over there.

0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:09.160
<v Speaker 1>James remembers that one of the owners, Matthew Blackman, then

0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:10.760
<v Speaker 1>came over and asked them all.

0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:14.040
<v Speaker 2>To leave either you know, young lady club, don't come

0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:15.560
<v Speaker 2>back to my club no more. So I tell him,

0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.600
<v Speaker 2>I said, man, I said, I haven't started anything. I said,

0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:19.320
<v Speaker 2>but that's fine. I ain't got to come Kee Club

0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:20.080
<v Speaker 2>no more. Whatever.

0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.080
<v Speaker 1>Black men then had bouncers escort James and his friends out.

0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:27.840
<v Speaker 1>In the chaos, James left the BMW keys on the bar.

0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:30.880
<v Speaker 1>It was closing time at this point, around two am,

0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.840
<v Speaker 1>and people had started to gather on the sidewalk outside.

0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:37.240
<v Speaker 1>Suddenly James felt someone push him.

0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.120
<v Speaker 2>I don't know push me, but when they pushed me,

0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.120
<v Speaker 2>it seemed like all everything broke those.

0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.400
<v Speaker 1>A brawl ensued. In the confusion, black men got punched.

0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.120
<v Speaker 2>Somebody hit the orner. He grabbed me, and because you know,

0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.319
<v Speaker 2>I still have one that the sandals right with it,

0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:57.040
<v Speaker 2>like the sandal, Nike sandals and stuff, we falled and

0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.959
<v Speaker 2>so my head hit the cement. I'm bleeding and stuff.

0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.360
<v Speaker 2>Right So in all day after that, right they saw

0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:04.040
<v Speaker 2>it's like a fight.

0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:09.320
<v Speaker 1>People piled onto James. A bouncer later testified it was

0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.719
<v Speaker 1>kind of pandemonium.

0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.080
<v Speaker 2>Thanks, so the only thing I'm trying to is just lee.

0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.400
<v Speaker 1>James eventually broke free from the melee. A witness later

0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:21.360
<v Speaker 1>said they saw him walking away down the street by himself.

0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.319
<v Speaker 1>James remembered the Cadillac key in Issak.

0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:27.600
<v Speaker 2>So I go and I'd be the key. I get

0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.880
<v Speaker 2>in the Cadillac and I hope people call them, but

0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:30.280
<v Speaker 2>I just be.

0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:47.079
<v Speaker 1>This episode is underwritten by AIG, a leading global insurance company.

0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:51.520
<v Speaker 1>AIG is committed to corporate social responsibility and to making

0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.240
<v Speaker 1>a positive difference in the lives of its employees and

0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.280
<v Speaker 1>in the communities where they work and live. In light

0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:00.240
<v Speaker 1>of the compelling need for pro bono legal assistance, and

0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:04.720
<v Speaker 1>in recognition of AIG's commitment to criminal and social justice reform,

0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:09.080
<v Speaker 1>the AIG pro Bono Program provides free legal services and

0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:19.720
<v Speaker 1>other support to underrepresented communities and individuals. The brawl died

0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:22.720
<v Speaker 1>down and the crowd began to disperse. Black men later

0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.120
<v Speaker 1>said that as they left, some of the guys who

0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.800
<v Speaker 1>were kicked out with James that night were yelling, we

0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.400
<v Speaker 1>have something for you. We're going to come back and

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:35.800
<v Speaker 1>shoot you up. Minutes later, a WHITEBMW tore down the

0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:39.080
<v Speaker 1>street towards Op's. People were still on the sidewalk when

0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:42.400
<v Speaker 1>someone in the car fired at least six shots into

0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:46.640
<v Speaker 1>the crowd. The bullets hit two white men, twenty one

0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.840
<v Speaker 1>year old land In Blackly, a popular East Carolina University student,

0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:53.920
<v Speaker 1>in twenty nine year old Andrew Kirby, a well known

0:13:53.960 --> 0:14:04.440
<v Speaker 1>local business manager. Both men died from their injuries. Connie

0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:08.320
<v Speaker 1>Elks was assigned as the case's lead investigator. During her investigation,

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.200
<v Speaker 1>she spoke to multiple witnesses who were outside of the

0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:15.040
<v Speaker 1>club that night. People remembered that a professional basketball player

0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.120
<v Speaker 1>was among those kicked out of the club. These witnesses

0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:21.640
<v Speaker 1>also gave descriptions of the shooter. Most of the descriptions

0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:26.720
<v Speaker 1>were varied, but none of the witnesses descriptions matched James. Nevertheless,

0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:33.720
<v Speaker 1>Elks focused on him. Some witnesses were offered lineups. They

0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.200
<v Speaker 1>told police that while they recognized James as being at

0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:39.760
<v Speaker 1>the club, he was not the shooter or even one

0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:41.600
<v Speaker 1>of the guys who was in the BMW when it

0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.400
<v Speaker 1>drove by. Witnesses Nicholas Golden and Brian Richards both said

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.920
<v Speaker 1>the person was shooting from the BMW's back passenger window,

0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.360
<v Speaker 1>and they both described the shooter as a black male

0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.480
<v Speaker 1>wearing a black shirt, a black and red baseball cap,

0:14:56.680 --> 0:15:00.600
<v Speaker 1>and sunglasses. James remember was dress differently.

0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.680
<v Speaker 2>I had us some ball the shoots in them. No Nikes, sandals.

0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:09.240
<v Speaker 1>Golden and Richards were the only two witnesses who actually

0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:13.000
<v Speaker 1>saw the shooting. Richards immediately described what he witnessed to

0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.600
<v Speaker 1>a bartender and she gave them both a pen and

0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.840
<v Speaker 1>paper so they wouldn't forget the details. While they gave

0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:22.520
<v Speaker 1>witness statements that night, officers did not follow up with

0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:27.080
<v Speaker 1>them for nearly eighteen months, and unlike other witnesses, they

0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:32.400
<v Speaker 1>were never provided any lineups. Some people also reported seeing

0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:36.680
<v Speaker 1>James leave ops in a gold Cadillac parked around the corner.

0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.560
<v Speaker 1>Regardless of all this, James was immediately the main suspect.

0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:45.240
<v Speaker 1>His photo was blasted all over the media, and he

0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:58.280
<v Speaker 1>was publicly proclaimed the armed and dangerous killer. Later on

0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:01.280
<v Speaker 1>the day of the shooting, June thirtieth, James was back

0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.760
<v Speaker 1>in Rally about an hour and a half away when

0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.040
<v Speaker 1>his sister told him the police were looking for him. Confused,

0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.000
<v Speaker 1>James called his friend Sean, who worked with the Greenville

0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 1>Police Department.

0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:12.880
<v Speaker 2>And I asked Sean. I sid Sean was going on.

0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.200
<v Speaker 2>You know. He pretty much told me nothing, We just

0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.120
<v Speaker 2>want to talk to you. You know, they just wanted

0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:19.880
<v Speaker 2>they just want to talk to you whatever. So I

0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.200
<v Speaker 2>was like, okay, like, you know, that's fine. I thought

0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.400
<v Speaker 2>he was. They were talking about that, just the fight

0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.800
<v Speaker 2>about downtown. At this time. I don't know anything about

0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:31.080
<v Speaker 2>no shoe, non know nothing about none of this.

0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.240
<v Speaker 1>James didn't know anyone had been killed. He thought the

0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.720
<v Speaker 1>police just wanted to know about the fight. He told

0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:41.520
<v Speaker 1>Sean he talked to them in a couple of days

0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:43.440
<v Speaker 1>when he was back in Greenville for Fourth of July,

0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:45.160
<v Speaker 1>and they agreed to meet up.

0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.840
<v Speaker 2>Then that's how my time, rightness it. But I'll be

0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:50.960
<v Speaker 2>back and you got a couple days. Said that's fine, right,

0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:52.760
<v Speaker 2>That's why he said. So I'm like okay.

0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:56.680
<v Speaker 1>Once in Greenville, James told Sean to come to his

0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:57.920
<v Speaker 1>grandma's house to talk.

0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.240
<v Speaker 2>So when I get over there, I get out of

0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.800
<v Speaker 2>the car, it's people everywhere. Right, I'm thinking, like, okay,

0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:06.960
<v Speaker 2>you know, everybody ready for the cookout. But at the

0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.280
<v Speaker 2>same time, I see Sean's standing out as regular host

0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.320
<v Speaker 2>so as I get out and then I see the

0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:14.000
<v Speaker 2>police badge from out his neck. So then I'm just like,

0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:16.920
<v Speaker 2>I said, show what's up man? I say, you know, okay,

0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:18.840
<v Speaker 2>what do you want to talk about? He was like, nah,

0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:20.080
<v Speaker 2>we got to go down to the station.

0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:23.879
<v Speaker 1>When James went to the Greenville precinct with his friend Sean,

0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.320
<v Speaker 1>he was immediately arrested.

0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.720
<v Speaker 2>When I get to the police station, that's the last

0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:31.960
<v Speaker 2>time I was. I've been out.

0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:36.879
<v Speaker 1>A few months later, he was indicted for two counts

0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:40.720
<v Speaker 1>of first degree capital murder and was facing the death penalty.

0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:46.560
<v Speaker 2>And ever since then, I've been fighting for my nicer. Wow, man, like,

0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.439
<v Speaker 2>this can't be. I never been in trouble, so I

0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.600
<v Speaker 2>don't know. I didn't know what this spay. You know,

0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.359
<v Speaker 2>people tell the truth. I'm thinking that I go to

0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.480
<v Speaker 2>the trial, I'll be out. You know. It's my you

0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.359
<v Speaker 2>know my this isn't gonna prevail.

0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:02.280
<v Speaker 1>But that's not what happened.

0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:11.160
<v Speaker 3>It was clear to the district attorneys at the time,

0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.879
<v Speaker 3>probably the law enforcement officers at the time, that this

0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.399
<v Speaker 3>was a career making case.

0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.400
<v Speaker 1>This is Don Blagrove, the executive director of Emancipate NC,

0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:27.080
<v Speaker 1>a North Carolina social and criminal justice reform nonprofit organization.

0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:31.560
<v Speaker 1>She's also a post conviction attorney helping James's legal team.

0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.880
<v Speaker 3>And if they could convict a high profile celebrity like James,

0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:40.320
<v Speaker 3>they would be able to build whole careers off of

0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.680
<v Speaker 3>his conviction. Whether it was right or wrong. They were

0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:46.000
<v Speaker 3>going to make an example out of James Richardson for

0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:47.720
<v Speaker 3>shooting and killing two white men.

0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:53.240
<v Speaker 1>The prosecutors were District Attorney Clerk Everett and Ada Kimberly Robb.

0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.919
<v Speaker 1>The prosecutor's theory was that James was the only person

0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:01.320
<v Speaker 1>in the BMW and that while jar he leaned out

0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:05.399
<v Speaker 1>the passenger window to shoot into the crowd, ultimately killing

0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.720
<v Speaker 1>Blackly and Kirby. During a pre trial hearing, Everett and

0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.840
<v Speaker 1>rob called four bar patrons, expecting them to identify James

0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:17.680
<v Speaker 1>as the person driving and shooting from the BMW. These

0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:21.639
<v Speaker 1>witness descriptions were inconsistent. They all said the shooter was

0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.600
<v Speaker 1>a medium to dark skinned black man, but none of

0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:28.160
<v Speaker 1>their differing descriptions matched James, a light skinned, green eyed

0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:30.919
<v Speaker 1>black man. At the end of the pre trial hearing,

0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:34.280
<v Speaker 1>it was evident that the States case was hanging in

0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:35.440
<v Speaker 1>the balance.

0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:39.440
<v Speaker 5>So Detective Alex knew we've got a problem. We don't

0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:41.760
<v Speaker 5>have anyone that can put James in that car.

0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:46.080
<v Speaker 1>This is Heather Radelaide, who is James's post conviction attorney

0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:46.760
<v Speaker 1>of record.

0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:51.679
<v Speaker 5>So one week before trial, lo and behold, they discover

0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.879
<v Speaker 5>a brand new eyewitness and his name is Fidel Thorpe.

0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:59.439
<v Speaker 5>He happened to be the assistant prosecutor's daughter's soccer coach.

0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:05.360
<v Speaker 1>By the time of trial, two years after the shooting,

0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:09.040
<v Speaker 1>vy Dal, Thorpe became the state's star witness, given he

0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:12.919
<v Speaker 1>was the only one who positively identified James as the shooter,

0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.679
<v Speaker 1>even though he was never given a lineup. He testified

0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:21.920
<v Speaker 1>that he saw James's face through the passenger window. Detective

0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:25.280
<v Speaker 1>Connie Elks testified under oath that one of the witnesses,

0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:28.919
<v Speaker 1>Rachel Burke, saw a black man wearing a white T shirt,

0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.280
<v Speaker 1>go to the trunk of the BMW and take out

0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:35.240
<v Speaker 1>a gun. Detective Elks also said that Rachel identified James

0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:39.800
<v Speaker 1>as the shooter on the stand. However, Rachel's testimony undermined

0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:40.600
<v Speaker 1>all of this.

0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.920
<v Speaker 5>She pointed to the defendants, so that's not the person

0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.560
<v Speaker 5>I identified in the Lineup to this day, we don't

0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:49.920
<v Speaker 5>know who she identified in the lineup.

0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:55.360
<v Speaker 1>Then Corporal John Jenkins provided bombshell evidence, the only actual

0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:59.520
<v Speaker 1>evidence the state had against James, a surveillance video. The

0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:03.159
<v Speaker 1>video was of the white BMW racing down the street,

0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:07.080
<v Speaker 1>showing only one person in the car shooting at the crowd.

0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:10.439
<v Speaker 1>Officer Jenkins said the video was the original and that

0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:16.160
<v Speaker 1>it hadn't been altered or modified in any way. James's attorneys,

0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:19.439
<v Speaker 1>Tommy Moore and Jeffrey Cutler, did their best to refute

0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:23.159
<v Speaker 1>the state's argument, but the video left them stymied. The

0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:27.760
<v Speaker 1>court also denied the eyewitness identification expert they retained, so

0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:30.800
<v Speaker 1>all they could do was point out the inconsistencies and

0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:35.920
<v Speaker 1>the witness testimonies on their own. However, they were able

0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:39.560
<v Speaker 1>to present an alibi witness for James, Darryl Powell. He

0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:43.200
<v Speaker 1>testified that he saw James immediately after the fight that night,

0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:47.840
<v Speaker 1>when James returned the gold Cadillac to his house. The

0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:52.119
<v Speaker 1>defense also presented Nicholas Golden and Brian Richards, the only

0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:56.400
<v Speaker 1>two witnesses to describe the shooter to responding officers. They

0:21:56.440 --> 0:21:59.640
<v Speaker 1>both testified that it was not James who they saw

0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:06.320
<v Speaker 1>in the car. The jury went to deliberation on April first,

0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:10.560
<v Speaker 1>twenty eleven. Most of the jurors were convinced that James

0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:13.480
<v Speaker 1>was guilty, but as it turns out, there was one

0:22:13.880 --> 0:22:19.160
<v Speaker 1>loan holdout. Three days into deliberations, one of the black jurors,

0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:23.199
<v Speaker 1>Lamuel Anderson, sent a note to the judge, asking to

0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:24.800
<v Speaker 1>be removed from the jury.

0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:30.080
<v Speaker 3>He felt like James was centicent, but he was intimidated

0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:31.600
<v Speaker 3>inside of the jury room.

0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:35.560
<v Speaker 1>The racial tension and hostility in the jury room, Anderson said,

0:22:35.920 --> 0:22:37.440
<v Speaker 1>had become intolerable.

0:22:38.320 --> 0:22:41.400
<v Speaker 5>The judge has a duty at that point to take

0:22:41.440 --> 0:22:44.440
<v Speaker 5>that jury out of the jury room and ask him

0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:50.080
<v Speaker 5>questions about why he's requesting this. But this judge didn't

0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:55.479
<v Speaker 5>do that. Instead, he brought the entire jury out and

0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:59.159
<v Speaker 5>essentially admonished mister Anderson in front of all of his

0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:03.240
<v Speaker 5>fellow jurs. Quote, I must emphasize the fact it is

0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:06.200
<v Speaker 5>your duty to reach a verdict on all of the charges.

0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:10.560
<v Speaker 1>Judge W. Russell Duke Junior went on to say, quote,

0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:14.840
<v Speaker 1>I have already instructed you that your verdicts must be unanimous.

0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:17.440
<v Speaker 1>Each of you must agree on the verdicts.

0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:22.040
<v Speaker 3>Now, let me be clear about what Heather is describing.

0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:27.560
<v Speaker 3>What she's actually describing is the living manifestation of systemic

0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:31.159
<v Speaker 3>and institutional racism. The fact that this drawer raised the

0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:35.560
<v Speaker 3>concerns about racial intimidation happening inside of the jury deliberation

0:23:35.680 --> 0:23:40.200
<v Speaker 3>room should have given this judge a strong pause and

0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:43.600
<v Speaker 3>created strong doubt as to whether or not a fair

0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:44.879
<v Speaker 3>verdict could have been reached.

0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:49.320
<v Speaker 2>It took like three four to eight for them to

0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:51.200
<v Speaker 2>come back with a conviction on a capital case.

0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:56.720
<v Speaker 1>Their deliberation ended with a unanimous decision. Anderson later came

0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:59.200
<v Speaker 1>forward to say that he believed James to be one

0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:02.880
<v Speaker 1>hundred percent sent innocent, but the intimidation from the other

0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:07.960
<v Speaker 1>jurors had been too much. The jury declared James Richardson guilty.

0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:11.960
<v Speaker 2>And I'm just like wow, and so it's like somebody

0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:14.080
<v Speaker 2>take this face and punch you in the stomach when

0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:29.520
<v Speaker 2>you hear it guilty.

0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:34.360
<v Speaker 1>James was convicted of murder on April sixth, twenty eleven.

0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:39.000
<v Speaker 1>The prosecution chose not to seek the death penalty. Instead,

0:24:39.280 --> 0:24:45.960
<v Speaker 1>James received two sentences of life without parole. And here's

0:24:46.080 --> 0:24:49.840
<v Speaker 1>a side note. Since nineteen eighty three, pitt County, or

0:24:49.880 --> 0:24:53.520
<v Speaker 1>James was tried, has sent seven men to death row,

0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:56.920
<v Speaker 1>and all of them have been black. Pitt County has

0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:00.960
<v Speaker 1>never sought the death penalty against a white defendant accused

0:25:01.000 --> 0:25:05.639
<v Speaker 1>of killing a black man. Statistically, in North Carolina, defendants

0:25:05.680 --> 0:25:08.520
<v Speaker 1>are twice as likely to be sentenced to death if

0:25:08.560 --> 0:25:10.679
<v Speaker 1>they're accused of killing a white person.

0:25:12.200 --> 0:25:15.120
<v Speaker 2>It was hurtful and it was just I was just stunned.

0:25:15.320 --> 0:25:20.560
<v Speaker 2>I couldn't believe it. I feel like doing they felt

0:25:20.680 --> 0:25:26.480
<v Speaker 2>like a gag person kill two white individuals. I feel

0:25:26.520 --> 0:25:29.560
<v Speaker 2>like people went harder. They feel like, okay, yeah, we

0:25:29.640 --> 0:25:40.879
<v Speaker 2>got to show him.

0:25:41.280 --> 0:25:45.080
<v Speaker 1>James filed a direct appeal in July twenty twelve, mainly

0:25:45.240 --> 0:25:49.160
<v Speaker 1>arguing that the court aired in denying his eyewitness experts testimony.

0:25:49.600 --> 0:25:52.840
<v Speaker 1>The appeal was denied, but his team continued to file

0:25:52.840 --> 0:25:56.040
<v Speaker 1>petitions for relief, and in the meantime, he tried to

0:25:56.080 --> 0:25:59.760
<v Speaker 1>focus on staying positive by praying and continuing to do

0:25:59.840 --> 0:26:04.040
<v Speaker 1>what he loved the most, mentoring a lot of these kids.

0:26:04.040 --> 0:26:05.639
<v Speaker 2>Man. I don't want him to go back out there

0:26:06.480 --> 0:26:08.920
<v Speaker 2>coming in the same way they came. He I want

0:26:08.960 --> 0:26:12.080
<v Speaker 2>him to go back out there to be a positive

0:26:12.080 --> 0:26:14.800
<v Speaker 2>influence on someone else. You know what I'm saying. I'm

0:26:14.800 --> 0:26:16.639
<v Speaker 2>trying to help people. I want people to do better.

0:26:19.800 --> 0:26:22.000
<v Speaker 1>James and Hibba hadn't seen much of each other since

0:26:22.040 --> 0:26:25.440
<v Speaker 1>he'd returned to the States, but he was on her mind.

0:26:25.920 --> 0:26:29.359
<v Speaker 4>For a couple of months after the incident happened. You know,

0:26:29.400 --> 0:26:32.480
<v Speaker 4>I was constantly sitting, i'd say, like with a heavy

0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:35.480
<v Speaker 4>heart because I knew I knew, I knew in my

0:26:35.560 --> 0:26:39.480
<v Speaker 4>gut that James hadn't done this. And a couple months

0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:43.080
<v Speaker 4>later I ended up getting you know, his contact information.

0:26:43.840 --> 0:26:47.240
<v Speaker 1>What made you want to reach out to him? I

0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:47.960
<v Speaker 1>couldn't sleep.

0:26:51.920 --> 0:26:55.240
<v Speaker 4>So you know, when you have this like just gut

0:26:55.280 --> 0:26:59.399
<v Speaker 4>wrenching feeling in your stomach that something's wrong, I wanted

0:26:59.400 --> 0:26:59.919
<v Speaker 4>more answer.

0:27:00.520 --> 0:27:03.639
<v Speaker 3>It wasn't just okay, you know this is a great guy.

0:27:03.840 --> 0:27:06.879
<v Speaker 4>You've had this heavy heart, you know in your gut

0:27:06.920 --> 0:27:08.080
<v Speaker 4>that he couldn't have done this.

0:27:08.800 --> 0:27:11.800
<v Speaker 3>But I needed answers.

0:27:13.400 --> 0:27:17.560
<v Speaker 1>So Hibba started pouring over James's case, trying to understand

0:27:17.840 --> 0:27:19.440
<v Speaker 1>what had happened.

0:27:20.520 --> 0:27:24.480
<v Speaker 4>And every time I would look through another piece of

0:27:24.520 --> 0:27:27.440
<v Speaker 4>paper or another police report, I'm like, this makes absolutely

0:27:27.440 --> 0:27:30.679
<v Speaker 4>no sense, right, this makes absolutely zero sense.

0:27:33.520 --> 0:27:37.480
<v Speaker 1>Finally, after nearly five years of investigating on her own,

0:27:37.840 --> 0:27:40.960
<v Speaker 1>Hibba got some help from Heather. After looking it over,

0:27:41.240 --> 0:27:43.480
<v Speaker 1>Heather agreed to take on James's case.

0:27:45.400 --> 0:27:49.440
<v Speaker 5>Then, when I looked at James's case, I couldn't believe it.

0:27:50.440 --> 0:27:52.840
<v Speaker 5>I've been looking at capital murder cases in the state

0:27:53.200 --> 0:27:57.800
<v Speaker 5>for twenty five years, and this case is an outlier,

0:27:58.040 --> 0:27:59.440
<v Speaker 5>unlike anything I've ever seen.

0:28:00.960 --> 0:28:04.359
<v Speaker 1>Dawn also joined Heather to fight for James's innocence. She

0:28:04.400 --> 0:28:07.920
<v Speaker 1>says it was obvious detective Elks had tunnel vision focusing

0:28:07.920 --> 0:28:10.960
<v Speaker 1>on James, not only because he was a celebrity, but

0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:12.560
<v Speaker 1>also because of his race.

0:28:13.680 --> 0:28:16.960
<v Speaker 3>The undercurrent in any of these types of small towns

0:28:17.640 --> 0:28:22.359
<v Speaker 3>is that black men are scary and they have a

0:28:22.400 --> 0:28:26.360
<v Speaker 3>place that they're supposed to study in. James Richardson had

0:28:26.359 --> 0:28:29.359
<v Speaker 3>made a very successful life for himself, had not stayed

0:28:29.400 --> 0:28:31.200
<v Speaker 3>in that place that he was supposed to stay in,

0:28:31.200 --> 0:28:34.600
<v Speaker 3>and was doing much better than many of the local residents.

0:28:35.520 --> 0:28:38.920
<v Speaker 1>One of their main post conviction arguments that the trial

0:28:39.000 --> 0:28:43.800
<v Speaker 1>was fundamentally unfair focuses on Lamuel Anderson. That's the juror

0:28:43.800 --> 0:28:48.120
<v Speaker 1>who was intimidated into convicting James despite believing he was innocent.

0:28:49.280 --> 0:28:53.440
<v Speaker 3>This happened all of the time in our judicial system,

0:28:53.840 --> 0:28:57.440
<v Speaker 3>and it is at the heart of why we end

0:28:57.480 --> 0:29:03.240
<v Speaker 3>up with so many, so many convictions that are disproportionately

0:29:03.280 --> 0:29:07.959
<v Speaker 3>impacting black communities. It is because our systems are designed

0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:14.280
<v Speaker 3>to subjugate black voices and to amplify white voices, even

0:29:14.320 --> 0:29:16.440
<v Speaker 3>when those white voices are racist.

0:29:17.120 --> 0:29:20.760
<v Speaker 1>Additionally, the team secured an interview with Vital Thorpe, the

0:29:20.800 --> 0:29:27.959
<v Speaker 1>state's star witness, and he recanted. At trial, Thorpe had

0:29:28.000 --> 0:29:31.959
<v Speaker 1>testified quote, I saw his face, but when questioned by

0:29:31.960 --> 0:29:35.680
<v Speaker 1>the investigator, he admitted he did not see the shooter's face,

0:29:36.080 --> 0:29:38.680
<v Speaker 1>that he only saw an arm and a gun coming

0:29:38.720 --> 0:29:42.240
<v Speaker 1>out the back window of the car. They also argued

0:29:42.280 --> 0:29:45.360
<v Speaker 1>that by the court denying expert testimony for the defense,

0:29:45.840 --> 0:29:50.800
<v Speaker 1>they violated James's due process rights. The defense's expert would

0:29:50.800 --> 0:29:53.520
<v Speaker 1>have explained to the jury that many of the witnesses

0:29:53.560 --> 0:29:57.360
<v Speaker 1>were white, and studies have shown that cross racial identifications

0:29:57.560 --> 0:30:01.840
<v Speaker 1>are often flawed because of own race by in James's case,

0:30:02.000 --> 0:30:05.200
<v Speaker 1>white witnesses confused him with another bar patron, who was

0:30:05.240 --> 0:30:08.560
<v Speaker 1>a dark skinned black male. Black witnesses, on the other hand,

0:30:08.720 --> 0:30:14.040
<v Speaker 1>were able to describe James accurately. James's brother, Andre, also

0:30:14.080 --> 0:30:17.040
<v Speaker 1>came forward and signed an affidavit stating that during the

0:30:17.040 --> 0:30:19.600
<v Speaker 1>scuffle in the club, he was the one who took

0:30:19.640 --> 0:30:23.320
<v Speaker 1>the BMW keys off the bar. Remember James left them

0:30:23.360 --> 0:30:26.600
<v Speaker 1>there amidst the chaos. Andre, who was never called to

0:30:26.640 --> 0:30:29.560
<v Speaker 1>the witness stand during the initial trial, said he gave

0:30:29.600 --> 0:30:31.640
<v Speaker 1>the keys to one of the guys from rally, who

0:30:31.680 --> 0:30:36.000
<v Speaker 1>was known as B. And finally, it turns out the

0:30:36.080 --> 0:30:39.560
<v Speaker 1>key evidence against James, the surveillance video footage that showed

0:30:39.560 --> 0:30:43.800
<v Speaker 1>the BMW was not the original video. It was actually

0:30:43.840 --> 0:30:47.320
<v Speaker 1>a lower quality copy that had been altered, and the

0:30:47.360 --> 0:30:51.440
<v Speaker 1>prosecution did not preserve the original copy For the defense,

0:30:52.040 --> 0:30:54.600
<v Speaker 1>Heather and Dawn analyzed the video and saw that it

0:30:54.680 --> 0:30:56.080
<v Speaker 1>was badly distorted.

0:30:56.720 --> 0:31:02.000
<v Speaker 3>What they used to support that version of events were

0:31:02.640 --> 0:31:07.000
<v Speaker 3>incredibly tainted videos, videos that never should have been introduced

0:31:07.040 --> 0:31:11.080
<v Speaker 3>into trial. The defense council had no idea that they

0:31:11.160 --> 0:31:16.360
<v Speaker 3>even needed to do deep dive investigation into the validity

0:31:16.440 --> 0:31:19.160
<v Speaker 3>of that video, because it was never disclosed to them

0:31:19.200 --> 0:31:26.120
<v Speaker 3>that that video and those images were significantly deteriorated.

0:31:27.440 --> 0:31:30.800
<v Speaker 1>In other cases, District Attorney Everett had been known to

0:31:30.800 --> 0:31:35.160
<v Speaker 1>suppress exculpatory evidence, for example, that lab tests were altered

0:31:35.280 --> 0:31:38.400
<v Speaker 1>and no evidence actually linked the defendant to the crime.

0:31:43.360 --> 0:31:46.959
<v Speaker 1>On September eighth, twenty twenty one, James filed his second

0:31:47.000 --> 0:31:51.120
<v Speaker 1>motion for appropriate relief, arguing all of this and asking

0:31:51.160 --> 0:32:03.840
<v Speaker 1>the court to vacate his conviction. Today, after years of

0:32:03.880 --> 0:32:07.880
<v Speaker 1>writing and visits, James and Hibba are engaged to be married.

0:32:10.520 --> 0:32:13.200
<v Speaker 4>It's just me and James, like nothing else matters, Like

0:32:13.240 --> 0:32:15.240
<v Speaker 4>we kind of get into this zone where it's just

0:32:15.320 --> 0:32:15.800
<v Speaker 4>the two.

0:32:15.640 --> 0:32:16.600
<v Speaker 1>Of us and.

0:32:18.920 --> 0:32:21.080
<v Speaker 4>There's nothing better than being able to see him, like

0:32:21.200 --> 0:32:22.760
<v Speaker 4>laugh and smile for a little bit.

0:32:24.920 --> 0:32:27.120
<v Speaker 1>They often talk about their plans for the future.

0:32:28.480 --> 0:32:34.400
<v Speaker 4>Aside from you know, getting married, we have collectively decided that,

0:32:34.560 --> 0:32:36.720
<v Speaker 4>you know, we have a bigger purpose in this world,

0:32:37.160 --> 0:32:39.040
<v Speaker 4>and that is, you know, not to just kind of

0:32:39.120 --> 0:32:44.680
<v Speaker 4>carry out his original plans of helping you know, children

0:32:44.920 --> 0:32:49.920
<v Speaker 4>in underserved communities, but hopefully, you know, God willing would

0:32:49.920 --> 0:32:52.440
<v Speaker 4>love to help people in this space. You know, people

0:32:52.440 --> 0:32:55.000
<v Speaker 4>that have been wrongfully convicted, families that are dealing with

0:32:55.040 --> 0:32:58.600
<v Speaker 4>wrongfully convicted individuals, or you know, whether there are spouses

0:32:58.720 --> 0:33:02.360
<v Speaker 4>or children, and you know, really just finding a way

0:33:02.400 --> 0:33:06.160
<v Speaker 4>to take all of our experiences and help other people.

0:33:07.520 --> 0:33:10.480
<v Speaker 1>James has developed widespread support for his innocence in the

0:33:10.520 --> 0:33:13.520
<v Speaker 1>Greenville community, where he's known as a youth mentor and

0:33:13.560 --> 0:33:14.280
<v Speaker 1>a role model.

0:33:15.280 --> 0:33:19.520
<v Speaker 4>There are still people in Greenville that say, gosh, a

0:33:19.560 --> 0:33:21.600
<v Speaker 4>lot of these kids would have turned out so much

0:33:21.600 --> 0:33:23.200
<v Speaker 4>better if James was here.

0:33:29.280 --> 0:33:31.960
<v Speaker 2>I know one day I'm gonna get out. I know

0:33:32.000 --> 0:33:33.320
<v Speaker 2>one day I'm gonna get out because I know I

0:33:33.360 --> 0:33:35.840
<v Speaker 2>didn't do it. So you have to just stay positive

0:33:36.120 --> 0:33:39.240
<v Speaker 2>through this whole situation. You can't never give up, because

0:33:39.280 --> 0:33:43.640
<v Speaker 2>if you ever give up, day you're accepting. We have

0:33:43.760 --> 0:33:46.440
<v Speaker 2>to stand up, you know, because that's the only way

0:33:46.480 --> 0:33:48.120
<v Speaker 2>that you're gonna be able to They're gonna make a

0:33:48.160 --> 0:33:49.320
<v Speaker 2>difference in life.

0:33:55.000 --> 0:33:57.280
<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to help support James, you can sign

0:33:57.320 --> 0:34:01.040
<v Speaker 1>a petition for his release at change dot org. Special

0:34:01.080 --> 0:34:04.160
<v Speaker 1>thanks to Lisa Spies for her tireless efforts and work

0:34:04.280 --> 0:34:13.280
<v Speaker 1>on James's case. Next time on Wrongful Conviction with Maggie

0:34:13.320 --> 0:34:15.399
<v Speaker 1>Freeling Amanda Bussy.

0:34:16.120 --> 0:34:18.320
<v Speaker 6>It was so bad, like I couldn't even go in

0:34:18.440 --> 0:34:23.879
<v Speaker 6>Walmart to get diapers without him accusing me, and then

0:34:23.960 --> 0:34:28.040
<v Speaker 6>I would risk, you know, getting beat on and stuff

0:34:28.080 --> 0:34:31.360
<v Speaker 6>like that. There was no leavin. He was going to

0:34:31.440 --> 0:34:32.080
<v Speaker 6>make sure of that.

0:34:37.000 --> 0:34:40.120
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling. Please

0:34:40.160 --> 0:34:43.200
<v Speaker 1>support your local innocence organizations and go to the links

0:34:43.200 --> 0:34:45.560
<v Speaker 1>in our bio to see how you can help. I'd

0:34:45.560 --> 0:34:49.040
<v Speaker 1>like to thank our executive producers Jason Flamm and Kevin Wurtis,

0:34:49.200 --> 0:34:53.080
<v Speaker 1>as well as our senior producer, Annie Chelsea, producer Lyla Robinson,

0:34:53.200 --> 0:34:56.440
<v Speaker 1>and story editor Sonya Paul. The show is edited and

0:34:56.520 --> 0:35:00.080
<v Speaker 1>mixed by Annie Chelsea, with additional production by Jeff Cliber

0:35:00.239 --> 0:35:03.279
<v Speaker 1>and Connor Hall. The music in this production is by

0:35:03.360 --> 0:35:06.960
<v Speaker 1>three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to

0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:10.400
<v Speaker 1>follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction, on Facebook at

0:35:10.440 --> 0:35:14.480
<v Speaker 1>Wrongful Conviction Podcast, and on Twitter at Wrong Conviction, as

0:35:14.480 --> 0:35:17.319
<v Speaker 1>well as at Lava for Good. On all three platforms,

0:35:17.680 --> 0:35:20.360
<v Speaker 1>you can also follow me on both Instagram and Twitter

0:35:20.520 --> 0:35:23.960
<v Speaker 1>at Maggie Freeling. Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling is a

0:35:24.000 --> 0:35:27.560
<v Speaker 1>production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal

0:35:27.600 --> 0:35:39.480
<v Speaker 1>Company Number one