by 2001, joe d'ambrosio had been on death row for over 12 years. his state appeals had all been rejected. his execution could come at any time. >> our legal system is just designed to make it very, very difficult to prove that someone didn't commit a crime after they've already been convicted. you're talking the most uphill of uphill battles. >> father neil was desperate to help prove joe's innocence. but in order to get a new trial they had to find new evidence. so neil took a new approach. >> i thought, one of the things i need to do to get help is media attention. one of the first media outlets that i got was "the cleveland scene" magazine. >> neil kookoothe came into the office a couple weeks after i joined the staff. neil didn't oversell what he believed to be joe's case of actual innocence.