DeepSummary
The episode tells the story of Eric Smokes and David Warren, two men who were convicted of murder as teenagers in 1987 and spent decades in prison fighting to prove their innocence. They recount their experiences of being arrested and interrogated by police without a lawyer or parent present, despite maintaining their innocence throughout the trial. After serving lengthy sentences, they continued seeking legal help to overturn their convictions, ultimately getting a court hearing in 2018 where key witnesses recanted their testimonies.
Despite a lengthy court battle over the following years, their motion to vacate the convictions was initially denied by a judge in 2020, who cited their previous statements to the parole board taking responsibility for the crime as 'compelling evidence of guilt.' The judge was skeptical of overturning the decades-old case against police and prosecutors. However, in 2022 under a new Manhattan District Attorney committed to reviewing wrongful convictions, Eric and David finally had their names cleared after 37 years.
While legally vindicated, the two men express a complex mix of anger, disappointment and a desire to move forward after having their youth and freedom taken away for a crime they didn't commit. They question why it took so long for the justice system to acknowledge its failure, and grapple with the inability to regain their lost time and relationships.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The criminal justice system is resistant to admitting mistakes in wrongful convictions, even in the face of new evidence of innocence.
- False or coerced witness testimony can lead to devastating miscarriages of justice like the wrongful imprisonment of innocent people for decades.
- Police tactics like denying access to lawyers or parents during interrogations of minors can produce false confessions and tainted evidence.
- Maintaining one's innocence before parole boards often conflicts with being granted parole, forcing wrongfully convicted people into a moral dilemma.
- Exonerations decades later cannot undo the emotional trauma and lost years of freedom suffered by the wrongfully convicted.
- Prosecutorial misconduct and tunnel vision hamper the ability to correct wrongful convictions and undermine public faith in the justice system.
- Consistent advocacy and support networks are vital for wrongfully convicted individuals to eventually clear their names.
- Criminal justice reforms are needed to prevent future wrongful convictions and provide timely remedies when they occur.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If I'm not mistaken, the last offer was a year. And basically, at that time, I could just went home. But of course, I had to turn it down, because I'm not going to say he did something I know he didn't do, and I'm not going to say I did something I know I didn't do.“ by David Warren
- “No longer having the murder conviction means that. I mean, to me, I could never get back what was lost, meaning the time, the people that I lost during this journey.“ by David Warren
- “How you allow us to go 37 years for a crime we didn't commit.“ by Eric Smokes
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Episode Information
The New Yorker Radio Hour
WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
6/11/24