Transcripts For KWWL Dateline NBC 20160215

Most intense interrogations that ive ever seen. Welcome to dateline. Im lester holt. How could you confess to a crime you didnt commit . It seems to defy logic and common sense. And yet it does happen. Advocates say fafamore often than any of us realizes. Heres keith morrison. A freak snowstorm like an omen. Smothers the little town in the blue ridge mououains. February 19, 2003. Just before 9 00 a. M. Winter or no, they we not used to this. Through the white deadening blanket that buried the town, a piercing sound. Fire alarm. Now the snowstorm was the last thing on fire chief preston gentrys mind. The tone went off f f a fire with occupants possibly trapped force. The alarm was on a quiet start. There were a lot of kids in that nabtd. Youre running a lot of things through your mind. Who are the occupants you have to rescue . The fire trucks raced to thth home of a recently separated woman of anne charles and children. Thick black smoke poured from the second story eaves. Part of throof burned away. We were concentrating on getting up the steps and getting to the rooms where we were pretty sure we had victims. Neighbors crowded in behind potice barricade. One was an 18yearoo who lived up the street. An awkward sort of kid, a bit immature for his age. He had strep throat that morning, was taking antibiotics. But nothing could keep him from this. Robert davis. Everyone goes down and starts watching. The Fire Department there by yeah, the Fire Department was there by then. Five minutes. Then one of the Fire Department people asked us to a truck that was maybe a 100, 200 yards away to oxygen it felt good to help out. This woman lift next door. She watched the fire and worried about the pretty young mother trapped in there, anne charles. S s would come outside e d play with the kid. We would talk here and there. But she was a really nice person. Then something good has two daughters, katie and wendy escaped unharmed from their downstairs bedrooms. But that left anne and little thomas just 3 years old, unaccounted for. Somewhere upstairs. We put t e fire out and we started checking the bedrooms for occupants. Nothing good after that. Upstairs firemen found little thomas on the floor bebeath the inhalation. Chief gentry steeled himself to what might be next. Felt his way througm debris and lingering smoke e anns room. I crawled over to the bunk bed and thats where we found a victim in the bunk bed and that person was secured in the bunk bed both hand and both legs were tied up . Tied up. Now that put an entirely different eomplexion on things. This wasnt just a fire. So what did that tell you . Right there, that keys up this is a crime scene. We basically extinguished the fire 57bd left everything as is. And then forensic investigator took overment. One thing that jumped out at me was out of place there was a 5gallon bucket sitting in the middle of the living room floor with an empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. An empty bottle of rubbing alcohol . Belonged there. Upstairs scattered near anns dy, they found three aerosol cans, probably also accelerant. All of that liquid kindle for murder. There was a blob of melted plastic consistent with a Smoke Detector melted on laying on the floor. There was a 9volt battery l ke it went to a Smoke Detector in the sink. Someone had taken it out. Someone had removed it. So cruel 57d deliberate. All the more shocking in a town where 340ird is exceedingly rare says the detective. Thats not a common occurrence here. How did it hit you and members of the department . You have a victim and you also have a child. The child, that touches you in a different way because its a 3yearold child. Yeah. Personally, dont they . Outside, the curious onlookers were a beat behind. All they knew was that ann charles and her little boy were no more. It devastated me. I was in shock. Especially about that little boy. And still didnt know what had happened really. Wasnt long, though, watching the silent stern faces streaming in and out of that little house, that person couldnt help but put two and two together. It was very scary. I think the whole neighborhood was scared. Right there in thahavery neighborhood, police would find their suspects. When we come back they had recovered a knife. Quick work from investigators. Two suspects, two confessions. He was go in, find april purse, get the money and then leave. Only those involved will know. 3, 2, 1 smile alright. Big smile smile hey, honey howd it go . Thanks, dad eres my smile the happy meal. With fresh, delicious, california grown cuties. Run away with me what will you beble to do in a jeepenegade . Loststouls in revelry pretty much anything you want. And i said hey, hey hey hey living like were renegades the most capable small suv ever. With available selecterrain traction control that can be adjusted to take on mud, sand or snow. 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Reporter at first it was just a rumor that spread around little crozet, virginia that but pretty soon everybody knew so it was clear that it was a murder. Yes, sir. Reporter ann charles and her 3yearold thomas were dead, horribly. The forensics man, larry claytor, got a better look at it than anybody. More horrendous cases i had had worked in my career. Reporter larry couldnt give investigators much to go on, a few small foototints in the snow out back. But forget dna, any possibility of finding that was flushed away by fire hoses. And then i get word from the medical Examiners Office that they had recovered a knife that was sticking in the womans back. And whatd you think when you heard that . I went back to my photographs. And sure enough, in the middle of her back, was the knife. Reporter so, someone stabbed her, but who . Firefighters tipped police that a brother sister duo across the street. Rocky and Jessica Fugett had been watching g e fire, claimed to know the victims. Robert davis and his friend, kevin marsh, knew them as aggressive troublemakers at high school. People were afraid of them. We just they coco through the hallway, people would just move be around them. Kevins s iend, shy and awkwarar robert seemed to be a target. Seemed to be a favorite target. They used to pick on him all the time. They called him retarded, fat, ugly, stupid. Reporter robert said he tried to ignore it, but they knew his vulneralities. You know i tried to keep my distance from him when i could. And stay cordial wherever i we were, close proximity to each other. Reporter safer that way, said robert. In a case, the detectives paid a visit to the fugetts house, where they learned enough to march the pair down to Police Headquarters two days later for questioning. And rocky admitted. He was there to rob the place. I was in the house. I know you were in the house. I started out downstairs. Jessica went upstairs first. I was supposed to just watch and make sure everything was happy. Reporter detective phil gilesnterviewed jessica. he eventually acknowowdged she tried to say it was somebody else first, and then at some point put herself there. It was supposed to be routine. We go in, we find her purse, we that was all that was supposed to happen. Reporter but then rocky went way off script, said jessica, tied ann to her bed with duct tape, and turned it into murder. Who set the place on fire . Rocky. Okay, who cut anns throat . Rocky. Who stabbed ann in the back . Rocky. Okay. Reporter jessica told detective giles the murder weapons were a kitchen k kfe and a metal rod for bludgeoning, which they stashed in a hole out behind anns house. She said we probably couldnt find it without her. So we drove her out there, and we walked the entire path until we got to the hole. She said, thahas it, right there. And lo and behold, we had some evidence folks with us, reached in, discovered those two items were there. What was that like . You know that this these are intimate details, and only those involved are gonna know where are the instruments that were used to kill someone. Reporter so, that was that. They had their story, and their culprits. Significant detaililoffered up by both jessica and rocky, something the towns rumor mill failed to catch by the time kevin and robert went out for the evening a couple of days later. We went bowling. We went out to eat, just had a grand old time. Reporter by that time, it was after midnight, about time to go home to bed. Were sitting in the parking lot, talking, just laughing. And all of a sudden, multiple police cars pull up. They get out, guns drawn. They order me out the vehicle first. They get me walking backwards to them wititmy hands up. Reporter and then, through all the terror and confusion, it dawned on kevin marsh. It wasnt him theyd come for. So then, i see them getting robert out, kicking him by his feet, knocking him to the ground, ramming his face into the asphalt, putting him in the handcuffs. Reporter the story the fugetts told the police . They murdered ann charles, and one was robert davis. Coming up i was scared. I was shaking. Now, it would be robert davis turn in the Interrogation Room. Why dont you tell me, robert, what took place that night. When dateline continues. Way car. Bravonine in pursuit of a toyota prius. Over. How hard is it to catch a prius . Overer this thing is actually pretty fast. Over. Very funny. Oh look, a farmers market. We should get some flowers for the caca yeah holly toyota. Lets go places. Ever since darryls wife started using gain flings, their laundry smells sniff honey, isnt that the dogs towel . dog noise hey, mi towel, su towel. More scent plus oxi boost and febreze. Can anybody help us . echo dont go it alone. sfx ding this president s day event sears experts will help you save 40 ororore on kenmore hot b bs. And save 20 or more on hot buys from other top brands. Sears. House experts for home owners. We dont just serve any fish sandwich at culvers. We serve wildcaught, north atlantic cod. This cod grows in water that is cold, clean and pristine, full of flavorful nutrients, and that comes t tough in the fish. This is the way we ship it to your restaurants. Its not prebreaded. So not only do we use the highest quality cod, but we still handbatter it the oldfashioned way. Thats remarkable. And we think we get the best fish filet sandwich because of that. This is the best fish sandwich in america. By all accountstsincluding his own, robert davis was a mamas boy. Because of his childlike ways perhaps or his learning disabilities . Maybe. Hes easy to play. Hes got a kind heart, hes gullible. Robert seemed to need his mother sandy to protect him from the big bad world. While he took care of her when she was attacked by chronic illness. Medication for which tends to slur her speech. Hes a big dude, but hes a teddy bear. He always wanted to grow up and be in healthcare and nursin like i was. Mind you, robert did get into trouble once over a petty theft and his learning disabilities landed him in a special school for several yeyes. But the good thing . A family acquaintance was the School Resource police officer. His name was randy snead hed known robert and his mom for years. Robert looked up to randy. Trusted him. So when officer snead now a detective with the Albemarle County police came looking for robert after the fire. Sandy told him without sitation where he could find her son. I said, robert in trouble . Trouble. But sandy had no idea just how serious or what was about to happen in that parking lot, where robert was hanging out with his friend. Guns pointed at you, youre youre wonderin whats goin on. I mean, i was i was scared. I was shaking. Why robert . Because the siblings told them they had accomplices and he was one of them. Another one was interviewed by detective giles and his partner. At the end of the interview, we both looked at each other and said this kid has no idea what wertalking about. He was clueless what we were talking about. The kid was eventually released. Robert, robert had a far different experience in the interview room. And a different detective. Theyre sting across there sitting across from you was randy snead. You knew him . I was i was on a first name basis with him. Reporter kind of a friend. Because ive known him for so long. Why dont you tell me, nighgh you tell me your story of whatat happened. I was at my house, man. At first, robert swore that he was innocent but six hours later he had confessed to murder. I stabbed her. You stabbed her, didnt you . One, one or two times. Everything youve told me is true. Everything youve done, and true. Later that day, officer snead allowed robert to call his mother. I said, robert, what did you say . He said, since they wanted to hear that, i told em, fine. What did it feel like in here when you heard that from your son . I felt like i was gonna have a heart attack and die. Around the neighborhood, people who had known robert for he was always polite, mannerable, and i knew robert was a follower. And i just still couldnt believe that robert was involved. And yet, the boy said it himself. Why would he confess to somethin that he didnt do . Roberts mother couldnt afford an attorney, so the state appointed one for him. Steve rosenfield. Reporter what was your impression of him when you first met him . Robert was scared to death from the first meeting and and forever. And then robert told attorney rosenfield just about what youd expect an accused d rder might say he didnt do it. He didnt stab anybody. He wasnt even there. He only confessed, he said, because he was so scared reporter did you push hard enough to find out whether or not heheas actually telling you the truth or playing you . I take what the client tells me and i do an independent evaluation based on what i learn. So he watchededhe tape of which, didnt look right to him. Besides there was no physical evidence at the crime scene to tie robert to the crime. But just as intriguing was this question why would rocky and jessica include a kid like robert . The fugett kids, as the kids at school and in the neighborhood knew, bullied robert mercilessly a a he was terrified of them. Surely he wouldnt help them murder the neighbor lady. Yet, rocky fugett was going to tell the court just that. His lawyer had advised me that rocky wanted to get a favorable sentencing and was going to be testifying against robert. So, big problems. Rosenfield knew from long experience that any jury hearing rockys testimony and roberts confession would certainly convict. Robert would very probably get a life sentence, no parole. Roberts only chance of ever getting out of prison was to alford plea. And we told robert that, if you plead guilty under an alford plea you admit that there is sufficient evidence to prove your guilt but you do not admit that youre guilty. It meant accepting a 23 year prison sentence. It also meant he could never file an appeal. 37 years of practice, it is the hardest decision that ive made to strongly recommend a client to take a plea for something he didnt do. But at least it wasnt life. He was sentenced at 20, would be free in his early 40s. The day i was standin in front of the judge, acceptin that alford plea, cryin. And just prayin that one day, hopefully, the truth would come out, that i wasnt there. The fugetts avoided the Death Penalty but t ey got what amounted to life without parole. And Steve Rosenfield faithfully drove to the prison to see robert knowing the only way to Virginia Governor to issue a papaon. Fat chance of that. It was a pretty big long shot of getting him out before the 23ears for which he was sentenced. And then . Two years after robert went top prison, rosenfield opened the mail, and found a letter. From, of all people, rocky fugett. Dear mr. Rosenfield, i have some information about robert that i think can be awfully beneficial. You are welcome to come visit me. Snail mailil rest assured, Steve Rosenfields drive to the prison was much quicker. Coming up help is on the way from inside prison walls. And outside. This is one of the most intense interrogations that ive ever seen. That interrogation will soon be the key to the case. I cant lie about the hes lying about lying. Bout lying. Im jerry bell the second. And im jerry bell the third. Im like a big bear and hes my little cub. This little guy is nonstop. Hes always hanging out with his friends. Youve got to be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat and be ready to get up. Theres no deep couch sitting. Definitely not good for my back. This is the part i really dont like right here. doorbell whats that . A package s a swiffer wetjet. It almost feels like its moving itself. This is kind of fun. That comes from my floor . Eww this is deep couch sitting. Behold, the magical powers of all laundry detergent its perfect for all the pigpens out there. The peanans movie. Coming soon to bluluay, dvd and digital hd. Are you ready . Are you ready . Youve got to be ready. I mean, really ready. Are you ready to open . Ready to compete . Ready to welcome . The floors, mats, spotless. The uniforms clean and crisp. Do your people have the right safety gear . Im ready you think your customers cant tell the difference between whos ready and whos not . Of course they do. Reporter attorney Steve Rosenfield was in for a big surprise when he arriviv at rocky fuggets prison. It was shocking. Reporter it certainly was. Rocky wanted to sign a sworn affidavit saying robert davis was innocent. Had nothing to do wiwi the murders. Him to to do that, considering his circumstances. Nothing to gain. Reporter but rockys admission wasnt enough to undo roberts confession. And then seven years into roberts prison sentence, rosenfield answered a phone call. And there she was. Reporter Laura Nirider of northwestern universitys Innocence Project is a leading expert in false confessions by young people. She represents Brendan Dassey of making a murderer fame. Nirider heard about roberts case and offered to help. And hflp us understand whal happened to robert, as we watch the interrogation unfold. This is one of the e st intense interrogations that ive ever seen. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. Youve got these officers very, very close to robert whos a big guy pushed into that corner, increasing the pressure without even touching him. Man robert has long trusted begins the interview at 2 00 am, by which time robert has been awake 18 hours. Never been in that house . No. Reporter again and again, more than 70 times. Start telling the truth. I am. Reporter robert insists he is innocent. I had nothing to do with this. I swear to god. Asks for a polygraph. I will take a polygraph test right now. I am being honest. I will take a polygraph test. I have said that how many timeme officer snead, i was not there. I will take a polygraph test right now to prove to you that i was not there. When youve got somebody in the Interrogation Room who offers to take a polygraph, thats a strong sign of innocence that should not be disregarded. We know you were in the house, okay . Reporter but then sneads partner terry walls ups the ante. I was nowhere near the house. He says. We know you were in the house. Weve got evidence thats going to prove you were in the house. Repepter they dont, by the way have any evidence of that. Though it is legal for police to lie in an interrogation. I want to see this evidence. There you will. Robert asks for his medicine. He has strep throat. Remember, hes also asthmatic. I need to take my third dose. I have not taken it. I will give you the penicillins once we get going, okay . You you work with me and ill wowo with you. Reporter robobts been awake for nearly 20 hours. Im tired. I want to go. I want to call my mom. Tell her that i love her. Im sorry for thth all the pain that ive ever put her through. I had nothing i had nothing to do with this. Reporter mororthan a dozen times, he says hes tired and needs sleep. And several times, he tries to sleep on the cold floor. At 5 17 am, for no explained reason, they attach shackles to roberts ankles. Come on, mama thats too tight for me. Reporter more than four hours into the interrogation randy snead tells robert he has more bad news. Overwhelming evidence of robertrt guilt. I dont need it. Dust is made up mostly of human dead skin. I didnt know that. That can be picked up. That dna. Im not gonna to be able to keep you from the worst, robert. If you dont talk to me, i cant keep you from the worst. I wasnt there. Robert, you were. You were there. The evidence shows you were there. The evidence shows it. I cant lie about the evidence. And not only was that false there was no d. N. A. Found in this case. But the officer then goes on to say, i cant lie to you about this, robert and so in fact hes lying about lying. Reporter officer snead tells robert he faces what snead calls the ultimate punishment. He also says falsely that hes been talking to roberts mother on the phone. I told your mom that i would sit here and try to keep you from the most ultimate punishment you can get. And im trying to do that. And youre not even helping me to help you. I cant do no more. Hat was going on in n ere . There you see the police and you also see the officer very cleverly using roberts relationship with his mother. Reporter and thats when roberts resolve begins to weaken. What can i say that i did to get me out of this . Reporter just before 7 00 am, five hours in, robert begins to bargain. How many years is it going to be, if i was just on the porch . How many years is will it be if you were just on the porch . Robert when will i go home . Huh . When will i go home today . Will i go home now . I cant promise you. Look, you work with me and im going to do everything i can to make sure your mom and we can get you maybe get you home. Reporter then, hoping it might get him home to his mother, robert offers a story he hopes will satisfy snead. I never went upstairs. I stood right there at the door. And then once i heard something, i got scared, i freaked and i an. Robert, sitting here trying to tell me and hide from me ridiculous. Reporter then snead lies to robert again, this time about one of the murder weapons. Theres an item that you touched. All right . Thth had left some partities on it. That did some damage to somebody. What was that object, robert . I think it was a bat. It was it was a bat . A bat. A baseball bat. All right. Some type of. Clubbing device. Clubbing device. Reporter snead knows the weapon was really a metal rod. And then i hiher two times. Because they said if it was if i didnt it would be. Wait a minute, now. Ive got somebody else clubbbbg her, robert. I got someone else doing that act. Reporter robert has it wrong. Hit her in the head with the smakythingy. Reporter jessica already confessed that rocky clubbed ann charles. You did another act. You know what that act is. And and we know. And thats the thing that has something on it, that thats yours. What would that be . Reporter so again, robert starts guessing. No. No. Im not saying that. A p s what youre trying no. I didnt kill the baby. No, im not saying that. Im not saying that you raped anybody. I didnt cut nobody. I didnt didnt say you cut i didnt shoot nobody. I didnt say you shot nobody. Robert, im going to come straight out and tell yoyowhat i all right . Since youre not going to tell me. You stabbed that woman. I stabbed her. One one or two times. Reporter then snead asks robert where. Whereabouts on her body . It was in the middle. Reporter and again, snead corrects him. You had a knife in your hand. All right . And prior to stabbing stabbing her in the in the back. All right . You cut her. It was essentially the polices confession, not roberts. Do you think by me telling you thisits going to get me home tononht . T tight . Today . Today . I doubt it. So i can go home . Youre not lying. I am lying to you. Im lying to you full front full frontnto your face. I am lying to you. I am lying to you just so i can go home. Which is exactly what juveniles who have falsely confessed say was their motivating factor for falsely confessing. Reporter but by 8 00 am, six hours after the interrogation began, randy snead has his confession. What youve said tonight to up to this morning to me. Is that a true and accurate statement . Yes. Okay. Reporter when rosenfield delivered a clemency petition to Virginia Governor bob mcdonnell, rdier added volumes s evidence in support. And then, as they waited for an answer. Out of nowhere jessica sent a dear mr. Rosenfield letter. She admitted to the throat cutting, stab wounds to the back and absolutely adamant that whatsoever. Reporter so jessicas affidavit was sent off to the governrn, too. And everybody waited. And waited. And then on the governors very last day in office, more than nine years into roberts sentence a decision. Denied. Rosenfield, devastated, drove to the prison to tell robert. Robert t d i hugged and we cried and probably is about the most painful part of this process. Reporter roberts only door to freedom slammed shut. But half a world away, someone else was watching roberts case. Could his opinion make a difference . Comingngp isnt the confessssn the strongest evidence you can get . Not always. The Police Detective in Roberts Corner when dateline ahhhhhhh same dream . Some fake colonel, pretending to be, but im me so only i can introduce kfcs delicious, new Nashville Hot chicken. With a spicy, smoky flavor, only available eor a limited time, by me, colonel sanders. I know dear. [gasp] [ominous music] its Finger Lickin good shoulders dont just carry pads. They carry your fans passions, hopes, and dreams and maybe, a chance at greatness. Because shshlders were made for greatness. Not dandruff this game ends now. To catch a prius, youve gotta be a prius. Guys, whats that . Oh, man. Reporter this is the coffeewood prison, in mitchells, virginia. Robert daviss home, this and Something Like 40 of his life. I didnt know. I was naive. You know, i was scared. Reporter robert is not alone, of course. There are people like him in situations just like his in jails and prisons all around the country, who confessed as teenagers to crimes they maybe didnt commit. In fac to prevent that ver thing, Police Departments in many othererountries banned or dispensed years ago with interrogation techniques still used in america. Had the murder happened elsewhere, for example, here in the United Kingdom its probable that robert still would have been brought in for questioning he was after all named as a suspect by others in the case. But the chances that he would have been charged or even interviewed for very long, close to zero. The interview as it is on the recording would not be legal in the u. K. , and that evidence would not have been admitted to a trial. Andy griffiths, 26 years a a detective in the Sussex Police department, internationally recognized for his work in investigative interview techniques. When griffiths was a rookie, british interrogation rules were much like they are in the u. S. But, they are not anymore. What happened to precipitate these changes in the United Kingdom . Changes really came about through problems. Reporter like a a tional scandal after a series of high profile false confessions, including an arson murder case eerily similar to robert daviss. So, the government of the day instigated a whole review of the way that prisoners were dealt with in custody. Reporter the result . A complete overhaul of the system. Every officer in thehek retrained totoigorous standards spthat apply in every region of the country. Strict rules were put in place for suspect interviews. All interviews in serious cases video recorded. One gives a head and shoulders shot of the interviewee. And the idea behind that is that if this interview was shown in court, it gives a clear of picture of you. The other is a global view of the room. Everyone whos in the room is shown in the picture. Thats about showing exactly what happened. Reporter and this was key. No more lying. In america, its legal for cops to lie to suspects. Not here. Could you, for example, go into this interview and say, i have a certain specific piece of evidence that tells me youre guilty, if you dont havehat evidence . No, absolutely not. Can you talk to a suspect for as long as you want to . No, you should only interview for two hours at a time. And you should take recognized breaks at meal times, prayer times, and and nighttime. Reporter and someone a little challenged, like robert . Theyre entitled under the law to whats called an appropriate adult. Now, that might be a parent. It might be a social worker. But theyre entitled to that as well as their legal reporter but, when the interrogation rules were changed, many veteran officers were not happy. They resisted. Detective Trevor Bowles remembers it well. Senior people thought that this was a draconian piece of legislation that was gonna prevent us from ever detecting anything ever again. Youd never solve a crime anymore. Wed never solve a crime anymore, that it was gonna tie our hands behind our back and we would be unable to work with it. And they were wrong. Reporter very wrong. Not only did false confessions all but stop, crime solving got better. Detection rates in respect of homicide in the u. K. Are very high. Theyre up in the 90 mark. Reporter and along the way, said griffiths, confessions, a hallmark of casesolving in the u. S, became much less important here in n itain. We would not t osecute somebody on solely on a confession. So we so if someone did make so youd have the supporting evidence as well. But isnt a confession the ststngest evidence you can get . Not always. But whats wrong with it . What confessions tend to do is they shape this confirmation bias. People then look for supporting evidence just to to support whats been said because the confnfsion exists. Reporter so we asked griffiths to watch with us robert davis interrogation. Why dont you tell me, robert . Reporter and. What this guys problem was, he was he was arrested last. And what theyre saying is that, we gospel believe the people that were arrested first. So you just need to confirm what we know. Well, thats clearly not a good approach for an investigator. Yall obviously thinknkm lying, but im not. I swear to you that im not lying. Im ready to go to sleep. So take me, because i did not do nothing. The time of day of the interview, theheength of the interview, the use of of leg irons halfway through the interview, the clear requests for medication and sleep at various points in the interview were all red flags. The whole thing, as you did, you sat back and you thought afterwards. The lifeblood of of of any account is reliability. And the way this is dones you cant vovoh for the reliability. Reporter wed asked for his opinion, and he gave it to us. Roberts confession wasnt believable. What we didnt expect was what happened a few months later. When this british detective spoke to Steve Rosenfield and offered to write virginias governor, adding his support to robert daviss clemency petition, a petition now waiting on the desk of a new governor. Coming up i believe that the confession is an unreliable confession. Strong words from the chief of police and from the governors office. The wait gips. Begins. I have asthma. One of many pieces in my life. 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Good morning gamers. Good morning moon. Good morning morning. Which will be starting soon. Ive never been emotional in a presentation as i feel in this reporter for years, but as close as we got was the current chief of police of Albemarle County, colonel steve sellers. He wasnt in office when snead was a detective,but youve talked to him. Whats your sense of how he els about this . Interest. I think there wasnt a bit of malice in his actions. I think he had a very strong relationship with robert davis. Reporter but this was interesting. Chief sellers did not support sneads interrogation. Not at all. I will say this. I believe that the confession is an unreliable confession. Reporter whats more, the chief updated Police Methods when he took over to help prevent the kind of roberts confession. I cant tell your mom that i can save you from the ultimate. Reporter as you look at that, what are things that would not be done . Using terms like the ultimate punishment. Length of the e terview, those kinds of things would be clear clearly not done today. Reporter cold comfort for robert davis who, by 2014, had been in prison going on 11 years. A decade plus to go. Unless there was a new governor, Terry Mcauliffe in office now. So rosenfield renewed his appeal for clemency, though he was well aware that a tiny percentage of such petitions are ever granted. And as month after month went by, it wasnt clear what, if anything, was happening. Whats disturbing about the clemency process is that its reporter but what rosenfield was different. New investigation. Law offices. Reporter and just before christmas, we were there when the call came. The governors office. Hey carlos, its steve. Reporter and there it was. Finally. The words hed been hoping to hear robert davis was adout to be set free. Im elated. Just in time for the holidays. Today is roberts mothers birthday. Come on, sandy, pick up. 2 hello . Sandy, itssteve. Set another plate for totoghts dinner. Im going up to pick robert up. Oh, my god i think this will be the last time i ever see this prison. Reporter at last, the final drive to roberts prison with the news that both had dreamed of for all those years. Hey, robert. Hello, hello, hello. Reporter how are you im im elated. I cant words cant describe it. Words cannot describe. Im just so happy. If it wasnt for that man fightin for me right there i wouldnt be out right now. And this is just overwhelmin right now. Im outside of these fences, man hello. Im just getting ready to pull out. Yeah, its unreal, mom as long as this aint a dream, im leaving right now. Reporter and that very night, robert was together agaga with his mother, his brother, and freedom. Robert its you. Its you. This is my boy. Hes home reporter how does it feel it feels great, man. Reporter a f f weeks ago we came to see robert here in his new apartment in charlottesville, virginia, his very own apartment. In which, he tells us, there is no roooofor bitterness. Too much to do. So here we are. Yup. This is my humble home. Reporter not bad. Yeah. Yeah. Reporter how does it feel . Man, it feels great, man. I just i havent stopopd smiling since ive come home. Reporter ha ha ha. I can tell. What are you planning to do with your life now . Get a job and thrive. Ive got this opportunity, and i dont wanna squander it, you know. Thats a nice looking club. Reporter hes got a job working in a neighborhood deli. And he lives under the protective eye of the man who never stopped trying to prove his innocence, and who hasnt stopped yet. Roberts pardon was conditional, meaning he has a parole officer, an ankle record. Well, i dont think the final chapter has been written on the robert davis story. This governor expressed to me that the door was open for a reconsideration toward an absolute pardon which would erase expunge his conviction. Reporter so hed no longer have a record. Just like hed never been rested at all. And thats a possibility down down the road. Reporter which, said Laura Nirider, is about the least robert deserves. Robert, and untold others now languishing in american prisons, who confessed under duress to slowly, these stories are he lives here, but i havent run into him. And if i was to see him walkin down the street, id probably just keep walkin, cause i dont really have nothin to say to him, except for, i told you so. I told you that i was innocent. Reporter so he was. So he is. Thths all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again friday at 10 00, 9 00 central and of course ill see you each week night for nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good [ sweeping orchestral music aying ] [ howard dietz and