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Episode 3: The Actual Innocence of Fernando Bermudez — Transcript

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0:39up this is a revolver original series hi
0:45I'm Jason Flom before we get into our
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1:39better way to cook I came from a
1:46beautiful neighborhood had a beautiful
1:49life I went to sleep because September
1:527th was the first day of my high school
1:54year I was going to be a senior at 22 I
1:57was set to start college I woke up and
2:00my life was never the same again cops
2:03came out with guns drawn and
2:05I never saw freedom ever ever since
2:07after that it's like roach motel once
2:10you get in you know I can't now
2:13I'm Jason Flom today we'll be talking
2:15Fernando Bermudez a young man sent away
2:18for the rest of his life arrested him
2:20and they threw away the keys they never
2:22did another bit of investigation
2:23accusations in 1991 Fernando Bermudez
2:26was arrested for the murder of a 16 year
2:28old boy in Greenwich Village even though
2:30he was five miles away with his friends
2:32at had multiple alibi witnesses who
2:34placed him far away from the scene of
2:35the crime a young lady said that I
2:38looked cute and that was enough for her
2:40to share the pictures and for the
2:41witnesses to communally agree that I
2:44resemble the perpetrator he was
2:46convicted anyway and since the 23 years
2:49to life in maximum-security prisons in
2:51New York State this is wrongful
2:54conviction with Jason Flom Fernanda
3:00welcome to the show thank you Jason for
3:02having me
3:02so I want to talk to you about what your
3:05life was like what happened what went
3:08wrong what you learn from it and where
3:11you're at now so let's go back to 1991
3:15major cities in the nation are under
3:17attack from within no where are the
3:20problems more visible than in New York
3:22City Bob for reports New York has gotten
3:25so mean and so dangerous the mayor
3:27actually went to church yesterday and
3:29pleaded with residents to come out from
3:31behind locked doors
3:32well 1991 was a year where New York City
3:36was crime ridden the homicide rates were
3:38on average 2,000 per year and it was a
3:42time where I think the city was
3:45transitioning into a intention to get
3:48tough on crime I lived in New York my
3:51whole life and so I remember the only
3:53thing growing faster than the crime rate
3:55was the hysteria over the crime rate
3:57right I mean it wasn't like everybody
3:59was getting killed or mugged her but it
4:01seemed like it at the time so but how
4:03are you doing back then what were you
4:05were you in high school college at the
4:07time what was your family situation
4:09where'd you live I lived in Washington
4:11Heights a predominantly Dominican
4:13neighborhood mixed with a lot of
4:15immigrants who had moved to the other
4:17side of
4:18Upper Manhattan and yet there was
4:20certainly a commingling of ethnic groups
4:23and so forth but for myself I was 22
4:26year old 22 year old at the time and I
4:29was a happy person growing up in a
4:32close-knit family four siblings two
4:34parents who worked hard to achieve the
4:36American dream as Dominican immigrants
4:38and coming to this country and at 22 I
4:41was set to start college so what let's
4:43talk about the the night that your life
4:45took such a terrible turn let's talk
4:48about the crime itself and then where
4:50you were and how you got mixed up in
4:52this nightmare well the crime itself
4:55recorded the documented evidence is that
4:58there was a shooting at a nightclub the
5:00Mont Ballroom in the Greenwich Village
5:02section a little mark borrow the marble
5:04misser and it was near NYU and so this
5:08kid named Ephraim Lopez 16 heard of
5:10skander from a work-release program had
5:12gotten punched by another guy named
5:14Raymond Brown inside the club inside the
5:17club outside and from Lopez had wanted
5:20revenge after telling his friend from
5:22the West nineties neighborhood who had
5:23punched him so afterwards two different
5:26groups of kids yes and they wanted to
5:30start something
5:31yeah from Lopez had been punched oh he
5:33was embarrassed and wanted revenge and
5:35so he told his friends from the West
5:37night in his neighborhood not only
5:39inside that he had gotten punched but
5:41also outside he identified the person
5:44who had punched him so I Malay ensued in
5:46which Raymond Blount's friends were
5:50attacked by Ephraim Lopez's friends and
5:53his group from the West 90s and in that
5:55confusion under nighttime conditions
5:57conducive to mistaken eyewitness
6:00identification Raymond Blount was shot
6:02and killed and killed right and so what
6:06happens next so now we have a murder
6:07it's near NYU that puts a lot of
6:10pressure on the cops right so you're
6:12where were you at the time of this
6:14little time I'm actually uptown knew
6:16where I lived did you have alibi
6:18witnesses yes absolutely and that's
6:20definitely part of the story because we
6:22were together driving throughout the
6:24city in a car that I had just newly
6:26acquired it was like that same day
6:28August 3rd and 4th I had just got in
6:30that car and it was sort of like
6:33back then if it was a big day not just
6:35that the car was out for the first time
6:37but also that was the car that I was
6:38going to use to go to college to drive
6:40to for my home which was right across in
6:42the Bronx where I was going to go to
6:43college and we were driving around
6:45enjoying ourselves oblivious to anything
6:48that had happened and at the time when
6:50the actual crime occurred we were uptown
6:52in my neighborhood driving around and so
6:55when did you first come in contact with
6:58the authorities how did that happen
7:01August 6 1991 so this is a couple weeks
7:05two days or two days right after the
7:07murder right and I'm driving home with
7:09my brother and we had actually met two
7:11young ladies that night that's surprises
7:14it was another you know good moment and
7:17we was driving home when suddenly cops
7:20came out with guns drawn and pointed him
7:23at the window and everyone just screamed
7:24you were at a traffic light no we were
7:26in front of my home why we drove the
7:28cops had been waiting for me uh-huh they
7:30were had they had been upstairs speaking
7:32to my my mother and my siblings then
7:35when my mother said that I should be
7:37coming home shortly they positioned
7:39themselves outside so when we came out
7:40they drew their guns and told me to get
7:43out the car and I never saw freedom ever
7:46ever since after that so obviously
7:48you're you're 22 and you're scared out
7:52of your mind and they take you in they
7:55tell you've been charged with murder is
7:56that right that's correct I was I was
7:58taken to the 6th precinct and and it's
8:01interesting because I was so scared
8:03everyone was so scared I just got out I
8:04complied and I got in the car and then
8:07when they took me away the girl was
8:10saying I thought you were a nice guy and
8:12I said I screamed the back I said I am
8:14you know and I was taken to the precinct
8:17I was interrogated for over 10 hours and
8:19they want to know my whereabouts on the
8:21night of August 3rd and 4th 1991 I told
8:23him I told him who I was with I told
8:25that on all circumstances I was involved
8:27in a violence I told him what I was
8:28wearing and it was an hours that's it
8:31that's a tough I mean that's a long time
8:33to be interrogated
8:34so did you did they get you to confess
8:36no I didn't confess I for me was it was
8:39surreal experience I just felt that if I
8:41told the truth that it would be resolved
8:44if I was just patient
8:46that it would be resolved well I need to
8:47do was remember I was what I did who I
8:49was with and it would be resolved and
8:51well that's interesting to hear you say
8:53that Fernanda because there's a lot of
8:55distrust in among the Latino community
8:58of police nationally I think the figure
9:0169% of Latinos will actually even call
9:04the police if they're a victim of a
9:06crime or if they witness a crime because
9:07there is that distrust but you felt
9:10differently you felt that the police
9:12were on your side and that if you were
9:13truthful that everything would work out
9:15is all right absolutely cops for me at
9:16that point were heroes to me I mean I
9:18had gotten it's interesting anecdote
9:21when I was about maybe 10 years old I
9:23had found my father's stolen car and we
9:26went to the 34th precinct a local
9:28neighborhood and the cops gave me a bag
9:31of jellybeans and put the cop hat on me
9:33and they say good job for finding my
9:35cops I mean my father's stolen car so I
9:37admired them and plus they were
9:39protecting my community as a ten year
9:41old that's it's a big moment in his life
9:43yeah you helped out your dad you found
9:45you solve the crime and the cops are
9:47giving you big props it's no one I'm not
9:50surprised in that you you had some you
9:52had a lot of faith in the system what
9:53happens next so because I refused to
9:56confess I was taken to the Manhattan
9:59tombs central booking although in other
10:02words and I was processed I was
10:03arraigned that I I pled not guilty and
10:06from then on I was later I was sent to
10:09Rikers Island where my nightmare really
10:11began in earnest so you're in Rikers
10:14Island now your nightmare is fully
10:16underway I mean this is I think this is
10:17everyone's nightmare solutely I had to
10:19go into survival mode because all around
10:21me I mean people were fighting over the
10:24phones to make phone calls I mean the
10:26phones were racially divided two phones
10:28one one Latino and one black and those
10:31anyone who crossed those lines to use
10:33those phones would be cut in the face
10:34smashed in the face with a phone these
10:37are things I actually saw and it was
10:39black market operations they were
10:40burgeoning gangs and will become groups
10:43like Latin Kings and stuff like that and
10:45and I was terrified I just try to mind
10:48my business and all along in my heart I
10:50still felt that the American criminal
10:51justice term will prevail if I stay
10:53patient was there bail said in your case
10:56no bail so you had no hope of getting at
10:58it before your trial
10:59how long did it take you to get to trial
11:00my trial took about seven months to get
11:03on the way so you're locked up for seven
11:05months taken away for your family taken
11:07away from your life put into this
11:09devastating circumstance what was what
11:13what was let's just talk about the jail
11:15for a minute Rikers Island is
11:16technically classified as a jail even
11:18though but people don't understand is
11:20that many jails like Rikers are actually
11:22more dangerous than the maximum-security
11:24prisons so in those seven months what
11:28you know what went through your mind
11:30sure well I was there over a year but it
11:32took seven months to get to my trial and
11:34you know during the whole year and
11:36change that I was there I mean I was
11:40deeply affected by just seeing the
11:42violence perpetrated by not just inmates
11:46on inmates but correctional officers
11:48attacking inmates and even inmates
11:50attacking correctional officers when you
11:52see someone gets stabbed with
11:54sewing-machine efficiency you know
11:57there's something in you that dies and
12:00yet lives it affects your psyche in a
12:03way that you're never the same because
12:05you see another human being injured in a
12:07way that just makes an impression a bad
12:10impression in your life and there's
12:12nothing you can do about it there's
12:13nothing you can do about it even if it
12:15happens to be someone that you knew and
12:17even shared a meal with for some reason
12:19were you when you went in would you
12:22consider yourself a tough guy were you a
12:24guy who could handle himself in a fight
12:25were you what was your I mean Fernando
12:28as a guy who keeps himself a very good
12:30shape but I don't know you back then
12:32I've known you now for six or seven
12:33years so yeah I mean how were you
12:36equipped to deal with this situation in
12:38any way well mentally I wasn't equipped
12:40physically perhaps I had a better
12:44fighting chance than a more scrawny a
12:45person I mean I was a bodybuilder at the
12:47time and that's what made that's what
12:48will make also the distinction in this
12:50case in terms of the identification
12:52procedure and why they even made me sit
12:54down they describe the perpetrator by
12:57the witnesses themselves the perpetrator
12:58was described as 510 165 pounds I'm 62
13:01weighing 220 and so they made me sit
13:04down an align up to hide that the
13:05identification procedure but for me it
13:08was a matter of just trying to adjust
13:09because you couldn't even have a fair
13:11fight without getting jumped
13:12that's what happened to me when I was
13:13attacked I was trying to defend myself
13:16against someone in one instance and then
13:17his friends came and attacked me I had
13:19no I couldn't fight three guys and what
13:22and what happened then were you worried
13:24they went into my locker and stole my my
13:26food and the soap and deodorant that my
13:28parents brought me what were you badly
13:29beaten up at the time I wasn't that
13:31badly being up but I was very
13:32embarrassed and you know it was a
13:34turning point because I was at a point
13:37where I was waiting for my trial to
13:38occur I'm waiting for the American
13:40criminal justice them to work in my case
13:42and I'm being patient and this is
13:44something that really tries your patient
13:46and when once the Latino groups saw what
13:49had happened to me someone try to pass
13:51me a razor and they said yeah you could
13:52resolve it this way and I declined
13:55because I want to go home if I stab or
13:57hurt someone even worse I could end up
14:00in prison even longer yeah I mean you
14:02were already facing a very long sentence
14:04and you knew it at the time right so and
14:06it's interesting to the eye witness
14:09identification I just want to touch on
14:10that for a minute because there are a
14:12lot of tricks that they play right and
14:13we know that eyewitness identification
14:15is a factor in 75% of the DNA
14:18exonerations that have happened
14:19nationwide so there's a lot of movement
14:22now the Innocence Project is
14:24spearheading this along with some other
14:25groups to reform how I witness
14:28identifications are done everything from
14:30videotaping to other other procedures
14:33would call a double blind but in your
14:35case they obviously just wanted to get
14:37you and they were willing to do some
14:39dirty tricks in order to to get a
14:42conviction so they weren't really
14:43interested in the truth is that fair to
14:45say that's correct I mean as proven the
14:48witnesses were placed in a room these
14:51teenage witnesses at that who have been
14:52beaten who were hungry who were tired
14:54who were joking around who by their own
14:55accounts did not want to be there and
14:57they were placed in a room and allowed
14:59to just shift their pictures and three
15:03friend the deceased who were in a
15:05separate identification procedure
15:06correctly identified who will become the
15:09state's star witness and the for the
15:11witnesses who were in another room
15:13selecting pictures then selected my
15:16picture in a 17 year old young lady said
15:20that I looked cute and that was enough
15:21for her to share the pictures and for
15:23the witnesses to communally agree
15:26that I resemble the perpetrator and that
15:27was enough they looked at the pictures
15:29together
15:29yes which is illegal of course it's
15:31illegal it's one of the reasons I got a
15:33guy generated oh my god that's it that
15:35that's I've heard a lot but I hadn't
15:37heard that particular story before you
15:39know having having you know benefits
15:41being that I'm familiar with so many of
15:43these cases but that's that's just
15:44straight crazy so there you are you're
15:48you're stuck there and you go to trial
15:50and and you're you were represented by a
15:54public defender at the time you weren't
15:56a wealthy guy right I wasn't a wealthy
15:58guy but my parents got scared and they
16:01hired a private attorney based upon word
16:04of mouth particularly because he spoke
16:06Spanish and he had a son named Fernando
16:08but uh so okay so that was like for them
16:11for some reason I'm sorry I'm a fan yeah
16:14like a sign like you know and so they
16:16hired him and you know he was hoodwinked
16:18from the start in that the prosecutor
16:20didn't turn over exculpatory evidence
16:22and when he did turn over boxes of
16:25evidence it was after my jury was
16:27selected so this is where so he had no
16:30time long time right even when he asked
16:32he was not allowed right and we know
16:34that the Supreme Court ruled in Brady
16:36that they have to turn over exculpatory
16:37evidence but it's it seems like it's
16:40almost routinely ignored by prosecutors
16:42which is shocking should be shocking to
16:45everyone in America right I mean
16:46everyone who watches TV watches crime
16:48shows knows that that's a responsibility
16:51of the prosecutor and most people I
16:52think believe that the prosecutor wants
16:55to get the right guy and would want to
16:56get the right guy because who would want
16:58the wrong guy to still be out there
16:59right that's always crazy to be friend
17:01of that when you aside from the the
17:04human tragedy of locking up the wrong
17:06person the idea that the real
17:09perpetrator is out there and is going in
17:11many cases in almost all cases is going
17:13to commit more mayhem be responsible for
17:16more mayhem and hurt other people should
17:19be enough motivation in itself for law
17:22enforcement to want to do the right
17:23thing but obviously in your case that
17:24was not the case I'm sure these guys
17:26were feeling a lot of pressure so much
17:28crime so many cases to deal with they
17:29want to get it off their desk you were
17:31victimized by that mentality and that
17:34lack of morality I would say as well so
17:38now you're at trial
17:40you have your your alibi witness is
17:42there where they call to the stand yes
17:45man about witness came forward I
17:46testified and even three friends of the
17:48deceased came forward and said that I
17:50wasn't the guy who shot their best
17:51friend and so then people are listening
17:54they're going oh wait a minute shouldn't
17:56that be enough
17:57wouldn't that be what threw the case
17:59closed now well that's what I thought
18:01that's what I had hoped but what the
18:03jury didn't know and I didn't even know
18:06until the investigation unraveled on my
18:09behalf was that for example Ephraim
18:12Lopez the state's star witness 16 years
18:15old who knew the actual perpetrator had
18:17told the police and prosecutors who
18:19actually committed the crime but they
18:21suppressed that evidence and where he
18:22could be found in exchange for his false
18:26testimony he named me as someone I
18:28totally was not and the police still did
18:30not go investigate the neighborhood he
18:32got after over 20 hours of interrogation
18:35and opportunity to escape from murder
18:38charges and the witnesses the teenage
18:41witnesses as well in addition who didn't
18:44know her from Lopez but who did say that
18:46it was him they got that right that part
18:48right they had gotten charges dismissed
18:51on the eve of their trial - had
18:53unrelated criminal charges pending which
18:55were dismissed right before my trial
18:57began so it's amazing that prosecutors
19:00have this much power right the fact is
19:02that people think that the judge has a
19:06lot of power or that the police or the
19:09defenders have power the fact is that an
19:12overwhelming amount of the power rests
19:14with the prosecutors because they can
19:16decide whether to prosecute or drop
19:17charges against anyone for any reason is
19:19that right yes sir so it's interesting
19:21because we know everyone who follows is
19:25even aware of anything to do with
19:27criminal justice knows that you can't
19:28bribe a witness right but yet the state
19:31is able to offer the best bribe that
19:34there is which is that hey you got a lot
19:37of trouble on your hands kid right
19:38you're facing a murder charge or you're
19:40facing assault or other things and you
19:42know what we just going to ask you to do
19:44us a little favor here you know tell us
19:46what we need to hear and you can go home
19:48and we're going to clean it up and keep
19:51it moving right I mean what could be
19:52better than that
19:53think that a lot of people would have
19:54trouble resisting that if they're
19:56looking at a long period in prison along
19:59many many years they're facing they're
20:01scared to and they want to go home and
20:03they go I don't even know this guy
20:05Fernando but you know what screw him you
20:08know so I think that's uh that's
20:09something that's important for people to
20:12understand people who are going to be
20:14serving on juries people who are
20:15involved in the system in any way I
20:17think they need to know that well
20:20absolutely and it's also how the system
20:21sets up the vulnerability of in this
20:24case teenage witnesses you know who
20:26haven't even had their prefrontal cortex
20:28meant for good judgment even fully
20:30developed in my case for example two of
20:33the witnesses one of whom had one of the
20:36charges dismissed told the prosecutor
20:38they didn't want to come testify didn't
20:39believe I was the guy and yet they were
20:41arrested physically taken from their
20:43home as material witnesses what that
20:45doesn't sound kosher either I mean
20:47they're just this so it was really a
20:49series of mistakes that read to you that
20:51led to you're both both deliberate and
20:54and and an accidental but mostly
20:57deliberate right yes so you're now you
21:00get convicted the the moment of that the
21:04jury coming back in I can't imagine the
21:06pressure but you're you're standing
21:09there you're still hoping that this is
21:10going to be you know the system is going
21:12to work and you're going to go home and
21:15try to forget this whole thing
21:17but then they come back and they read
21:19off the verdict and then what and at
21:22that moment I just had an out-of-body
21:25experience because I couldn't believe
21:26that you know all my hopes and dreams
21:29were shattered in the American criminal
21:30justice system I really had believed in
21:33the system I told the truth honestly and
21:35I was just shattered I mean my mother
21:38started crying my six-year-old sister at
21:41that time fell to the floor and you're
21:43my grandmother she like nearly fainted I
21:46couldn't turn around because at the hand
21:48of the bailiffs was shifting me now to
21:51not being able to look at my family but
21:52to look directly at the jury or the
21:54judge and I was just I was terrified I
21:57didn't feel like I was there like my I
21:59felt my body but I felt myself floating
22:01away
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22:59wrongful conviction blue apron a better
23:02way to cook and now back to my
23:05conversation with Fernando Bermudez the
23:08nightmare is now fully underway you're
23:10in a maximum-security prison is it as
23:13bad as people think it is it is it is
23:16you're living in a six by nine foot cell
23:17it's very small I mean I could stretch
23:20out my hands and almost touch the cell
23:23walls and there's two of you in there
23:25well there was one and at times there
23:28was two throughout my years I would be
23:30forced to be with someone else but in
23:32the beginning I was by myself they
23:34didn't have double bunking in the
23:35beginning of my incarceration and so
23:38there you are facing a possibility of
23:41spending the rest of your life there and
23:42then things took a very interesting turn
23:45and this is uh this is the story again
23:47one of the one of the many things that
23:49makes your story so unique and makes you
23:52such an inspiring character to me so
23:56your story's national news right it
23:59became it became we got a lot of
24:01coverage I mean there's a lot of murders
24:03at this time but your story got a lot of
24:04coverage
24:05Fernando Bermudez five people testified
24:07against him and the judge put him away
24:09for life but was he wrongly convicted of
24:12murder
24:12Fernando Bermuda has had an alibi he
24:14says he was driving around with
24:16there was no physical evidence against
24:18him no blood no gun but there was no
24:21getting around those witnesses Marianne
24:22to bury with the father's help was able
24:24to track down all the witnesses who
24:26testified against Fernando and get them
24:29to admit that under pressure they gave
24:31false testimony and so then you received
24:34a letter let's talk about this because
24:36this is really and you wrote a lot of
24:39letters but this letter that came in you
24:42probably remember that pretty well what
24:44it said right well absolutely I was in
24:46my cell and I was working out and I just
24:50finished writing another legal letter
24:51cuz I was writing always writing letters
24:53to try to get help and a young lady
24:57wrote me she had saw my case she was
24:59living in Oklahoma at the time and she
25:01wrote me and she said she believed in me
25:02she said that she wanted to pray for me
25:04and I was just amazed that at her
25:08persistent persistence in continuing a
25:11relationship with me and and she had to
25:14go to some trouble to find you boys like
25:15then gave your address on the TV oh no
25:17no no yes she had to investigate at the
25:19time there was no internet and things
25:22like that and so she had to go she was
25:24working for the phone company so she had
25:26actually called places and finally she
25:28called Rikers Island and they got so fed
25:31up with her after calling so many
25:32different departments they already had
25:34heard about her that they just scribbled
25:35off some numbers and you know some more
25:37information than when she was able to
25:38see on the TV apart from my name and
25:41then she wrote me a letter so you get
25:43this letter and there was no picture
25:46attached right there so as far as you
25:47know could have been anybody but just
25:49you didn't know that this was going to
25:50be the woman of your dreams at the time
25:52right right but then things progressed
25:54that's right she sent me a picture and
25:56she was beautiful apart from her
25:59description and most importantly to me
26:01was that she brought the word of God in
26:02my life I mean I was at a point where I
26:05didn't know what to believe anymore the
26:06American criminal justice system had
26:08failed me I felt that God had abandoned
26:11me and he was this young girl speaking
26:14about God to me and bringing about faith
26:16you know renewing it and that's what she
26:18did and she came to visit me and we got
26:21married you got married at the prison in
26:23prison so I couldn't believe it
26:25wow that was and that's crystal now the
26:28crystal is a
26:30I've met crystal several times she's an
26:32amazing person beautiful has such a
26:35great disposition so positive and then
26:38and then you had kids yes while you were
26:41in prison yes and and your daughter was
26:44born and what 96 95 in the only 90s and
26:50then we had a mother we had our second
26:52daughter who was born in 2001 followed
26:57by my son in 2005 so as much as it's a
27:00blessing to have kids and have another
27:03reason to live right and to be you know
27:07motivated to get out of bed every day
27:09when you're in this impossible situation
27:11how difficult is that to grow up apart
27:15from your kids and how does that affect
27:16them when their dad is you know not
27:19accessible to them what was extremely
27:21difficult decision for myself because
27:23first I told Christy I said Chris I said
27:26we shouldn't get married you know you
27:28really even shouldn't bother with me
27:29because I don't know what I'm getting
27:30out you don't know if you're getting out
27:32that's what I'm saying yeah and so she
27:34was like I have faith in God that it's
27:37going to turn out and then came the
27:38decision to have kids for me I didn't
27:40want to have kids because I didn't want
27:42to bring more burdens to not only
27:43ourselves in the situation we were in
27:45but if I didn't get out and the children
27:47would essentially almost be fatherless
27:49apart from me being alive in prison you
27:51know if I survived but also I was so
27:55angry at the system at what it did to me
27:56and the conduct confines and controls
28:00that I found myself in that I said to
28:02myself wow you have to do something that
28:06means if you have a kid that can survive
28:10if you don't so it was that decision as
28:13well yeah not in listen it was a great
28:15decision because you have a wonderful
28:17family of three kids right yes yeah it's
28:19fantastic so then let's talk about how
28:21you so when things turn for the better
28:23and how you did get out what was the
28:25breaking tipping point when you who was
28:28it what organization or person or
28:31combination of things
28:33and now let's take it through when you
28:34were released well the foundation of my
28:37case leading to my exoneration upon
28:39which all the good intention and
28:42no well-spoken lawyers who fought hard
28:47for my case the foundation begins with
28:50marianne de Bary who was a former nun
28:53turned attorney in her late 40s who
28:55began investigating my case as early as
28:571993 1992 and so forth and she began
29:00investigating my case and she started
29:04laying the foundation of all the
29:06misconduct that occurred and everything
29:09and even though I was denied ten appeals
29:12you know with her help and all the
29:15different loads including Hellerstein
29:17you know and gar s Mary Anne's soul as
29:20she passed away last year the tipping
29:24point became around 2008 when I had
29:27gotten help from another attorney from
29:31Seton Hall Law School and she was
29:32involved in my case and she got what
29:35would what many prisoners would call a
29:37dream team including lawyers from
29:39Washington DC New York law firms and
29:43other people from New Jersey as well and
29:46she also got involved on New York's
29:48Innocence Project and together we all
29:50went into court in 2009 after I had
29:54rejected a plea bargain from the
29:55district attorney's office so for me
29:57that was a turning point because I
29:59finally got to test the evidence before
30:03a new judge in Manhattan state Supreme
30:06Court and it was it was a moment where I
30:08felt good because I had rejected a plea
30:11a plea bargain and now for a plea but I
30:14was also scared because it meant that if
30:15I had lost this 11th appeal I would
30:18definitely or most likely I should say
30:20die in prison
30:21well that's an unbelievable amount of
30:23pressure and an Alford plea for those of
30:25you who aren't aware means that you're
30:27the state basically comes to you and
30:29says you
30:31we kind of did they kind of give you
30:33like a wink right like we kind of know
30:34we messed this up but we're not going to
30:37admit that we're wrong which means you
30:39can't sue us but we're going to let you
30:41go home
30:41so it I mean that's a tough decision to
30:43make right I mean as bad as you want to
30:45get out of there but at the same time
30:46it's it's sort of like a
30:49I mean it's I don't know if you call it
30:51like a Sophie's Choice but it's a brutal
30:54decision to have to make but you made
30:56the right decision and yours was not a
30:58DNA case because it was a shooting so
31:01there was no no physical evidence at the
31:03time there was actually no physical
31:04evidence of any kind of connected you to
31:06the crime
31:06none whatsoever never was never um so so
31:10you go to trial with this dream-team
31:11Innocence Project lawyers this group of
31:16dedicated individuals and now you got
31:21the full now you got the odds a little
31:23bit in your favor right fair to say and
31:26so you go to court let's have that let's
31:28talk about the opposite experience
31:29you're there st. you know the different
31:32kind of pressure right you've been
31:33through everything that they could throw
31:35at you what happens well I'm in court
31:39and I'm just like glad that I rejected
31:42that offer because I really wanted to
31:43get down to the matter of these
31:44witnesses coming forward and NBC News
31:47investigation shows if those witnesses
31:49are now telling the truth and Fernando
31:51Bermudez is the wrong man your kids are
31:54their wife is there my wife was there
31:57and all a lot of the past lawyers
31:58throughout the years were there as well
32:00um Maryann was actually in a cave in
32:03Israel praying for me see what I she was
32:07already out there and the hearing came
32:08and she was just there and she she sent
32:11word that she'd be praying in a cave
32:12okay
32:13and so that was good I felt confident
32:15with that and we were there in the
32:17evidentiary hearing under under the
32:19leadership of Barry Pollock from
32:20Washington DC it went well it went well
32:24I mean the detective I don't know what
32:28kind of problems he's had in his past
32:31and but he did have for example past
32:33arrests for drunk driving in which he
32:35had two girls he came into the courtroom
32:37seemingly drunk the prosecutor who up
32:39until this point was so smug and
32:42confident in his position about about
32:45his case against me now was shaken
32:49visibly shaken they brought in a
32:51surprise detective who they said what
32:54would now testify that he was observing
32:56the witnesses and that they were not
32:58engaged in the illegal identification
33:00procedures which we already were on
33:02verge of proving and he couldn't
33:04remember any details so it's like they
33:06even made a mistake bringing him in
33:07because he couldn't remember because
33:08everybody could see he was lying yeah we
33:10demonstrated through cross-examination
33:12so I was just like wow all this is
33:16finally coming to the point where my
33:18faith told me that my enemies would
33:20become my footstool ah strong and that's
33:24what was happening that's what was
33:25happening and this was a judge not a
33:27jury this was before a judge and after a
33:31two-week proceeding I waited a month
33:33because the judge says he needed more
33:35time to make the decision and I was like
33:39wow I was stuck at downstate
33:40Correctional Facility starving I mean I
33:44was so hungry I was actually taking
33:45rations from the mess hall and saving it
33:47in my cell like a squirrel just to get
33:49through because there I was like in
33:51between my regular prison and Rikers
33:53waiting to be called back to court so it
33:55was crazy I came back to court and it
33:59was the big moment
34:00this was my 11th appeal I walked into
34:03the courtroom and there was just like a
34:05hushed suffocation all you could hear
34:08was the world of recorders of television
34:13cameras reporters furiously scribbling
34:16you could hear people breathing the
34:20clock seem to be just ticking so slow
34:22you could just hear that and I was just
34:27like I was I was nervous because this
34:28was a moment and finally finally the
34:33judge asked me to stand and I stood and
34:36my knees were shaking I felt a touch of
34:38global warming under my under my shirt I
34:42was just so nervous and the judge
34:44declared me actually innocent and that
34:45the courtroom erupted in applause and
34:50then the judge didn't stop there he said
34:52that in this case the prosecutor James G
34:56Rodriguez knew and should have known
34:58that he was relying upon perjured
34:59testimony that the identification
35:01procedures were illegal and
35:03constitutional and should not have
35:05occurred which a federal judge had
35:06previously ruled in my favor on and that
35:09the state of New York admitted that it's
35:11they start witness from Lopez had
35:13committed perjury and he
35:15Claire me actually innocent Fernando
35:17Bermudez was falsely accused of murder
35:19after a fight outside a Manhattan
35:21nightclub he was convicted though sent
35:23to prison
35:23exonerated then released after nearly 20
35:26years when a judge found misconduct in
35:28his case this wrongful conviction was
35:30predicated upon perjury was predicated
35:33upon manipulation with Crowe is
35:36predicated upon coercion and deceit of
35:39New York City District Attorney's Office
35:40and New York City Police Department and
35:42then you walked out of the courtroom a
35:45free man
35:45TV cameras there yes yes that soon after
35:49that I walked out and that must have
35:51been a like a crazy mixture of emotions
35:53to I mean your wife is there you're able
35:56to hug her like a normal person like a
35:59man not in any nobody overseeing you or
36:03watching or anything else right but then
36:06you're out in the fresh air and like
36:08what's going through your mind while I
36:10was scared because the world had changed
36:11so much I mean 19 years 18 and a half
36:14years several presidents and governors
36:16later I mean now there was the internet
36:18people were walking around cell phones
36:21yeah they were walking before I went to
36:24prison the cell phones with the size of
36:26shoe boxes assuming you even had one
36:28yeah you know it was very rare you know
36:31and now everyone had when people were
36:33talking to themselves on the street I
36:34realized it was Bluetooth technology the
36:36fashion had changed from baggy pants -
36:39now skinny jeans besides that I was just
36:43scared because it even feel like I had
36:45permission to be outside I was I was
36:47psychologically were you worried that
36:49they were gonna send you back in that
36:50this was all a dream or that there was
36:52someone was gonna grab you and go no you
36:54could go back to your cell whatever was
36:56that I thought I certainly felt that
36:57this that this can happen again right I
37:00felt that but I had trouble crossing the
37:02street I got dizzy in department stores
37:04because there were so many colors and
37:06choices like a PTSD kind of well then
37:08that's when I realized after a while I
37:10said well what's wrong with me why am i
37:11waking up in the middle of the night
37:13getting up and feeling like I'm in still
37:15in a prison cell pacing and crystal
37:18would tell me no you got to get back to
37:19bed you're not in prison anymore you
37:21know walking the family dog at the point
37:22at that time was an issue I felt like
37:25that was gun towers outside I mean it
37:27was just got a lot of stuff so I
37:29realized after I went to psychiatric
37:31evaluation that I have post-traumatic
37:33stress disorder and I didn't think I
37:34would have that well you served you know
37:36of the the in the DNA exoneration cases
37:40with homicide
37:41as the as a crime the average time
37:44served is 13 years so you served you
37:47know significantly longer than the
37:49average one although we had a couple of
37:50recent exoneration of guys would serve
37:5234 years which is you know an
37:54unbelievable numbers almost twice as
37:56long but it affects everyone differently
37:58and it obviously is going to infect
38:00anybody to go through this so I think
38:04you know and it's interesting to
38:05thinking back to that scene in the
38:07courtroom you know the odds are stacked
38:10against you when you're poor when you're
38:12Latino or of color right we know that a
38:16higher percentage of people of color are
38:18arrested or prosecuted or convicted
38:21there's no justification for that
38:23there's no evidence that they commit
38:25crimes at a higher rate or anything else
38:27and so you you finally got the scales of
38:31justice dipped in your favor and and you
38:33emerge to this loving family but then
38:36you still had another lawsuit to go
38:37right he still had a case now you had to
38:40file a suit against the city and against
38:42the state right yes so that that has now
38:46been resolved right the first one the
38:49first one but it took me five and a half
38:51years let the record reflect five and a
38:53half years so you're out with nothing
38:55for financing no job skills no resume no
38:58time in to try to get a job but it's got
39:00to be brutal I mean all I had was you
39:03know an associate's degree or the
39:05concentration in business and working
39:08toward my bachelor's and then when I got
39:09out I had to go to college to finish my
39:11bachelor's and I had to take loans there
39:14was no free ride here I had to go to
39:16college and out there and you know like
39:18most hard-working young men and women do
39:20for their lives and futures and but the
39:23thing is I had to deal with the
39:25psychological impact I didn't know how
39:27to drive anymore
39:28I had to get a license people from my
39:30church clothes me they they helped me
39:33get my license back I didn't have money
39:35to get a license or even take driving
39:37school lessons you know it was funny I'm
39:3940 years old and I got I don't know how
39:41to drive again no it is interesting for
39:43you know almost 35% of exonerees don't
39:46get any money right because the
39:48compensation statutes are so different
39:50in every state and missed some states
39:52it's impossible to get money some it's
39:53very difficult to get money and I think
39:55people think that it you come out and
39:59society just opens its doors to you and
40:02everything's great and you get a check
40:03and you move on with your life but five
40:05and a half years with nothing struggling
40:07on the outside I mean I knew you back
40:09then and I know what you're going
40:10through
40:11that's got to be just another almost
40:14another major challenge to get through
40:17but you got through it I mean you you
40:20persevered I know you went and did the
40:22300 speaking engagements we talked about
40:24that before just by cold calling you're
40:27smoking all over the world yes yes we've
40:29been to Japan Italy Germany France
40:30Switzerland we tell our story fine why
40:33to transform the criminal justice
40:35systems so Fran des what I wanted to ask
40:38you is what's the message you want to
40:40send well certainly the problem of
40:43wrongful convictions is far-reaching we
40:45have over 1,700 wrongful convictions
40:48that are just documented and that's just
40:50documented in America today we have 17
40:52other exonerations I think yeah it's
40:54almost yes yes
40:56yes most close to 18 oh yeah absolutely
40:57close to 1,800 exonerations those are
41:00just the ones that are documented and
41:01you know over almost 150 were released
41:04from death row which is you know
41:06horrible as well and no that's what
41:08Brian Stevenson says I mean for every
41:10person we've executed we've for every
41:12nine people who've actually could we've
41:13had one exonerated from death row and as
41:16he says and he's one of my heroes if you
41:18had planes and one out of every nine or
41:22ten planes crashed
41:23nobody would fly he can't have this
41:25system so anyway I'm sorry to interrupt
41:27you sir go ahead so yeah so on that note
41:29there has to be accountability
41:31you know prosecutors get this immunity
41:34we understand that we need prosecutors
41:36and those who do a good job kudos to
41:38them but for those that don't who flout
41:40the system in our Constitution then
41:42shame on them they should be held
41:44accountable they have too much immunity
41:46we need more accountability for those
41:48who are responsible as a deterrent
41:50effect law is created to deter crime
41:53across the board and if it doesn't deter
41:57crime or misconduct then it doesn't work
41:59why is the law there so when were they
42:02above the law right they shouldn't be
42:05and you know the damage that it causes
42:08families and the people directly
42:11affected by the incarceration is just is
42:14horrible I mean I'm affected today I'm
42:17still free today but I still feel like
42:20I'm in prison for people who want to
42:22help what can they do should they go
42:23online should they write letters should
42:26they donate well I think that the public
42:29needs to connect with their politicians
42:31and voice their concerns that this is an
42:33issue that matters to them but more than
42:36that they also need to like if possible
42:38to use their resources talents and time
42:40to volunteer to their local innocence
42:42projects there are 55 innocence projects
42:46around the country and so there's
42:47probably one near you wherever you are
42:49and they're mostly affiliated with with
42:51law schools and I can say that they all
42:54do great work and I'm very proud of
42:57everyone that works there these are
42:59people who work for low money many of
43:02them are volunteers and they're doing
43:03such such wonderful work and and if not
43:07for people like them you probably
43:10wouldn't be here today so Fernando I
43:12really appreciate you coming on the show
43:14I'm happy to see you and I'm happy that
43:18your life is is is where it should be
43:20now and it's going to get better thank
43:23you
43:27I want to thank the good people at the
43:30Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU
43:31School of Law for providing us research
43:33and background information on these
43:35cases be sure to check out our website
43:37wrongful conviction podcast comm today's
43:41show was produced by me lol Sarah
43:43Barrett general G arrow and Ben
43:45Greenberg with a special thanks to
43:47Steven Hobbes the music in the show is
43:50by Jay Ralph engineering by Kris Guevara
43:53and Flonne Williams
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