Page 3 - Will Eric Glisson News Today

Hope thats helped him wake up every morning. >> theres a bench by the water that each time i go to the barbershop i look at that bench and i wonder if ill ever be able to sit on it and look back up here instead of looking down there. thats been one of my main goals while i was in here, to sit on that bench as a free man. >> will eric glisson ever get to sit on that bench? hes about to get his day in court and an answer. coming up -- >> we have made a decision to take this unprecedented and excep...

Those sworn to uphold the law. >> i thought if he was innocent god has to see him through. >> so who is this convicted murderer? he is inmate 97a7088. eric glisson. we first met him in the spring of 2012 when a "dateline" producer working on a different story in sing sing met eric in his cell. >> youre going to film me? >> yeah. >> he had been locked up for 18 years. >> you want to see what its like to live in here? i can touch the walls with my hands. >> eric told us he didnt belong here. >> my...

Decades, eric glisson is about to take his first steps as a free man. >> eric, what is your emotion right now? >> this is a major, pivotal point in my life. and i worked hard. i persevered. and with effort and determination im standing here before you. >> now, its his co-defendant cathy watkinsturn. also wrongfully convicted. >> 17 years. >> almost 18 years. >> 29 years old when she went away. she is free at 46. >> i didnt do it. i didnt do it. 100% innocent. this is what our judicial system did...

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 wasnt there. >> bad blood between you and mi...

Innocent. that was such an emotional moment for me. i was like, tears welled up in my eyes right in front of the teller. >> i thank god every day for john omalley. when i looked in that mans eyes, you know, i see a man who has integrity. i seen a man who was honest. >> omalleys affidavit was enough for the bronx d. a. to reopen the case and to get in front of a judge. but that would take time. two more months. >> this is my wall of hope. everyone here has been unjustly convicted and freed. >> on...

>> welcome back to "dateline. " im craig melvin. eric glisson insisted he was innocent of the murder that put him in prison. after years behind bars he finally found crucial new evidence. that and a powerful ally in the justice system gave eric something he had not had in a long time. hope. back to josh mankiewicz with "a bronx tale. " >> for the first time in his 18-year struggle to prove that he didnt pull a trigger eric glisson finally had his hands on a smoking gun. an affidavit from a feder...

In prison. but two weeks later, peter cross heads to sing sing. earlier that morning hed gotten a call from the d. a.s office and he has good news for eric. >> i received a call from the d. a. in the bronx telling me that theyre ready to make a deal. im going up now to see eric, to talk to him about the conditions for his release. >> erics used to visits from his lawyer. >> good to see you. >> and very used to keeping his own hopes -- >> looking good. >> thank you. >> -- on ice. >> get you out o...

Telling the truth? so, over time -- >> how are you doing, man? >> how did you get up here? >> we began visiting eric. >> whats up? >> youre looking good. >> and listening to his story. >> when i got arrested i was always under the impression that people who are guilty actually go to jail. i didnt believe that i would be convicted of a crime that i didnt do. >> when police put the cuffs on him in 1995 eric was 20 years old. a brand new father of a 1-week-old baby girl. when we spoke, their only t...

Have believed that and decided to run with this and send them to jail for the rest of their lives on the basis of this garbage still shocks me today. >> all these years later, attorney cross knew his opinion of the detective work in this case wasnt going to free eric glisson or anyone else. >> i think the only kind of evidence thats going to sway a court is if we can point to who the real killers are. >> that was quite a lot to hope for. but from behind bars, eric glisson was already on the trai...

>> 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 youre ...