Nearly two decades. Lost his last appeal. Maybe a nun could help get him into heaven, but could she help him get out of prison . What she helped him do was get a lawyer. And together they hunted for the truth. This is the one case that kept me up at night for six years. He says, i know youre innocent. I know the guys who committed this crime. Tonight, will justice finally arrive . This is my wall of hope. Convicted and freed. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres josh mankiewicz. Reporter sing sing correctional facility, the maximum security prison in upstate new york. Dealers. It is not where youd expect to find this gentle woman. In sing sing, they call me grandma. Reporter grandma is sister joanna chan, a maryknoll nun. I began working in sing sing more than 12 years ago. Reporter grandma volunteers at the prison, working with inmates in a theater program. She even teaches them chinese. [ speaking Foreign Language ] reporter through the years, grandma has helped dozens of men, but she says this inmate here on stage, a convicted killer, has changed her. Hes just so brave. Its not so much me helping him. Its like, watching him all these years, i took such courage, myself watching him. Reporter sister joanna remembers the first time she met this inmate. 30 pounds of food. So, i said, your family must love you very much. And he said, yes, because they know im innocent. And thats how the whole story began. Reporter a story that began with the unlikely friendship between a nun and a convicted killer would grow into a quest that would shake the faith of even those sworn to uphold the law. I thought if he was innocent, god has to see him through. Convicted murderer . He is inmate 97a7088, 38yearold eric glisson. We first met him in the spring of 2012 when a dateline producer working on a different story in sing sing met eric in his cell. You gonna film me . Reporter he had been locked up for 18 years. You want to see what its like to live in here . Reporter eric told us he didnt belong here. My story is ive been unjustly convicted for a crime that i didnt commit. And from february 3rd of 1995 until the present day, ive been sitting in here, lingering every day, wondering whether this mistake will be corrected. Reporter weve heard that before. Many times. But what if he was telling the truth . So over time we began visiting eric. Whats up . Youre looking good. Reporter and listening to his story. When i got arrested, i was always under the impression that people who are guilty actually go to jail. I didnt believe that i would be convicted of a crime that i didnt do. Reporter when police put the cuffs on him in 1995, eric was 20 years old, the new father of a 1weekold baby girl. Since then, their only time together has been spent in sing my daughter, i need to get home to her and be a father. Reporter eric often shared his story with sister joanna. Over time, she felt compelled to do something, anything for him, so she called the only lawyer she knew. First person i could think of was mr. Peter cross. I trust her judgement. To me, it was worth investing my time in. Reporter attorney peter cross agreed to at least see if there was some truth to erics story. But there was still one problem. Normally practice. No, not at all. Im a corporate lawyer. I do corporate litigation. I dont do criminal work. Reporter charmaine chester is peters assistant. This was also New Territory for her. Out of the blue one day i get this call from an inmate. You get this thing saying, you herself spending hours on the phone with the inmate. At first it was all, you know, business, his case, his case. But, you know, by the time youve talked to somebody every day then the personal things start to slip in. Reporter friendship. Friendship. Reporter in the meantime, her boss, attorney peter cross, was checking out erics claims of innocence. Did you believe it at the beginning . I didnt disbelieve him. I have been practicing law for a long time, okay . Reporter and people lie. They certainly color the truth. This is a man who was convicted of murdering someone. So of course i approached it with some skepticism. Learned the facts he agreed to take erics case at no charge, representing a man who didnt seem hardened by prison but almost frightened. Its terrifying because you could just be walking in the yard and you could be shanked. Thats the life in prison. Reporter a life hes lived for nearly two decades. The story he was telling us, if true, was as explosive as it was it turns out that the police and the District Attorney had all the evidence at their disposal to solve this crime from the beginning. Reporter not only was eric insisting he was wrongfully convicted, he said others were, too. All of them locked away for life for the same crime. Five other people five other people was also convicted of this crime. Reporter six people. Could all of them actually be innocent . Time now is approximately 7 15. Reporte t take a hard look at how it all began. Is it possible to get something so important, so wrong, about so many people . When we come back, we investigate what the police didnt, to find out what one witness really saw from her window the day of the murder. How the detectives couldve decided to run with that still reporter within the walls of sing sing, a convicted murderer has convinced a nun and a corporate lawyer that theres been a terrible miscarriage of justice. Eric glisson is in the 18th year of a 25tolife murder sentence. He claims hes innocent. You ever been in prison before this . No. Reporter whats it like to live in prison . A brutal killing of a fedex recruiter is under investigation. Reporter eric glissons nightmare began on the night of january 18th, 1995. The new york city detectives lining this hallway in the bronx were entering a crime scene as chilling as it was violent. Wins news time at 11 32. She had three pairs of handcuffs bound her wrists. Reporter the victims name was Denise Raymond. Important. Detectives are mystified over the vicious killing of a successful executive. Reporter the case went to detective tom aiello, a 20year veteran. Aiello led a team of detectives who worked through the night, knocking on doors and collecting evidence. Then, as the sun rose the next morning, some of those cops turned their attention to another murder, another bloody crime scene. This is the video police recorded of that second murder scene. Just a half mile away, in the same precinct. This was a busy night for the murder business in the bronx. The time is now approximately 7 15 a. M. On january 19th, 1995. Reporter this time, a livery cab driver named bathe diop had been found slumped over his steering wheel, shot multiple times, the victim of an apparent robbery. The drivers money and cellphone were missing. Drivers murder would be headed by 31yearold detective mike donnelly, who worked alongside detective aiello. The two detectives, donnelly and aiello, ended up putting their heads, and their cases, together, concluding the same group of several people committed both crimes. Did you know the other people . I knew two of them. Reporter from the neighborhood . From the neighborhood. Reporter these are good friends of yours . Acquaintances. Reporter just guys you saw around. Yes. Reporter one of those guys was 19yearold michael cosme, the first suspect arrested. You have the right to remain silent. Eric was also questioned. Where are he ada mabtly denied anything. If i knew what toopgs, if i knew who did anything, i would sir, reporter detectives didnt believe him, and cosme was arrested for both murders. Days later, so was eric glisson. Originally you were charged with both murders, with the Denise Raymond murder and the cab driver murder. Yes. Reporter but by the time eric went to trial, prosecutors dropped charges against him in the Denise Raymond case citing lack of evidence. So what evidence was there against him in the cab driver case . Its really pretty simple. There was a witness against him. Her name . Tavares told the cops she looked out her window and saw it all. Eric and the others smack in the middle of the cab driver robbery that ended in murder. Is it possible that miriam saw you commit a crime . No. Reporter not any crime . I wasnt there. Reporter bad blood between you and miriam . Yes, bad blood. Reporter eric says he had a brief sexual relationship with miriam that did not end well. You have a fling with a girl, she may feel slighted. Reporter slighted enough to make you a murder i guess. Reporter suspect . I guess so. Reporter whatever her motivation, the question is how reliable was she as a witness . All these years later, eric finally had someone to take another look at miriams story, attorney peter cross. Theres no doubt that this woman was lying. I went out to the crime scene. She could not possibly have seen what she said occurred. Reporter so what could Miriam Tavares really see . Heres the problem with miriams story. From that police video, we know the cab came to rest. But we also know the shooting itself happened several car lengths back, sort of where that red suv is. We know a man in that building called 911 when he heard the shots, and he says he saw only one person running away from the scene. Now a couple of weeks later, Miriam Tavares comes forward. She lived in that building right just outside the window through which miriam says she saw all of this happen. Now this has to be easily 100 yards away. And she said she saw six people from the neighborhood commit the crime. She said she heard what they said, and she saw what they stole. And she said she saw all of it looking through this bathroom window. The only problem is, if you go back to where the shooting actually happened, its pretty clear Miriam Taveras couldnt ve she said from her bathroom window she heard these conversations going on inside the car. I mean, its just incredible testimony. Reporter but what disturbed cross even more, detective donnelly never looked at the crime scene from the perspective you just did. Wouldnt that sort of be standard operating procedure, to check out what witnesses say . You would think so. I think that they got on a horse early on in this case and they rode that horse. She died of a Drug Overdose in 2002. Other than her testimony there was no physical evidence, no forensics, no prints, nothing that tied eric or the others to the cab drivers murder. Even so, detectives donnelly and aiello went with what they had and closed both murder cases. Within three weeks they arrested their suspects, and the bronx District Attorney tried them. In all, six people were convicted. Well call them the bronx six. Five men and a woman, all sent away, facing 25 to life. One of them was eric glisson. Whats it like to hear that verdict read . Its like a shot in the chest. Its like your heart just melts. It just dissolves. You actually think that, you know, they read the wrong verdict. That this cant be true. Reporter the nypd was quite so proud that five months after the arrests the department allowed the detectives to be featured in new York Magazine about how they amazingly cracked the cases. How the detectives couldve decided to run with this and send them to jail for the rest of their lives on the basis of this garbage. It still shocks me today. Reporter all these years later, attorney cross knew his opinion of the detective work in this case wasnt going to free i think the only kind of evidence thats going to sway a court is if we can point to who the real killers are. Reporter that was quite a lot to hope for. But from behind bars, eric glisson was already on the trail. I got some documents. And so i see this guy gilbert. Gilbert name keep coming up. A surprise visitor and an answered prayer. He said, im sorry. I know youre innocent. I know the guys who committed this crime. Reporter these are the people were calling the bronx six, five men and a woman, all convicted and sent away for 25 years to life for committing murder. All insisted they were innocent. We met one of them, eric glisson, in sing sing, where he was locked up. Ive been fighting these people for years, asking for documents which they denied me at every turn. Youre not going to convict me for something that i didnt do and just expect me to accept it. Im gonna fight to the end. Im a fighter. I die on my feet, not on my knees. Reporter as the years passed, eric took College Courses offered by the prison. He learned about the law and fought his case. How did he get that evce the courts denied all his appeals. I dont have any appeals left, nothing. Reporter it was a lonely fight. And then, in 2006 when he met sister joanna chan in one of the prisons programs, the woman he calls grandma he would say, grandma, its really hard. I told her, grandma, i just lost my last appeal. I dont know what im going to do. You know that there are many sisters praying for you. Reporter sister joanna offered more than just her prayers. Thats when she brought in peter cross, who was now fighting for eric on the outside. You have donnelly as the officer assigned. Reporter with eric as his guide, cross got up to speed and to have any chance of having another day in court, he knew he would need actual evidence. If he and the other five had nothing to do with the two murders, then who did . After more than a decade of trying, finally, some of erics requests for documents in his one name stood out. It was part of a gang called sex money murder. Eric was on to an important lead. Even veteran cops knew those three words meant danger, a notorious gang from the soundview section of the bronx. 1997, october, sex money and murder became my assignment. Reporter Pete Forcelli was an nypd detective assigned to take down the gang. This was all sex, money, murder territory . Yeah, were in the heart of it. Reporter while forcelli was investigating the gang, an informant told him detailsa committed. There was a cab driver who had been killed in vicinity of soundview. Reporter so forecelli went to the 43rd precinct in the south bronx to see if there was any truth to the story. Early 1998, walked in the precinct. Went upstairs. Walked into the detective squad room. Reporter so you go in there and say, what about this murder . What do you know about a murder . Yeah, i wanted to know about a cab driver murder in soundview or the area around soundview. Reporter and the response . They had nothing to fit that description. Reporter but forcellis the 43rd precinct. No, two. Made two. And again, came out saying we have nothing that fits that description. Reporter is there any conceivable reason why the Police Department wouldnt tell you the truth . Well, i thought about that. Reporter forcelli says the answer might be simple. As far as the nypd was concerned, this homicide was solved. Closed. The detective may have looked only in the open homicide drawer and never bothered to even look to see if there was anything that fit that description. Reporter and as far as you know, that was the end of it. Right, id moved on. Reporter forcelli soon retired from the nypd, not knowing six people had been already been convicted. In the meantime, eric was stuck in prison. It wasnt until 2012, 14 years later, that he hit paydirt, and it came in the form of cellphone records. Remember, the cab drivers cellphone had been stolen by whoever killed him. And i found hundreds of calls reporter the records showed the first call was made from the victims phone minutes after the shooting. The numbers called traced back to relatives of two sex, money, murder gang members named Jose Rodriguez and gilbert vega. Eric believed he finally had evidence showing who the real killers were. It took me 16 years, 17 years to get those through freedom of information. Reporter they were never provided to the defense . No. It turns out that the police and the evidence at their disposal to solve this crime from the beginning. Reporter so he wrote a letter to the u. S. Attorney proclaiming his innocence and detailing the information he found out about the sex, money, murder gang. It was a hail mary pass. In an amazing stroke of luck, erics letter landed on this mans desk. His name, john omalley, an investigator for the u. S. Attorney in new york. Days after reading erics immediately john omalley just stood up and he asked me, did you write this letter . And i said, yes. He shook my hand. And he said, im sorry. And i said, sorry for what . He says, you know, i know youre innocent. When he said that, i said, what are you talking about, sir . He said, listen, i know the guys who committed this crime. Reporter how did omalley know . It turns out omalley worked with detective forcelli on that gang case ten years earlier. Members, jose and gilbert, actually confessed the cab driver shooting to omalley. He said, when i read this letter, everything just came back to me from that day. I put it all together from that day when these guys confessed to me. Reporter omalley didnt want to appear on camera but told us he also checked with the nypd after getting those confessions in 2002, and like forecelli before him, omalley was told they had no record of after getting erics letter in 2012, omalley addressed the court in a sworn affidavit stating that eric glisson and the others were innocent of the cab driver shooting. Armed with that kind of statement youd think eric would be, literally, home free. Youd be wrong. Coming up but eric glisson isnt giving up. This is my wall of hope. Everyone here has been unjustly on it . Reporter for the first time in his 18year struggle to prove that he didnt pull a trigger, eric glisson finally had his hands on a smoking gun. An affadavit from a federal investigator saying eric was innocent. He asked me do i have an attorney. And i told him yeah. And he says, i promise you i will call this lawyer today. I was standing online in the bank. Reporter peter cross remembers that phone call. Mr. Omalley tells me, peter im with the u. S. Attorneys office. We know your client is and that was such an emotional moment for me tears welled up in my eyes right in front of the teller. Thank god every day for john omalley. When i looked in that man eyes, you know, i seen a man who has integrity. I seen a man who was honest. Affidavit was enough for the bronx d. A. To reopen the case and to get in front of a judge. But that would take time. Two more months. But now, at least eric had reason to hope. In his cell he assembled his own little gallery of others whod been exonerated. This is my wall of hope. Everyone here has been unjustly convicted and freed. Reporter on august 5th, 2012, erics lawyer goes to court. This is our first appearance to try to get the judgment vacated. Reporter cross is joined by case for six years. I want to see him out. Yeah, i told him the last time i went up to sing sing. I said, im not visiting you here again. This is it. Reporter finally, cross argues his case to the judge. My clients already spent 17 years plus in jail for a crime he hasnt committed. Reporter but it doesnt go down like a hollywood script. Prosecutors do not admit theres been a terrible mistake. Your honor, well be seeking an extension of time to answer those motions. How much of an extension are the people seeking . At this point, your honor, were asking for 30 days. Or cross is frustrated. He told me they were starting their investigation in june, looking into this matter. I was able to get my papers ready. It seems to me that another couple of weeks should be enough to get a response to the motion. Reporter youve heard the saying that the wheels of justice grind slowly . Now youve got a frontrow seat. Weve been trying to put together the facts and circumstances surrounding this now 15yearold trial. If at any point in time you advance the case. Reporter translation . This isnt going to end today. Eric stays in prison. But two weeks later, peter cross heads to sing sing. Earlier that morning, hed gotten a call from the d. A. s office. He has good news for eric. I received a call from the d. A. In the bronx telling me theyre ready to make a deal. Im going up now to see eric to talk to him about the conditions for his release. Reporter erics used to visits from his lawyer and very used to keeping his own hopes on ice. Hey, eric. Hey, how you doing, mr. Cross . Youre looking good. Thank you. They get you out in the yard . Yeah, i was working out, running, jogging. Reporter cross wants to make sure this sinks in. And so he slowly reveals the details. I was very surprised today. Well, i got a call from ed talty today saying that, we have a you a conditional dismissal of the indictment and vacate the conviction. Today . Its not going to be today. But itll be by the 13th, i think. Oh, you serious . Can you believe that . Oh, it hasnt set in yet. The initial shock. All of the fighting that weve done over these years. I dont know what to say right now. Reporter but unfortunately for eric, a month later hes still behind bars. That these people just dont want to let me go. They want to continue to hold me and torture me. You know, the mental the mental trauma im going through renege on this agreement. Reporter but as excruciating as these hours are, eric shares with us something beyond his wall of hope thats helped him wake up every morning. Theres a bench by the water that on, you know, each time i go to the barber shop, i look at that bench and i wonder if ill ever be able to sit on it and look back up here instead of looking down there. Thats been one of my main, you know, goals while i was in there. To sit on that bench as a free man. Coming up will eric glisson ever get to sit on that bench . A good question is a great start to understanding. Take a little time out of your day to learn something new about someone else. All the greatest adventures start with an interesting question. The more you know. Reporter this bench outside sing sing is only a few hundred yards from the prison, but to china. How many times you look at that bench . Every day. Reporter and thinking, ill be on there one day . I want to see what it looks like from that bench to the window. Because all i know is what it looks like from that window to the bench. Reporter finally, on october 22nd, 2012, four months after a federal investigator vouched for erics been transferred from sing sing and is waiting in a holding cell in the bronx county courthouse. Its also been a long painful road for lawyer peter cross. This is the one case that has kept me up at night for six years because i knew we had to find, really, like, the onearmed man to get him out of jail. Reporter eric walks into the courtroom. Numbers four and five on the calender, eric glisson and Cathy Watkins. Reporter standing next to him is Cathy Watkins, the only woman of the bronx six. For the cab drivers murder, and in 1997 they went on trial together. Eric says he doesnt know her now and didnt know her then. When trial started, the officers brought her up and they said this is watkins. I said, youre Cathy Watkins . And she said, yeah, who are you . And i said, i am eric glisson. And i said, how are you involved in this . And she says, i dont know. How are you involved, whats we was confused. Reporter now, 18 years later, assistant District Attorney nicole keary says her office believes there may have been an injustice but only agrees to release glisson and watkins if they wear monitoring bracelets as the d. A. s office continues to investigate. We have made a decision to take this unprecedented, as you know, judge, exceptional step that we are going to consent to the conditional vacating the conviction for these two defendants. The condition being the defendants to wear those monitoring bracelets. Reporter all thats left now is for the judge to make it official. The record will reflect the conditional vacator of the conviction as to mr. Glisson and ms. Watkins is granted. Each defendant is released on their own recognizance. [ applause ] family, and the media, are waiting for him outside. And now, for the first time in nearly two decades, eric glisson is about to take his first steps as a free man. Eric, whats your emotion right now . This is one of the most major pivotal points in my life. And determination im standing here before you. Reporter now its his codefendant Cathy Watkins turn, also wrongfully convicted. She was 29 when she went away. Now shes 46. I didnt do it. 100 innocent, and this is what our judicial system did to me. Innocent. Reporter by january 2013, the convictions for the rest of the bronx six were overturned for both the cab driver murder and fedex executive, Denise Raymond. This is carlos perez, 25 when he was locked up. Today hes 44. I even wrote the president. Were talkinab bush . Who was that . The president . I said, mr. President , were innocent. But nobody listened. Reporter devon ayers. He was 19 when he was convicted. I spent all of my 20s and my 30s there, so im just trying to get on with life as i know it as today. Reporter and michael cosme, remember him . He was the only one videotaped by police. I only have one thing to say. Im innocent. Reporter this is michael today, 18 years later. Finally someone believed him. While we now know those two gang members confessed to the cab Denise Raymonds killer, or killers, have never been brought to justice. We wanted to speak with someone from the nypd or bronx District Attorneys office. But both declined comment, citing the multiple civil suits that they now face, as the bronx six seek millions in damages against the city. And those two detectives, donnelly and aiello, who were portrayed as super sleuths back in 1995 are now both retired and us. But in court filings, attorneys for the city of new york deny that either detective threatened witnesses or falsified statements. And they also point out that several juries heard the witnesses testimony at the time and believed them. As for eric, its finally a new day and a new life. One full of amazing discoveries. Its upside down. No prison bars. No prison guards. And doors he can open himself. Eric glissons first night of freedom in almost 20 years. Wow. And a reunion with the woman who helped him win it. Oh, my god oh, my god reporter its october 22nd, 2012. After living in a prison cell for 18 years, eric glisson is finally a free man. And we are by his side as he erics first few hours of freedom are part exhilaration, part discovery. Hes never actually used a cell phone. Hello. Hello. You got it upside down, eric. No, no, its upside down. Hello . Yeah, i had the phone upside down. Can you hear me now . Like the commercial . That was my first cell phone call. Reporter his first meal . Lamb chops. Its like jumping up out of a coffin and walking. Its like being read your last rights, and all of a sudden a miracle happens. Some doctor who knows what to do walks into the room and knows how to rescucitate you, and youre back living again, youre back out in society and youre wondering if they will accept you. Reporter on his first night him to a hotel room. Im going to the room right now. I got a key thats a plastic card. Wow. Oh, this is excellent. Holy wow. Its got to be at least a 46inch tv. The bed. Wow. You know, im used to sleeping on a metal frame, and now im on a comfortable bed. Reporter but the real joy for eric is reuniting with his daughter, cynthia. She was just a week old when he was arrested. And that degree he started working on behind bars . Eric began taking classes again two days after his release and finally got that longawaited diploma from mercy college. Today, a fully exonerated eric glisson is a businessman. An entrepreneur. Renovating the ceiling. Reporter on the oneyear anniversary of his release, eric opened a fresh juice business that he built himself, named fresh take. Afternoon, sir, how are you doing . Reporter nice place you have here. Thanks. Reporter where did you get fresh take . I knew i had a fresh take on life. Im free now. Im no longer the victim, im the victor. Reporter you seem to have come through this remarkably free of bitterness or anger, or youre hiding it very well. I dont have any animosity toward anybody, except the people who grow strawberries and raise the prices. Reporter because thats a crime. Yeah, it is a crime. Reporter eric has a business partner, someone he met when he was still locked up. Hes become my brother. Chester, his lawyers assistant. I call him my bratty little brother. And im the annoying older sister. Eric says he loves it. Reporter on this day, we had a little suprise for him. Oh, my god. Grandma reporter he hasnt seen sister joanna chan since hes been released, the woman who put eric on a quest for freedom all those years ago. Thank you, grandma, thank you. They told me you were in china. Eric has now been a free man for three years. Its rough. Its not the walk into the sunset everyone thinks. Hes not the only one whose been having a hard time. With my daughter, our relationship has been strained. Life. Now theres a new person for whom eric can be fully present. Cynthia has a new sister. Meet baby scarlet. I have a Second Chance to raise a daughter. To be in her life. To take her to the park. Horse si back rides. All of the kisses and hopefully one day give her hand away in marriage. Theres no price and whats the price for unjustly spending 18 years in prison. Eric and the bronx six all filed lawsuits against the state and city of new york for wrongful convictions. The state of the settled. Each defendant was awarded 3. 9 million. The lawsuit against the city of new york is still pending. Reporter and there was one remember that bench eric could see from inside sing sing . Not too long ago we took him back there. We watched him finally make good on that promise to himself. To get that other view of the prison. This time, from the outside. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Hours more to go, thats the word now from search and rest cay workers, trying to bring a hiker home after falling more than 60 feet. Weve got details. Im really excited to surprise them. Very happy holiday and it was a sneak attack on a very surprised mom. Wait until you see this thanksgiving day reunion. News3 starts right now. Out at red rock tonight a hiker injured and a huge crew searching trying to rescue him in the dark. They know right now he is still not been rescued at but were following this story live. My name is la toya stillman. Im reed cowan. Crews are monitoring and the latest is that the hiker has been injured and not rescued. To take you back, it was about 5 00 tonight that search and rescue got word they would have