he goes you don't need a lawyer right now. all we want to do is ask you questions. you're not under arrest so you don't need a lawyer. >> though police will later dispute this, lowery says his repeated requests for a lawyer were denied. >> i don't know. maybe i should have had more backbone and said, you know, i'm walking out of here and i'm leaving, but i was so naive about my rights. i didn't know my rights. >> raised in covina, california, in a family with eight children, lowery had a conventional childhood. he played football in high school and graduated before entering the army. he had never been inside an interrogation room. >> in a case like eddie's where all of a sudden they tell you you can't have a lawyer, hey, gee, i thought that was part of the constitution. no, you can't have a lawyer. police officers in these situations can be extremely intimidating to the ordinary citizen.