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
eric says he had a brief sexual relationship with miriam that did not end well. you have a fling with a girl and then you just cut it off abruptly. she may feel slighted. slighted enough to make you a murder suspect? i guess so. whatever her motivation, the question is how reliable was she as a witness? all these years later eric finally had someone to take another look at miriam s story. attorney peter cross. there s no doubt this woman was lying. i went out to the crime scene and she could not possibly have seen what she said occurred. so what could miriam tavares really see? here s the problem with miriam s story. from that police video, we know this is where the cab came to rest. we also know the shooting happened a couple of car lengths back, sort of where that red suv is. we know a man in that building called 911 when he heard the
shots and he said he saw only one person running away from the scene. now, a couple of weeks later, miriam tavares comes forward. she lives in that building over there. now you re looking at me from outside the window miriam said she saw all of this happen. this has to be easily 100 yards away. and she says she saw six people from the neighborhood commit the crime. she says she heard what they said and she saw what they stole. and she said she saw all of it looking through this bathroom window. the only problem is, if you go back to where the shooting actually happened, it s pretty clear miriam tavares couldn t have seen anything at all. she said from the bathroom window she heard these conversations going on inside the car. i mean, it s just incredible testimony. but what disturbed cross even more, detective donnelly never looked at the crime scene from the perspective you just did. wouldn t that sort of be standard operating procedure to check out what witnesses say?
and you can i only have one thing to say, though. i didn t do it. i wasn t there. i was in my house asleep. detectives didn t believe him and cosme was arrested for both murders. days later so was eric glisson. originally you were charged with both murders, with denise raymond s murder and the cab driver murder. yes. but by the time eric went to trial prosecutors dropped charges against him in the denise raymond case, citing lack of evidence. so what evidence was there against him in the cab driver case? it was really pretty simple. there was a witness against him. her name? miriam tavares. tavares told the cops she looked out her window and saw it all, eric and the others, smack in the middle of the cab driver robbery that ended in murder. is it possible miriam saw you commit a crime? no. not any crime? i wasn t there. bad blood between you and miriam? yes, bad blood.
the scene. now, a couple of weeks later, miriam tavares comes forward. she lives in that building over there. now you re looking at me from outside the window miriam said she saw all of this happen. this has to be easily 100 yards away. and she says she saw six people from the neighborhood commit the crime. she says she heard what they said and she saw what they stole. and she said she saw all of it looking through this bathroom window. the only problem is, if you go back to where the shooting actually happened, it s pretty clear miriam tavares couldn t have seen anything at all. she said from the bathroom window she heard these conversations going on inside the car. i mean, it s just incredible testimony. but what disturbed cross even more, detective donnelly never looked at the crime scene from the perspective you just did. wouldn t that sort of be standard operating procedure to check out what witnesses say? you would think so. i think