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Im dying my hair, mom. Hair dye . Honey. Its just purple. Teenage daughter . Get scrubbing bubbles. Kill 99. 9 of germs and destroy grime. With scrubbing bubbles for 100 problem solved. Reporter he was a Building Contractor by trade, knew nothing abut the law, and knew killer named Daniel Villegas, now john levella. Pouring through the massive case file of a 12yearold doublemurder trying to make sense of all of the intricate details of the case. It was transcripts. It was some Police Reports. Reporter who knew there would be so much . But a promise is a promise. So, membella treated the tax like a second job. By day ran his company. By night played amateur detech tichlt detective. I read it over and over. Reporter this went on for weeks. Lucy barely saw him. Got home from work. And wow, it was serious. Reporter here is the story, membella pieced together from the court files. Good friday, 1993. A warm spring evening. Around midnight, four teenage boys were walking home from a party and a gang infected neighborhood known as northeast. As he read the case file he noticed one of the boys, Jesse Hernandez, told police what happened. How out of the night, a 70s maroon colored car looking Something Like this one, rolled up beside them. Whatever model the car was, it was trouble. My heart started racing, i was like, oh, man, we are going to get in an altercation. So the cart was doing this kind of, catandmouse, back and up. It would back up, it would take off a little further. And then back up. And then just stopped. The gentleman was pumping, and we have got to get home. Reporter then relieved the car left. The boys kept walking. But, 15 minutes later and several blocks away, the car appeared again. Slowed to a crawl. And then stopped. I was like, uhoh. Guys, please, lets go. Lets go, lets go. As jesse told the police back then. The boys didnt listen. Instead his friends approached the car, started yelling. Before i know it i started hearing gunshots. I could swear i saw lights flash towards me and hit the fence. It was just, tattattat. The same car that bothered you before . Yeah, yeah. All i was thinking i want to go home. I want to be in a safe place. Reporter he and his other friend, ran, ran for their lives, didnt look back. When bobby and mondo failed to turn up behind them. The two went back to find them. I could already see, flashing lights, red and blue. I knew something was wrong. Reporter it was. Jesses best friends, mondo and bobby were dead. I was living a night mare. Im going to wake up soon. Im going to wake up now. The more i tried, i didnt wake up. Reporter the murder was big news in el paso. He dug up Old Newspaper clippings reported on what looked at first like a gang shooting. Yet the victims were not gang bangers, just innocent kids caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Been covering the case for years. People were on edge about it because here you had this person who killed these two boys for no good reason. And was out there with a weapon. And if he killed armando lazo and robert england who were popular, good kids. Who else could the person kill . This was an alarming case. Reporter alarming and who would want to kill these kids . Why . He looked up what he could of their background. Their personal stories. Military family by all accounts, a kind friendly young man. Mando was extremely popular, funloving and cared deeply he was always watching out he was always very protective of me. I would still feel that warm touch. I hope i never lose that feeling. And i could still remember him. Reporter mando and bobbys murder got a lot of attention from the cops. But ten days passed, no arrests. And then, a break. A tip. Someone in the neighborhood was boasting that he blew away mando and bobby with a shotgun. The boaster, the young man he had accepted as a kind of unofficial brotherinlaw. Daniel viellegas. Coming up two very different sides of daniel emerge. That kind of made it hard for me to understand that daniel might be innocent. I didnt believe it. I mean he was a kid. Just always having fun. Reporter when dateline continues. Hey whats up . Hey can i pay with my phone . You mean like apple pay . We dont got that. No like samsung pay. Kind of works everywhere. Even on this janky old thing. He wants to pay with his phone. Whadda ya want hannibal . I want to pay with my phone. Dont look at the cameras mike. You ready . It doesnt work. Watch me. Boom oh samsung pay is here and pretty much everywhere else. Working on my feet all day gave me pain here. In my knees. But now, i step on this machine and get my number which matches my dr. Scholls custom fit orthotic inserts. Now i get immediate relief from my foot pain. My knee pain. Find a machine at drscholls. Com can anybody help us . echo dont go it alone. sfx ding this president s day event sears experts will help you save 40 or more on kenmore hot buys. And save 20 or more on hot buys from other top brands. Inside every bottle of suave professionals is a beautiful blend. Moroccan infusion for shine, keratin infusion for smoothness, sea mineral infusion for volume, and discover new coconut oil infusion for repair. Find the blend you need for the hair you love. Suave professionals works as well as salon brands. A patient who wants to die. We are supposed to be saving lives. I will terminate you. She doesnt have to die. Clear. I said clear. Reporter it was not like john to make rash promises. Undertake a task that was way outside of his skill set. But he was so determined that the Daniel Villega she knew was no murderer. I didnt believe it. He was a kid. Just always having fun. Did he seem like the sort of person who was capable of that . No, not at all. He was a clown. He liked to joke around a lot. A lighthearted guy. Reporter kindhearted or not. Daniel wasnt a choirboy. He belonged to a gang the he had a rap sheet for a few misdemeanors. Expelled from school. He looked to party. Maybe too much. But boast about murder . That sounded to him like more than a party prank. But daniels parents said thats just how daniel was. Immature, jokester, they said, trying to navigate life in a dangerous neighborhood. I think he was frying totrying to be tough. In a tough area. A lot of gangs. They feared him. He would have a better chance of survival. If thats what it was, he figured wrong. Because it certainly caught the attention of detectives of the El Paso Police department. Not surprising late one night they showed up at the villegas front door and took 16yearold daniel downtown for questioning. My mom was telling him not to say anything. She would get him a lawyer in the morning. But he didnt make it to the morning. Reporter no, he didnt. Sometime before the morning came, daniel confessed that he killed those two boys. And there, all of these years later, he saw what was daniels indelible signature, swearing it was true. That kind of what made it hard for me to understand that done yell might daniel might be. He confessed. Reporter the signed confession got daniel charged with capital murder. And daniels confession was backed up by two other neighborhood boys who gave El Paso Police signed statements stating they were in the car with daniel when he fired the fatal shots. When daniel went on trial in 1994, the new da, Jaime Esparza decided to personally prosecute the case. You will have to sort through all of the evidence. You will have to sort through all of the lies. Daniels defense attorney argued that his confession was coerced that. He had an alibi. He was babysitting and watching a movie with friends at this apartment. In the end, 11 jurors voted to convict. But one held out for acquittal. A hung jury. A relief for Daniels Family despite his confession still insisted he was in know sent. Daniel had just become a father. Seemed to think he might be able to stay with his infant daughter. Very important. Reporter but jesse prosecution, was very unhappy with that hung jury. I remember the d. A. Said, dont worry. We are going to keep pushing. We are going to get hem. Reporter sure enough, the da tried daniel again. The villegas family was out of money. So the Court Appointed an attorney who had very little time to prepare for trial. They called one witness to the stand. Daniels prior defense attorney called 18 witnesses. Reporter and he was found guilty in a hurry. Yes. Reporter in 1995, daniel was he was just 18 years old. It was solved. The murderer went to prison. The two victims got their justice. Case closed. Reporter case closed for everyone. Except daniel and his family. S to them the verdict was a complete shock. It was a nightmare to see his face. We tried to hug him before they were going to take him. But he was in so much of a shock, that he didnt move for us to hug him. So they grabbed him and whisked him away. Reporter but remember, daniel bragged to his friend that he did it. Confessed to the cops that he did it. He read all that. The Police Reports. The trial, the appeals. Saw they were all denied. Yet to this laymans eye, something seemed to be missing. It just didnt add up. Im like, my god hour, did they convict this kid without any physical evidence whatsoever. Reporter but he still couldnt answer that one central question why would anyone confess to a murder he didnt commit . Coming up daniel speaks out. Did he confess . Or did he just give in . He said if you dont make a statement. I will make sure you get the your your see me. See me. Dont stare at me. See me. See me. See me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. Im not contagious. See me to know that i wont stop. Until i find what works. 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No we are giving it away for just 3 easy payments of 4. 99 plus tax the lines are blowing up weve got deborah from poughkeepsie. Flo yeah, no, its flo. You guys realize anyone can use the name your price tool for free on progressive. Com, right . [ pickles whines ] i know, its like theyre always on television. What . Reporter of the thousands of pieces of paper john poured through, there was one that puzzled him more than any other. Daniels confession. Signed at the bottom, which meant that daniel approved what was written there. It was his ticket to a life term in prison. And yet this confession did not match anything of what the Police Report said. Reporter he looked again and again. Maybe he was mistaken. But no, daniel said the color of the car was white. But he was wrong according to a surviving eyewitness. Is was it was maroon. The way he described the sequence of shots, differed from what a neighbor told 911. He also said he was accompanied by a driver and passenger it turned out were nowhere near the crime that night. Very strange. So, of course, it was probably some explanation that didnt mean daniel was innocent. Trying to get a feel for if he was innocent or not. But the main thing i wanted to let him know is that being a catholic, i wanted to have faith in the fact if he was guilty. Reporter the letter went to the french robertson unit prison in abileen, 450 miles from el paso. I thought we had the best system. Reporter this is Daniel Villegas. By the time, he wrote his letter a veteran of the texas prison system. Daniel was 29 then. Wouldnt be eligible for parole until he was in his 50s. He had just written his sister a letter telling her he wanted to end it all. Saying he couldnt wait on some miracle that wasnt going to happen. I was worried that he would do something drastic. But i didnt even blame him. If he was in that kind of misery. I didnt want him to live like that. I just started crying. And crying. Reporter in between the decision to take his own life and the final act. Daniel for the first time in years said a little prayer. I cant deal with this. I am not asking you to let me out. If you are, give me a sign im coming home. Next day he got my letter. Reporter coincidence . Of course. What else could it be . But, daniel decided maybe hope was worth having after all. When he went to see him in prison. What he heard from daniel was far different than anything he had readen the enin the Police Report. Stow what hap so what happened the night the boys were murder. In fact, daniel had no idea. Yes he heard about it. Yes he did brag to his friends, stupidly. He was the tough guy who did it. Sure enough before too long, said daniel. He was taken to a room at juvenile Investigative Service office, handcuffed to a chair, facing vedteran detective. Alfonso marcus. Marcus retzsume includes an appearance on cops where he was featured on this episode from the same year, 1993. Is there anything, any final thing you want to same . Reporter daniel was 16. Terrified. Certainly, naive. He was read his miranda rights. Four times. But never asked for an attorney. Marcus, according to daniel. Demand he confess. If you dont. He said i will take you out to the the desert. Handcuff you to my car, kick your ass. Let you walk back to the highway. Pick you up again. Kick your ass. Take you to the county jail with a bunch of [ bleep ] and let them rape you. He protested he had nothing to do with the murders of the two teams. You little punk. I know you did this. Sit hit men the back of the head, do you hear me, punk . Offered him a deal, said daniel. Cop to the crime and go to juve instead of prison. He said it went be bad on you. If you dont make a statement, you will get the electric chair. I will fry your ass. Reporter if you confess to committing a murder you will get a lighter sentence. If you didnt confess he would make sure you got the death penalty. Yeah. He was going to pull the switch on it. I would do Anything Possible to get away from him. So i said, okay, you know, i will make a statement. Hours in custody. Frightened, exhausted. You said yes to everything. Yeah. Reporter you didnt think when you said those things this means i will be in prison for life. No, i didnt. Reporter come on, really . Not even thinking of the just thinking the present moment. Reporter getting out of there . Exactly. Reporter detective marcus, request for an interview. As the did the El Paso Police department. But the das office says, marcus was never alone with daniel. Even if he was, he wouldnt have had the time to do what daniel said he did. Assistant d. A. John williams, who helped prosecute daniel in the first trial said the confession looked legitimate. Thatality case that its presented. Thats the case that is presented. Thats what you go for. The police get a confession. They mark it solved crime. Give it to the das office. Push it off on the prosecution. Exactly. Reporter by the time, he drove home from his prison visit, he was convinced. Daniel was telling him the truth. It was the confession that was a lie. He seemed like a very, nice, naive, young kid. I could sense there its no way he could have really committed this crime. Well, you know everybody in prison says im innocent. But the vast majority of them false confession . I did a lot of research on false confessions. That confession that daniel gave and i read, fit exactly what what the researchers say false confessions are. Reporter all the classic symptoms were there . They were. Reporter with daniels appeals already exhausted, what could he do . He needed help. No idea then that someone who did help convict daniel had astera ster story to still. He just needed to find him. Coming up he was almost detectives think he was the even stranger, he almost confessed. I said, you know what theyre going to fry you. Fry you . . Yeah. Sound familiar . When dateline continues. Ontinues. U that the better choice for him is aleve. Hes agreed to give it up. Ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. Well be with him all day as he yeah, i was ok, but after lunch my knee started hurting again so. More pills. Yep. Another pill stop. Can i get my aleve back yet . For my pain. I want my aleve. Get all day minor arthritis pain relief with an easy open cap. Plumpify your lashes with new plumpify mascara a ginormous lash boosts lashes to 50 times the volume and lifts lashes new plumpify mascara from easy breezy beautiful covergirl now you can create your own tour of italy at olive garden, starting at 12. 99. Choose 3 of 10 favorites to enjoy on onplate. Plus unlimited salad and breadsticks. The best tour of italy is the one you create. At olive garden. Jane didnt like restrictions. Not in life. And not when it came to watching her calories. Why settle on taste . Jane thought. Thats why jane loves light fit greek nonfat yogurt. Bursting with rich creamy awesomeness and 12 grams of protein. All for 80 calories. No settling here. What else does jane love . That you could win a fitbit flex from light fit. Learn more on specially marked packs. Light fit. Reporter el paso, 2007. John was ever more focused on one major project. Daniel villegas. Had a few people criticize why i was trying to help a killer get out of jail. But the more i dug into his he had no idea. Into. Legal learning curve. Hurdle. Expense, the system. The whole impossible process. He might have stopped right there had he known. Instead convinced daniel was innocent, he decided the thing he should do was take what he learned to the man who put daniel in prison in the 90s. And daniel was a coldblooded killer. I think there is enough believable and Persuasive Evidence in the case. Reporter nevertheless, he arranged a meeting. Everybody thought it was crazy. They said, john he is the guy that convicted daniel. Why would you go talk to him . Reporter good question. Im like, he needs to know the truth. Reporter he marched into the das office confident esparza would see the light, correct his i told him daniels confession was coerced. You have got the wrong guy. Reporter and . He tells me, john, i cant do anything about it. You have to is neshnitiate it. Get an appeals lawyer. Reporter he hired a lawyer. Who said you have zero to slim chance of getting this kid off. Reporter what was it look to hear that . My heart sank. Im look but he is innocent. Hes like, doesnt matter, john. The system doesnt care. It is about wing. And losing. Reporter the attorney told him there was really only one thing he could do. File a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus, last ditch appeal, that daniel had been falsely and unlawfully imprisoned. It will cost you 20,000. I can tell you these things take up to ten years. Reporter they rarely succeed. Rarely sequester seed. Reporter he wrote the check. The petition would take months to prepare. And he was not particularly good john got in, private investigators. I hired freddie bonilla, a homicide detective for el paso for 20 years. Reporter he spent a couple weeks reviewing the file. And . There was no weapon. No car. No identification. No nothing. Except a confession. Reporter bonilla started an investigation. They fanned out from the crime scene, poured over the Police Reports, dug for new clues, and there is not one single thing that i would go to court and say, yeah, this guy ended up with this. There is not one piece of evidence. Reporter they also tracked down witnessed and found him. Jesse hernandez. The shooting and testified against daniel. When they found him. Jesse was divorced. Reclusive and bad case of survivors guilt. He persuaded his friend to go out that night. And 15 years later, he was still haunted by it. My friends would still be here today. It wouldnt have happened. Reporter it was late at night when the two came to call. I opened the door. I said, yes, can i help you. They were like, Jesse Hernandez. Yes. We identified ourselves. We are here wanting information of the murder of armando and robert. I said, murder. Im sorry, you got the wrong guy. I dont know anything about no murder. Reporter jesse said he had no idea what they were talking about. Then he explained how he believed daniel had been wrongly convicted for killing his friends. How did they convict daniel . I go, confession. Confession that we believe was falsely coerced. He turned white. Reporter why did Jesse Hernandez turn pale . Because of what happened to him. Soon after the murder, said jesse he was called to Police Headquarters for an interview. There he said the same detective marcus told him, write down what he remembered about the shooting. Jesse did. And forhe said, you know this is bull [ bleep ]. You know and i know you did it. How could you be saying it . I didnt do anything . Yes you did. Thats not true. These are my friends. I love my friends. And i said you, know what, you are going to have to explain toot to theto the judge. Theyre going to fry you. I couldnt stop crying. Marcus he said had him convince heed had a he had a blackout and killed his he came close to a confession. But jesses mother found out what happened and called the cops. Furious about what detective marcus had done to her son. And jesse was not questioned by marcus anymore. And was never charged with anything. Now, all of these years later, jesse looked at the copy of daniels confession that novella had given him. I started reading it. Hold on, thats not how it happened. Vividly the color of the killers car. The direction it was driving. The sequence of the shots. Daniels confession was wrong on all of them. Whats more neither the car the killer drove nor the murder weapon was ever found. And no physical evidence of any kind implicated daniel. How did they convict daniel . I kempt thinpt thinking he was look me. He wanted out. He wanted to go home. Whatever they wanted. I had to do something. Reporter so he called him. I said, john, its going to be hard for me. But i will do what i can. With jesse on board. He went looking for more legal muscle. To help further daniels cause. In 2010 he contact the the Northwestern University school of law center on wrongful convictions of youth. Which specializes in cases involving false confessions by teenagers. Attorney josh teffer was codirector back then. We said that, we will take a look at it. And as soon as we did. We were hooked. And john was right. We had to be involved. Reporter in fact, northwestern has reviewed hundreds of cases like daniels, kids who claim they signed their lives away under pressure. It doesnt take much for a young person to cave and actually admit to something that they didnt do under that type of pressure. Reporter the only way you get out of this room is tell us what we want to hear. Exactly. Reporter North Western endorsement added legitimacy to the case and National Attention too. But novella, contractor during the daytime and legal scholar at night. Hoped it might encourage the da to support daniels case and persuade the judge to grant daniels writ of habeas corpus and order an evidentiary hearing. In which all evidence could be presented . I had been told, evidentiary hearings are very rare. Reporter about the only shot daniel had at freedom. But novella knew before the judge made his decision he would hear from the other big player in the case, da Jaime Esparza. Three years earlier, epsarza turned novella away. This time, he was confident given all the new detal he had unearthed the da would be persuaded. But weeks went by. Months. They waited. Then, several days before christmas, the das office announced it reviewed the request and had given the judge its recommendation. And we get the response from the da asking the judge not to give us an evidentiary hearing. Look he put the bullet through your possibilities . Thats it. Reporter hope is a dangerous thing in prison. Daniel knew. Novella was quickly learning. There were times when he started to give up hope. I would try to encourage him as much as i could. Got to have faith. Got to have faith. We try. Yeah, i know it is hard. In then everything is going to work out, okay. I told him, daniel, i am never going to stop fighting for you. So dont give up. Because i am not giving up. Still, novella prepared for a fight. And went looking for the fastest gun in town. Somebody who could navigate the system and give daniel a fighting chance. Good luck with that. Coming up an old lead. The Police Department never really followed those leads thoroughly. Offers new hope. I literally saw an injustice. Righted. Treatment. Oncedaily breo prevents asthma symptoms. Breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Breo wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. Breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Do not take breo more than prescribed. 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Its 100 natural, age defyingformula is clinically proven to providehealthier, more youthful looking lips. Reporter the Holiday Season of 2010 was not a joyous time for john. The da to his other surprise recommended daniel not get a new hearing. So now, he braced himself for the judges final decision. And with christmas approaching he liked shopping not for gifts but for a tough courtroom lawyer. In on the habeas corpus writ. And daniel did get his day in front of a judge. I asked abound and said who is the best lawyer for daniel. Everyone i asked, said joe spencer. Reporter so he set up a meeting, made his pitch. I said, he had two trials. Yeah. He confessed . Yes. Double homicide . Yes. Already exhausted his appeal . Yes. I go what do you want . Reporter spencer had seen a lot of cases in his day. Got a lot of people off. This case wasnt just a long shot. It was a sure fire loser. You dont understand, john, this is texas. In texas i give you about 0 to 5 chance of being successful. Closer to 0 than to 5. I am telling you that, i dont think that we can win this case. Reporter nevertheless, red through it front to back. Really saw an injustice. Really saw a wring that needong. I wanted to be part of it. The man who took daniels confession. Detective alfonso marcus. Whose investigation, spencer thought was inadequate at best. The physical evidence, forensic evidence, the eyewitness testimony did not match and contradicted daniels confession. Surely, if a Statement Like that is made and compared to the facts, they throw out the statement. You would think. Something else in the file that caught joe spencers eye. Statements from police from two potential suspects. The flores brothers. Javier dead. And his brother rudy. Both had been cleared by the cops. But this was weird. The flores brothers were known gang members. According to murder victims friends. For mando lazzo. Two weeks before the shooting. Rudy flores. According to what we know from police documents had said he was going to kill armando lasso. And police had investigated those claims. Reporter before the shooting . Before the shooting, yes. Reporter after the shooting . When questioned by police, rudy flores admitted to being in the vicinity of the shooting at the team of the shooting. From what we can see, the Police Department never really followed those leads thoroughly. They did not even look at rudy flores statement thamt het he puts himself at the scene of the crime. If they looked at that they would have seen there is something wring here. I think the detectives, developed tunnel vision. When they got daniel to confess they were oblivious to anything else. Reporter so sitting there in his cell with the new highpowered legal team behind building his case. Daniel allowed him teflself to see possibilities. Having more, more, hope, miracles do happen now adates. Happen all the time. I just hope some of the miracle. Reporter his parents had his room ready, hoping after a decade and a half behind bars, he would finally be coming home. Thanks to novella. I just remember myself thinking, thank you, god. I got someone who listened. Someone who was trying. Reporter privately, john knew that there was no hope he would bring Jaime Esparza around to his way of seeing things. Esparzas mind was made up. Thats when he got an idea. [ horn honking ] reporter an inyourfacekindofcrazy idea. Coming up. Daniel gets a Second Chance at justice. Face to face with the detective who he said threatened to putt him in him in the electric chair and fry him, himself. When dateline continues. Take one of those pillows and take a big smell. They smell really fresh what if we told you we washed these sheets 7 days ago. Really . No way downy . Downy fabric conditioner give us a week, and well change your bed forever. Want more freshness . Add new downy fresh protect. Ba da ba ba ba theres no one id rather. Share with. 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I think he has taken it in some way personally. Because this was a case that was this is an affront to justice. Every time we have come to the el paso courthouse and tried to talk to d. A. Jaime esparza. He shut us down. Prevented from doing so. So we had to parse together the d. A. Point of view based on his Court Filings and what has leaked out to other report ears long the way. Which is, the da is still convinced daniel is a killer. He was not about to let him get a shot at a third trial. Especially since he was convicted fair and square in esparzas view years ago. A rare Public Comment for local tv. I have to believe in the evidence. I would have never asked that jury to convict if i thought i had douchlts i would never have asked them to do that. Had doubts. I would have never asked them to do that. One of the victims families agreed and supported the da decision. The judge would have the final say. Judge sam madrano. Noted carefully the da objection. Spent months reviewing the file. Finally decided yes. He granted daniels writ of habeas corpus and a hearing whether there was evidence to warrant a trial. We knew we had to get the hearing, we had a chance of freeing daniel. We got it. Reporter there would be no jury at the hearing. The judge alone would hear witnesses and then decide whether or not to recommend to the texas court of criminal appeals that daniel get a new trial. Hope started to build. We all knew it was an uphill battle. This was the last chance. Reporter a few weeks before the hearing. Daniel headed west on the prisoner transpart bus to el paso. He was in high spirits. The first time he had been to his home town in 15 years. We met with him shortly after he arrived at his new residence. The county jail. To finally see the city again after so many years. You are still hoping that, a court will take a decision that courts very rarely take. So you may not get out. Yeah. Reporter you faced up to that . Yeah. I faced up to that. Too much happened. Too many people together. Too many miracles had been happening. And you never would have thought that happening, was happening. Then on a hot june day in 2011. In judge madranoas packed courtroom. Filled with daniels supporters. We saw no one from the victims family. The hearing daniel had been waiting for, for so long. Finally began. Unlike a regular trial. Burden of proof was on the defense. Which would make the case that daniel was coerced into a confession and railroaded into a wrongful conviction. The odds were completely against daniel. Here he was, back in el paso. Back in the court house where he was convicted. Reporter by this time, da Jaime Esparza wasnt at the prosecution table. Nonsense prosecutor that made the case throughout the hearing justice had been served when daniel was convicted in 1995. We know that his allegation of actual innocence was all just a sham. And we know that for the last 17 years, he has been praying to good to let him out though he is not innocent. Gods not letting him out. He needs you to let him out, judge. Attorney joe spencer called a parade of witnesses. 33 of them. Including, him. Marquez. Reporter detective Alfonzo Marquez was to face accusations himself. Here he was with the detective. Who he said, threat tuned put him in the electric chair and fry him, himself. Reporter this time the tables would be turned. As spencer gave marcus a was there any physical evidence between your investigations that tied Daniel Villegas off to the scene . No. Was there any forensic evidence that tied Daniel Villegas to the scene . No. Reporter what about coercing that confession out of daniel the night of his arrest . Marques denied it when asked by assistant da briggs. Prir toor to obtaining the statement did you ever physically strike him . No, i did not. Ever physically assault him . No, sir i did not. Threaten him in any way to give that statement . No, sir. Marques insisted his investigation was thorough, that he did not suffer from tunnel vision when it cam toe to daniel and he did consider other suspects. Yall followed up some of the leads as well. Right . Yes, sir, we did. One of those original suspects. Interviewed by the El Paso Police. They called, aldolfo ruiz in his 30s. Serving time. The man with his now dead brother, the defense believed was the killer. In a sworn affidavit, flores denied involvement. Joe spencer hoped to pull a confession out of him. What he got is all most as the dramatic. I refuse to answer any questions. Invoking my fifth amendment right to remain silent. Rudy flores was keeping his secrets. Whatever they were. I refuse to answer any questions. Reporter one witness was very eager to talk to make the case for Daniel Villegas. That was daniel. Coming up weeks of hearings. Months of waiting. All rise then finally a decision. Ran to my sons office. 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That his teenage boasting and above all his confession proved his guilt beyond a doubt. And something a jury had decide the. It was all done by the book. Legally obtained, he setdaid. Protocol followed. In the closing, briggs told the judge, daniels claim offen know sense was little more than a media event. Because then they get their great big send sagssational story. Judge, are we going to succumb to the media pressure. Or going to follow the law . Popular or unpopular as the that may be. Your choice. At the hearing thats when there was a huge, huge, Huge Movement support for daniel. Reporter that was the court of public opinion. The only opinion that really mattered was judge madranos. He was the one who would recommend to the texas court of criminal appeal, whether or not daniel should be granted a new trial. A negative word from the judge and it was all but over for daniel. And yet another christmas came and went. The 17th christmas without daniel. The villegas decorated their tree, hoped for next year and new years passed. And easter. No news. Torture. Its like we had done all we could do. And all we could do now is is sit and wait. Reporter finally, august 2012. Judge madrano announced he made a decision. And all of them, filed back into his courtroom. Hearts in their mouths. To hear what it was. It this courts recommendation to the texas court of criminal appeals that the applicant Daniel Villegas request for a new trial should be granted. [ applause ] all of the years of anguish just came on. I was overwhelmed buy that time. All the 19 years, just washed out. Overwhelm, man. Overwhelm. I feel so happy for daniel. Reporter not everybody was happy with the judges finding. Assistant da, john briggs. Daniel villegas is a convicted murderer. His day to carry the burden on the writ. I am not persuaded by anything that he presented that we have the wrong person. We still had one more hurdle. Reporter yes, a very big one. Judge madranos recommendation wasnt the final word. The Texas State Court of criminal appeal, ultimately decide whether daniel got a new nine law and order justices whose decision would take several months and announced with little fanfare on line. Where once a week, always a wednesday, the court posted decisions. So every wednesday morning, daniel awoke in his cell with a state of extreme anxiety. Called my mom. And follow the list. She would tell me you are not on the list, baby. Got to wait another week. Just kemptpt going on. Week after week after week. Reporter the legal rarity that had gotten daniel this far, another christmas passed. Birthday too. And a host of holidays. The long delay, daniel as the he expressed to his brother. Over the jail phone. Dont blame god. Just having a bad day. Awe haufg this is every day. This aint just today. The next day. Every saturday, john visited daniel. Used whatever he could to keep hope alive. I have to give him some kind of encouragement. So somebody offered to sell me this convertible. I said what a perfect way to encourage daniel. I said this car is waiting for you. Dont worry about it. You are coming home. Reporter on the wednesday before christmas, 2013, 16 months after at peels court got the case the Appeals Court got the case. Daniels mother checked the Court Website look always. This time, there it was. A decision from the justices revealed in three words. Relief is granted. I fell to the ground. Screaming. Did she make any sense when she talked to you . No. I had to call her back. What happen. What happened . Its granted. Its granted. Its granted. The texas court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to grant daniel a new trial. John novellas phone rang. His lawyer with the news. He says, yes, we goiltt it, john. I ran to my sons office. And hugged him. And we all cried. We got it. Reporter and a moment that will live with you for the rest of your days, huh . That was probably the happiest day of my life. Pretty much going to finish i couldnt believe it was happening. Reporter over a year you were waiting . Most stressful 16 months of my life. Reporter texas court of criminal appeal not only granted daniel a new trial. It vacated his convicted. In other word it was now as if he had never been put on trial. Meaning. I wasnt a convicted felon. That was the most beautiful part there. Clean. No record at all. None. Whats more like any one awaiting trial it was possible daniel could be release on bail. Mumbella spent six figures. Bail would be set in the million. Beyond his ability to pay. Meaning, daniel would quite possibly remain just where he was. Behind bars. Coming up will the da try for trial number three . Werere praying that does not happen. When taltdateline continues. Continues. And trained as a nurse. But i couldnt bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. So i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. Nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. 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For once again, judge madrano this time setting the amount. John novello worried it would be astronomical. Have to come up with money. To everyones surprise the judge set bail at 50,000. Of which only a small percentage would have to be paid. Over 1,000. Oh, my god. Another happy, happy moment. Its like that i think i can live with. Probably the smallest check i have written so far. John novella happily wrote the check. Before very long [ cheers and applause ] yes priceless. It was priceless. We had waited for so long for that moment to happen. Daniel too. Somebody he had never met. Jesse hernandez. I said, daniel. He turned around. He looked at me. I whispered to him. I am so sorry the i am so forefor whatforesorry for what happened to you. I really am. But i am so happy for you. You are out, you are enjoying this. An oh, man. And he gave me a kiss. A few minutes later, daniel was whisk add wayed away in the red convertible. In the dark days. What better way than to present him his car. And let him ride away in that car. Pretty amazing day. Very amazing. Couldnt believe that this day had finally come. They want to church. They went to church. Then they had a feast. His first steak in years. Delicious. He came home to yellow ribbons. Experiencing all the new things. While reacquainting himself with the old. Its ben a long time. Including his daughter. Just an infant when he was imprisoned. Now 20 and married and in college. Since his release, daniel has been making up for lost time. He has the a job. At novella contractors, naturally. And a new baby. All of which in a happy ending sort of world would have been the conclusion of our story. But as everyone knows, the world sometimes has the other plans. As does da Jaime Esparza, the da despite the Court Rulings and public sentiment remains convinced daniel is a killer and should be locked up for life. He is promised to try him all lets have the jury deside whether or not decide whether or not he committed the crime or not. Thats our policy. We do our talk in court. Though the da declined our interview request until after the case. He is planning to introduce new allegations one from a man who says he now remembers more than 20 years after the fact. Hearing daniel confess, sometimes around his two trials. Also allegations that daniel can be heard in a much dispultted phone call with his mother mumbling something that the prosecutor hears as im not innocent. And also, mumbella and daniel in prison telephone calls, conspired to influence witnesses when they can be heard stralt strategizing. A claim which according to mumbella amounts to a Smear Campaign by the da. Are they trying to get at the truth . I believe theyre just trying to hide the truth. Reporter does the da have a case . Judge madrano has thrown out much of the states evidence. Daniels confession. Inadmissible because the it was coerced. All of those hours of prison phone calls, ruled out as simply irrelevant. The judge did not hear any confession on those tapes. The da determined to move forward is appealing that particular decision. Around el paso. In and out of legal community, we encountered many people who wondered why the da will not let it go. One of the doubters, the das own cocounsel. I dont know why theyre pursuing it. To be honest with you. They talked to some of the officers who are also involved. And a lot of the people any way have regrets. Reporter maybe that was a rush to judgment. Reporter the da, Jaime Esparza up for reelection and faces opposition. The villegas is controversial in the campaign. One of his opponents says if elected she will review the case to deter men whethermine if it should be pursued. Barring earth shattering evidence, another candidate says, hell drop the case. For now, john mumbella is bracing for trial number three. You know, we are praying that that doesnt happen. It would be a sham toe to put daniel and his family through it again. I dont know if we are going to go to trial. Win it. Or drop the charges. Either way. 19 years ago i didnt have a chance to be here, you know. At the edge of the prompt sits a small empty office, waiting for its new occupant. This is the future home of proclaimed justice, a brand new Innocence Project based in El Paso Daniel and mumbella plan to open shupdould the case be dismissed or daniel be acquitted. I am real excited about that. We have got to get a lot of people that are in prison, little really hundreds of us still in there that dont got a john in their life. We got to be that john for them. Reporter and john, he plans to reap tiretire from the contracting business. Once they called him the king of construction here in el paso. The thing he hoped to be remembered for. And then he walked into a bank and met a woman. Who gave him along with her love, the challenge of his life. It would be probably the best thing i have ever done. Every penny, every hour i spent on daniels case, was worth it. Because now daniel is with his family. Reporter how many more hours and more pennies will depend on but whatever happens to daniel. John mimbela lived up to his word. A promise is a promise. All the way. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thank you for joining us. [ vocalizing ] [ imitating trumpet ] bum, bum [ imitating trumpet ] bum, bum [ vocalizing ] [ imitating beats ] [ cheering ] please dont stop the please dont stop the please dont stop the music music, music, music music, music, music please dont stop the music