These. Up and out. That was pushed. Well, turn out the lights, the party is over after an hour of playoffs. Well, this hole is his nemesis. Bogeyed it both times. Gary documenting nine balls in the water through the years here at 17 that have his number. The. Twoh putts, matsuyama, to. Well i think he can handle this one. You bet he can. Matsuyama finally closes the deal on rickie fowler. Three bogeys on number 17 this week for rickie fowler. On a hole that he should birdie half the time. He had a twoshot lead in regulation as he went there for the first time today. A bogey there. Another costly one in the water there. Hideki matsuyama with his second pga tour victory. If you missed any of todays action, you can get caught up with golf central on golf channel. Next stop for the golf channel on the nbc team is the honda classic where the top players in the world pick out the bear traps. Thats february 25th. For the entire golf channel on nbc, dan hicks saying so long from tpc scottsdale where Hideki Matsuyama survived a fourhole sudden death playoff over rickie this is a family you would want to aavoid . I had my doubts. If he is in prison it is probably because he ises guilty. They would always say he was in know sent. I knew john was busy rung ning his construction story. How he was locked up for life. Appeal after appeal had been turned down. I would give him details on daniel being convicted. I kind of knew that they didnt have representation. And heap lost his case. And he lost his case. Reporter by then daniel had been in prison more than ten years. Theyre sitting there crying. I mean, cries of desperation. Reporter daniels parents had been trying to find a legal group or agency, an attempt that their son was innocent the they just received their final rejection. Daniels sister michelle was there too. And that was my last hope and it seemed there was nothing we could do. Reporter these are his parents. I fell apart. D i do to my baby . I vowed i was going to protect him. The slightest. Reporter they were telling you, forget it. Yes, yes. Reporter daniels appeals had failed. Eem to be any way out. And then, there in the middle ofe said something naive, foolish perhaps. I felt, very, very bad for the family at the moment. Me take the look ate. I could do. But, please stop crying and dont worry. We were all like, yes, of. Reporter but really what could he do . Didnt have a clue about the case that put daniel in prison the workings of the law. Oh, these sudden impulses. If john had known what was t would do to him and everybody else, would he have been a little more prudent . Would he have kept his mouth his family insists he is innocent. Even though a jury found him guilty. If it wasnt daniel, who was it . Ack here you had this person who killed these two boys. And was out there with a weapon, this person kill . 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Reporter he was a Building Contractor by trade, knew nothing abut the law, and knew out a convicted now john levella. H the massive case file of a 12yearold doublemurder trying to make sense of all of the intricate it was transcripts. It was some Police Reports. Reporter who knew there would be so much . Ise is a promise. So, membella treated the tax like a second job. By day ran his company. D amateur detech tichlt detective. I read it over and over. Reporter this went on for weeks. Cy barely saw him. Got home from work. And wow, it was serious. The story, membella pieced together from the court files. Good friday, 1993. A warm spring evening. R teenage boys were walking home from a as he read the case file he noticed one of the boys, jesse d police what happened. How out of the night, a 70s maroon colored car looking Something Like this one, rolled whatever model the car was, it was trouble. My heart started racing, i going to get in an altercation. So the cart was doing this kind of, catandmouse, back and up. Would take off a little further. And then back up. And then just stopped. Was pumping, and we have got to get home. Reporter then relieved the car left. The boys kept walking. R and several blocks away, the car appeared again. Slowed to a crawl. Turned off its lights. Stopped. I was like, uhoh. Then. The boys didnt listen. Instead his friends approached ling. Before i know it i started hearing gunshots. I saw lights flash towards me and hit the fence. It was just, tattattat. The same car that bothered 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 ok back. When bobby and mondo failed to turn up behind them. The two went back to find them. Eady see, flashing lights, red and blue. I knew something was wrong. Reporter it was. Sses 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. Up. He murder was big news in el paso. He dug up Old Newspaper n what looked at first like a gang shooting. Yet the victims were not gang bangers, just innocent kids he wrong time. Tv reporter maria garcia has been covering the case for years. People were on edge about it here you had this person who killed these two boys for no good reason. Th a weapon. And if he killed armando lazo ho were popular, good kids. Who else could the person kill . This was an alarming case. Reporter alarming and puzzling. To kill these kids . Why . He looked up what he could of their background. Their personal stories. A kind friendly young man. Popular, funloving and cared deeply about his friend. He was always watching out for me. Rotective of me. I would feel his hand on me. I would still feel that warm touch. I hope i never lose that feeling. Uld still remember him. Reporter mando and bobbys murder got a lot of attention from the cops. Rests. And then, a break. A tip. Someone in the neighborhood was he blew away mando and bobby with a shotgun. The boaster, the young man he had accepted as a kind of therinlaw. Daniel viellegas. Coming up two very different sides of 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. S having fun. Reporter when dateline e . Apple pay . We dont got that. No like samsung pay. Even on this janky old thing. Ne. Whadda ya want hannibal . I want to pay with my phone. Dont look at the cameras mike. It doesnt work. Boom oh pay is here and pretty much everywhere else. Me pain here. In my knees. S 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. At drscholls. Com can anybody help us . echo dont go it alone. sfx ding this president s day eventts will help you save 40 or more on kenmore hot buys. And save 20 or more on hot buys from other top brands. Sears. House experts for home owners. Bottle of moroccan infusion for shine, ness, sea mineral infusion for volume, oconut oil infusion for repair. Find the blend you need for the hair you love. Als works as well as salon brands. Live beautifully a patient who wants to die. We are supposed to be saving lives. I will terminate you. Ave to die. Clear. I said clear. Reporter it was not like john to make rash promises. Especially a promise to but he was so determined that the Daniel Villega she knew was no murderer. Lieve 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 liked to joke around a lot. A lighthearted guy. Rted or not. Daniel wasnt a choirboy. He belonged to a gang the he had a rap sheet for a few misdemeanors. He looked to party. Maybe too much. But boast about murder . Like more than a party prank. But daniels parents said thats just how daniel was. They said, trying to navigate life in a dangerous neighborhood. Was frying to trying to be tough. In a tough area. A lot of gangs. They feared him. He would have a better chance of figured wrong. Because it certainly caught the attention of detectives of the department. Not surprising late one night they showed up at the villegas front door and took 16yearold n 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. Didnt. Sometime before the morning came, daniel confessed that he killed those two boys. Of these years later, he saw what was daniels indelible 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. Neighborhood boys who gave El Paso Police signed statements with daniel when he fired the tal shots. When daniel went on trial in ime esparza decided to personally prosecute the case. You will have to sort through all of the evidence. All of the lies. Daniels defense attorney argued that. G a movie with friends at this apartment. In the end, 11 jurors voted to convict. Ut for acquittal. A hung jury. A relief for Daniels Family despite his confession still now sent. Daniel had just become a father. Seemed to think he might be able to stay with his infant. Very important. Reporter but jesse hernandez, a witness for the y unhappy with that hung jury. Dont worry. Pushing. We are going to get hem. Reporter sure enough, the da tried daniel again. The vi money. So the Court Appointed an attorney who had very little time to prepare for trial. They called one witness to the stand. Se attorney called 18 witnesses. Reporter and he was found guilty in a hurry. Reporter in 1995, daniel was sentenced to life in prison. Old. It was solved. The two victims got their justice. Case closed. Ase closed for everyone. Except daniel and his family. S to them the verdict was a complete shock. Ghtmare to see his face. We tried to hug him before they were going to take him. Much of a shock, that he didnt move for so they grabbed him and whisked him away. Ut remember, daniel bragged to his friend that he did it. Confessed to the cops that he did it. He read all that. Orts. The trial, the appeals. Saw they were all denied. Yet to this laymans eye, be missing. It just didnt add up. Any physical evidence whatsoever. Reporter but he still couldnt answer that one centraly would anyone confess to a murder he didnt commit . Coming up daniel speaks out. . Or did he just give in . He said if you dont make a statement. I will make sure you get the see me. See me. Dont stare at me. See me. See me. See me to know something that i have. Im not contagious. See me to know that i wont stop. Until i find what works. Erent kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Proven to help the find clear or almost clear skin. Le saw 75 while the majority saw 90 clearance. Do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Be tested for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you havesymptoms. Such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. If you have crohns disease, as symptoms can worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. See me. See me. See me on my way. Find clear skin and kind of medicine, ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. Ba da ba ba ba u. Not the miles. A 730mile range. The most awarded, rewarding suv ever. politely wait, wait, wait you cant put it in like that. You have to rinse it first. Thats bakedon alfredo. Bakedon . Its never gonna work. It powers. Through. Your toughest stuckon food. Better than finish. Cascade. Use tiny red balls to try to make you think they had a much better network. 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It was his ticket to a life term in prison. And yet confession did not match anything of what the Police Report said. Ed again and again. Maybe he was mistaken. But no, daniel said the color of the car was white. Is was it was maroon. The way he described the sequence of shots, differed fromr told 911. He also said he was accompanied by a driver and passenger it turned out were nowhere near the crime that night. So, of course, it was probably some explanation that didnt mean daniel was innocent. Te him a letter. Trying to get a feel for if he was innocent or not. Let him know is that being a , i wanted to have faith in the fact if he was guilty. Reporter the letter went to ertson unit prison in abileen, 450 miles from el paso. E had the best system. Reporter this is Daniel Villegas. By the time, he wrote his letterhe texas prison system. Daniel was 29 then. Wouldnt be eligible for parole until he was in his 50s. His sister a letter telling her he wanted to end it all. Saying he couldnt wait on some mira happen. I was worried that he would do something drastic. But i didnt even blame him. Hat kind of misery. I didnt want him to live like that. I just started crying. Decision to take his own life and the final act. Daniel for the first time in years said a little prayer. I am not asking you to let me out. If you are, give me a sign im next day he got my letter. Reporter coincidence . Of course. What else could it be . Ded maybe hope was worth having after all. When he went to see him in prison. Had readen the en in the Police Report. Stow what hap boys were murder. In fact, daniel had no idea. Yes he heard about it. Yes he did stupidly. He was the tough guy who did it. Sure enough before too long, said daniel. Om at office, handcuffed to a chair, teran detective. Alfonso marcus. Marcus retz sume includes an he was featured on this episode from the same year, 1993. Is there anything, any final u want to same . Reporter daniel was 16. Terrified. Certainly, naive. He was read his miranda rights. Four times. T 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. Ar, kick your ass. Let you walk back to the highway. Pick you up again. Kick your ass. 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. Telling me look, you little punk. I know you did this. The head, do you hear me, punk . Offered him a deal, said daniel. 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. 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. Pull the switch on it. I would do Anything Possible to get away from him. So i said, okay, you know, i atement. Reporter that was after four hours in custody. Frightened, exhausted. Ything. Yeah. Reporter you didnt think when you said those things this means i will be in prison for life. No, i didnt. Ome on, really . Not even thinking of the future. Just thinking the present moment. Reporter getting out of there . Exactly. Ve marcus, who since retired, declined our request for an interview. Department. Ffice says, marcus was never alone with daniel. Even if he was, he wouldnt have said he did. Assistant d. A. John williams, who helped prosecute daniel in the first trial said the gitimate. Thatality case that its presented. Thats the case that is presented. Thats what you go for. They mark it solved crime. Give it to the das office. Push it off on the prosecution. Exactly. The time, he drove home from his prison visit, he was convinced. Im the truth. It was the confession that was a lie. He seemed like a very, nice, naive, young kid. There its no way he could have really committed this crime. Well, you know everybody in prison says im innoajority of them are not. How were you so sure there was a i did a lot of research on ons. That confession that daniel gave and i read, fit exactly what say false confessions are. Reporter all the classic symptoms were there . They were. Reporter with daniels exhausted, what could he do . He needed help. No idea then that someone who iel had aster a ster story to still. He just needed to find him. He was almost shot by the killer, how could detectives think he was the killer . Even stranger, he almost confessed. 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. Up. Ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. Well be with him all day as hetaking tylenol. Yeah, i was ok, but after lunch my knee started hurting again so. Yep. P. Can i get my aleve back yet . For my pain. I want my aleve. Get in relief with an easy open cap. Plumpify your lashes with new plumpify mascara a ginormous lasht lifting brush 50 times the volume and lifts lashest up up and away new plumpify mascara covergirl now you can create your own tour of italy at olive garden, starting at 12. 99. To enjoy on one plate. Plus unlimited salad and breadsticks. The best tour of italy is the one you create. N. Jane didn t like restrictions. Not in life. And not when it came to watching her calories. Jane thought. That s why jane loves light fit greek nonfat yogurt. Bursting with rich creamy awesomeness all for 80 calories. No settling here. What else does jane love . That you could w fit. Learn more on specially marked packs. Light fit. Reporter el paso, 2007. John was ever more focused on one major project. Daniel villegas. Eople criticize why i was trying to help a killer get out of jail. He had no idea. As goat etting into. Legal learning curve. Hurdle. Expense, the system. The whole impossible process. He might have stopped right nown. Instead convinced daniel was innocent, he decided the thing he should do was take what he ho put daniel in prison in the 90s. Da Jaime Esparza. A coldblooded killer. I think there is enough asive evidence in the case. Reporter nevertheless, he everybody thought it was crazy. S the guy that convicted daniel. Why would you go talk to him . Reporter good question. Im like, he needs to know the truth. Ter he marched into the das office confident esparza would see the light, correct his mistake and free daniel. Daniels confession was coerced. Reporter and . He tells me, john, i cant do anything about it. U have to is nesh nitiate it. Get an appeals lawyer. Reporter he hired a lawyer. Who said you have zero to slim f getting this kid off. Reporter what was it look to hear that . My heart sank. Hes like, doesnt matter, john. The system doesnt care. It is about wing. And losing. Reporter the attorney told ally only one thing he could do. File a petition seeking a writ s corpus, last ditch appeal, that daniel had been falsely and unlawfully imprisoned. It will cost you 20,000. Hings take up to ten years. And no guarantee. Rely succeed. Rarely sequester seed. The petition would take months to prepare. Cularly good at waiting around. John got in, private investigators. Ddie bonilla, a homicide detective for el paso for 20 years. Reporter he spent a couple file. And . There was no weapon. No car. No identification. No nothing. Confession. Reporter bonilla started an investigation. They fanned out from the crime he Police Reports, dug for new clues, and there is not one single thing that i would go to court and s guy ended up with this. There is not one piece of evidence. Reporter they also tracked and found him. Jesse hernandez. One of the teens who survived the shooting and testified jesse was divorced. Reclusive and bad case of survivors guilt. He persuaded his friend to go out that night. Ater, he was still haunted by it. My friends would still be here today. Nt have happened. Reporter it was late at night when the two came to call. I opened the door. An i help you. They were like, jesse hernandez. Yes. We identified ourselves. We are here wanting information murder of armando and robert. I said, murder. Im sorry, you got the wrong guy. I dont know anything about no murder. D he had no idea what they were talking about. Then he explained how he believed daniel had been wronglykilling his friends. How did they convict daniel . Ve was falsely coerced. He turned white. Jesse hernandez turn pale . Because of what happened to him. Jesse he was called to Police Headquarters for an interview. There he said the same detectivete down what he remembered about the shooting. Jesse did. He 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. Riends. I love my friends. And i said you, know what, you are going to have to explain to the judge. Theyre going to fry you. I couldnt stop crying. Had him convince heed had a he had a blackout and killed his friend. He came close to a confession. Cops. Furious about what detective marcus had done to her son. And jesse was not questioned by. And was never charged with anything. Now, all of these years later, jesse looked at the copy of ssion that novella had given him. I started reading it. Hold on, thats not how it happened. Remembered vividly the color of the killers car. The direction it was driving. F the shots. Daniels confession was wrong on all of them. Whats more neither the car the killer drove nor the murder found. And no physical evidence of any kind implicated daniel. Y convict daniel . I kempt thin pt thinking he was look me. He wanted out. He wanted to go home. I am pretty sure he did sign, dowanted. I had to do something. I said, john, its going to be hard for me. What i can. With jesse on board. He went looking for more legal muscle. Se. In 2010 he contact the the Northwestern University school of law center on wrongful convictions of youth. Zes in cases involving false confessions by teenagers. Attorney josh teffer was n. 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. N fact, hundreds of cases like daniels, kids who claim they signed theirssure. It doesnt take much for a young person to cave and of pressure. Reporter the only way you get out of this room is tell us what we want to hear. Exactly. Reporter North Western too. But novella, contractor during the daytime and legal scholar at night. Rage the da to support daniels case and persuade the judge to grant daniels writ of habeas corpus evidentiary hearing. In which all evidence could be presented . I had been told, evidentiary hearings are very rare. He only shot daniel had at freedom. But novella knew before the judg hear from the other big player in the case, da Jaime Esparza. Three years earlier, epsarza this time, he was confident unearthed the da would be persuaded. Went by. Months. They waited. Then, several days before office announced it reviewed the request and had given the judge and t the response from the da asking the judge not to give us an evidentiary hearing. Look he put the bullet ties . Thats it. Reporter hope is a dangerous thing in prison. Daniel knew. Ickly learning. There were times when he started to give up hope. Encourage him as much as i could. Got to have faith. Got to have faith. We try. S 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. I am not giving up. Still, novella prepared for a fighor the fastest gun in town. Somebody who could navigate the system and give daniel a coming up an old lead. The Police Department never e leads thoroughly. Offers new hope. Ally saw an injustice. I saw a wring that ong that needed to be righted. Treatment. Oncedaily breo prevents asthma symptoms. Breo is for adultsnot well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Breo wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. P improve breathing for a full 24 hours. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problemshe risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. Breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine,. Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine,icosteroid. Do not take breo more than prescribed. Does not improve or gets worse. Ask your doctor if 24hour breo you. See if youre eligible for 12 months free at mybreo. Com. Re back at Cricket Wireless switch and get a brand new lg risio for 19. 99, or take a spin with the Samsung Galaxy grand prime for 29. 99 something to smile about. Lilly. She pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. But once a weekay sheriff so i can wash it. I use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. You are free to go. Tide and downy together. Oooh, i think i saw dessert hey steven stay strong whats that . You. You want me to eat you . Honey, he didnt say that dont fight your instincts or less, p try our lemon bars, brownies, and cheesecakes. T fiber one. Than other skin. No worries. Now, theres new chapstick formula is clinically proven to provide healthier,g lips. Chapstick Holiday Season of 2010 was not a joyous time for john. The da to his other surprise niel not get a new hearing. So now, he braced himself for sion. And with christmas approaching he liked shopping not for gifts but for a tough courtroom lawyer. G shot came and daniel did get his day in ge. I asked abound and said who is the best lawyer for daniel. Spencer. Reporter so he set up a meeting, made his pitch. O trials. Yeah. He confessed . Yes. Double homicide . Yes. His appeal . Yes. I go what do you want . Reporter spencer had seen a lot of cases in his day. Eople off. This case wasnt just a long shot. It was a sure fire loser. You dont understand, john, this is texas. E you about 0 to 5 chance of being successful. Closer to 0 than to 5. I am telling you that, i dont at we can win this case. Reporter nevertheless, spencer took the beg file red through it front to back. An injustice. Really saw a wring that need ong. I wanted to be part of it. R the man who took daniels confession. Detective alfonso marcus. Whose investigation, spencer te at best. The physical evidence, forensic evidence, the eyewitness testimony did not radicted daniels confession. Surely, if a Statement Like that is made and compared to the facts, they throw out the statement. Something else in the file that caught joe spencers eye. Statements from police from two ts. The flores brothers. Javier dead. And his brother rudy. Both had been cleared by the cops. As weird. The flores brothers were known gang members. According to murder victims friends. Rudy had a particular dislike o. Rudy flores. According to what we know from said he was going to kill armando lasso. Ce had investigated those claims. Reporter before the shooting . Before the shooting, yes. Reporter after the shooting . When questioned by police, res admitted to being in the vicinity of the shooting at the team of the shooting. An see, the Police Department never really followed those leads thoroughly. They did not even look at tatement thamt he t 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, el 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 him. Ase. Daniel allowed him tefl possibilities. , hope, miracles do happen now adates. Happen all the time. The miracle. Reporter his parents had his room ready, hoping after a decade and a half behind bars, he would finally be coming home. Lla. I just remember myself thinking, thank you, god. Ened. Someone who was trying. Reporter privately, john knew that there was no hope he rza around to his way of seeing things. Esparzas mind was made up. N idea. [ horn honking ]n inyourfacekindofcrazy idea. Coming up. Daniel gets a Second Chance at justice. Face to face with the e who he said threatened to putt him in 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 . Conditioner give us a week, and well change your bed forever. Want more freshness . Add new downy fresh protect. Ba da ba ba ba share with. No one id rather have dinner and a movie with. No one id rather lean on. In love is an amazing thing. Being in love with your best friend. Is everything. Introducing the ever us twostone ring. R your best friend. One for your true love. For the one woman in your life whos both. S day at first. N. Then more popped up. Could do is bring awareness. This is wrong. Maybe we can change things. Rter maria garcia garcia. He believes in the cause with all his heart. He has gone through great t other people to believe. Cause. Full force. He spent a lot of money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. He added a sense of credibility, of legitimacy. I think people stan. Reporter the d. A. Was paying attention too. Well aware of the Street Campaign and how it was helping shape public opinion. Has taken it in some way personally. Because this was a case that was important to him. Is is an affront to justice. Every time we have come to the el paso courthouse and tried to aime esparza. He shut us down. He has told us he is ethically o. D. A. Point of view based on his at has leaked out to other report ears long the way. Which is, the da is still a killer. He was not about to let him get a shot at a third trial. Especially since he was and square in esparzas view years ago. A rare Public Comment for local tv. I have to believe in the evidence. Ve never asked that jury to convict if i thought i had douchlts i would never have asked them to do that. Had doubts. Sked 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. Refully the da objection. Spent months reviewing the file. Finally decided yes. Ition. He granted daniels writ of warrant a trial. We knew we had to get the hearing, we had a chance of freeing daniel. T. Reporter there would be no jury at the hearing. The judge alone would hear witnesses and then decide whether or not to recommend to riminal appeals that daniel get a new trial. Hope started to build. N uphill battle. This was the last chance. Reporter a few weeks before the hearing. N the prisoner transpart bus to el paso. He was in high spirits. The first time he had been to years. We met with him shortly after he arrived at his new residence. L. To finally see the city again after so many years. You are still hoping that, a courts very rarely take. So you may not get out. Yeah. Reporter you faced up to yeah. To that. Too much happened. Too many people together. Too many miracles had been happening. Have thought that happening, was happening. Then on a hot june day in 2011. Noas packed courtroom. Filled with daniels supporters. We saw no one from the victims family. The hearing daniel had been finally began. Unlike a regular trial. Burden of proof was on the defense. Which would make the case that coerced into a confession and railroaded into a wrongful conviction. The odds were completely against daniel. Ack in el paso. Back in the court house where he was convicted. Reporter by this time, da parza wasnt at the prosecution table. In his place, a tough, no nonsense prosecutor that made the hearing daniel was convicted in 1995. Allegation of actual innocence was all just a sham. And we know that for the last 17 years, he has been praying to though he is not innocent. M out. He needs you to let him out, judge. Attorney joe spencer called a parade of witnesses. Em. Including, him. Marquez. Reporter detective alfonzo accusations himself. Here he was with the detective. Tuned put him in the electric chair and fry him, himself. His time the tables would be turned. As spencer gave marcus a was there any physical evidence nvestigations that tied Daniel Villegas off to the scene . No. Ensic evidence that tied Daniel Villegas to the scene . No. Reporter what about coercingof daniel the night of his arrest . Marques denied it when asked by riggs. Prir to or to obtaining the statement did you ever physically strike him . No, i did not. Ally assault him . No, sir i did not. Threaten him in any way to give that statement . No, sir. His investigation was thorough, that he did not suffer from tunnel o e to daniel and he did consider other suspects. Yall followed up some of the leads as well. Right . And then, a surprise. Police. They called, aldolfo ruiz in his 30s. The man with his now dead brother, the defense believed was the killer. Avit, flores denied involvement. Joe spencer hoped to pull a confession out of him. What he got is all most as the dramatic. R any questions. Invoking my fifth amendment right to remain silent. Rudy florecrets. Whatever they were. I refuse to answer any questions. Reporter one witness was o make the case for Daniel Villegas. That was daniel. S of hearings. Months of waiting. 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To put you back in control. [doorbell] woman coming alkaseltzer plus sinus. Guys the signs working get unlimited data snd download where and when you want. Get 4 lines for 180 a month when you have reporter summer 2011. Request for a new trial. Or weeks. Daniel trooped back and forth o that . No doubt in my mind he was going to carry out his threats. Briggs asked daniel about his alibi, he was baby sitting at an apartment with several friends . Ll detective marques, hey, you got the wrong guy. I was babysitting . I told him i didnt do it. He wouldnt hear. Tell him that, did you . I told him i did not do that. Assistant da briggs was daniel did do it. Ge boasting and above all his confession proved his guilt beyond a doubt. And something a jury had decide the. E by the book. Legally obtained, he setd aid. Protocol followed. Gs told the judge, daniels claim offen know sense was little more than a media event. Hey get their great big send sags sational story. Judge, are we going to succumb to the media pressure. Llow 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. S the court of public opinion. The only opinion that really mattered was judge madranos. Ould criminal appeal, whether or not be granted a new trial. A negative word from the judge and it was all but over for daniel. Me and went. The 17th christmas without daniel. Ted their tree, hoped for next year and new years passed. And easter. And fourth of july. Torture. Its like we had done all we could do. And all we could do now is is reporter finally, august 2012. Judge madrano announced he made a decision. Filed back into his courtroom. Hearts in their mouths. To hear what it was. It this courts e texas the applicant Daniel Villegas ial should [ applause ] all of the years of anguish just came on. I was overwhelmed buy that time. Rs, just washed out. Overwhelm, man. Overwhelm. I feel so happy for daniel. Reporter not everybody was th the judges finding. Assistant da, john briggs. Daniel villegas is a convicted murderer. To carry the burden on the writ. I am not persuaded by anything that he presented that we have on. We still had one more hurdle. Reporter yes, a very big one. Mmendation wasnt the final word. The Texas State Court of criminal appeal, ultimately l got a new trial. Nine law and order justices several months and announced on line. Where once a week, always a wednesday, the court posted decisions. Sday morning, daniel awoke in his cell with a state of extreme anxiety. Called my mom. She would tell me you are not on the list, baby. Got to wait another week. Just kempt pt going on. After week. Reporter the legal rarity that had gotten daniel this far, lost its momentum. Mas passed. Birthday too. And a host of holidays. The long delay, daniel understood was not a good sign. To his brother. Over the jail phone. Dont blame god. Y. Awe haufg this is every day. This aint just today. It is going to be tomorrow. Day. Every saturday, john visited used whatever he could to keep ve. I have to give him some kind so someb this convertible. I said what a perfect way to encourage daniel. You. Dont worry about it. You are coming home. Wednesday before christmas, 2013, 16 months after at peels court got the case the Appeals Court daniels mother checked the Court Website look always. This time, there it was. Es revealed in three words. Relief is granted. Und. Screaming. Did she make any sense when she talked to you . No. I had to call her back. Happened . Its granted. Its granted. Its granted. The texas court of criminal john novellas phone rang. His lawyer with the news. We goilt t 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 huh . That was probably the happiest day of my life. Going to finish it. I couldnt believe it was happening. Reporter over a year you were waiting . 16 months. Nths of my life. Reporter texas court of criminal appeal not only granted daniel a new trial. Convicted. In other word it was now as if he had never been put on trial. Meaning. 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 remain just where he was. Behind bars. Coming up will the da try forhree . Were not happen. When talt dateline continues. Continues. And trained as a nurse. But i couldnt bear my. P so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. Nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. To treat this pain. R lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Y p or unusual changes in mood or behavior. Or swelling, trouble breathing, muscle pain with fever, r common side effects are weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. Cohol while taking lyrica. P until you know how lyrica affects you. R those who have had a drug or alcohol problem misuse lyrica. Tnow i have less diabetic nerve pain. And i love helping little ones get off on the right foot. R about lyrica. Alright. Big smile hey, honey how d it go . , dad mcdonald s happy meal. With fresh, delicious cuties. F emotion light up every inch of you. Feel warm inside. Utiful candle. Feel glade. Bounty is two times more absorbent. So one roll of bounty can last longer than those bargain brands. So you get more life per roll. Asting quicker picker upper. James drove his rav4 hybrid, unaware death was lurking. What . Llenged by a team of lumberjacks. Lets do this. He would drive them to hard knocks canyon, where he would risk broken legs, losing limbs, dying. Not helping. But death would have to wait. James left with newfound knowledge, a mans gratitude, how far will you take the allnew rav4 hybrid . , weve seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. Even turkey jerks. [turkey] gobble. [butcher] im sorry burke covered march fourth,2014. Talk to farmers. Weve seen almost everything,cover almost anything. Uary 14, 2014. 20 years. Depending on what happened in it all depended on the bail hearing. For once again, judge madrano would make a key decision. E amount. John novello worried it would be have to come up with money. s surprise the judge set bail at 50,000. Of which only a small percentage would have to be paid. Over 1,000. Od. Another happy, happy moment. Its like that i think i can live with. Probably the smallest check i o far. John novella happily wrote the check. Ery long [ cheers and applause ] yes priceless. Eless. We had waited for so long for that moment to happen. Daniel somebody else greeted daniel too. I said, daniel. He turned around. He looked at me. I whispered to him. Fore sorry for what happened to you. I really am. But i am so happy for you. You are out, you are enjoying this. Oh, man. And he gave me a kiss. A few minutes later, daniel was convertible. In the dark days. What better way than to present him his car. Him ride away in that car. Pretty amazing day. Very amazing. Couldnt believe that this y come. They want to church. They went to church. T. His first steak in years. Delicious. E to yellow ribbons. Experiencing all the new things. Nting himself with the old. Its ben a long time. Including his daughter. Just an infant whe. Now 20 and married and in college. Since his release, daniel has been making up for lost time. He a job. At novella contractors, naturally. And a new baby. All of which in a happy ending been the conclusion of our story. But as everyone knows, the worldher plans. As does da Jaime Esparza, the da despite the Court Rulings and ains convinced daniel is a killer and should be locked up for life. He is promised to try him all over again. Lets have the jury deside whether or not decide whether or not he committed the crime or thats our policy. We do our talk in court. 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 he fact. Hearing daniel confess, sometimes around his two trials. Also allegations that daniel can in a much dispult ted phone call with his mother mumbling something that the prosecutor hears as im not innocent. , mumbella and daniel in prison telephone calls, conspired to influence witnesses when they can be heard stralt zing. A claim which according to mumbella amounts to a smear da. Are they trying to get at the truth . Not at all. I believe theyre just trying to case . Judge madrano has thrown out much of the states evidence. Inadmissible because the it was coerced. All of those hours of prison phone calls, ruled out as simply irrelevant. T hear any confession on those tapes. The da determined to move ealing that particular decision. Around el paso. In and out of legal community, we encountered many people who will not let it go. One of the doubters, the das ounsel. I dont know why theyre pursuing it. To be honest with you. They talked to some of the re also involved. And a lot of the people any way have regrets. Reporter maybe that was a rush to judgment. Right. He da, Jaime Esparza up for reelection and the villegas is controversial in the campaign. Says if elected she will review the case mine if it should be pursued. Barring earth shattering evidence, another candidate says, hell drop the case. For now, john mumbella is for trial number three. You know, we are praying that that doesnt happen. Be a sham to e to put daniel and his family through it again. I dont know if we are going to go to trial. Win it. 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, occupant. This is the future home of proclaimed justice, a brand new Innocence Project based in el iel and mumbella plan to open shupd acquitted. I am real excited about that. Lot of people that are in prison, little really hundreds of us still in there that dont got a john in their life. T john for them. Reporter and john, he plans to reap tire contracting business. Once they called him the king of construction here in el paso. The thing he hoped to be remembered for. Bank and met a woman. Who gave him along with her ife. It would be probably the best thing i have ever done. Our i spent on daniels case, was worth it. Now daniel is with his family. Reporter how many more hours and more pennies will depend on a decision not his to make. To daniel. John mimbela lived up to his