scene. six people were convicted, including eric glisson. you actually think they read the wrong verdict. then divine intervention through a nun he called grandma. eric would say, grandma, i think this all happening for a reason. maybe a nun could help him get 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 has kept me up at night for six years. he says i know you re innocent, i know the guys who committed this crime. will justice finally arrive? hello and welcome to dateline. eric glisson was just 20 years old when he was convicted of a murder that sent hello and welcome to dateline. eric glisson was just 20 years old when he was convicted of a murder that sent shockwaves through his neighborhood. a crime he insisted he did not commit. to clear his name eric would have to find the real killers, following clues from the confines of his cel
for the first time in his 18-year struggle to prove that he didn t pull a trigger eric glisson finally had his hands on a smoking gun. an affidavit from a federal investigator saying eric was innocent. he asked me, do i have an attorney? i told him, yeah. i said, i promise you i ll call this lawyer today. so i was standing on line in a bank. peter cross remembers that phone call. mr. o malley tells me, peter, i m with the u. s. attorney s office. we know your client is innocent. that was such an emotional moment for me. i was like, tears welled up in my eyes right in front of the teller. i thank god every day for john o malley. when i looked in that man s eyes, you know, i see a man who has integrity. i seen a man who was honest. o malley s 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.
your family must love you very much. and he said, yes, because they know i m innocent. and that s how the whole story began. 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. so who is this convicted murderer? he is inmate 97a7088. 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 re going to film me? yeah. he had been locked up for 18 years. you want to see what it s like to live in here? i can touch the walls with my hands. eric told us he didn t belong here.
officers was bringing us up to the court and one of the officer s says this is watkins. i said, cathy watkins? she said yeah, who are you? i said, i m eric glisson. how are you involved this? she says, i don t know. how are you involved? what s going on? we both didn t know. we was confused. 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 monitor bracelets as the d. a. s office continues to investigate. we have made a decision to take this unprecedented as you know, judge, and exceptional step that we are going to consent to the conditional vacating of the conviction for these two defendants, and the condition being that the defendants do wear those electronic monitoring bracelets. all that s left now is for the judge to make it official. the record will reflect that the conditional vacater of the
this is my wall of hope. everyone here has been unjustly convicted and freed. on august 5th, 2012, eric s lawyer goes to court. this is our first appearance to try to get the judgment vacated. cross is joined by his assistant charmaine chester. by now, they have worked on the case for six years. i want to see him out. i told him the last time i went up to sing sing, i m not visiting you here again. this is it. finally, cross argues his case to the judge. my client has spent 17 years plus in jail for a crime he hasn t committed. but it doesn t go down like a hollywood script. prosecutors do not admit there s been a terrible mistake. your honor, we ll be seeking an extension of the time to answer those questions. how much of an extension are the people seeking? just at this point, 30 days. another month. cross is frustrated. he told me they were starting their investigation in