1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Hi, This is Laura and I writer. Because of COVID nineteen, 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Steve and I recorded this episode from our homes, not 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: together in the studio. We might sound a little difference, 4 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: but I think the story we tell is as inspirational 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: as always be well and stay healthy. Welcome to Wrongful Conviction, 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: False Confessions. I'm Laura and I writer, and I'm Steve Drisen. 7 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: Today we're going to tell you our last story of 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: season one. It's about Peter Riley, one of the first 9 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 1: modern day false confessors. In nineteen seventy three, police interrogated 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: eighteen year old Peter until he started to believe he 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: was guilty of murdering his own mother, but Peter's friends 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: and neighbors believed in his innocence. Their small town campaign 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: for Peter's freedom was eventually joined by a host of 14 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: big name celebrities. Peter's story helped launch the movement against 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: wrongful convictions and false confessions. 16 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 2: Is buyers. 17 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: The work that Steve and I do to this day. 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 2: You know, the Peter Riley case was my baptism in 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 2: the world of false confessions. When I learned about Peter's case, 20 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 2: it was really the first time that I even knew 21 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 2: that it was possible for police officers, through their tactics, 22 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,639 Speaker 2: to get an innocent person to confess to a crime 23 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 2: they didn't commit, and I was fascinated by it. 24 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: I know the feeling. For me. It was thirty years 25 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: later when I watched those tapes of Brendan Dazzy's false confession. 26 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: It's so easy to get hooked by these stories these people, 27 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: and you can't walk away. 28 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 2: Peter Riley was about five or six years older than me, 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: but we grew up in the same era in terms 30 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: of the kind of music that we liked. Peter was 31 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 2: very into classic rock, Pink Floyd, Jethrow Toll, and Peter 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 2: wore his hair long, very much in the same way 33 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 2: that I wore my hair, so I felt a connection 34 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 2: to Peter. I lived in a community not unlike Peter's, 35 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 2: where people knew each other through Little League or the 36 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 2: boy Scouts, where mothers watched out for each other's kids. 37 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 2: And the more I learned about Peter's story, the more 38 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 2: I began to understand that what happened to Peter very 39 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 2: easily could have happened to me. In addition to these 40 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 2: connections that I found with Peter, This was a case 41 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 2: in a part of the country which was the birthplace 42 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 2: of false confessions in the United States, the Salem Witch Trials. 43 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 2: It sent me on an exploration, a lifelong exploration, to 44 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 2: try to figure out why it is that people would 45 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: confess to crimes they didn't commit. 46 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: Peter's story begins in Falls Village, Connecticut, a tiny community 47 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: of five hundred people that's part of a larger town 48 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: called Canaan. If you've been to New England, Falls Village 49 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: is pretty classic, complete with rivers, horse farms, and covered bridges. 50 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: It's the kind of place where no one locks their doors, 51 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: where everyone looks out for each other. In September nineteen 52 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: seventy three, leaves were turning color across Connecticut. An eighteen 53 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: year old Peter Riley had just begun his senior year 54 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: of high school. Peter was a skinny kid, just over 55 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: one hundred pounds, and an uninspired student whose real love 56 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: was his rock band. He lived in Falls Village in 57 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: a small cottage, just him and his mom, Barbara Gibbons. Now, 58 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: for lack of a better phrase, Barbara was the town eccentric. 59 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: She was highly educated, well read, and well traveled, but 60 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: she was also a single mother, which was a big 61 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: deal in nineteen seventy three, and she was a heavy drinker. 62 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: She had a reputation as someone who always spoke her mind, 63 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: even if it rubbed some people the wrong way. But 64 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: in Peter's eyes, his mother was someone brilliant who loved 65 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: and protected him, just like he loved and stood up 66 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: for her. It was the two of them against the world. 67 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: On the evening of Friday, September twenty eighth, Peter attends 68 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,119 Speaker 1: a youth group meeting at the local church. He leaves 69 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: at about nine thirty pm and drives home, but when 70 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: he walks in the door, his world is turned upside down. 71 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: His mother is lying mostly unclothed on the bedroom floor. 72 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: Her throat's been cut so deeply she's nearly decapitated, and 73 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: she's been stabbed and beaten so badly that both of 74 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: her thigh bones are broken. Peter freezes, His instinct warns 75 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: him not to disturb this scene by touching the body. Instead, 76 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 1: he grabs the phone and makes a series of calls 77 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: to paramedics, hospitals, and doctors. A hospital worker calls the police, 78 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: and the cops show up within minutes. When the police arrive. 79 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: Peter's in shock he's just discovered his mother dead, but 80 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: the officers think Peter's being too calm and they begin 81 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:26,559 Speaker 1: to suspect him. They take him into a neighbor's home 82 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: and strip search him. They're looking for scratches, cuts, bruises, 83 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: any indication that Peter had taken part in a brutal struggle, 84 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: but they find nothing. Peter's wearing jeans, a brown T shirt, 85 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: and gold sneakers, and a witness from the church confirms 86 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: that Peter's been wearing the same clothes all night. The 87 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: police examination finds no blood anywhere on his body, clothing, 88 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: or shoes, but the cops are still suspicious. They question 89 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: Peter in the back seat of a squad car. Then 90 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,359 Speaker 1: they take him down to the station and hold him overnight. 91 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: Peter doesn't sleep at all, but the next morning he 92 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: has the presence of mind to ask for a polygraph. 93 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: The police give him one, but they tell him that 94 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: he failed the test, and when Peter's told that he failed, 95 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: he begins to doubt his own memory because he believes 96 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: polygraphs are infallible. Before too long, Peter begins to wonder 97 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: whether he might have killed his mother but somehow doesn't 98 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: remember it now, believe it or not. Police record the 99 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: interrogation on an old reel to reel machine, even though 100 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: they weren't legally required to do so in nineteen seventy three. 101 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,359 Speaker 1: On tape, they egg Peter on and suggest that he 102 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: might have amnesia. They tell him sometimes when people commit 103 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: these crimes, the memories are so traumatic that people repress them, 104 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: and Peter Riley starts believing that he might be a murderer. 105 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: I believe I didn't now, he tells the police. But 106 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: I don't remember. 107 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 2: Peter says, over and over again, we got to keep digging, digging, 108 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 2: digging to get this information out of me. Because he 109 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 2: wants to know what this information is. 110 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: He asks the police for truth serum, and at another 111 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: point he even says, can you pound this out of me? 112 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: The police praise Peter for being willing to admit he 113 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: might be guilty. They tell him, we're not here to 114 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: punish you. Maybe you'll go to a mental hospital for 115 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: three months. Peter begins to feel like he's bonding with 116 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: his interrogators, like they're all working together to fill in 117 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: the blanks in his memory, and eventually their teamwork succeeds. 118 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: Peter had a straight razor at home, a small blade 119 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: that he used to make model airplanes. After hours of questioning, 120 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: he eventually says that he could have used that razor 121 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: to attack his mom. He adds that he could have 122 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: broken her legs by jumping on them. In other words, 123 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: he gives what we now call a persuaded false confession. 124 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 2: These are a special subspecies of false confessions that are 125 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 2: relatively rare, and what happens in these cases is the 126 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 2: police interrogation tactics themselves cause a suspect to begin to 127 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 2: doubt their own memory, and the suspect is persuaded that 128 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 2: he or she must have committed the crime but can't 129 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 2: remember it, and the interrogation becomes an exercise in reconstructing 130 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 2: the suspect's memories of the crime. But the memories aren't real, 131 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: they're confabulations. 132 00:08:55,679 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: Peter's confabulated story isn't realistic. A small no razor wasn't 133 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: capable of inflicting deep wounds like those on Barbara's neck, 134 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: and Peter was one hundred and ten pound weekly there's 135 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: no way he could have broken his mother's thigh bones 136 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: just by jumping on them. But police ignore those problems. 137 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: After all, they've got a confession. By the end of 138 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: the interrogation, Peter starts realizing that he has no family left. 139 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 2: You're talking about someone who has just lost the only 140 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 2: family member in his life. Peter never knew his father. 141 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 2: His mother has now been murdered. They live alone in 142 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 2: this small cottage, and he's thinking that he's gotten nowhere. 143 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: To go, And so Peter asks his interrogator, is there 144 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,079 Speaker 1: any chance that you might take me in? I wouldn't 145 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: want to impose, he adds, I'll do work around the house. 146 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,199 Speaker 1: I really would love to live with a family. 147 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:02,319 Speaker 2: I've never seen that before. Just a a complete dependence 148 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 2: on one's interrogator and a complete sort of loss of 149 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 2: understanding of the fact that this person is his adversary. 150 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine anything more purely fucked up. 151 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 2: It's the most disturbing thing about this interrogation. 152 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: But Peter doesn't get to go live with the cops, 153 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: even though he's done everything they asked. Instead, he's arrested 154 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: and booked into jail. Once Peter is away from his 155 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: interrogator's influence, he immediately realizes he didn't actually kill anyone. 156 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: And he recants his confession, but it's too late. On 157 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: September twenty ninth, nineteen seventy three, Peter Riley is charged 158 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: with the murder of his own mother. Barbara's murder and 159 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: Peter's arrest shook False Village to its core. Everyone was 160 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: following this tragedy, including one residence who would go on 161 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: to become an important figure in Peter's story. 162 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 3: My name is Donald Connery. Well, one thing I can 163 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 3: claim for some distinction is that I probably am the 164 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:22,839 Speaker 3: only foreign correspondent who ever made a complete career shift 165 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 3: overnight from reporting international affairs to investigating the criminal justice system. 166 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 2: Don Connery was an esteemed journalist, and the last thing 167 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:39,440 Speaker 2: on his mind was the subject of false confessions. But 168 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 2: this murder was big news in this small town, and 169 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 2: you couldn't help but be drawn into it. He began 170 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,959 Speaker 2: to start looking into the case himself, and later wrote 171 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:57,679 Speaker 2: a book about the case that was an absolutely essential 172 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 2: text about what happened to Peter Riley. 173 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: Don Connery's in his nineties now, but in nineteen seventy 174 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: three he had just moved to Falls Village with his 175 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: wife and kids, and I. 176 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 3: Thought, this is a terrible event which will play out 177 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 3: and will have nothing to do with me, except that 178 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 3: the accused eighteen year old was a friend and classmate 179 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 3: of my children who went to the regional high school, 180 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 3: and Peter was someone they talked about and knew about. 181 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: Now, something extraordinary happens after Peter's arrest is announced. Remember, 182 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 1: people in this tiny town know Peter Riley and they 183 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: like him. 184 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,599 Speaker 2: This was in the age before social media, where communities 185 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 2: were much more connected in a sense. They met each 186 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:55,599 Speaker 2: other through clubs, extracurricular activities at schools, church groups, boy Scouts, 187 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 2: and the entire community knew who Peter was. From these 188 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:05,319 Speaker 2: various essential parts of the social fabric of Falls village. 189 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: Peter's arrest leads to a groundswell of support. Everyone starts 190 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:11,479 Speaker 1: defending his innocence. 191 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 3: After reading the initial stories, my younger children, Carol and 192 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 3: Julie kept saying Peter couldn't possibly have done this. 193 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: The mothers of his high school classmates form a group 194 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,720 Speaker 1: called Canaan Mothers, and they hold bake sales to raise 195 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,439 Speaker 1: money so that Peter can get released on bond before 196 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 1: his trial. Some families even put their houses up as security. 197 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: It was incredible. Mothers supporting the accused mother killer. 198 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 2: They wanted to do everything in their power to help him. 199 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 3: My kids said, and other neighbors said, you know, we 200 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 3: don't think this is possible. There's no reason to think 201 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 3: that he had any cause to harm his mother. And 202 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 3: the word was in the community that yes, Peter. It 203 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 3: confessed that nobody could understand why he would admit to 204 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,079 Speaker 3: something he didn't do, but their protests caught the attention 205 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 3: of the media. 206 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: A reporter named Joan Bartel hears about how the town 207 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: of Falls Village is rallying behind an accused murderer. She 208 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: listens to Peter's interrogation tapes and writes an explosive article 209 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: in a magazine called New Times. The article questions Peter's 210 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: guilt and includes many excerpts from his interrogation, exposing the 211 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: CoP's manipulation of Peter. People around the state are horrified 212 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: to read about a teenage boy made to believe that 213 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: he killed his own mother. Donations flow in to the 214 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: Canaan mothers, and soon enough money is raised for Peter 215 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: to post bond fifty thousand dollars. He's released and moves 216 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: in with one of his friend's families. Peter Riley is 217 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: welcomed back into the Falls Village community. 218 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 3: This so called killer went straight back to high school 219 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 3: to complete his senior year, and it didn't seem to 220 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 3: worry parents or teachers of the principal, who in fact 221 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 3: supported him. 222 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 2: One of the things that attracted reporters to this case, 223 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 2: including Don Connery, was the idea that in order for 224 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 2: these people to embrace Peter, they had to understand or 225 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 2: at least believe, that this confession was false. And here 226 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 2: they are taking this suspected, confessed murderer into their own 227 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 2: homes or being willing to do so, and to raise 228 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 2: money for him, and to advocate for him and to 229 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 2: fight for him. That's remarkable. 230 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: Peter Riley was free on bond, but prosecutors were moving 231 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: forward with his trial anyway. 232 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 3: The community was confident that the trial in nineteen seventy 233 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 3: four would quickly lead to adequittal. He would be found innocent. 234 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: But on April twelfth, eighteen seventy four, Good Friday, Peter 235 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: Riley was convicted of killing his own mother. 236 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 3: It was a bombshell when the jury decided almost entirely 237 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 3: in the basis of the confession, so called confession that 238 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 3: he was guilty, and he was sentenced to six to 239 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 3: sixteen years for manslaughter and driven off at high speed 240 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 3: to the high security penitentiary. 241 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: Even though he'd just been convicted of murder, Peter only 242 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: spent a few hours in prison. Amazingly, a court ruled 243 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: that he could stay free during his appeal as long 244 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: as he posted an additional bond ten thousand more dollars. 245 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: His village raised the extra money and Peter was freed. 246 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: But now Peter needed to pay for an appeal, and 247 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: that would cost more than the Canaan mothers could raise. 248 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: So that reporter from New Times, Joan Bartel, sent the 249 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: article she wrote about Peter's case to another Connecticut resident, 250 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: the famous playwright Arthur Miller. 251 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 2: Arthur Miller was my favorite playwright. I remember reading all 252 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 2: of his plays in high school in the nineteen seventies 253 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 2: Death of a Salesman all my sons. I liked him 254 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 2: not only because his plays moved me. I liked him 255 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 2: because he was a public figure that cared deeply about justice. 256 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 2: He was a playwright with a conscience. 257 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 3: The Crucible, probably Miller's greatest play, had been motivated in 258 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 3: part by the false accusations that went on in Salem 259 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 3: and Massachusetts three hundred years ago, when twenty one people 260 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 3: were falsely accused of satanic activities and either hung or 261 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 3: in one case of being crushed to death executed. And 262 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 3: Miller also personally had faced the House of American Activities 263 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 3: Committee accused of being a communist or worse, so he 264 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 3: had every reason to feel that this is something that 265 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 3: he should put right, and he invested a great deal 266 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 3: of his time to do that. 267 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,959 Speaker 1: Arthur Miller read Jones article. He was appalled by the 268 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: tragedy of Peter's confession, and he began to take a 269 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: leading role in Peter's fight for vindication. Miller recruited other 270 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: a list celebrities to donate money to Peter's defense, Jack Nicholson, 271 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: Dustin Hoffman, Art Garfunkel, Candice Bergen, William Steren, Mike Nichols, 272 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: even Elizabeth Taylor. Pretty soon a powerful coalition of voices 273 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: was gathering steam. 274 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 3: Overnight. There was a remarkable amount of energy behind the 275 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 3: effort to free Peter as soon as possible from what everyone, 276 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,880 Speaker 3: at least in Litchfield County saw as a wrongful conviction. 277 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: The first thing Peter needed was a lawyer to handle 278 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:59,160 Speaker 1: his appeal. Arthur Miller recruited Roy Daly, a former federal prosecutor, 279 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 1: and his If Roy started preparing Peter's appeal, Miller worked 280 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: to raise the public profile of the case. The New 281 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: York Times featured a two part series about Peter on 282 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: the front page. Not long afterwards, Sixty Minutes covered the 283 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: story too. Meanwhile, Peter's legal team pressed his case in court. 284 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: Eventually a hearing was held to determine whether to grant 285 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: him a new trial. Arthur Miller personally recruited some world 286 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: renowned experts to testify. At that hearing, a forensic pathologist 287 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: testified that if Peter had actually killed his mom, it 288 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: would have been impossible for him to clean all the 289 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,360 Speaker 1: blood off his body and clothing before the police arrived. 290 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: The pathologist also testified that there's no way one hundred 291 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: and ten pound kid could break a woman's thigh bones 292 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: by jumping on them, and a psychologist testified that Peter 293 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: was suggestible and easily manipulated by authority figures. In other words, 294 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: he was highly vulnerable to giving a false ca confession. 295 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: This hearing took down both the medical evidence against Peter 296 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: and his confession and. 297 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 3: It led to a verdict by George Speziale that a 298 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 3: buscarriage of justice had happened in his own courtroom, and 299 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,719 Speaker 3: he said that Peter deserved a new trial. 300 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: It was March twenty fifth, nineteen seventy six, a little 301 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 1: more than two and a half years after Peter lost 302 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:37,959 Speaker 1: his mom. Peter was granted a new trial, but the 303 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: prosecutor who'd convicted him was up in arms. He believed 304 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,160 Speaker 1: Peter was guilty and vowed to take him to trial again, 305 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,360 Speaker 1: but that didn't end up happening. 306 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,679 Speaker 3: He delayed to a point where he dropped dead on 307 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 3: a golf course. 308 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: The prosecutor passed away of a heart attack at age 309 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: fifty four. So a new prosecutor, a young man named 310 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: Dennis Santour over and as he digs into the case files, 311 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: he finds a piece of evidence that had never been 312 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: disclosed to Peter's defense team. A police officer and his 313 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: wife had reported seeing Peter in downtown Canaan the night 314 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: of the murder as he was driving home from his 315 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: church youth group. They'd seen him only a few minutes 316 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,640 Speaker 1: before Peter arrived home, found his mother's body and started 317 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: calling for help. It was an air tight alibi. Those 318 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: few minutes didn't give Peter enough time to drive home 319 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,199 Speaker 1: and kill his mother before making those phone calls. 320 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 3: Well, this was a so called exculpatory evidence which should 321 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 3: have been turned over to the state and to the courts, 322 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 3: and once it was revealed, it took only weeks before 323 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,959 Speaker 3: Peter Riley was fully exonerated. 324 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,120 Speaker 1: The state of Connecticut formally dropped all charges on November 325 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, nineteen seventy six. Peter Riley's name was officially 326 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: c after Peter's exoneration. The state police never found Barbara's 327 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: real killer and continued to insist that Peter was guilty. 328 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 3: The case went into the legal annals as a classic 329 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 3: false confession tragedy, and it was a prime example of 330 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 3: these systems on willingness to admit error in most of 331 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 3: these controversial cases. 332 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: Don Connery eventually wrote a book about the case, Guilty 333 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,439 Speaker 1: until Proven Innocent, and he continued writing about cases of 334 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: wrongful conviction. 335 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 2: After the Peter Riley case, don Conry became his own 336 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 2: one man journalistic innocence project. He began taking cases in 337 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 2: Connecticut and investigating them and writing about them, and he 338 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 2: also began taking false confession cases from outside of Connecticut 339 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 2: as well. 340 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, Connecticut police actually stopped 341 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: recording interrogations after Peter's case. Peter's interrogation tapes had made 342 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 1: them look bad, and they didn't want to look bad again. 343 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: It wasn't until twenty thirteen that Connecticut adopted a law 344 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 1: requiring interrogations to be recorded, and who testified before the 345 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 1: state legislature in support of that bill Peter Riley. 346 00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 2: Peter said, Look, we shouldn't let law enforcement officers get 347 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 2: away with not recording interrogations, because what it does is 348 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 2: it makes it impossible for people like me to explain 349 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 2: to a jury or to the general public how it 350 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,919 Speaker 2: is that I was made to confess to killing my 351 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 2: own mother. Peter was a powerful advocate for recording and 352 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,439 Speaker 2: his testimony was critical on getting the bill passed in 353 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 2: twenty thirteen. 354 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,919 Speaker 1: Most importantly, Peter Riley's case woke the world up to 355 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: the problem of false confessions. This injustice was a rallying 356 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: cry for so many people, including Steve and me. Peter's 357 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: story epitomizes the profound humanity in so many wrongful conviction cases. 358 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: From the tragedy of the crime, to the ugliness of 359 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: false accusation, to the defendant's struggle and perseverance, to the 360 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 1: good people like Arthur Miller and the Canaan mothers who 361 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: fight for the truth no matter what. In nineteen ninety five, 362 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:38,360 Speaker 1: the very first conference about false confessions took place in Hartford, Connecticut. 363 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 1: Don Connery organized it, and the people who'd helped exonerate 364 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: Peter Riley spoke. Since then, hundreds of confessions had been 365 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: proven false around the country and were just getting started. 366 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 3: At the Hartford conference, Arthur Miller said at one point 367 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 3: that the record of mankind is full of confessions of 368 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 3: events that happened. 369 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 4: Or to which the accused had little or no connection. 370 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 4: After all, even Galileo confessed that the sun and all 371 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 4: the stars revolved around the motionless Earth. Rather than face 372 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 4: the wrath of the Church, which for centuries had taught 373 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 4: the opposite. Confronted with great power against which one has 374 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 4: only a fragile defense, confession can begin to look like 375 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 4: the door to freedom. Confession can very readily turn into 376 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 4: a kind of coin with which to buy one's way 377 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 4: out of a frightening and painful situation. How then, I 378 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 4: will eat to indict the criminal. Is there a good 379 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 4: substitute for confession as the mainstay of a prosecution case? 380 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 4: For starters, I would suggest evidence. 381 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,239 Speaker 1: Wise words. We're not there yet, mister Miller. We're not 382 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 1: there yet, but we're getting closed every day. 383 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 5: Hello, Peter Howard and High State. Doing pretty good. 384 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: It's really great to talk to you. 385 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,120 Speaker 5: What's your life like these days? While I'm sixty five, 386 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 5: so I'm retired at this point, which just means I 387 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 5: come up with a whole lot of work for myself 388 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 5: that I'll get paid for it. I'm still an avid musician. 389 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,400 Speaker 5: I play every day. It's been something I've done since 390 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 5: I saw the Beatles on that all of them, so 391 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 5: it's been a long time. I just play a lot 392 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 5: of music. I do what's positive for me these days, 393 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 5: and that's pretty much it. What's your favorite song to play? 394 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 5: I don't know anything by the Alma Brothers. 395 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,639 Speaker 1: You know, Steve and I are two lawyers who have 396 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: the honor of standing up in courts and fighting for 397 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: people we believe in, but we're also trying to change 398 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: the world here. 399 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 2: From the very beginning of my study of false confessions, 400 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 2: I have gone out into the world and tried to 401 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 2: inform people about what I've learned. 402 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 1: For the first ten years that I did this work, 403 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: we went around the country trying to convince anybody who 404 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: would listen that false confessions even existed, that this happened 405 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: at all. And suddenly there's been this explosion of interest 406 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 1: in understanding that false confessions can happen to anyone, that 407 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,919 Speaker 1: they could happen to you, they could happen to me, 408 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: and to see the urgency for reform that hearing these 409 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: stories produces. It's a sea change, and it's a very 410 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: very welcome sea change. 411 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 2: When I got started in this work in nineteen ninety five, 412 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 2: there were only two states that required electronic recording of interrogations, 413 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 2: and now they're twenty seven. There should be fifty. We 414 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 2: are getting to a point where I think that will 415 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,200 Speaker 2: happen in my lifetime. So in addition to electronic recording, 416 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 2: one of the goals that Laura and I have is 417 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 2: to actually change the way in which police officers interrogate suspects. 418 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:08,680 Speaker 1: I think that when people hear stories of grave injustice, 419 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: there's a human need to identify the bad guy, and 420 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 1: in some cases there are very clear bad guys. Police 421 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,919 Speaker 1: have physically abused suspects. Police have tortured suspects, but in 422 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,720 Speaker 1: some cases police officers are following training that they don't 423 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: know is problematic. That's where I see we can make 424 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: a lot of change. Many other countries have developed new 425 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: interrogation techniques that you don't have to use lies, you 426 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: don't have to use false promises, you certainly don't have 427 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: to use fact feeding. 428 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 2: One of the most exciting developments recently has been the 429 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 2: creation of these conviction integrity units in prosecutors' offices, and 430 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:50,520 Speaker 2: in both Hugh Burton's case and David McCallum's case, we 431 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 2: saw how effective these units can be in writing wrongful convictions. 432 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: When prosecutors are interested in actually doing real justice instead 433 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,280 Speaker 1: of just closing cases, everything changes. 434 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 2: One of the things that's always excited me about this 435 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 2: work is that we get to rewrite history. When we 436 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 2: exonerate somebody, we get to change their life narrative. That's 437 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 2: part of what we're trying to do with this podcast 438 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 2: is not only tell these stories, but change the legacies 439 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 2: of the people who falsely confessed. 440 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: You're taking this false story that they've told about themselves 441 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 1: and you have to change it to a true story, 442 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: a story of innocence. 443 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 2: In the wake of making a murderer, which certainly put 444 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 2: both Lara and I on the map in a way 445 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 2: that no other television show or radio show or victory 446 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 2: in court had done. I felt like we had an 447 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 2: obligation to speak out on these issues that we care 448 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 2: so deeply about. I guess I was channeling Arthur Miller. 449 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 2: I mean I could see Donald Connery saying, I knew 450 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 2: Arthur Miller. You're no Arthur Miller. But we had the 451 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 2: opportunity to tell these stories, and I think we as 452 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 2: lawyers have an obligation to do that. 453 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: You know, you don't have to be a lawyer to 454 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: see the injustice here. You just have to be someone 455 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: with a conscience. These are stories of great tragedy. They 456 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,400 Speaker 1: grip people, these stories unsettle people, and they move people 457 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 1: to make change. This is a movement that draws from 458 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: all walks of life, from ordinary folks who want to 459 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: channel their outrage into action, to those with a powerful 460 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: public platform, artists, musicians, writers, actors. We saw this in 461 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: the Peter Riley Kays with Arthur Miller. We saw it 462 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: in the West Memphis three case with Peter Jackson, Johnny Depp, 463 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: Eddie Vetter, Natalie Mains, and we see it today with 464 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,360 Speaker 1: Brendan Dacy's case and all the people who are rallying 465 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: around him. These kinds of movements built on real people, 466 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 1: They're unstoppable and we're not going to stop until we 467 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: can bring Brandon Dacy on this podcast as a free man. 468 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 2: I want to really thank the people that allowed us 469 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 2: to tell their stories and allowed us to enter their lives. 470 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: At the end of the day, it's meant the world 471 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 1: to bring to you twelve of the people whose cases 472 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: we've worked on and whose lives have touched ours, their voices, 473 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: their stories, and our good luck to be the ones 474 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: working for them. So back to work, Steve, back to work. 475 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: And that's the first season of Wrongful Conviction, False Confessions. 476 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: We'll see you in a few months back on this 477 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 1: feed for season two. In the meantime, be well, stay safe, 478 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: and never stop believing injustice. Wrongful Conviction, False Confessions is 479 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 1: a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with 480 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: Signal Company Number One. Special thanks to our executive producer 481 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: Jason Flamm and the team at Signal Company Number One. 482 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: Executive Producer Kevin wardis Senior producer and Pope, and additional 483 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,200 Speaker 1: production and editing by Connor Hall. Special thanks to Jogi 484 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: Hammer for additional script editing and for wrangling and writing 485 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,960 Speaker 1: like a mad woman. Our music was composed by Jay Ralph. 486 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 1: You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter at Laura Nywriter, and. 487 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,760 Speaker 2: You can follow me on Twitter at s Drisen. 488 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: For more information on the show, visit wrongfulconvictionpodcast dot com 489 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: and be sure to follow the show on Instagram at 490 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: Wrongful Conviction, on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast, and on 491 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: Twitter at wrong Conviction