To hear, and ill prove its a lie. A story of justice denied in our continuing report on crime and punishment. Also lost on september 11th, and the 13 years sings the growing death toll of those that came to help, and the evidence that their sacrifice didnt end when they left ground zero. Ive been diagnosed with cancer, and leukaemia. What they left behind the lonely struggles across the border. Travellers unseen as they make their long journeys through the desert leaving only remnants of the fabric of their lives. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Im joie chen. Its hard enough to understand the criminal mind. Whats the truth about criminal confessions. Do people who are truly innocent confess to crimes they didnt commit . We look at crime and punishment in america. We examine false confessions. They happen more than you think. Sara hoy begins with a story of a man that spent two decades behind bars, but has proof he didnt do it. Reporter Shermone Johnson was roller skating with friends when she was killed. Two detectives came. I was sleeping. My sister opened the door to them. They came straight back to the apartment. That morning he was dragged out of his brooklyn apartment. It would be 18 years before he returned home. 19 years old at the time. I dont know why they are there, why they have taken me, i have no clue. It happened so abruptly, that no one questioned where i was going. We travelled with moses to the scene of the crime. A Public Housing complex. This is the first time youve been there. What is going through your head. They were telling me i was here and i did something. Police accused moses of shooting the little girl. They took me to the precincts. When i arrive they sat me at a cubicle, with a detective, and he explains why im there. When he told me that i felt a little relieved. Relieved . Yes, i felt relieved in the sense that i know that i had nothing to do with it and i knew nothing about what they were questioning me for. Moses thought he would be back with his family. It was the beginning of a 12hour interaction. Intergags. After i denied it for several hours, they got tired. This is when detective scarzella came into the room and began to physically assault me. What does that mean . Meaning that he physically used his hands, slapped me, choked me and the rest of the officers held me so i wouldnt protect myself or lash out at him. Detective lewis scarcella was legendary known for making arrest and getting convictions in crimescarred brooklyn. In 1995 the year moses was charged with murder. Sentences in chicago took a nose dive. The crime outraged the community, and moses was the suspect. At that point my mind went into survival mode. Did you feel your life was in danger . Yes, i did. At that point they werent acting like detectives, they were acting like a gang. They wouldnt accept anything outside of a confession, and im realising that. So that, with not knowing the law, of course, i said, well, ill tell them what they want to hear and i can prove it was a lie. Detectives wrote up a confession for moses with their version of event. To put an end to his nightmare moses signed it. I have to ask the question why in the world would you confess to a crime you wouldnt do a murder no less . I never thought i would be convicted. I just the only thing i prayed for was that the right people to hear it. But the confession with his signature proved to be more influential than any other piece of evidence in court. I mean, whoever heard of false confessions, that someone would confess to a crime they didnt commit. Thats what everyone believes. Ron is president of a Public Relations firm. After playing a role in a number of high profile wrong conviction cases he funded false confessions. 50 of exonerations involved false convection. 20 nationwide involved a false confession. It is and police are encouraged to get confessions. Its the most compelling piece of evidence, almost always resulting in a convection. When its in the prosecutors hands and before a judge and jury, its over. He received all right from ipp mate looking for help. What about the guys in prison, these letters, im 33, ive been incarcerated for 15 years. I maintained my confession was a false one, shane harris wrote a letter saying please help me, 33 years old, 15 years in prison. These are full of legal cases, information about their families, cases, evidence of their innocence. Thats what they are sending me every day. Interrogations should be recorded. In moses case, we needed to see the detective when he choked and hit him to get his confession. A jury needs to see that. Anything less should not be allowed in court. Less that half of all states require interrogations to be recorded. After hearing the coninvestigation a jury convicted him of Second Degree murder and sentenced him 16 years to life. I was in shock. Others were crying. I couldnt say much. Im a very strongwilled person. Just for a second, suicide flashed through my mind. Moses mother elaine was beside herself at the thought of foundationst of eight children spending his life in prison. I suffered a lot. I went through a lot of surgery, through depression. It was so bad i want to go in the sub way and jump in the train track. Thats how bad it was. Moses began to serve his sentence. In 2013 lewis scarzella, the detective, became the target of an investigation himself, accused of lying, cheating and other misconduct. His actions tarnished more than 50 cases, which the District Attorney is reviewing. Moses was one of them. Attorney ron cooby took his case pro bono. No physical evidence no blood, fibres, hair, ballistics, bullet traces, no powder residue burps. Not. Not a shred of physical evidence to connect him with the crime in any way. We began to investigate the cause. The first thing we did is talk to both of those socalled i witnesses. These are people that had no reason to lie at the time, no reason to lie now. One of them was the cousin of the little girl who was killed and the mother of the little girl who was kill. And they told us that sonny was not the person. In light of the new evidence and da review moses went before the parole board to proclaim his innocence. The new york state of parole released him. In december, days before his 38th birthday, sunday moses made his way home into the arms of those who never stopped believing in his innocence. It felt like a dream. So much is running through my head. Im getting my freedom. Im happy. I think its basic to life. If you take away someones freedom. They almost have no reason to live. Coming back from death. I dont take anything for granted now. Moses is not entirely free. The brooklyn District Attorneys Office Conviction Review Unit is looking at his case. Neither the District Attorney nor detectives scarsella would comment for the report. My name was dragged though the mud, my family was put through a lot of things, and my second grew up without a father. He is the age i got locked up at. In all of this, it seems like the victim was forgotten. Theres still a mum out there who lost her child, who is looking at all of this stuff in the media, and she is continuing to blame me, despite everything that happens, she continues to blame me. So not only am i not vindicated by the system, but im not vindicated by the victims mum, and the victims family. Hes a strong young man. But will he ever get his life back . Will he ever be the same again . I pray for long life. That i see this happen. I know god will keep me, and i will see his name. For now moses has a focus, to clear his name and move forward. Im looking for the day im exonerated and cleared of the crime so i can move on with my life. America tonight sara hoy rejoins us. He makes the point himself, sony, that he has not been exonerated, just been par owled. Thats right. Technically hes a convicted fell job, meaning he felon, meaning he has to see a parole officer, be home by 9 00 pm. He has to have this cloud over his head until the da lifts the charges. And the da, the da has dozens of cases to look at. Were talking 50 cases from one detective implicated in all of these, meaning that this one american may have had a manned in more than one hand in more than one person going to gaol justifiably. Sara hoy thank you very much. When we return, more on confessions, true or false. And the Law Enforcement training teaching officers to get the goods. Our indepth focus on crime and punishment. Later, an explosion in the rolls of designer highs, why its hard to crack down on synthetic drugs and their users. Now, truth be told. Before the break we heard the story of a new york man that spent the better part of two decades in prison for a crime he confessed to, but has proof he didnt commit. That leads us to wonder how often false confessions are given and why. A columnist for new yorker wrote about a widely used Police Interrogation technique aimed at getting confessions. Thats ftrue. How is that done . Its the read technique, developed by john reid, a lie detector analyst, since the 40s. It basically consists of two parts. One is the behavioural analyst interview. You ask questions and watch the body language to get a sense of whether the person is lying. Once you paying the determination that make the determination that the person is laying, you leave the room, come back with a folder and you say we have concluded that you have committed the crime, lets talk about ways of getting past that, in the second part of the interview, if you decide the person is lying, you dont take no for an answer, you keep at it until the person confesses. I should say in your segment you talked about the officer abusing the person. In the reid technique, you do not touch the person, you affect a kindly demeanor, but you do not let up until they confess. That struck me when i read your article, we think of the false confessions coming from a physical or mental torture. I got the sense they were talking about Something Like hype novembers, brain hypnosis, brain washing, repeating the same thing. Its almost junk science, where lying and anxiety go together. But they do not. If you are falsely accused of killing a loved one, you show anxiety. Years of Research Shows that the average person can tell if someone is lying pretty much with the odds of a coin toss. You have a whole system of interrogation based on science that is disproven for years. The sense that i have, i feel in reading your article, im struck by a feeling how many times have i read in a news story the confessed killer made the connection confessed meaning guilty. Yes, what happens is someone feels that they are tired of it, if they confess, give them what they want, once they get out of the room the Justice System will clear them. Its almost never the case. Research shows one someone confesses the science is bent in the direction of guilt. Confession causes a row of dominoes to fall that is often irreversible. The interview was in the december edition of the new york, appreciate you being with us. Okay. After the break clever names concealing deadly risk an International Ruling in the sharp rise and use and the grows dangers of synthetic drugs and the fierce hold of meth in heartland america. People refer to it as the walk away drug. You walk away from everything important and all that is important is the next my. Home made meth, the product of shake and bake why its so of shake and bake why its so hard to the Performance Review. Of shake and bake why its so hard to that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. And yet, theres someone around the office who hasnt had a Performance Review in a while. Someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. Im looking at you phone company dsl. Check your speed. See how fast your internet can be. Switch now and add voice and tv for 34. 90. Comcast business built for business. Heartbreaking. To keep me from going to jail, i needed to cooperate. See what everybodys talking about the system works. Says variety Al Jazeera America presents, the system with Joe Burlinger and now a snapshot of stories making headlines on america tonight. Already there is suspicion that boko haram might be behind a pair of bombings that killed 118 people in migeia. The nigeria, it happened in jovt, outside the jost, the stronghold. Theres no work on the fate of hundreds of school girls that the group kidnapped. Recalls from the secondlargest automaker g. M. Bringing in another 2. 4 million to fix safety flaws, causing 13 deaths and many crashes. Prescription to play. Retired n. F. L. Players are suing the league, charging that they are giving messy duty narcotics to numb their injuries long enough for play time. Players say they were not warned about side effects and are addicted to pills. And packets with clever labels sold over the counter in Convenience Stores and gas stations. Experts warn the socalled synthetic drugs may be dangerous, or more so than what we call illegal drugs. A report finds their use is exploding among the young. Reporter days ago a massive crackdown in the u. S. As federal agents moved in, raiding synthetic drug makers in 29 states, making dozens of arrests. Seizing dozens of pacts. The products look innocent. Dried plants that many smoke for a marijuanalike high. People lose their minds on this stuff. Its a poison. The use of this pot is exploding worldwide. An alarming report from the United Nations finds 380 sin thet iing drugs synthetic drugs sold in 90 countries. The most common fake high is the synthetic marijuana. Making the problem more difficult, the number of form u lease for fake weed is growing, almost doubling in a matter of months. Users expecting a relaxed high report that they can suffer serious psychotic episodes. Dr eric is an americaning si room fizz urn. What symptoms do the people using these drugs present with . When someone gets into a bad form of these, they are superstimulated. The people are terrified, amazingly frightened, fighting the world and which no one else can see. They have dangerous high temperatures, patients seizing, running in the traffic. Its terrifying for the patients and a change for the people that have to take challenge for the people that have to take care of them. When they come into the e. R. , how do you treat them . First thing is make sure the patient is safe. That the patient is safe and my staff are not hurt. Once they are physically restrained, sedation to calm the brain down, getting the heart and temperature down. Fluid and cooling. And then we wait. The human body can get rid of most things. We need to keep you alive and the brain protected to get rid of the junk. Keeping them alive is the key. Is it deadly. People think its sold over the counter in a convenience store. It depends on what you get. The people buy a packet of this. They have no idea what chemical is inside. It can go to the same store and buy two pacts of the same thing, buying chemicals and effects. Thats the terrifying thing for people themselves, and those of us to take care of them. You never now how theyll respond or who they brought. Thank you for being with us. Thanks very much. Another kind of kitchen chemistry is behind the reemergens of an addictive golf club. Amphetamine, meth is known for ravaging materials. They were clamping down by limiting materials. Addict can be resourceful. The unintended consequences of the crackdown is a creation of more lethal ways to make meth. Reporter veronica has been convicted to methamphetamine. Revved to as speed, dope or ice. The drug is highly addictive and has been decimating Rural Communities like the one veronica lied in for decades. People refer to it as the walk away drug. You walk away from everything that is important. All you care about is the next high. Different suits, depending on the chemical hazards. Chris harrison is the chief chemist at the arkansas lab. He says amphetamine is back with a ven gones. I dont think theres a drug as addictive with a high impact on quality of life as amphetamine. I was 26 when i started using. And im 43 years old now. Thats how it goes around here. Five miles from here, five miles around you theres probably 100 or more people selling dope. How badly has the community been affected . Theres more kids on it than i have seen in my life. Have your kid gotten into it . Two of my boys have. How old are they . 13 and maybe 14. Where are we right now . Near walmart. What are we doing here . We are going to get supplies to make dope. For years this is how veronica maintained her habit. Purchasing camping kerosene, fertiliser and cooking them. Its shake and bake. Producing a potent form of meth that can be injected much. Its not sophisticated. Its a plastic bottle with a rubber hose attached. In arkansas, this is the way they patter out amphetamine. This is the last step of the shake and bake method. In this demonstration the Police Department shows how shake and bake is made, and reveals how dangerous it can be. 40 . Time someone will be injured. It looks benign, its a small bottle. It has household chemicals. They are dangerous,like a bong. The exmotion of this pickup explosion of this pickup truck shows awe volatile it how volatile it can be. Thousand are seriously burned. Because its cooked in the home, children are at risk. Have you seen the bottles shaken . And exploding. And exploding. Yes. You seep that. I saw that. Shaking it up. This 6yearold boy describes a shake and bake meth cook gone bad that caught his house on fire. Remember when uncle cody blew it up and you got burnt. These are the burn marks. I saw the explosion. You saw a big explosion. Yes. I saw the house explode. Why are people in your home making these shake up bottles. Yes, why are they doing it . Because they think its good fun. They think its for fun, yes. Its not so fun, is it . How many times have you bought all the ingredient before. I cant count. I cant count. For addict like veronica the dangers of shake and bake are nothing compared to the hold the drug has on their lives. We are headed to the pharmacy to get sudafed. Only that is lesseesy for veronica than it used to be. In an effort to crackdown on injuries from shake and back. Legislature passed laws targetting a key ingredient targetting what is used. Pseudofed roe gen, confapd in seedo fed. Those medicines are required to be kept behind the counter and customers are limited to a certain in the. In arkansas, where veronica lives most pharmacies require that customers have a history before they will sell to them. I have to have a prescription. Okay. A