David & Me (2014) - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

Ray: Today, I'm going to my
friend David's house

to wait for some big news.

He's not gonna be there

because he's been in prison
for the last 28 years.

Grandma, while you were gone,
he called so many times.

This is why you
shouldn't have left.

[Chuckles]

Third degree.

When I stay here,
nobody calls for me.



Yesterday, it rung twice.

That's...

You called.
[Laughs]

And, uh, the people
from the agency called.

I think I called twice.
Yeah.

Who else called? Gary?

That's the two calls
that came yesterday.

Nobody else called.

Ray: Any minute now,
David is gonna call

and tell us the result
of a decision

that could finally
bring him home to his family

after all these years.

Oh, man.

Call it out. Call David
and get it over with.



[Telephone rings]

Aaron: Speaker first.

[Telephone beeps]Dial three.

Now we can put it
back on speaker.

Hello?

'Sup, man? How are you?[Beeping]

Yeah, I'm doing good.

Oh, she right here
next to me.

Sure.

Hello?

I'm okay.
You got some good news for me?

♪♪

[Dog barking]

♪♪

[Dog panting]

♪♪

[Gunshot]

♪♪

[Camera shutter clicks]

♪♪

♪♪

[Camera shutters clicking]

♪♪

♪♪

My name is David McCallum.
I am 43 years old.

I've been incarcerated
since I was 16 years old

for a crime I didn't commit.

♪♪

Ray: David is a
convicted murderer

from the streets of Brooklyn.

I'm a middle-class
Jewish-Italian kid from Toronto.

♪♪

So how did two people
who seem to be so different

end up becoming good friends?

♪♪

[Indistinct chatter]

♪♪

[Door buzzes]

♪♪

When I was a teenager,

David wrote me a letter
that really surprised me.

The words were so kind
and sensitive,

not exactly what you'd expect
from a man who'd spent 20 years

locked up for murder.

Over the last 10 years,

David's become like the
older brother I never had,

and I've become part
of a team of people

fighting for his freedom.

I think you've done more for me
than I have done for you,

to tell you the truth.

I was a -- pretty much a kid
when I came to this place.

I hadn't been anywhere,
really, you know?

Sometimes, you can't really
quantify it into words.

You know what I mean?

How much it meant just seeing
life outside of this place.

You know,
this is a dark place.

You know, and I say this
to people all the time,

and I've never actually said it
to you to put it in perspective,

but you've been in jail
my whole life.

You've miss my entire life
of experiences,

and what you've given to me

in terms of how you've
helped me grow up,

it just makes me want to do
anything I can to --

to help you.

Man: [Echoing] No!

♪♪

♪♪

[Clears throat]

Marc: So, how would you compare
yours and David's upbringing?

You know, he came from
a big Southern family,

and I came from, you know --
I was an only child,

but I think the similarities
are that we were both good kids

at heart who got in trouble

because we were
trying to fit in.

I'm gonna make a very
simple dish today.

[Ray's mother laughs]

As a kid, my parents and I
were really close.

It was always just us three.

♪♪

I come from a very mixed
neighborhood in Toronto.

♪♪

It wasn't a bad place,

but the people that had adopted
a criminal lifestyle,

they were feared and respected,
and I wanted that same respect.

So I tried to act like them.

We were concerned about
the friends that you had.

You know, ultimately, all of
those kids are good-hearted

and -- but some of them were
in trouble themselves.

Some of them
carried guns.

In my neighborhood,
when you tried to act tough,

you had to back it up,
and I couldn't,

so I got bullied,
and that made me angry.

You know, I was an asshole
to my parents during that time.

And my dad just wasn't
gonna take my shit.

And so we were always
at each other's throats.

You had a lot of anger,
and sometimes people do things

they don't understand
the consequences of.

There was this dude who I
thought had stolen from me.

You know, we got in
a verbal confrontation.

The verbal confrontation ended.

Took a brick,

and I just whipped it
through his front window.

And then I ran away,

[Chuckles] which is probably
the opposite of being tough

'cause the kids
in my neighborhood

would just knock that guy out.

He called the police,
and I got arrested.

I think for my parents,
that was the turning point.

I reached the point where I felt

I had completely
lost control of, uh...

you and your upbringing.

Maybe I felt, too,
that I didn't know you anymore,

not the way
I thought I knew you.

Uh, and I thought, "I have
this friend who's in a prison."

I felt that he could give my son
the straight goods,

whereas whatever I'm saying to
him might be just so much B.S.

You know, he'll say,
"Bah, forget about it, Dad."

You know, "You don't know
what you're talking about."

But he can't say that
to a man who's in prison.

So I wrote to David and I said,

"Would you be willing
to correspond with my son?

He's been getting
into some trouble."

♪♪

David: "November 28, 2005.

Dear Ray, hello,
and how are you?

I met your dad
nearly two years ago

after reading an interview
he conducted

with Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

Me and your dad have become
really good friends,

and I was hoping that we, too,
can become friends.

I was around your age
when I came to prison.

I really want to write to you,
and I often thought about

the privilege of writing
to his son."

When you said, "The privilege
of writing his son,"

that was the first thing in that
letter that sort of like,

put my guard down and let me
listen to you...

Right.
...without the guard.

I could sense the urgency
in his voice in his letters.

He felt like he did everything
he could to -- to get you,

you know, to understand
that, uh --

that kind of lifestyle leads
to some bad shit, you know?

♪♪

♪♪

Ernestine: This is David's
first-grade picture.

He never was a real bad kid.

He did his lessons very good.

So there was no problem
with his lessons.

He was good with that.

♪♪

David: I was born on
December 12, 1968,

in Dillon, South Carolina.

I mean, I'm proud
to be a Southerner.

People make fun of that,
but that's okay.

That's all right.

We had a good time back then.

I was the third of seven
brothers and sisters.

♪♪

You know, my mom is a very,
very good cook,

and she pretty much does it all
in terms of collard greens

and -- and mashed potatoes
and fried chicken.

And she can do wonders,
believe me.

My father, you know, had a
difficult time finding work.

My mother and my father thought
there were some better

opportunities for us,
so my family moved

to New York City
when I was 8 years old.

♪♪

It was a culture shock
for me, man.

And I used to hear all kinds
of noise in the street.

[Car horns honking]

♪♪

When I was a kid, I used to
always see these fire trucks

zoom up and down my block,
you know,

and I was curious
as to what they did,

where they were going,
what happened.

It just really confirmed
I wanted to be a fireman

because those people
were going to help somebody,

you know, and I think
as a kid growing up,

I always wanted to be a hero.

You know, it was rough, man.

I mean, I've seen some
horrible things.

Seen people get shot.

You know,
I've seen people get stabbed.

I started hanging out
with rather rough individuals,

so if you didn't be tough
at that time,

then you will become
somewhat of prey.

People will be picking on you.

I, um, started committing crimes
like robberies,

and I want to be somebody
important, knowing that I was

into these kinds of activities
would make me important.

And my father, of course,
he would always tell me,

"Look, either two things
are gonna happen to you."

He said, "Either you're
gonna be in prison

for the rest of your life
or you're gonna be dead.

♪♪

I got up early Sunday morning
like I do on most Sundays,

made breakfast.

I was more of a cereal guy
than anything.

On that particular Sunday,

we decided that we were gonna
go to the park

at Junior High School 296.

I had, like, a
friendly competition

with my sister, Mattie.

We went around 12:00,
and we played handball.

[Indistinct chatter]

Mattie: We always had
this thing that --

"You can't beat me."

"No, you can't.
I can beat you."

We finally played each other
in this very handball park,

in this park.

And I beat him. [Laughs]

This is where David was

at the time of
Nathan Blenner's kidnapping.

♪♪

David: In the park that day,
Willie was there, too,

and Willie was
a friend of mine, as well.

He lived about, maybe,
seven blocks from where I lived.

We didn't hang out all the time,
but we hung out occasionally.

We pretty much went at it
all day, playing.

You know, we went home after
that in between 6:00 and 6:30.

My mom was preparing dinner.

♪♪

It was just like
any other Sunday, you know.

It's just simply another day.

♪♪

♪♪

On October 27, 1985,

when I went to the store,

that was the last time
I've been home.

[Train rattling]

[Dog barking]

[Siren wailing]

[Indistinct chatter]

I'm sitting on some steps
with a group of friends,

and I notice a
detective car show up,

and three police officers
got out of the car,

and they said to me,

"Would you mind coming down to
the precinct for questioning?"

I said, "Okay, but I didn't
do anything wrong."

[Handcuffs click,
car door closes]

We were driving down,
and one detective said to me,

"If you fucking keep
leaning on me,

I'm gonna slap the shit
out of you."

At that time, I didn't know
exactly what was going on,

but I knew there was a problem.

♪♪

So when I got down
to the 83rd precinct,

they took me upstairs to a very
small room with no windows,

and I sat there for what seemed
like forever, really.

Joseph Butta
was a police officer.

He was saying that
they had found a body

in a park -- in Aberdeen Park
in Brooklyn.

Someone was killed.

And I said,
"I don't know what --

what you're talking about."

Detective Butta --

I'd say that he was a very,
very intimidating guy.

He was a 18-year veteran,
and he had a lot of experience.

I was very scared. He asked me
did I know Willie Stuckey?

I said he was a friend of mine.

Police officer Butta said to me

that Willie said
I shot Nathan Blenner.

♪♪

He brought Willie Stuckey
to the door.

They said to Willie Stuckey,
"Is that him?"

And Willie nodded his head yes.

I couldn't believe it.

Why -- Why the fuck would he --
Why would he say that?

Why would he say that I killed
somebody when he know

that neither he or I was there.

♪♪

Butta said, "Look,
if you tell me what happened,

I will let you go home."

And I said, "Officer, I don't
know what you're talking about

because I've never driven a car
my life, ever.

I've never been to
that particular neighborhood.

I didn't know anything
about Nathan Blenner."

And it was at that moment
when I said that I didn't know

who he was talking about
that he slapped me in my face.

He picked up a chair,

and he was threatening
to hit me with the chair.

I knew right then
that I had to say something,

and I had to tell this officer
what he wanted to know.

And then I said yes,
literally repeating

what he had
previously said to me.

At that time, I was willing to
do and say anything they wanted.

Willie was pointing
the finger at me.

You know, if he's saying
I did it,

well, I'm gonna say he did it.

I'm gonna say
he shot the person,

Detective Butta started
feeding me details.

He would say, for example,

"You saw this guy sitting
in his car, right?"

And so when he said, "Right,"

what I did was I just said,
"Yes, we did," you know?

And then he would actually
ask me another question,

and then it would just go on
and on and on and on again.

♪♪

Butta said, "Look, we got a
videotape set up,

and you're gonna go in there
and you're gonna repeat

exactly what you
repeated to me."

That was it.

♪♪

-Butta: Sir, what is your name?
-David McCallum.

Appearing on videotape was
absolutely and unequivocally

the worst mistake of my life.

I don't think anything can --
can actually compare to that.

Anything.

I felt like it was important
for me to try to make

my confession more believable
to the officers there.

So what I did was I put details
in the confession

When someone looks at the
confession, they will see that

information that was supplied
by Willie Stuckey

and the confession that I made,

they were totally inconsistent
with one another.

[Telephone rings]

Ernestine: 1:00, the phone rang.
I answered the phone.

And they said, "Do you have
a son by the name of

David McCallum?"

And I said, "Yes. Where is he?"

They said, "We have him
at the precinct."

So I said, "Well, he's only 16."

I say, "He need one
of his parents there."

He said, "If you come,
you can't see him."

[Siren wailing]

♪♪

♪♪

Ray: "Hey, David. Thanks for
sharing your story with me.

It was eye-opening,
to say the least.

Hearing about where you're from
and what happened to you

has definitely made me rethink
my own actions and decisions.

I have a lot to be
thankful for."

♪♪

I bring to you the message
that I heard in prison.

I am a survivor.

A survivor of the American

so-called
criminal justice system.

And the same way...

Ken was a teacher,
and his class wrote me letters,

uh, asking me to appear, uh,
at their school

to speak with them.

And I did.

Ray: It was my dad's way
to meet one of his idols,

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter,

the legendary boxer who was
incarcerated for 19 years

for a crime he didn't commit.

And as I began to know
Ken Klonsky a little more,

we decided to do an article
for "The Sun" magazine.

Ken: A lot of people saw that,
including David McCallum.

David read the interview,
and he contacted me.

So the world,
sometimes you choose,

and sometimes it chooses you,
and I just decided

I wasn't gonna turn away
from this person.

Ray: David asked my dad to go
over his trial transcripts

because he wanted
to send them to Rubin.

So even though
he's not a lawyer,

my dad just started
going through them himself.

Ken: The first time through,

it was fairly clear to me
that he was guilty.

But then I decided, "I'm gonna
take a second look at this."

And the second time through,
the whole case came apart.

Ray: So my dad retired
from teaching

and managed to get Rubin Carter
onboard to help with the case.

Rubin's star power helped
attract Oscar Michelen...

a lawyer who had successfully
fought some other

wrongful-conviction cases
in New York.

My opinion of David is that
he's got a tremendous heart,

tremendous courage,
and there's no hatred.

There's no seeking of vengeance.

And to stay positive, I don't
know how he does it, frankly.

My dad provided the
emotional support for David.

He talked to him
on the phone every week,

kept his head
in the right place.

Rubin was our face,
the spokesperson,

and Oscar was our lawyer.

With everything happening,

I looked at the court documents
one day and couldn't believe

they could convict somebody
with so little evidence.

I became convinced
of David's innocence

and really wanted
to get involved.

As the team began
to reinvestigate the case,

the first step was to look back

into what actually happened
to Nathan Blenner.

I think, for me,
it's easy to forget

that there's another victim
in this case other than David.

The crime itself
is really shocking.

So, we're here now
at the scene of the crime.

That's where Nathan's car
was parked.

He was getting ready to go,
get it started,

when a couple of boys who
were playing in the street

saw two young male blacks
come down this street.

One of them took out a gun.

This is their testimony.

They then heard one of
the abductors tell Nathan,

"Get the 'F' in the car."

They pushed him in the car,
and they drove off.

[Engine revving,
tires squealing]

♪♪

Ray: The day after
Nathan Blenner was kidnapped

from the Ozone Park
neighborhood of Queens,

his body was found
in Aberdeen Park in Brooklyn.

♪♪

His car had been burned
and left in an empty lot.

One week later, David McCallum
and Willie Stuckey

were arrested and charged
with the murder.

[Siren wails]

♪♪

New York City in the mid 1980s,
crime was at an all-time high

because of gangs,
gun violence, and crack.

There were multiple murders
every day.

The police, that time,
had their hands full.

Courts were fed up.

People had had it.
Jurors had had it.

"We want our city back."

And all those pressures

were coming to bear
into that courtroom

when David and Willie were
ushered into it for their trial.

It wasn't just about their case.

It was about all of the crime

that was going on
in the city at that time.

♪♪

[Indistinct chatter,
gavel bangs]

When this case was tried,

this was before the days
of DNA evidence,

and that's very important
because one of the things

that DNA evidence
has established

is that people
do falsely confess to crimes,

particularly young teenagers.

♪♪

On top of that,

this was one of the early days
of videotaped confessions,

so it was very unusual
for a jury

to be able to actually
see the defendant

allegedly confessing
to the crime.

Here, you have the guy
right in front of you on film.

You can see that
there's no gun to his head.

So in the end,

nobody believed that
those confessions were coerced.

These two teenagers

had no chance with
professional interrogators.

And that's the only
so-called evidence

that the state presented,
was this false confession.

Ray: To see if we could
find anything that was

missed at the trial,

Rubin Carter sent the tapes
to Steve Drizin,

one of the world's leading
experts on false confessions.

If you simply look at the tapes,
you get the impression

that the person on the tape
may, in fact, be guilty

because the tapes
don't tell the story.

One signifier of
a false confession

is that the confession
doesn't lead police

to any additional evidence.

There's nothing in that
confession

that the police officers
didn't already know

from some other source.

Not a single fingerprint
anywhere in the car

that belongs to McCallum
or Stuckey.

I mean, these are teenage kids,
and we know from scores of cases

that juvenile suspects
are more vulnerable than adults

to the kinds
of police techniques

that we see over and over again.

And you have both Stuckey and
McCallum independently saying

that they were struck by the
lead detective, Detective Butta.

What's his reason
for being there?

He's not conducting
any questioning.

He is there to intimidate
David McCallum.

But I would say that the most
important factor to me

in the confession is
what we call a false fed fact.

When police canvassed
Nathan Blenner's neighborhood,

they interviewed a woman
who we'll call Chrissy.

Chrissy could have been
a key witness,

but she was never
brought into the trial.

Around the time of
Nathan Blenner's abduction,

Chrissy was washing her car
on the street

when she was accosted
by two black males.

♪♪

Oscar: One of them in braids.

They come up to her and say,
"Hey, you got a nice car."

Neither McCallum or Stuckey
wore braids.

Now, that occurred
within an hour

before Nathan Blenner's
abduction.

Steve: Stuckey's confession has
this account of meeting a woman

or a girl on the street.

Now, why is that important?

Because her description
of the offenders

doesn't fit Stuckey
and McCallum.

♪♪

Oscar: The jury had no idea

that someone had given
a description of two male blacks

that did not match McCallum
and Stuckey's description

at around the time of the crime.

I mean, it's ludicrous.

Ray: David's court-appointed
lawyer dropped the ball

in pretty much
every way possible.

He never visited
the crime scene.

David says he was interviewed
only once before his trial.

And he failed to even
bring Chrissy into the case.

He was later disbarred.

Ray: Tell me about
your lawyer.

I mean, well, for the camera,
I'm gonna be very kind here.

So I'm gonna say that he was...

grossly incompetent,
to say the least.

What do you
really think?

He was a piece of shit.

Oscar:
There was reasonable doubt

all over the place,
so when you open up the file,

you see the route for his
exoneration right there.

Ray: David's lawyer had this
evidence and didn't use it,

so it can't be used
for an appeal now.

That's just the way
the law works.

Had he had better
representation at trial,

he'd probably be walking
the streets right now.

Steve: The only evidence linking
these guys to this crime

is this confession,

and little did he know that
this five minutes of testimony

was gonna cost him
the rest of his life.

It's really tragic.

The verdict was guilty
on all charges.

Um, I was convicted
for felony murder

and for intention of murder and,
uh, robbery and kidnapping.

For me, it was almost like
in slow motion

because I was still waiting
for a not-guilty verdict.

I was really afraid
to turn around

to see the reaction
of my mother,

because I know
she's gonna be hurt.

I didn't cry at that time
because I was too much in shock,

but as soon as I went back
to the bullpen,

I started crying then because
I, at that time, realized

that I wasn't gonna
be going home.

♪♪

You don't ever get used to it.

But sometime it...

it just takes everything
away from me,

and sometime I just try
to block it out of my mind,

but it still come back.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Door closes]

David: "Hey, Ray,
to tell you the truth,

I do still think about
that confession every day.

It was the biggest mistake
of my life,

and it used to make me angry,
but over the years,

I've learned that if you spend
time feeling sorry for yourself,

you're missing out
on the opportunity

to move forward with your life.

I hope you learn that, too."

Ray: If he's not an angry prick

after everything
he's been through,

you know, what right do
I have to be?

♪♪

David used his story
and his experience to show me

that I'm free to shape my future
and follow my dreams.

And, you know, that's -- that's
a pretty powerful thing

for a young person to realize.

♪♪

Ken: David's given him a sense
of the value of his own life,

and it's not something that
he should throw away lightly,

and, uh, he's got opportunities
that David never had.

♪♪

David: "What's up, Ray?

I'm so glad to hear your
business ideas

are becoming a reality.

That's amazing. Congratulations.

I feel like I'm along
for the ride with you.

Ray: I had always wanted
to own my own business,

so some friends and I
got together,

and we opened up a restaurant
for students in Montreal.

David gave me
the confidence to say,

you know, "I can do
whatever I put my mind to."

I had always dreamed about
making films and TV shows.

He encouraged me.

I got my grades up, and I
actually got into film school.

All these amazing things
were happening.

But the question was
always on my mind --

"What can I do to help David?"

How can I pay him back

for everything
he's been doing for me?"

I told every single one of
my friends about David

It was my first-ever
video class,

and I met Marc --

you, and I was like,

"I want to go down to New York
and interview David's family."

And you were like,
"Yeah, cool. That'd be awesome."

[Car horn honks]

♪♪

So Marc and I headed down to
New York and met David's family.

High-five?

♪♪

We met Oscar.

Yeah, well,
they almost saw me.

We went to Toronto
to see Rubin.

How are you?I'm very good, young man.

And everywhere we went,
we would talk to people

and tell them about David
and tell them David's story.

We weren't sure how this was
actually gonna help,

but we had to do something.

So, uh, I'm going out
to see David today.

He just got transferred
to a new prison.

It's Otisville
Correctional Facility.

It's about an hour
and 45 minutes from New York.

He's been so
kind of down lately,

so I try to go see him a lot.

Marc: What are you guys gonna
talk about today?

We'll probably talk
about the case.

We'll talk about parole,
which is coming up.

David's sentence is 25 to life,

so after 25 years,
he's eligible for parole.

David's had three
parole hearings so far,

and he's been denied each time.

David's fourth parole hearing
is coming up,

and we're hopeful that
he's finally gonna be able

to come home to his mother,
sister, niece, and nephew,

who continue to support him
year after year.

I really believe I have
an opportunity

based on the things that I've
done in prison, you know?

My accomplishments,
and I've been --

I've managed to stay
out of trouble,

and I get along with people,
so I think I've --

I think I'm a perfect candidate,
objectively speaking.

David tells me that you are
quite the, um...

the computer whiz,
that you're gonna teach him

how to use a computer
when he gets out.

Mia: Yep.

What are you
gonna show him?

I'm gonna show him how do you
turn it on and how does it work.

[Chuckles]

♪♪

It's easy to forget
how little David knows

about the world that we live in.

♪♪

People spend 20 years in prison,
and you come out of prison,

you're -- bam --
right back here in society,

and you know nothing
about this society.

Ray: David has never used
the Internet.

He's never used a cellphone.

He's like, "I'm pretty bad
at this Internet.

There's Googles and Facebook."

When I'm visiting with him,
sometimes he'll ask me, like,

how to flirt with girls

or, like, dating
and stuff like that.

If he gets out on parole,
then he gets out as a murderer,

and, you know,
good luck getting a job

when every application
you have to fill out says,

"Have you been convicted
of a crime?" Yes.

"Which crime?"
You know, murder.

So, David's next parole hearing
is coming up,

but parole doesn't mean freedom.

And that's what we're all
really fighting for.

It is very difficult to overturn
a jury's verdict.

I've had some of the best-known
people in the whole world

supporting me, and yet,
even with all of that support,

I just narrowly escaped
through the eye of a needle.

David: When I was 17 years old,

I filed a number of appeals
on my own.

Some of the issues were

ineffective assistance
of counsel,

prosecutorial misconduct,

and the fact that
the confessions were false.

A self-written appeal
by a prison inmate

without a high-school education,

without the assistance
of a lawyer

had no chance in Hell.

And so, after eight years,
all my appeals were exhausted.

The law is clear --
once an argument is raised

and considered
by an appellate court,

that argument is gone for good
for that defendant.

The only way to secure
David's freedom now

is to find new evidence
and make new arguments.

Ray: As the team really started
to dig into David's case

and, you know,
search for new evidence,

Marc and I tagged along
as often as we could.

We even went out by ourselves

to search for any information
that could help.

Did you know any of the kids
that worked here?

If I said some names,
you wouldn't know anyone?

No. None of them.

♪♪

Uh-huh.

♪♪

I don't know
what I would have done

had I found something,

but I was just doing
whatever I could do.

We tried the victim's family.
We tried the Stuckey family.

We talked to people
in the neighborhood

who knew David back in the day.

Well, for a fact, I know that

as far as David knew anything,
he had nothing to do with it.

Ray: We even tried
the two witnesses

who saw Nathan get taken away.

They were 11 years old
at the time.

You don't know
where he lives?

[Siren chirps]

-Oscar: Think that's for us?
-Ray: I think it is for us.

Ray: "Hey, David.

I'm out here doing
everything I can for you.

Nobody will talk to us, though,
and it's really frustrating.

What happened to Nathan was
so awful that I understand now

why no one wants
to revisit the past."

Every single part of this whole
thing is infuriating.

Butta's dead.
His partner's dead.

Marc: Willie's dead.

Willie's dead.

Uh, David's lawyer's dead.

David's lawyer's dead.

Everything just feels like
a waste of time,

but it's like, well, what else
are you supposed to do?

David: For me to walk
out of here, it's gonna take

someone coming forward to say

that they actually
committed this crime,

or there's going to be
strong evidence to suggest

and prove that I'm innocent,
along with Willie Stuckey.

Short of that, um,

you know, I-I don't think
it's gonna happen.

[Indistinct chatter]

Say hi.

Hello.

David:
My oldest sister, Ella --

she's probably the person
I think about the most.

My sister was born
with cerebral palsy.

That means she has a disability
that doesn't allow her

to do some of the things
that I'm able to do.

Ernestine: I didn't know she
didn't have a bone in the back.

I know when I set her up,
she'd fall over,

but when they X-rayed
and everything,

they said, "She doesn't have
a spine in the back."

They told us that she wouldn't
live till she get 13.

That bothered me
for awhile.

But after she passed 13,

it didn't bother me anymore
because I said,

you know, "They don't know
what they talking about."

Ray: How -- How old
is she now?

She 52.

My sister's my hero
for the very reason that

she's probably one
of the strongest individuals

I've ever met,
that I've ever seen in my life.

She just -- she didn't ask to be
in her circumstance.

God made it that way,
and that's fine.

But my sister is
my sister, and...

I mean, that's a tough one, man.

[Telephone rings]Ken: David.

Hello, David.

David:
Hello. How you doing?

Oh, I'm just great.
Uh, how about you today?

Ken: He gets very down,
and when you're talking to him,

you feel it to such an extent
that it's --

it's as if you're
being drawn under water,

Ray: Still a light
at the end of the tunnel?

There always is.
There's always the next appeal.

There's always
the next parole hearing.

There's always
the next investigation.

You never know
what you're gonna find.

We're trying to crack a
28-year-old case.

It's a pretty monumental task,
and we needed help.

Ray: Has your work ever
got in the way of

any of your relationships?

Absolutely.

I would have to say

my relationships have got
in the way of my work.

[Laughs]

Whoo! [Laughs]

♪♪

[Horns honking]

♪♪

I had read about this guy,
Van Padgett, who had helped

some other people who had been
wrongfully convicted.

Van: As far as my
professional career,

this is the call
I've been waiting for.

I done met with David,
and I told David,

and I don't know
what possessed me to say it,

that I'm bringing you home.

So [Laughs] it's like I'm in.

Ray: When the police searched
Nathan Blenner's burnt car,

they found cigarette butts
in the ashtray.

These cigarette butts
had never been tested for DNA

because the technology
didn't exist at the time.

Rubin and Oscar
successfully petitioned

the Brooklyn D.A.'s office
to test the cigarette butts.

And lo and behold,
the lab found a match.

The DNA isn't David's.
It's not Willie's.

It's somebody totally new that
we had never heard about before.

This is it right here.

It was the first break in
David's case in over 20 years.

[Line rings]

Man: Hello?
Yo, B.

Yo.

Ray: Van used his

shady private-investigator
connections,

and he found Mr. DNA.

This guy was 14 in 1985,

so I don't think that
he killed Nathan Blenner,

but he was in that car
smoking cigarettes,

so he knows something.

He's our only direct connection
to Nathan Blenner's car.

♪♪

♪♪

How are you?Good to see you.

What's up, man?

♪♪

Now, this button
is a little bigger.

-That's a lens?
-Yeah.

♪♪

Let's do it.

♪♪

In 1,000 feet, you will arrive
at your destination.

♪♪

Oscar: I know, yes.

Ray: Is it rolling?

Kind of wish I was
up there right now.

[Knock on door]

Man: Hey.
How are you doing?

Van: Excuse me.
Good morning.

[Dog barks]Hey, little guy.

Good morning.
My name is Van Padgett.

I'm a private investigator.
I'm here to see Mr. [Bleep].

Can I speak to you for a second?
-Yeah, sure, sure.

How are you doing?
You look familiar, man.

This is
Mr. Oscar Michelen.

Okay, so, I'm the attorney
who's working on the case.

You know, Mr. McCallum's
been in since 1986.

We're trying to figure out
what happened that day.

So, done the DNA tests
of what was in the vehicle.

And you've got two
cigarette butts

with your DNA on it
in the car.

But the name wasn't
pulled out of a hat.

You know, for DNA,
when you get a false hit,

it's not a false positive.

It's -- We -- [Exhales]

Your DNA is on two
cigarette butts

in the ashtray in that car.

That is a fact that we
have to deal with.

The problem what we --

You were in that car
smoking cigarettes.

♪♪

So, I must say, I don't know
what to make of it.

You know, it could be that he
just doesn't remember.

I think he's holding back.

And I just said to Van,
"It really doesn't matter

if he's telling
the truth or not."

Ray:
How do you figure?

'Cause what are we gonna do?
Are we gonna Tase him?

We're gonna waterboard him?
What are we gonna do?

When he comes to declare, he'll
look you right in the face,

and he says,
"I have no idea."

Ray: In retrospect,
I guess I...

I kind of feel stupid, but...

You know, I don't know,
I just -- I thought that,

you know,
he'd have nothing to lose.

He was only 14.
We don't think he killed him.

So, like, what's he --

Maybe he is hiding something,
you know? Who knows?

I mean, the hardest part
is like, you know,

what do you tell David
after that?

♪♪

David: I just hope that I'm one
of those individuals, you know,

that make it, you know,
because some people,

unfortunately, they don't
make it out, you know?

Ray: Willie Stuckey
didn't make it out.

Willie Stuckey
didn't make it out.

♪♪

Rubin: This is too dangerous
in this prison.

Any show of disrespect
can mean your life.

There's always life-and-death
struggles behind those walls.

♪♪

David:
Willie Stuckey's dead.

Willie Stuckey's not here
anymore, sadly, and, um,

sometimes I often think
that could be me.

♪♪

[Line rings]

Rubin: Dr. Carter's office.

Rubin, how are you doing?
It's Ken.

Hey, Ken! How are you?

I'm just fine.

Ray: Rubin's health
was rapidly deteriorating.

The man who brought this whole
team together could no longer

be the figurehead in the fight
for David's freedom.

On the day we were scheduled
to do an interview,

he said he didn't have
the energy to see us.

He agreed to take
a phone call, though.

[Coughing]

How are you feeling?
Are you okay?

Marc: All right.Okay. Feel better.

Take care, Rubin.[Chuckles]

[Line beeps]

That's, uh --
that's sad.

He doesn't have, um --
he doesn't have a lot left.

I mean, he -- he gave you
everything he had

because it was you.

[Clicks tongue]

[Sighs]

♪♪

Ray: Rubin didn't want any kind
of funeral or memorial service.

For his last public act,

he wrote a letter stating that
his single regret in life

was that David McCallum
was still in prison,

and for his dying wish,

he called upon
the district attorney

to grant David a full hearing.

The letter was republished
around the world.

♪♪

And we promised Rubin
that we'd keep fighting

until David's name is cleared.

And if it means
trying to find the killers

28 years later,
then that's what we're gonna do.

Trying to find the real killers
brings us back to Chrissy,

because she saw two guys
that day who didn't match David

and Willie's description
because one of them had braids.

So could these be
the same two guys

that kidnapped Nathan Blenner?

You know, sometimes you got
to go over the paperwork over

and over again.

Try to be objective.
Don't be judgmental.

♪♪

Oscar: Four days after
Nathan Blenner's kidnapping,

Chrissy reported that her car
had been stolen.

Chrissy and Nathan Blenner
had the exact same car.

Ray: When you look closely
at the investigation reports,

you see that Detective Butta
actually did question two guys

who matched
Chrissy's description

before he even knew
about David and Willie.

They were carjackers
and had been arrested

in Nathan Blenner's
neighborhood.

What's more reasonable --
that professional car thieves

accosted Nathan Blenner
and pulled this off,

or two 16-year-old kids
without a motive

and no gain pulled this off?

Ray: The first suspect, and
we're gonna call this guy Jake,

he gave Detective Butta
a ton of information.

Not only did he have a history
of violent crimes,

he had a direct connection
to Nathan Blenner's car.

When police were searching
the burnt Buick Regal,

they found the kerosene can
that was used to torch it.

Butta's partner recognized
from the price tag

that the kerosene can came
from a local hardware store

in Bushwick known as Pop's.

The suspect ends up working
at this Pop's hardware store

where the kerosene can
came from,

and that remarkable coincidence,

frankly, that incredible
accomplishment

of good police work
goes un-followed-up.

No one does anything with that.

♪♪

Ray: Butta's report gives us

almost no information
on the second guy,

the guy with braids,
who we're gonna call Murray.

He's currently on probation,

and Van found
his sister's address.

That's where he's
supposed to be staying.

He's visited with her
a number of times.

She's really nice
and keeps trying to connect us

with her brother,
but he's clearly dodging.

Woman: Hello?Yes, good afternoon.

This is, uh,
private investigator

Van Padgett.

Oh, hi, Van.
How are you?

How are you?
How's everything?

I'm okay. Hanging in there.[ Laughs ]

I'm still trying to get
in contact with your brother.

Okay.Have you heard anything?

Yes, he was here
yesterday.

Did he leave
a forwarding address

or a number
that we can reach him at?

No, he didn't have no phone,
but he'll be here Monday.

So we tried one last time,

hoping to catch him there
that Monday.

All right.

Ray: Good luck.
Hey, hey.

We don't believe in luck.
Luck is for nonbelievers.

[Grunts]

[Car door closes]

[Dishes clattering in distance]

[Elevator whirs]

How you doing?
Hi.

Okay.
My pleasure, my pleasure.

Ray:
We had missed him again,

but this time, his sister
revealed new information

not contained
in any police report.

Even before her brother
was arrested in Queens,

he had already been questioned
for Nathan Blenner's murder.

Police had raided their house
and taken him to the station.

The police immediately
started looking at him.

How many cops was there?

Really? They told him
he was about --

Do you recall how long after
they discovered the body

in the park that the police
came to your house?

Was he known in the neighborhood
to these detectives?

Did she say anything
that would lead you to believe

that he actually did it?

What she's saying is
that they came immediately

after they discovered
the body.

Like, two to three days
afterwards.

But he wasn't giving it up.
He wasn't like David and them.

You know, he wasn't this kid
that you can just like,

"I'm gonna beat it
out of you."

"Okay, keep beating.
I'm not --

I don't know what you're
talking about."

Yeah.

Ray: Murray just
keeps dodging us,

but there's one place
that you can't hide.

Van saw that Murray had been
arrested, and he and Oscar

jumped on the opportunity
to pay him a visit.

He confirmed everything
his sister told us and more.

Oscar: He told us he was
questioned about this case

no less than four times.

So, did you get
a signed affidavit?

I'm looking at it right now.Yes!

So, he signed an affidavit,
which is like a sworn statement.

It doesn't prove
that David didn't do it.

I had this foolish idea
that he was just going to admit

to everything,
and that didn't happen.

So it's not a home run.

Ultimately, we still need
to figure out why David

and Willie were arrested
in the first place.

♪♪

At one point, you could see
Butta was building a case.

And I think, somewhere along
the line, something happened

where he decided
he's gonna createa case.

Ray: So, how did police go from
suspecting Murray and Jake,

two hardened criminals
with a direct connection

to Nathan Blenner's car,

to David and Willie?

The link is an alleged
gun dealer.

When Jake was being
interrogated by Butta,

he told them that a guy from his
neighborhood named James Johnson

owned a gun that had been
used in a murder.

Butta then questioned Johnson,

who said,
"Willie Stuckey has my gun."

He testified to this at trial.

In exchange for that testimony,
the police and the prosecution

let Johnson off the hook

for a very serious case
that he was facing,

and that was a huge, huge deal
in Johnson's favor, obviously.

Ray: If it wasn't for
Johnson's story about the gun,

David and Willie never
would have been picked up.

We don't know if this
was the same gun

that killed Nathan Blenner
because they never found a gun.

Oscar:
Here was Stuckey, in jail.

The police officer says to him,
"Where is the gun?"

The police officer
goes to the bedroom

and doesn't find the gun

and never finds the gun.

So why would Stuckey
truthfully confess to murder

but then lie about
where he hid the murder weapon?

Ray: And that's how absurd
this case is.

It's all hearsay.

We looked everywhere
for James Johnson.

Oscar and I went to a bunch
of old addresses.

We're looking for a guy
named James Johnson.

Used to live up on
the third floor.

Oh, it's empty?

So that's a dead end.

♪♪

But Van received new information
on a person who we believed

was the guy we'd been
looking for.

...6.

There you go.

Van: Are you familiar
with David McCallum?

Well, this -- we were
looking at, um...

Did you testify in 80 --
in '86?

The year that's in question
would be like '85, '86.

You was incarcerated then?

Ray: We checked the records,
and it was true.

At the time of the trial,

this guy was in jail under
a completely different name.

We kept looking,
but there are more than a dozen

other James Johnsons
in the New York justice system,

all about the right age.

♪♪

Van: Hello.

I'm looking
for James Johnson.

The only good thing
about searching for a guy

with such a common name

is that there's always
the next James Johnson.

So the search continues,

and it won't stop
until we find our guy.

♪♪

So, David's fourth
parole hearing is

rapidly approaching,
and every year, he has to decide

whether or not to admit
guilt and remorse,

which we think would give him
a better chance of getting out.

As his lawyer,
I have to let him know

what the options are that
he has to getting out of jail.

And I said, "You know, David,
there may come a time

where it's in your best interest
to just wave the white flag."

I've thought about it,
and I could not see myself

sitting in front of anyone and
admitting guilt in this crime.

I-I can't do it,
and I won't do it.

And if it takes...

dying in prison,

I would do that.

I just don't think it would be
the right thing to do

for me or for anyone that
support me and care about me

and -- and love me
and -- and believe in me.

I would rather die in prison,
and that's the truth.

That's the truth.

[Thunder rumbling]

♪♪

Ray: Because he's been
in jail for so long

and he has such
a good behavior record,

the parole board
can still grant him release

if they don't feel like
he's a threat to society.

Just because he won't
admit guilt

doesn't mean that he won't
get out this time.

♪♪

David: "What's going on, Ray?

I'm definitely looking forward
to my upcoming parole hearing.

Hope is all I have left,
and as long as I can breathe,

and will hold on to hope,
because hope inspires freedom.

[Bird calling]

♪♪

♪♪

Ray: With our investigation
dead in the water,

parole is now our only hope
of getting David out of prison.

[Telephone rings]

Aaron: Speaker first.

[Telephone beeps]Dial three.

Now we can put it
back on speaker.

Hello?

'Sup, man? How are you?[Beeping]

Yeah, I'm doing good.

Oh, she right here
next to me.

Sure.

Hello?

I'm okay.
You got some good news for me?

Oh, no.

Yeah, you keep
telling me that.

Yeah, I know that.

Yeah, it kind of, you know,
slowed me down a little bit.

I have a question
to ask you.

Of all the things
that come back negative to you,

how can you stay
strong like that?

[Laughs]

Yep.

Yeah.

Okay.

Hello?

Mm-hmm.

♪♪

David: "Parole decision --
denied.

Parole is denied
for the following reasons.

After a careful review of your
record in this interview,

it is the determination
of this panel

that if released at this time,

there is a reasonable
probability that you will not

live and remain at liberty
without violating law,

and your release is incompatible

with the welfare and safety
of the community."

♪♪

Oscar: David is 45 years old.

If you just think about
what the average person does

between the ages of 17 and 45,

the tragedy of David's
wrongful conviction

should hit home to you.

♪♪

Ernestine:
I'm proud of who he became,

but I'm not proud
that he was there.

♪♪

But, uh...

I feel like
it made a man out of him.

I really do.

♪♪

David: I have to stay connected
to the outside

because this experience
has showed me

that there's more to life
than just yourself, you know?

He's a remarkable human being.
He's an example to everybody.

I don't ever want him to think
that his life has been in vain.

It's a tragedy
that he's been in prison,

but his life has meaning
for a lot of people.

♪♪

It seems crazy that it would
take you writing to me

for me to, like,
appreciate, you know,

having a relationship
with my father.

You know, I guess sometimes
that's what it takes.

Right.

And for the record,
I really appreciate it.

You're welcome.

...because you saved
that relationship.

For you to sit there
and say that, uh, you know,

you don't really know how much
that kind of means to me because

my father, of course, you know,
he passed away in 2005,

you know, and I came to prison
at the age of 16.

That's not really a lot of time
to spend with your father.

You know?

Do you want
to be a father?

Yes. Yes, I do.

You didn't even hesitate
to answer.

Yes, I do, because I understand
the value of being a father,

how important it can be.

Um, I think I deserve to be.

It's not too late to live,
you know,

and that's what I want to do
when I -- when I get out.

[Gate whirring]

♪♪

Ray: It's funny 'cause, like,
it's hard for me

to envision him, you know,
walking out

because it's such
a beautiful vision

that I almost won't
let myself go there,

you know,
because I don't want to --

I don't want to get my
hopes up too -- too big

and get them let down.

♪♪

David: I just want to be able to
walk down the street, you know?

Uninhibited.

Just -- Just walking.

♪♪

I don't know.

I don't know what's
gonna happen.

I'm kind of --

I guess, in some ways,
I'm looking for a miracle, man.

Trying to hold on to that, man.

I'm trying.

[Door buzzes]

Thanks for coming, man.
I appreciate it.

Appreciate it.
Yeah.

All right?
Okay.

See you later.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

-Gentlemen, you're following me.
-Okay, thank you very much, sir.

Thank you.

Straight this way.

Ray: Our investigation was
at a dead end,

but then a new district attorney
was elected in Brooklyn,

and one of his promises
was to look

at wrongful-conviction cases
in a completely new way.

When I walked through the doors
of this office in January,

I inherited a legacy of disgrace

with respect to
wrongful-conviction cases.

We have over 100
of these cases to review.

Ray: With the old D.A., proof of
innocence was the only way

to get a wrongful-conviction
claim back into court.

But Ken Thompson set up a unit

to actually reinvestigate
some of these cases.

I made a pledge to
the people of Brooklyn,

and my pledge was
to put the guilty away,

but, also, to make sure
that our criminal-justice system

was based on
fundamental fairness.

Ray: The D.A.'s office
was flooded

with claims
of wrongful conviction,

just like ours.

But then in June of 2014,

we got news that they were gonna
reinvestigate David's case.

Four long months later,

they called to tell us
that on October 15th,

David was gonna get
his day in court.

[Woman laughs]

Oscar: Glad? [Laughs]

A handsome young man
looking for you. [Laughs]

Oh, man!

[Laughter]

Oh. How you feeling man?

Great.
[Laughs]

Ray: It turned out that
Murray's signed affidavit,

along with the Rubin's plea,

had been enough to pique
the interest of the D.A.

and get David's case
to the top of the list.

[Indistinct chatter]

Woman: Case number 11 on
the Park Court calendar.

The People of
the State of New York

versus David McCallum
and Willie Stuckey.

For the defendant,
Oscar Michelen --

M-I-C-H-E-L-E-N.

The defendants move that

the defendants'
constitutional rights

were violated at trial

and that the defendants
have obtained

newly discovered evidence.

Man: Your Honor, the people
do not oppose the motion.

Since the only evidence was
the statements against them,

in which we have
no confidence,

we would ask the indictment
to be discussed.

Against this backdrop

and the evidence available
to the district attorney

after the investigation

sufficiently
convinces the court

that the judgments of conviction
should be vacated

and, based upon the people's
further representation,

that they possess insufficient
evidence to prove guilt

beyond a reasonable doubt.

I will dismiss
the indictment.

Thank you.

[Applause]

Whoo!

[Cheering]

We'll go down here.
Let's walk down this way.

[Cheers and applause]

♪♪

Reporter:
The obvious thought, David --

How are you feeling
at this moment?

Of course, this is a bittersweet
moment because, um, there was

someone else who was supposed
to be walking out with me,

but unfortunately, he's not,
and that's Willie Stuckey.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Whistling]

♪♪

[Horn blaring]

♪♪

Yeah, we all settled?

[Laughter]

Mia: Mom, I'm taller
than everybody.

[Cheering]

♪♪

It's not helping
that it's all in the back.

Oh, David, David, David.
[Laughs]

David: Yes, yes, yes?We're all happy.

You know Miss Waterworks,
right?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.Ernestine: You know it, yeah.

Oh, God, this is so surreal
right now.

Yeah.
He's here!

He's sitting in that
right-front passenger seat.

This is like 1,000 years
of happiness.

[Laughter]

Wow.

You know?

Hey, Johnny, you work this
thing. You know how to work it.

Got to go see
my sister now.

Hey, sweetie.

Happy to see me?

You're happy
to see me, right?

I'm happy to see you,
too, sweetie.

Probably tomorrow,
we gonna be watching

a lot of television together,
you know that?

Yeah, let me
get me a kiss now.

[Smooches] I love you.

♪♪

Oh, man!

Yes, sir.

Without a doubt.
Without a doubt.

Ray: Watching David
walk out of jail,

it was just an amazing thing
to be a part of.

I can't...

I can't put it into words.

You're all over Twitter.
Okay.

[Chuckles]
Do you know what that is?

I know it's an account.
That's about it.

It's like a --
So, it's like -- Look.

It's like a site,
all right?

When you post something
is tweeting.

♪♪

David: So many to
choose from, right?

I know, there's so many,
right?

[Indistinct conversation]

Yeah, sneakers will choke
your feet, though.

Oh, yeah, man.

Oh, they feel good.

Yeah, real good.

Ray: This isn't a totally
happy ending.

David faces huge challenges.

He got 30 years of his life
taken from him,

and he can never get that back.

But, you know, Rubin Carter
said in his dying wish

that to live in a world
where truth matters

and justice, however late,
really happens,

that would be Heaven enough
for us all.

So I'm gonna go with, um,
the omelet, right?

And I'm gonna go with
the, um --

the home fries, man.

His dying wish came true.

Ray: Feta omelet --
that's you.

[Mattie laughs]

And for one little moment

in a little corner
of Brooklyn, New York,

all was right with the world.

Something I had to say to you,
but I forgot, just that quick,

'cause I'm so exci--
Oh, I can't believe I'm --

can't believe I'm
sitting here, man.

-I know. It's crazy.
-Can't believe I'm sitting here.

I cannot believe it, man.

[Ray laughs]

Ray:
How are you feeling?

Ken: As happy as
I've ever been in my life.

It is dreamlike.

All of a sudden,
the dream came true.

Well, we kept looking
at each other and saying,

"How did this happen?"

I mean, we wouldn't be here
if it wasn't for you.

Nobody would be.

Not Rubin,

not Oscar,

nobody, not Van.

That may be true.

It's -- It's 100% true.

♪♪

♪♪

Yep. Perfect.

Now we're talking.

[Camera shutter clicks]

Ken: But, you know,
when you get down to it,

and this is the God's
honest truth, it was David.

♪♪

David: Um, I just want to
thank everybody

for their love and support.

I just want everyone
at this table

to know that I truly,
truly appreciate everything,

and I mean everything that was
ever done for me in this regard.

And it will never be forgotten.
Thank you very much.

All: Hey!

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

David:
This is a pier, right?

Can't believe I'm standing
on a pier, man.

So, what are you doing
next week?

Not a whole lot.

You want to go see
a movie?

Sure. [Chuckles]
Why not?

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪