everything was a blur. all i m thinking is, is shannon really gone? we interviewed her roommates, boyfriends, everybody is a suspect. then a phone rings. right. he says i ve kidnapped her, i have her. and we ran his criminal history. that s when all the bells went off. he pulls in, asked me to get in the car. i feel the cold blade against my neck. he carries me to the basement of his home. it was jaw-dropping! just chilling! they started digging and they found women s clothing. it was just escalating! escalating! there were so many victims, aren t there? there. were there still are. until this guy is no longer in existence. i will carry this fight! hello, and welcome to dateline! shannon melendi dreamed big. at 15, she wanted to become a supreme court justice. in college, she scored a prestigious internship at former president jimmy carter s foundation. then, suddenly she vanished! detectives had a suspect in their sights. but it would take years
All im thinking is, is shannon really gone . We interviewed her roommates, boyfriends, everybody is a suspect. Then a phone rings. Right. He says ive kidnapped her, i have her. And we ran his criminal history. Thats when all the bells went off. He pulls in, asked me to get in the car. I feel the cold blade against my neck. He carries me to the basement of his home. It was jawdropping just chilling they started digging and they found womens clothing. It was just escalating escalating there were so many victims, arent there . There were. There still are. Until this guy is no longer in existence. I will carry this fight hello, and welcome to dateline Shannon Melendi dreamed big. At 15, she wanted to become a Supreme Court justice. In college, she scored a prestigious internship at former president jimmy carters foundation. Then, suddenly she vanished detectives had a suspect in their sights. But it would take years, and the revelation of another teenagers horrific tale, to unravel the mys
very little. what did you find? that house was gone through with a fine tooth comb, they say. they also took a cadaver dog down there to see if there was any evidence of a body being there. we found nothing down there. no sign that shannon had ever been there? that we could find. but, in the trash pit behind hinten s house, they did find something interesting. a collection of women s clothing. anything from shannon, any garnet, any apparel? there was nothing of evidence to link him in those search warrants to shannon. what about shannon s car found abandoned at the gas station? the officer on the scene let shannon s friend driving back to campus, that meant any forensic evidence was contaminated. this was our first mistake. that we made in the case. not to beat that officer back in the day up, but what was the protocol there? what should ve happened when you had come upon the abandoned vehicle? somebody should ve from investigation should ve said release the car
He was right by his side. this is a happy day. it s a tragic day too because mr. hinten spent 30 years locked in a cell where the state of alabama tried to kill him every day for 30 years. his case in my judgment is a case study in what s wrong with our system. he was convicted because he s poor. we have a system that treats you better if you re rich and guilty or than if you re poor and innocent. and his case proves it. we have a system that s compromised by racial bias. and his case proves it. brian stevenson has been arguing for much of his career that this man should not be in death row and in prison at all for that matter. today that finally happened. joining us joy is brian, a law professor at new york university law school. that s the organization that represented anthony ray hinten. thanks for joining us. let s start with a simple question. what s he doing tonight? he s at home with his
Counsel. they could not afford it. they represent those people. they ve built a record over helping people overturn convictions. he was by the victim s side. this is a happy day. it s a tragic day too because mr. hinten spent 30 years locked in a cell where the state of alabama tried to kill him every day. his case in my judgment is a case study in what s wrong with our system. he was convicted because he s poor. we have a system that treats you better if you re rich and guilty or than if you re poor and innocent. we have a system that s compromised by racial compromise. bien stevenson has been arguing for much of his career that this man should not be in death row and in prison at all for that matter.