Dewey Bozella Speaks at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00thank you ladies and gentlemen for that
2. 0:01warm welcome uh it's an honor to be here
3. 0:04tonight and to just to speak to you
4. 0:07about Pro brono uh Institute and how
5. 0:10important I feel that it is um for not
6. 0:12only for me for people who are are going
7. 0:15through the struggle like me um you know
8. 0:18there's several things that you said
9. 0:19about what people are going through
10. 0:21throughout the world uh and I and I feel
11. 0:24that's very very important I don't care
12. 0:27what nationality are what country they
13. 0:29from you know everybody had something
14. 0:31that they G to stand and fight for I
15. 0:33fought for my freedom and that was the
16. 0:35only thing I had left because everything
17. 0:37else was taken away for me um actually
18. 0:39it took me 32 years to prove my innocent
19. 0:41from 1977 to 2009 just a few days ago
20. 0:45made two years that I've been free and
21. 0:47I'm very very pleased about that but
22. 0:49there's still a fight that goes on and
23. 0:50the fight is for people who are going
24. 0:52through a cause and their cause is their
25. 0:55freedom there's a lot of people that are
26. 0:56locked up that are truly innocent really
27. 0:59innocent and you them were the ones that
28. 1:01stick by their bond No Matter What like
29. 1:03I did you know going through four parole
30. 1:05boards and every time I went to the
31. 1:07parole board they told me listen admit
32. 1:10to the crime and you got a possibility
33. 1:12of going home I can't do that I didn't
34. 1:14do it and so they gave me two more years
35. 1:17each and every time and then the second
36. 1:19the second time I went to my second
37. 1:20trial and they offered me S to 14 I
38. 1:23didn't take it they offer me time serve
39. 1:26I didn't take it then they would the
40. 1:27last thing they were going to offer me
41. 1:29for the jewry came came back with uh uh
42. 1:3120 years of life was uh uh
43. 1:35saano Sano alha plea and I was like yo
44. 1:39you know um I can't do that and all I
45. 1:41had to do is walk out the court just by
46. 1:43signing a piece of paper I can't do that
47. 1:45so these are the things that are very
48. 1:46important about pro bono pro bono um
49. 1:50through Women Health y'all had put in
50. 1:52over $1 million on my case and it's
51. 1:54still growing you know
52. 2:01people like people like shaa people like
53. 2:04you know Peter and and and definitely
54. 2:07Ross has has putting a lot of time into
55. 2:10my case you know and still fighting uh
56. 2:12right now you know just dealing with my
57. 2:15lawsuit so these are things that are
58. 2:17very very important you know for people
59. 2:19like me and people who are coming after
60. 2:22me that we need your help we truly need
61. 2:25that inspirational help because you know
62. 2:27I was one of the guys that had nothing
63. 2:30when I say nothing I mean nothing I had
64. 2:32nobody standing by my side at all from
65. 2:36the very beginning you know my my case
66. 2:38was a sham um because they only had gave
67. 2:41them
68. 2:42$2,500 to work on a murder case from the
69. 2:46very beginning so what is $2,500 going
70. 2:48to do on a murder case and and and as
71. 2:51popular as my case was at that time I
72. 2:53was in the newspaper 18 times and now
73. 2:57I'm in the newspaper over 50 times it's
74. 2:58still growing you know so how do you
75. 3:01explain that you know so it's it's it's
76. 3:03people like you that are very very
77. 3:05important and you you stand for a cause
78. 3:08the cause is for the Injustice of people
79. 3:09that don't have the capability of of uh
80. 3:13or the money to stand up you know for
81. 3:16for what they feel that's important and
82. 3:18you know it doesn't matter whether they
83. 3:19come through forer homes it doesn't
84. 3:21matter whether they overseas it doesn't
85. 3:23matter if it's right here in America you
86. 3:25know just just by you st saying that you
87. 3:29know you you are willing to take that
88. 3:30chance to help another person means a
89. 3:33lot and you know like you said on on on
90. 3:36on film you know to receive that you
91. 3:38know Ross and shaa and Peter know what
92. 3:41it feels like and my family know what it
93. 3:42feels like to to receive that blessing
94. 3:45when I was giv that gift you know when
95. 3:47the judge said take take them cuffs off
96. 3:49off that man he's a free man now and you
97. 3:52know that's that's that's something
98. 3:53you'll never ever ever be able to
99. 3:55understand unless you was there that
100. 3:57something that you'll never understand
101. 3:59unless you can
102. 4:00feel that moment you know of of the work
103. 4:02and and the dedication they put in to
104. 4:05make me be able to stand here and talk
105. 4:07to you you know and to let you know that
106. 4:09your Justice is everything you know you
107. 4:12taking that chance to to help someone
108. 4:14else is everything you willing to put
109. 4:16your time in you know just to help
110. 4:19somebody no matter what country they
111. 4:20come from or right here in America it
112. 4:22doesn't matter means everything you know
113. 4:25it may not it may not seem like nothing
114. 4:27at this particular time but when you
115. 4:28stand there and actually see that person
116. 4:33that person that child that grownup male
117. 4:36or female and you can see that you
118. 4:38helped them that's something that you
119. 4:40can have for the rest of your life you
120. 4:41can say well God I know that did
121. 4:44something right in my life this is what
122. 4:45you put me here for thank you and that's
123. 4:48what this is about that's what this
124. 4:49whole thing is about so I really am
125. 4:52pleased and Overjoyed that people like
126. 4:55you are willing to take a chance on a
127. 4:57person like me you know and with without
128. 4:59you I wouldn't be able to stand here to
129. 5:01today I would still be in
130. 5:04prison that's listen to what I just said
131. 5:06if it wasn't for this Law Firm taking my
132. 5:10and I say this with my heart I'm
133. 5:12bringing tears in my
134. 5:13eyes taking that
135. 5:16chance I would still be in
136. 5:18prison
137. 5:21period I was still I would still be in
138. 5:23prison I I know they wasn't going to let
139. 5:25me go because I I I I told my wife I
140. 5:28said I'd rather died and admited
141. 5:31something I didn't do and I meant that
142. 5:33that was my stand so thank you very much
143. 5:36for taking the time out to be here
144. 5:38tonight and thank you for taking the
145. 5:40time out to want to help somebody else
146. 5:41thank you