what could dontae have become? it was a travesty ofjustice. it took 26 years to make it partially right. i was exonerated on august 22, 2019. a lot of people think the ultimate goal is just getting exonerated and getting out of prison, getting your freedom back. it's a lot more than that. sometimes i wake up just crying. i just cry. people think that when you get exonerated, the fight is over. it'sjust beginning, really. i haven't been pardoned. governor roy cooper, for some reason, hasn't pardoned me. he's asking for the state of north carolina to acknowledge the wrong and give him what is due under the constitution. they buried this man alive! you're looking at a miracle. there was never an intention for him — to be standing here today. we need to see what he can still become. can i get my pardon? can i get my freedom? something that was given to me by god that you mistakenly took from me? hey, how are you doing? all right, all right? right here, the police pulled up right here. this exact spot, right here. theyjump out. "what's up, man?" and they were like, "dontae, we've got a warrant." i said, "a warrant for what?" he said, "murder." i said, "murder? man, y'all tripping, man. y'all cray." i said, "don't worry, i didn't do nothing." like this, slapped them handcuffs on me. that was the last time. that was the last time i was outside. this is where i got locked up at. i remember the first day i pulled up to the prison. then that gate, zshhh—boom. then you hear them razor wires shake. ding—ding—ding—ding. i was in there so long, from a teenager to 44 years old. it was like every time i closed my eyes, i see a long tunnel with a little dot, pinprick at the end. and i'd be, like, "man, am i still in prison?" i couldn't sleep. my mind was running, my mind was racing, like, "you got a life sentence for something you didn't... "you're in prison." it's part torture, mental anguish, fear. and the fear is one of the great ones. you fear never getting out. i was accused of killing a white man in a drug deal gone bad. mr george radcliffe. now, that investigation was like no other. it was a couple of guys shooting and stuff that went on in the area, but when a white guy got killed, you couldn't walk down the street, you couldn't stop. isaid, "man, whoever they lock up for that through." that's what i said. because racism was so strong in greenville. they was looking for... ..investigating for two months before they locked on me. this was a high—profile case. it was a white man who was killed in a black neighbourhood known for drugs at that time. it was all over the news. there was a lot of pressure to get somebody for this murder. i heard so many stories that they wanted me for drugs. they said i was a big—time, known drug dealer. i was known, a lot of people know me, but whatever reason it was, you've got the wrong man. this is something that's sort of well known in reviews of innocence cases. when you have a white victim who, tragically, is harmed, we see greater penalties associated and we see greater instances of wrongful convictions related to those crimes. dontae being a black man in greenville, north carolina in the 1990s was central to why he was convicted and central to why his conviction was not overturned sooner. every time i went to court, it was a white man over me, i was in a black—and—white case. racism was part of the reason why they went so hard — they tried to solve it and get somebody and it happened to be a black and a white. it wasn't until trial that he knew what the evidence was that was going to be used against him. no physical evidence, no fingerprints, no hairfibre, no nothing. not of me. not mine... nothing. nothing on the scene, period. the primary witness that the district attorney put forward was a 15—year—old girl. her name was charlenejohnson. almost immediately following the trial, charlene came forward and recanted. she told the state that she was nowhere near this murder scene and that she had made up what she said at trial. a young lady came forward and said that her boyfriend had came home and told her that... ..he had shot a white man across town in a truck and that he wasn't going to prison for killing a white man. he said that for 20—something days, and then he killed himself with a gun, i guess. committed suicide. that was never heard by a jury, again, based on a technicality. the court could have allowed that testimony in. the court did not. i guess they didn't believe it, you know? or didn't want to believe it. i don't know, you know? i think this is 1998. think i had been locked up then, like, three years, i had heard from somebody that if you've got a picture of something in your mind that you want and you can look at it every day, if you can see it and believe it, you can get it. so i took the picture and wrote this on a picture and put it up on my mirror, and every day i looked at it and said, "i'm free. i'm free." that's what this picture was for. i had to make a wilful choice — was i going to act like a lifer or was i going to grow up, mature and use the situation to better myself? and the first step i did was getting a bible. i used to read, every day, one scripture, one verse. i would deliver him and honour him because he set his love upon me and with long life would i satisfy him. so he would deliver me, deliver my...here first and then deliver me out of prison, but i had to set my love, i had to love, and that's what i did. it wasjuly 17, 1994, the day she was born. i was in the countyjail. they announced over the intercom, "dontae sharpe is the proud father of a baby girl." my name is imani carmen. i am 27 years old. dontae is my dad. when i was younger, they told me he was injail for something that he didn't do. he had got life. we didn't have a bond, you know, with him being injail. i wasn't given a chance with him and i don't really know why. iwas, like, "god, i'm facing a murder charge "for something i didn't do. "i'm not going to be there." i told my mumma i wanted to better myself. i said, "i'm—a do everything in here that i wouldn't do "or didn't think was important in the world." i went all—out in everything i did. my mum probably missed four visits in 26 years. dontae needed me then. you know, ifeel like he really...he needed me. i didn't want to miss visits. it was already bad enough being in prison for something you didn't do, and i felt like, what kind of mother would i be if i didn't go see my son? he would wave, and that wave used to destroy me. you know, they don't realise how much damage they do... ..toa family. i never dreamed it would be 26 years. i thought i had got over the tears. sniffs i guess i hadn't. i met dontae as a duke law student. i had started in the wrongful convictions clinic and, as a part of the clinic, you are assigned a client. when i first met him, he would've already been in prison for 16 years. in dontae�*s case, he received offers of plea deals throughout his time of incarceration, and at each turn along the way, he declined because the plea deal required him to say that he had done something that he had not done, to admit to a crime that he was not guilty of. some innocent people have been coerced, have been tricked, have been scared into it, and some just got tired and took a plea bargain, said they did something they didn't do, and i never could understand them. he was saying, "i am not going to allow this system "to break a part of me that is still mine, "and that is my truth, my integrity, my dignity." and while i completely stand with that, the reality of seeing him have to do that over and over again while the system failed, it... it broke me. you're hurting and you're losing faith and hope in humanity. sometimes. . .i just hollered out sometimes. i'd just be, like... he screams "god!" isaid, "man, nothing, man. nothing, man." all: free dontae sharpe! this morning, i come out for my son, montoya dontae sharpe. first, there was- no physical evidence. secondly, there were l false witness accounts. there were likely— alternative suspects ignored and not pursued, so while dontae was locked up, - the real killer was still- walking around greenville. it was a travesty of justice and it took 26 years to make it partially right. the day that dontae got released was in greenville. it was, you know, in his hometown. his whole family was there. theresa newman and spencer parris, who put on that case, did a phenomenaljob presenting the evidence. do you solemnly swear the testimony given to the court in this session shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? charlenejohnson, she testified again in front ofjudge collins, and she said, "i've been trying to make this right." you could hear, in the courtroom, a pin drop. people knew that this was an incredibly important moment. there was no way for the crime to have physically happened the way that the state said it was, that it was a physical impossibility. to me, this is sort of the core of how unbelievable it is that dontae sat in prison for 26 years, is that the evidence was right there in front of all of ourfaces. it was before the courts. the judge went back to his chambers and made it clear that he was going to announce his ruling from the bench, which is not always what happens in these cases. the court now resumes the sitting for the dispatch of this business. cheering you finally get vindicated. you finally prove that all the years you've been telling people, "i'm innocent. man, i did not do this. "i didn't kill this man. "i didn't." and you've been saying it and saying it and saying it. it was real, but it didn't seem real. you, oh god, have spoken this day. yes. laughter getting out of prison, wrongfully convicted, to get exonerated, i think is bittersweet to everybody at the end of the day. in prison, you sleep, you don't rest. my sleep patterns are still thrown off. i've still got a habit of getting up, checking all my doors cos in prison, all the doors are locked. yeah. i knew y'all was at that pool. i see ya! uh—oh! hey, munchkin. when i got out, it was a shock to be called grandaddy or daddy by my daughter and my grandkids. watching my dad be a grandad, you can tell he's been... ..trying to make up for me. in her eyes, she wanted him here. she just became angry... ..and, you know...been angry ever since about it. you know, i always let her know, if he could get out to be here with you, he would. wanda, wanda, wanda, wanda. yeah, itold her to go on with her life. i had a life sentence for something i didn't do. you know, i had to let her go. i had planned on not ever, you know, being with anyone i was with before. you know, that dontae dead. honestly, that dontae dead. i was not expecting him to come home to me. i always said it, you know, i always told people, like, "oh, he come home, i'm not going to let anybody get him, "he belongs to me. "he's, like... "i'm going to get my family now." i'm—a tell you what really got me — when i seen my grandkids, wytham and marnie, that's my family. that's what i always wanted. when i seen that foursome, made me want to dance a little bit. isaid, "god, i'm back!" i got to try this. i got to go with it. we still don't know each other all, you know, the way, but... ..it�*s better. he kind of catching onto me, i'm catching onto him, so... people think that when you get exonerated, the celebration is on. it's over with, the fight is over and you're celebrating, and... it'sjust beginning, really. it'sjust beginning. when i first got out... he groans ..i couldn't get a job. the felony stopped me from getting a job. the felony stopped me from getting an apartment. it seemed like the felony was controlling my life, and the only way i can get the felony out my record is get pardoned. i haven't been pardoned. governor roy cooper, for some reason, hasn't pardoned me. if i were to get a pardon, it would make everything a lot easier. hi, everybody. governor roy cooper here. every year, we carve out time to do the turkey pardon. - we eat turkey for thanksgiving, so it's a tradition for the governor and the president to pardon the turkeys for thanksgiving. that's a holiday that we celebrate here in america. it's all right to have traditions, but pardoning a human being is way more important than pardoning an animal. i'm announcing that i am a candidate for governorl of north carolina. cheering roy cooper became the governor of north carolina after serving for more than 30 years as the attorney general or in some form or fashion within the criminaljustice system. and now, as governor, he has the ability to decide the future of dontae's life. a pardon is a technical term. it can only come from the governor in north carolina and it is the only way to get a determination by the state that you are innocent and it is the only way to get compensated. you get a very small amount of money in comparison to what has been taken away from you, but it's that stability that allows you to be able to build a new life. can i get my pardon? can i get my freedom? something that was given to me by god that you mistakenly took from me? he is not asking for the state of north carolina to apologise. he's asking for the state of north carolina to acknowledge the wrong and give him what is due under the constitution. when you get exonerated, you're supposed to be able to get pardoned. there's some actual other states that have automatic pardons after you get exonerated. north carolina's not one of them. i'm not begging for it, i'm not pleading for it. i'm just here to put mr cooper, this whole system, north carolina, on notice that i'm—a keep right on talking cos there's more guys that i left behind me that's innocent. they buried this man alive! you're looking at a miracle. there was never an intention for him to be standing - here today! when you try to do this - and you do this and you kill a person's dream... thank you, reverend. all right. thank all of you. thank you. like, tomorrow. talking about freedom. god knows freedom come in all forms. land of the free, home of the brave. who are the free you're talking about? who are the free you're talking to? i'm glad dontae's out. yeah, these ought to be ready. can't get what i lost in 26 years. i got my son back. thank god. we got to start from where we are right now. heavenly father, we thank you for this unity today. we thank you, god, for the food we're about to receive. we ask you to have it to be nourishment to our body and a blessing to our needs. injesus' name, we thank you. amen. cheering freedom to me is, you know... ..not being locked in, boxed in by them fences and that razor wire. it's been bittersweet since i've been home. it ain't all been roses. today's more like a celebration of the beginning of my freedom because i still haven't been pardoned. there's some guys that have never been pardoned, they've been home ten years. you know, i'm not going to let that hold me back or hold me down cos i can't. i'm going to live whether i get it or not. the sign behind me behind my head says pardon dontae sharpe now. that is past tense because dontae has been pardoned. i want to thank everybody, every petition, person, everybody, who did anything, the bbc that did the documentary. today is a beautiful day in north carolina forjustice. it is a beautiful day for dontae sharpe and his family. it is a day that is so well deserved. i'm going to have so many... a surprise. a pardon of actual innocence, it lifts the burden off of my shoulders and my family's shoulders. just god bless everybody that helped me get from prison to this point of my life. hello again. storm barra of course has been dominating our weather picture over the last couple of days with strong winds, heavy rain and some upland snow as well. but look at these big rocks. the seas have been chucking them onto the coastline of west wales. you know the seas are pretty angry when they throw brick sized lumps of rocks at you. there is barra, it continues to feel it's getting less intense. we do have a window of slightly clearer weather that's set to come in during thursday. that means we'll see these showers that we got at the moment fading away over the next few hours. but it's going to be quite chilly for those heading out across northern england and scotland, temperatures as low as —2, —3 c as you perhaps head outside the door first thing in the morning. but for many, a fine start to the day. in fact for some of you, it should be a lovely sunrise. the early rising sun illuminating this lump of cloud, the next weather system not taking long to move its way in and bringing rain back to northern ireland, west england and wales. but also eventually bringing some milder air into the southwest where temperatures reach around 11 through the afternoon. still for most of us, it's another fairly chilly run with 6 or 7 c, more typical temperatures. as we head into friday, that area of rain, perhaps with a little bit of mountain snow clears out of the way. we'll be left with these north westerly winds. those northwesterly winds bringing a lot of sunshine, sparkling visibility but also a number of showers. the showers will always be most frequent across the northwest, they will be some that reach right across the midlands, perhaps down towards even parts of southern england. temeratures, well, similar to recent days, still quite chilly around six or 7 c. but the weather is set to change as we head into the weekend. another area of low pressure responsible for the change, this one is going to be bringing south—westerly winds in, particularly across parts of england and wales. could be some mist and fog patches first thing in the morning. so for some it could be quite a murky start and it's not entirely dry, we've got outbreaks of rain piling and particularly through western areas of the country. although probably not a huge amount of rain across eastern most areas. temperatures rising through the day, 12 toward southwest england and heading into sunday, that milder air will continue to push its way eastwards and northwards. by the time we get to sunday afternoon most of you will see temperatures into double figures and the milder spots on sunday you could see temperatures as high as 14. then it looks like it will stay quite mild into next week. hello, this is bbc news, i'm rich preston, ourtop stories: new covid rules have been announced for england, but the prime minister's accused of trying to deflect attention from a political scandal. pharmaceutical giant pfizer says a three—jab course of their covid vaccine, is effective against the omicron variant. a new chancellor, and a new era for germany, as olaf scholz takes over from angela merkel. and the japanese billionaire who's become the latest space tourist.

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