WEBVTT - #227 Jason Flom with Keith Washington 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.960 Keith Washington was an Army lieutenant colonel, police officer, and 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.639 Homeland security official in Prince George's County, Maryland, when on 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:13.480 January twenty fourth, two thousand and seven, he was at 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:15.080 home having dinner with his wife and. 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.120 Daughter while waiting for a furniture delivery. 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:21.160 When the delivery men, Brandon Clark and Robert White, arrived, 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:24.639 Keith invited them into his home. However, when he found 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:27.560 White snooping around his daughter's bedroom. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:29.920 He asked them to leave, but they wouldn't. 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.159 Overpowered by the two much larger men being kicked and 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.400 stomped on, he beared for his wife and daughter's lives. 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.080 As well as his own, so he shot the assailants. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:43.400 Both were taken to the hospital, but only Robert White survived. White, 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:47.360 a twelve time convicted felon, fabricated a story that excused 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:50.080 him from what was just one in a string of 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.640 other home invasions. It's clear which way they should have 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:56.720 gone with The official corruption and misconduct the Prince George's 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.960 County is well documented, with the media frenzy that ensued 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:03.360 the prosecution team all jockey for ways to turn this 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:07.480 justifiable shooting into an opportunity for their own career advancement 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:09.920 with the appearance of upholding equal. 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.000 Standards of justice for those in law enforcement. 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.679 While the physical evidence from the investigation supported Keith's story 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:19.039 of self defense, they used the inconsistent story of a 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:23.120 career criminal to send an upstanding citizen away for forty 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.560 five years in prison. With the work of his legal team, 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.600 along with Georgetown University's making an ex honer reprogram, Keith 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:35.960 is finally home after thirteen years, while he continues to fight. 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:36.759 To clear his name. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:57.200 This is Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flamm. Welcome back to 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:01.240 Wrongful Conviction. I'm your host, Jason Flam in today's episode. Well, 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:03.880 let me just say this before I even introduce our 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.960 two incredible guests today. Our producer, Connor Hall is an 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.880 excellent researcher. But when he sent me the research on 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.320 this case, and I was already familiar with the case, 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.679 but I read it twice and I went, now, there's 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.480 gotta be mistakes here. This can't be the way it is. 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.440 But it's all true, and you're going to hear the 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:26.680 story straight from the mouth of the person who lived it. 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.040 And I'm referring to Keith Washington. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.160 Keith. I'm sorry you're here because of the reason that 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:34.760 you're here, but I'm very, very honored to have you 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:35.560 on the show today. 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.400 Well listen, Jason, thanks for having me. I'm more than 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:40.480 happy to be here. And with the help of a 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.880 lot of good people, including Marty, that's the reason I'm 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:44.680 here right now. 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:49.079 And speaking of Marty, Marty tank Left, my great friend 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:53.200 and personal hero, has been on the show several times. Actually, 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.600 his own story is harrowing as a story he can get. 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:59.440 He was wrongfully convicted of the murder of his parents, 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.160 served seventeen years in prison, and now but practicing attorney 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:07.640 and a co professor at Georgetown University. He teaches the 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:11.000 making an ex Houner reclass, which had everything to do 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:14.720 with helping to get mister Washington out of prison. And 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:20.040 Marty is now Keith Washington's attorney. It's a full circle story, 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:22.880 but it's not over yet. But anyway, Marty, it's so 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.640 fucking great to have you on the show in this role. 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.720 Thank you, Jason. It's always an honor and a pleasure 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.560 to come on the show as we continue the fight 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:36.840 for justice for so many individuals out there. And when 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.000 you hear Keith's story, I think people will just be floored. 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.920 I couldn't said it better. If this happened to Keith Washington, 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:48.280 who is the very definition of an American hero, then 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:52.160 it could happen to anyone. And when I say that, 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.600 Keith was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, 0:03:55.720 --> 0:04:00.840 served over for twenty five years with honor, speaks five languages, 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:04.360 attended some of the foremost military schools in the country, 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:07.240 and everyone's lost count of how many awards and citations 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:13.080 he's received for his service to our country. Upon returning home, 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.159 Keith rose up in the ranks of the police department, 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:20.240 served as a police officer for seventeen years with distinction. 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.760 Never fired your weapon. I know that you were serving 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.880 as a homeland security official as well. And by the way, 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:30.680 when this happened, the father of a six year old 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.840 girl happily married. I mean, like, what am I missing here? 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.360 You almost sound too good to be true. What are 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.320 your flaws? Hey? 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.120 Listen, you know, I thank you for that introduction, and 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.640 I thank you for those comments. But I've just an 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.240 average guy that worked hard all his life and tried 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:47.960 to do the right thing. 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.880 So Keith tell us about your upgringing. You came from 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.120 a single mother, right, but give us a little bit 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:55.560 of the background if you don't mind. 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.520 Listen. I've had a job since I was thirteen years old. 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.480 My mother and father separated, and at that time I 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.640 became the man of the house, so to speak, and 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.560 so I had a paper route every morning from five 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:10.000 am on my bicycle. My mother and I sometimes in 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:13.240 the rain and the snow, whatever the conditions were, and 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.760 so about seven thirty eight o'clock in the morning we 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.040 finished and then I'd head off the school. At some 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.240 point in time, my mother suffered a serious illness. My 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.279 three sisters had to go live with relatives. My mother 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:27.039 spent five years in a mill institution, and so as 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.560 a sixteen year old kid, I was homeless and just 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.680 sleep in the car, still going to school though every morning. 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.880 At the end of my senior year, I saw a 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:38.000 couple of friends of mine. I asked where they're going, 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:39.679 and they said, hey, we're going to join the army. 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:41.960 Just that quickly, I said, I'm going with you. And 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.240 so I want to say that everything I've ever done 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.200 or acquired in my life, I owe it to the 0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:49.960 army to the values they taught. It was the best 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.880 thing that could have happened to me. Ever, from that, 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.240 I grew into a man stationed over in Korea for 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.320 a year and a half as a teenager. When I 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.600 came back, I decided I wanted to go to college. 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.400 I went to college at Northwestern State University. I joined 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:06.480 an RTC program. I got commissioned as a second lieutenant. 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:08.640 After three and a half years in the Army, I 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.240 graduated and I was sit to Fort Benning, Georgia home 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:15.000 with the Infantry. Completed a few schools there, Airborne school 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:17.720 infratuy Offster, basic course, a giant f County School of 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.640 Special Warfare, few terrorism schools, and assigned in Special Operations Command. 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.960 I couldn't believe my life how within a short almost 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:29.400 ten year period had really changed based on the opportunities 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.960 that the military had provided me. Around nineteen ninety eleven 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.320 years later, I joined the police Department and Prince Georgia's 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.960 and ultimately after nine to eleven, based on my background, 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.200 I was selected to be a deputy director of Hoopman 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.640 Security for Prince George's County. And I was just willing 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.000 to do what it took to accompass whatever was before me. 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:53.359 It's an amazing story. I mean, you transcended and triumphed 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.600 over it tough circumstances. I'm not a strong enough way 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:58.400 of saying it. I mean, and you ended up giving 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:02.280 back as well, teering at the Cane River Children's Home. 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.359 I mean, it's really inspiring and it should have played 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:07.640 out in the way that you deserve, which was to 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.840 go on and have a happy, productive life and ultimately, 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:14.040 you know, retire and have a bunch of grandchildren maybe 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.400 and then you know, play some golf whatever. And then, 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.720 of course, as we know, and as Marty knows intimately 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:25.280 as well, everything can change in a second. And so 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:29.840 it did on January twenty fourth, two thousand and seven. Marty, 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:32.400 Can you take us through what happened that awful night? 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:33.320 Sure? 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:37.400 Absolutely so. To put it simply, Keith defended himself, his 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.960 wife and daughter, and tragically, instead of being labeled a hero, 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:43.600 he was treated like a criminal. To walk you through 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:46.480 what happened that day, Keith had taken the day all 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:50.080 from work to accept a furniture delivery from Marlow Furniture, 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:52.120 and he was home with his wife, Stacey and his 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:55.760 very young daughter Kayla. The day passed, still no furniture. 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.600 He called Marlowe. They assured him that the delivery would 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:02.920 arrive that night. Finally, during dinner, delivery men Brandon Clark 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:06.840 and Robert White arrived. These are furniture movers, some really 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.360 big guys. And it's a misnomer to call Robert White 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:11.760 a furniture mover to begin with, because he wasn't even 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:15.480 employed by Marla Fernture at all. Instead, he was Brandon 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.400 Clark's cousin. But the appearance was at that time he 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.520 worked for Mala. Furniture delivery was meant for the master 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.920 bedroom of the first floor, and at some point Keith 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.400 recognized that one of the men, Robert White, is not 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.400 with him anymore. And Keith was there and he can 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:32.960 give you more of the details. 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.160 Brandon Clark was distracting me while Robert White was in 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:41.520 my daughter's bedroom. I could hear the squeaking floorboards in 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.400 my daughter's bedroom because I know the sound of my house. 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:47.679 And I asked the guy, said where's your friend? And 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.200 he wouldn't answer, you know, he just kept giving me 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.400 a frivolous answer and tried to brush me off, And 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:55.920 so I look and I see him poke his head 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:57.920 out of my daughter's bedroom, and I said, what are 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.320 you doing in there? Come out of there? That way 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.800 comes out. So I walked toward him. I said, hey, 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.000 leave my house. You guys, get out of my house. 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.480 And as I got close enough to him, the other 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.280 guy punched me in the back of the head, and 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.160 then White attacked me from the side. So I'm fighting 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:18.920 two guys in my house, complete strangers, within three minutes 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.680 of entering my house. You know. We were on the ground, 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.520 on the floor, I should say, and the guy, Clark 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:27.120 was kicking me while I was on the floor. Clark 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.720 six foot eight, three hundred and thirty pounds and Robert 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:32.160 White six foot two, two hundred and eighty pounds, and 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:37.120 I'm five nine five, So he's attacking me like kicking me. 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:41.240 I pulled my service revolver, I fired, and I struck 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.080 both of them. The assault seased. Later Clark died and 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:46.120 Robert White lived. 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.640 And as I think about this story, and as a 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:53.360 father myself, I mean, and I think everybody can relate 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:56.400 to this. You would do anything to protect your kids, 0:09:56.679 --> 0:09:58.560 We all would. And I'm trying to put myself in 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:02.600 your shoes at that moment, you're being brutally viciously attacked 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:05.079 right there in your own home, and your wife and 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.400 young daughter are right downstairs. These two men are beating 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:12.880 you like and they're winning because you had no shots. Combined, 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.640 they weighed four times as much as you did, and 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:20.200 they kicked you so hard that your watch broke, it 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.760 flew off of your wrist. I mean, this is a 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:26.200 life and death situation, and you had a grim choice 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.200 to make. Am I getting this right? 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:30.600 No, you're right. Listen, My wife and my six year 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:33.800 old daughter were home, and I knew that if I 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.760 didn't survive, who knows what would have happened it end. 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.680 Five minutes earlier, we were having dinner and just sitting around, 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:44.000 laughing and joking. And five minutes later, I'm wrestling two 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:48.120 strangers fighting two strangers on the floor in my own home. 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.400 That's how quickly this thing unfolded. I mean, it's a 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.920 heroine thought, but you're a drilline kicks in and you 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:54.840 do what you gotta do. 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:09.480 This episode is underwritten by AIG, a leading global insurance company, 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.400 and by Accentsure, a global professional services company with leading 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:17.480 capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Working to reform the 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:19.960 criminal justice system. Is a key pillar of the AIG 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.400 pro Bono program, which provides free legal services and other 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:27.800 support to many nonprofit organizations and individuals most in need 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.360 as part of Eccensure's commitment to racial and civil justice. 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.560 Accenture's Legal Access Program provides pro bono legal services in 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.600 partnership with more than forty organizations, bringing meaningful change to 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:50.959 people and communities worldwide. So the attack finally ceases. Both 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:53.800 men have been shot. Your wife is called nine one one, 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:58.760 and police and paramedics arrive. Eventually everyone's taken to the hospital. 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:00.720 What happened nowt. 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:02.640 So when they got to the hospital that night, I 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.480 guess about fifteen to twenty cops were there, Alan, the 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.120 detectives in charge of Homicide Division, and they were trying 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:12.080 to interview Robert White, and White played at the fifth amendment. 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.120 He refused to talk to the police, He refused to 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:17.440 give a statement, He refused to say what happened. Subsequently, 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:21.080 what we found out is that he did not work 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:22.640 for the French and delivery company and that he was 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:24.520 picked up on the side of the road by Clark 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.560 and brought to my house. Alan. A couple of other houses. 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.000 For the best I can tell, other people have said 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:34.080 that they were casing houses. White has several burglary convictions 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:37.960 and several convictions for fencing stolen property. So anyway, the 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.040 state's attorney was aware of all that information. Also, mister White, 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:44.840 as I said, pled the fifth and the state's attorney 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.760 in charge of the case, Glenn Ivy, informed the two 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.800 detectives at the hospital not to arrest Robert White under 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.160 any circumstances, out of the blue. That they had never 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:57.640 seen a sitting state's attorney, a sitting prosecutor come to 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:01.560 the hospital and till the police not to arrest a 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:05.120 career criminal, a suspect in a shooting, in an assault, 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:09.800 and they could leave, which they did after he informed 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.120 them that they were not to interview mister White or 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:12.960 even talk to him. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:18.520 It's so so bizarre, I mean, because obviously Robert White 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:22.200 had a lot to gain, first by his silence and 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.880 then by lying, because if Keith was not guilty, then 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.320 he and Brandon Clarke were, which wouldn't be hard to 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:34.240 believe with White's twelve that's twelve previous convictions including assault 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:38.720 and battery, unlawful entry, larceny, grand largity, receiving stolen goods, 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.800 attempted third degree burglary, first degree burglary, pointing a firearm, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.240 domestic violence, and first degree sexual assault, for which he 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:50.839 had served ten years. He also had over twenty additional 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:55.120 arrests for crimes ranging from peeping tom to attempted murder, 0:13:55.720 --> 0:14:00.120 but the state's attorney, Glen Ivy, who eventually ran for Congress, 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:05.280 purposefully turned a blind eye to all of that and 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:06.720 instead focused on Keith. 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:08.880 They've trying to dig something up that they could use 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:13.560 against Keith, analyzing DNA fiber transfer, gunshot residue, spenshell, casing's 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.600 telephone records, nine one one, coal, and so much more. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:19.600 All of the evidents, of course, didn't show them what 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.000 they were looking for, But what it did show was 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.040 that Keith had acted in self defense and Heath never 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:25.960 should have been charged. 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:29.520 And then, despite the clear nature of this incident, twelve 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:35.200 time convicted felon Robert White's flow of inconsistent statements, let 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:40.040 me rephraise that Robert White's flow of total bullshit went 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:44.920 totally unchecked. So they're just ignoring this career criminal who's 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:48.120 a real menace to society. And then here comes the kicker. 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.160 Robert White filed a civil action against you, Keith and 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:57.200 Prince George's county, seeking ready four hundred million dollars in 0:14:57.280 --> 0:14:59.280 damages arising out of the shooting. 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:00.840 Wow. 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.960 It was dismissed, surprise, surprise, but not before garnering a 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:08.280 serious amount of media coverage. It also comes out later 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.520 that someone else had filed that hand fisted civil action 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:15.760 on White's behalf, perhaps someone who maybe wanted to draw 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:19.400 a ton of media coverage, like a person who wanted 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.960 to show what a bulwark of justice they were by 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:27.920 holding a decorated veteran law enforcement officer and Homeland security 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:30.840 official to account for what was alleged to be an 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.760 unjustified shooting. And by the way, if it were the 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.360 case that this was some trigger happy cop, I'd be 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:38.840 the first one to say justice should be applied equally. 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.400 But that's just not what this was, and they fucking 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.600 knew it. So this media attention ramps up to public pressure, 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:51.520 and the prosecution is aiming to score big political points 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.240 and advance their careers if they bring home the win. 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:01.200 And that's not me editorializing. Both prosecutors were overheard saying 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:05.600 things to that effect. And I'm talking about prosecutors Joseph 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.480 Wright and William Moumu, who had all the information and 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:13.480 evidence proving Keith's use of self defense, and yet they 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.720 still argued that the shootings were unprovoked and unjustified. The 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:22.000 state allowed Robert White to create his own version of events, 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:27.200 where Keith was unattacked, unprovoked, where you hadn't been stomped 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.960 on and kicked, where you hadn't exhausted all other options 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:35.000 before pulling out your service revolver. They used this testimony 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:39.920 that changed every time White recounted the incident, every time Keith, 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.280 Can you take us through some of the evidence that 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:45.160 should have ended this prosecution before it started. 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:49.160 They had the evidence. The lead investigator, Lieutenant Charlie Walls, 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:53.560 briefed them. He had the DNA evidence, the gunshot residue evidence, 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.240 the trace fiber evidence from the clothing. They said they 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.400 never touched me. Well, I said he was kicking me. 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:00.000 I was on the ground, He's kicking me. My shot him. 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.399 The clothing fiber evidence showed the fibers from my shirt 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.160 invest on his pants lid. So they had that evidence 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:11.159 that contradicted his statement. They had the gunshot residue. He 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:12.879 said that they were shot from across the room. The 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.960 gunshot residue test done by the ATF shure that he 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:18.280 was shot from three inches away three to twelve inches. 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.320 He said he shot from across the room. They reasured 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.199 the room and a minimum of eight feet which wouldn't 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.240 have left any gunshot resident. He said he called my house. 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:27.920 They had the phone records. They showed he never called 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.280 my house before they arrived. They said that he was 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.560 a delivery man for Marl's Furniture. Marlow's Furniture had given 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:37.160 them a statement the human resources director, Miss Kila Ross 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:39.439 that not only does he not work for them, that 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:41.600 they've never heard of him or never seen him, and 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.480 that Marvels would never hire sex offenders to work on 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.959 their delivery trucks because their insurance wouldn't cover. They had 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.199 the toxicology report that showed that he was on cocaine. 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.000 The two sets attorneys denied that the toxicology test was 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:56.320 ever even given on Robert White. They proffered to the court, 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:58.560 to the jury, and to the general public that he 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.240 was an employ of Marvel's Furniture, that he was not 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.159 a rest of sex offinity. All of these things in 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:06.359 Moore happened in my trial by these two prosecutors. 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:09.119 I mean, this is a litany of hers. 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:09.360 Right. 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.080 We have a prosecution team that is hell bent on 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.840 convicting an innocent man while protecting a guilty one, and 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.440 they had all of the evidence pointing to Keith's version 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.639 of the events, clearly contradicting what Robert White testified to. 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.760 White maintained that neither he nor Clark were close enough 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:28.640 to Keith to assault him when he shot them. Now, 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:32.040 we've mentioned the gunshot residue and what that meant, but 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:37.320 also White's DNA was found on Keith's gun, Clark's pifibers 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.440 were found on Keith's vest from when he was kicking him. 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:44.200 Neither of these things can happen from across the freaking room. 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.640 None of the spens shell casings recovered by technicians were 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.960 located even near the master bedroom, where Robert White said 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:56.119 Keith was allegedly standing when he shot them. Instead, the 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.480 casings were recovered from the middle of the ulpsters hallway 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:02.960 and whole bathroom, where Keith and States had maintained the 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:04.520 aultcation had taken. 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:08.800 Place, But the prosecution doubled down on the lie. Listen 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.840 to this. The prosecutors made thirty one false and misleading 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:16.440 statements throughout the trial that were objected to and sustained. 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:22.240 These were obviously meant to intentionally mislead throw off the jurors. 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:26.560 There were nine objections to statements made by prosecutor Joseph 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:31.040 Wright during his closing argument alone, including that Robert White 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.800 had only one conviction and that there was no cocaine 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:37.560 test given to Robert White. These were just straight up lies. 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:43.240 His criminal record and toxicology report were absolutely available, yet 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.840 the jury was not made aware of them. This is 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.840 just so nuts, it's so wrong. White had denied under 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:53.160 oath to the grand jury about being a sex offender, 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:58.520 which the prosecutors allowed him to do. The state's attorney 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:01.680 in charge of the case knew all of this. The prosecutor, 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:06.480 William Mumou later said, he said, we put Robert White 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.119 on the stand. He was a witness of ours. But 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.800 you'll never see me standing in front of a jury 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:14.439 saying that this witness says the truth. 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:16.320 Wow. 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:20.360 Are you fucking getting me with this shit? Wow? And certainly, 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.520 if the jury would have learned those things, it would 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:26.760 have had a real impact on the outcome of the trial. 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:31.680 But they didn't get to know these things. They weren't presented, 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.200 and these jurors were not mind readers. So for all 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.480 the jury knew Robert White and Brandon Clark, which is 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.720 two humble furniture delivery men who had the misfortune of 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:45.000 walking to the home of a trigger happy cop, a 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:47.520 trigger happy cop who had never used his gun before, 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:50.000 by the way, so let's not leave that out. And 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:54.000 on February thirteenth, two thousand and eight, clearly the prosecution's 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:59.040 lies and manipulations worked. The jury found you guilty, Keith. 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:01.720 And what was that very moment, like, I mean when 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:06.440 you when you heard the word guilty and then when 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:10.760 they sentence you to over two times the maximum sentence. 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:12.680 As it relates to the moment the jury came back 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.520 with the conviction. I watched my wife cry, I watched 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:18.960 my daughter cry. The guy put handcuffs on me. I 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.920 watched my sister cry. I watched a lot of friends 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:25.359 and relatives, you know, I felt bad for them. The 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.160 pre senced investigation came back with a minimum of five 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.320 years in a maximum of twenty years, and the judge 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:33.840 gave me a forty five year sentence. He went over 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:36.919 one hundred percent past the maximum sentence that was recommended, 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.880 and he went over nine hundred percent passed the minimum 0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:42.399 sentence that was recommended, which was five years. And I 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:44.919 don't think anyone's ever receeen the forty five year sentence 0:21:45.000 --> 0:22:05.080 for involuntary manslom. In prison, you're either a warl four sheep, 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.160 especially in the maximum security state prison. And so the fights, 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:14.399 the stabbings, the gangs, the deaths, the atrocious conditions, the 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:17.639 mental stress, the anxiety, you name it, and you know, 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:19.600 no matter what happens to me, I'm fine with what 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:21.800 happens to me. But I knew that my family was 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:24.040 gonna go through the fire with me, because when a 0:22:24.119 --> 0:22:27.159 family member goes to prison, you know, in actuality, the 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:30.320 whole family goes to prison. Their life stops too. It 0:22:30.440 --> 0:22:33.600 was my family that suffered. Listen. It was the worst 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:37.119 feeling I'd ever had, and I knew that I was 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:39.479