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Jeffrey Deskovic - Wrongfully Convicted of Murder, exonerated by DNA — Transcript

by Jacob Davis · 7,025 words · 936 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:02all right welcome back guys uh my name
0:05is Jacob Davis show host at leverage
0:07Nation once again welcome back to
0:09leverage Nation everybody and today's
0:11guest is none other than the amazing
0:13gentleman that I had the the opportunity
0:15to meet recently and speak to from afar
0:19uh Jeffrey deskovic and uh Amazing Story
0:23um and I I I really feel that you guys
0:25are going to uh understand more about
0:28what's going on and things that have
0:29transpired to folks and how uh Jeffrey
0:32and his folks are helping people today
0:35across the map so um Jeff Jeffrey could
0:38you please tell our audience a little
0:40who who you are and and what you do sir
0:43yeah absolutely and thank you for having
0:44me uh having me on the show yeah as you
0:47mentioned my name is Jeffrey desic and I
0:49am an attorney and uh I I have a
0:51nonprofit organization which I started
0:53called the Jeffrey DCT foundation for
0:55justice we have as our mission free and
0:58wrongfully convicted people uh and we
1:00also pursue policy changes aimed at
1:03preventing those injustices from
1:04happening in the first place uh I became
1:07an attorney I became I got tired of
1:09sitting in the front row uh in the
1:11courtroom I got yeah I wanted to sit at
1:13the defense table I wanted to represent
1:15some of the clients make some of the
1:17arguments so I went to law school that
1:19was after I started the organization
1:21which was back in um
1:232011 uh so far we have freed uh 14
1:26wrongfully convicted people we helped to
1:29pass a total nine laws I mean three
1:31organization the other six we worked in
1:34collaboration with a coalition a
1:35National Coalition group called it could
1:37happen to you uh I have a master's
1:39degree uh in criminal justice my thesis
1:41is written on wrongful conviction cause
1:43and reform and I started all of this uh
1:47advocacy work which you know involves
1:49speaking and doing training sessions for
1:52police prosecutors judges um defense
1:55lawyers police Cadets um speaking uh
1:59meeting regularly with elected officials
2:00trading privacy for awareness doing like
2:02interviews such as um such as this one
2:06regular meeting with the electeds uh
2:08because I spent uh I unfortunately spent
2:1116 years in prison um from age 17 to 32
2:15in New York for a murder and rap which I
2:17did not commit um I was uh convicted 17
2:21was there as I said for those those
2:23years that I span and then ultimately
2:26was exonerated through DNA testing to
2:27the DNA Data Bank which match the actual
2:30perpetrator so he had killed a second
2:32victim um just three and a half years
2:35later after killing the victim in in my
2:37case so my charges were dismissed on
2:39actual innocence grounds and he was
2:41arrested and convicted so I I have you
2:44know it's my life mission um freeing
2:46people in the same position I was in and
2:48working to prevent that and you know I
2:51started the organization with some of a
2:52compensation I received and I named it
2:55after me seeking to leverage uh the you
2:58know notoriety around my story the name
3:00recognition and the Injustice to you
3:02know build this organization and you
3:04know have it to be a legacy something
3:06that hopefully far out loads
3:09me yes and and you know viewers when
3:12when when Jeffrey and I spoke uh
3:15recently you know the reason it
3:17resonated so much with me is because uh
3:20many of y'all may not know but or be
3:21aware my background was 22 years in
3:24juvenile probation uh here locally so I
3:26worked with a lot of a lot of young um
3:30juveniles a long a lot of atrisk Youth
3:33who made mistakes um in life and we try
3:36to help them move from point A to point
3:38B and just move on down the road towards
3:40maturity but in in jeffy's scenario you
3:43know it's it's it's the ugly unspoken
3:46truth about the criminal justice system
3:48right DNA today there's a lot of things
3:51that have transpired in DNA and how it's
3:54exonerated folks but even with that
3:56element you know there's still a need
3:59for for Jeffrey and his foundation and
4:01folks just like them to help people who
4:04are wrongfully convicted because the
4:06system itself um is not set up to have
4:10those safeguards believe it or not um so
4:13I I know that recently Jeffrey I I saw
4:16an interview you had done and you were
4:17talking about mindset and that's huge
4:20today right mindset is is huge a lot of
4:22folks are talking about it in our
4:24workspace and and now I have moved on
4:26from that into personal development and
4:28growth and helping people at Daniel
4:30Gomez Enterprises but can you tell can
4:33you tell the audience a little bit about
4:36um maybe some of those years and how
4:38your mindset transitioned because um you
4:41know you you were a victim man I mean
4:44you were you were a victim you know of
4:45the system and um how did your mindset
4:48change over the years to get to the
4:50point where you said I'm going to get my
4:52my I'm going to become an attorney and
4:55I'm going to go out and help other
4:56people just like myself um H can you
4:59share a little a little bit about that
5:01yeah AB yeah absolutely and to piggy
5:03back off your point you know per per the
5:05National Registry of exoneration some
5:073500 people have been exonerated across
5:10the United States from
5:121991 uh until now which is another way
5:14of saying that's how many people have
5:15been wrongfully convicted and then
5:17exonerated you know we don't know the
5:19actual number of people wrongfully
5:21convicted because we can only count the
5:23exonerations not not the injustices
5:25where it hasn't been uh corrected yeah
5:28so I've had a number of You Know M mind
5:30sh mindset shifts so when I was uh when
5:33I was released initially um you know I
5:37was rather foolishly thinking that at 32
5:40that I was uh you know I was too old to
5:42go to college that that was something I
5:44aspired to previously and but you know
5:46but that that ship had sailed due to my
5:48losing you know age 17 or 32 to the to
5:51the wrongful conviction um but you know
5:54there's dean of Mercy at Mercy uh
5:56college now which is called Mercy
5:58University she l a scholarship up for me
6:01to finish the bachelor's degree so while
6:03I was in prison I got the GED I got an
6:06Associates I got another year towards
6:08the Bachelor and funding was cut for
6:10college education for prisoners so I
6:12wasn't able to continue but she lined up
6:15that scholarship and I kind of just did
6:17it because I was directionless I didn't
6:19really know what to do uh with with with
6:22my life so but that gave me a structure
6:24that gave me a purpose and you know I
6:26made good from there you know I I I did
6:29I did graduate with the bachelor's
6:31degree and I went on to get the Masters
6:33and then uh you know then the uh to be a
6:36better advocate so I mean that was one
6:38mind mind mind shift and then for
6:41those my initial five years of freedom I
6:43was an individual Advocate I was
6:45speaking I was uh I was a weekly
6:48columnist for a weekly newspaper and uh
6:51I was uh as I said before I was doing
6:53interviews I was meeting with elected
6:54officials but I really wanted to be
6:56involved in helping the free people but
6:58the most that I could do as a as a as an
7:01advocate was really just kind of nibble
7:03on the edges so I wrote about a couple
7:06of cases where you know people had been
7:08wrongfully imprison convicted and the
7:10injustices were still a foot so I wrote
7:12some articles about their cases to bring
7:15a little awareness of their case and you
7:17know I would do things like allow my
7:19name to be used and a press release for
7:21a lawyer that was seeking to get
7:22publicity on the case and I would engage
7:25in you know grassroot tactics like let's
7:27help I would help pack the courtroom and
7:29I would physically show up so that the
7:32judge could see me there and you know
7:33the the Hope was that some judge would
7:35think well wait Jeff we know Jeff story
7:38he's here he's supporting this case
7:39maybe maybe I should take a closer look
7:42at this one you know so but I did those
7:44things and you know because it's often a
7:47new knee-jerk reaction rubber stamp
7:49denial of you know a lot of appeals post
7:51conviction motions so that was the whole
7:54hope of trying to get them to pay more
7:55attention but all those things really
7:57were just kind of nibbling on the edge
7:59and I couldn't it was not direct work on
8:02trying to free people so what I finally
8:04was
8:05compensated you know was kind of uh you
8:08know I I'm just trying to think of a
8:11general way of saying it um but it was
8:13kind of like a I'll say it this way it
8:15was a put up or shut up moment okay you
8:17know now I finally had some Financial
8:20Resources I suddenly wasn't destitute
8:22anymore and look do you really want to
8:25go all in on this you know or or you
8:27don't you want to have a nonprofit
8:29ganization that helps to free people or
8:31you just want to keep nibbling on on the
8:34edges as an individual Advocate and you
8:36know I I looked into myself and saw what
8:39was there and I I went for it you know I
8:41put some of the money in you know I put
8:44a million and a half dollars and as you
8:46know people may know it's a public
8:47record and uh we've gotten you know
8:50these type of results so I feel like
8:51that was a mindset shift but then as I
8:53said another one was I I didn't feel
8:56empowered enough I I was tired of
8:58sitting in the front row I mean I might
9:00have worked on the case with the lawyer
9:02I might even have actually been the boss
9:04of the lawyer so to speak because I was
9:06an employee but I couldn't sit next to
9:08them I couldn't represent any of the
9:10clients I couldn't have I couldn't uh
9:12you know make any of the arguments so
9:14hence going to law school and you know
9:17so so go to go from you know an ADV
9:19individual Advocate doing like paralal
9:22type work and to actually being a lawyer
9:25is you know is is another mindset shift
9:27and you know part of that is not just uh
9:30how I'm perceived externally but a lot
9:33even how I perceived myself you know I
9:35it was a great confidence Builder it
9:37helped me psychologically in many ways
9:40to you know have the law degree and
9:41ultimately the law license so uh a lot
9:44even more confidence than than than
9:47before yeah that's amazing you know
9:50Jeffrey it's an amazing uh
9:52testimony um to persevering you know so
9:56many years you know and I think of so
9:58many folks you know this morning I
10:00posted on uh Facebook or somewhere I
10:03forget where it was you know and I was
10:04just saying you know what is your excuse
10:07right um I'll do that you know quite
10:09often posst some type of question or
10:11something you know for some interaction
10:13right social media but at the end of the
10:15day what is somebody's excuse right like
10:18you have overcome so much right um and
10:23you're helping and still plugging in and
10:25being a Victor instead of a victim
10:28because the the the the the you know I
10:30think many of us you know have gone
10:32through all kinds of things but we let
10:35that become our our Scarlet's letter
10:38right we become a victim and then we
10:40just wear that and we say okay you know
10:42and then woe is me but man you you
10:45didn't do that like you haven't done
10:47that you know and you're stepping up for
10:49those people who may fall into that and
10:51you're showing them like no don't don't
10:53do that like I'm here I'm an example
10:55like I'm here to help you that's amazing
10:57man thank you
10:59words the words definitely uh definitely
11:01mean a lot you know you it's it's a it's
11:03a mind set shift also to once you've
11:07crossed that metaphorical Bridge
11:09whatever whatever challenge or obstacle
11:11whatever hurdle you've managed to to
11:13climb over to then reach back and and
11:18help people similarly situated you know
11:20in in my I've been home for 18 years now
11:22in in the course of my 18 years of
11:25Freedom you know I've I've seen people
11:28who overcame one obstacle or challenge
11:31or another and and are reaching back to
11:33other people I mean some examples I mean
11:36I've met people that are home after
11:38doing time in prison for crimes that
11:40they did that they did commit and you
11:42know they paid for their you know they
11:44paid for what they did but now they want
11:46to they want to reach they want to
11:47divert at risk youth from a life of
11:50crime and ultimately ending up in the
11:51big house so I've seen that principle
11:54with that I've I've watched uh I've
11:57watched people that used to be home
11:59homeless who are now working at a
12:01homeless shelter for that population uh
12:04I I had a chance I I listened to uh
12:07there was a woman and she had survived a
12:10a domestic abuse uh relationship and
12:13when she was domestically abused and now
12:15she was working with those populations
12:16and I've come across family members um
12:20who have had somebody who in in close to
12:22them that was a murder victim and now
12:24they're engaging in advocacy work and I
12:27even attended once um I was in I was in
12:30Utah at an event called called the
12:32collective which is a parallel event to
12:34Sundance but documentary Fe and uh this
12:38woman had had a nonprofit organization
12:40and uh she had survived being sexually
12:43trafficked and and now she was raising
12:46money for people that were working on
12:48freeing people that are you know
12:50sexually uh traffic she was raising
12:52money for that cause so I know that
12:54there supplies there applies and you
12:56know people that have U been
12:58discriminated against and setting up
13:00scholarships and and and opening up
13:03Pathways for people that have uh been on
13:04the wrong you know doing engaged in
13:07U who been the target of racial
13:10discrimination so I know that that
13:12universality of reaching back go extends
13:15far beyond just wrongful
13:17conviction oh definitely you know I was
13:20at an event uh this weekend uh we were
13:22in Maryland for uh about 4 days or so uh
13:26at a at a huge event there global Summit
13:29and um one of the speakers you know
13:31quoted um you know one of the great um
13:35uh mentors and people that are out there
13:37and and you know it was it was quoted
13:39right um you're best suited to help the
13:42person who you once were um so right you
13:46know I I myself was raised by a single
13:48mom um so I knew what it was like for
13:52myself to make a lot of mistakes in life
13:54as a as a child and you know labeled at
13:56risk you know because it was just my mom
13:58and I and Hispanic and just so many
14:01things right that the schools will
14:02classify you or the legal system or will
14:05classify you because of this or because
14:07of that so I I feel like that's why I
14:11was so successful in working with with
14:13that demographic because I could relate
14:15to them um and that's why you know like
14:17I said 22 years myself my last 13 years
14:20as a
14:21supervisor and although you know the job
14:23title was a juvenile probation officer
14:26at the end of the day we were social
14:27workers you know we helped kids move
14:29past and Beyond an incident or a time
14:32frame in their life and move them
14:34further down the road and uh hopefully
14:36help them get closer to maturity right
14:38and different things you know um so
14:40definitely I I I and I believe that in
14:43your scenario um you're best suited to
14:45help the person who you were which was
14:47wrongfully convicted exonerated and now
14:50helping so many other folks out there um
14:53and like the other examples you gave you
14:55know there's there's there's a lot of
14:56great people doing great work you know
14:59so my hats off to you Jeffrey uh very
15:02very very amazing so let me ask you this
15:04question of course um you know the the
15:07show is leverage nation and you've
15:08touched base on that right on Leverage
15:10how you've how you've leveraged these
15:12things to get to where you are today and
15:15what you're doing um and and 14 you I
15:20think you said 14 folks you've had
15:23exonerated 14 people we've helped to
15:26free I mean not I mean we can get into
15:28yeah sure okay okay 14 people you've
15:31helped to get free that's amazing 14
15:33folks who could have been sitting in
15:35behind bars for who knows how many years
15:39um because of something and uh so so
15:42that's amazing and then affecting laws
15:44um laws that you're helping change so
15:45let me ask you just so that so so that
15:47the viewers know is your foundation
15:50primarily New York or is it uh us-based
15:54are you helping folks in other states
15:56and cities as well uh just so our
15:59viewers kind of get an idea sure so we
16:02we take cases uh just it's we're most we
16:06only take cases of New York unless it's
16:08a rare example where we're partnering
16:11with a lawyer that's in another state
16:13that has a license because I don't have
16:15a license and no one on my team has a
16:16license in other states but uh it with
16:19respect to policy though and that's on
16:21the preventative side so uh we're we
16:24we're we're not just doing policy work
16:26in New York we're also doing policy work
16:28in Pennsylvan
16:29in California so in Pennsylvania for
16:32example Pennsylvania is one of 12 states
16:37that does not compensate people who've
16:39been um wrongfully convicted and and
16:41exonerated so if I had been this had
16:44happened to me in Pennsylvania you know
16:46there's no law on the books I would not
16:48have been able to be compensated I would
16:50have just been released with with
16:51nothing and would have never gotten
16:53anything so you know Pennsylvania
16:55geographically is a border state to New
16:57York and you know I know I remember my
17:00first five years of Freedom it took me
17:02five years before I was able to get any
17:05compensation so I remember what a
17:07difficult time period that was I mean I
17:09was always passed over for gainful
17:11employment you know it felt like uh
17:15business owners man managers uh they
17:17always all wanted somebody that could
17:19hit the ground running that had
17:21experience that didn't have it felt like
17:23nobody had any kind of patience for on
17:25on the job training so you know I LAX
17:28the ability of housing you know at one
17:30point I was a couple weeks away from a
17:32homeless shelter somebody had donated a
17:35very inexpensive car to me but that was
17:37like treasure that was like gold to me
17:39but the car mostly stayed parked because
17:42I couldn't you know putting gas and
17:44moving around it was really uh you know
17:47tight to the vest I mean thank God Mercy
17:49University which gave me the scholarship
17:51I mentioned before you know they allowed
17:53me to live on campus which is how I
17:54avoided the homeless shelter and they
17:56gave me the uh they gave me the meal
17:58plant
17:59uh so my point is I remember in that
18:02time and and I really I was making like
18:04$250 an article which you know if you're
18:07not some big syndicated name I mean
18:09that's good money that that's good money
18:11per article but the problem of course
18:13was that they only wanted one article a
18:15week because there were a weekly
18:17publication so I had $1,000 I could
18:19count on I was making money doing
18:21speaking engagements but that's kind of
18:23like being an actor right you get you
18:25get paid when you get booked for a role
18:27right so I had yes so I didn't have any
18:31other means of of of income and I
18:33remember what a strain it was just to to
18:35to pay bills and I barely get by so I
18:38remember that five years of Hell of my
18:40first five years of freedom and so I I
18:42can empathize with people in the border
18:45state of Pennsylvania where there is no
18:47compensation at all and so my Foundation
18:50working with the Pennsylvanian chapter
18:52of the could happen to Coalition which
18:54we're part of I'm an Advisory Board
18:55member there uh we've been working the
18:58last four five years trying to get
19:00Pennsylvania to pass a statute uh many
19:02advocacy organizations basically left
19:05Pennsylvania for dead they they tried
19:07for many decades at getting compensation
19:09passed got nowhere and eventually moved
19:11on to other states that they thought
19:13they could effectuate some change but
19:15you know what we we we put the Coalition
19:17together it was um I was one of the main
19:19people that helped started I knew a lot
19:21of different Advocates that lived in
19:23Pennsylvania but they didn't necessarily
19:25know or communicate with each other so
19:28brought everyone together and and
19:30evolved and we have a Statewide
19:31Coalition there and we have a bill
19:33introduced for compensation we we got
19:36legislators to do that and and in the
19:38house and and the Senate so we're trying
19:40to trying to try to pass the Bill there
19:43but that's an example of it and
19:44continuing on with the leverage Nation
19:46theme you know when you're meeting with
19:48elected officials you know when when I
19:50meet with elected officials in in
19:52Pennsylvania you know I quickly mention
19:55my my story and then get right to the
19:56issue and relate the issue to my story
19:59was the issue compensation well I
20:00remember the ways my life was difficult
20:03for five you know five years without it
20:05I had the lack of stability of Housing
20:07and all that stuff and then I mentioned
20:08how my life changed for the better once
20:10I was compensated so you get in you get
20:12out you leverage you know and then move
20:15around to the people that that are in
20:18the meeting with me my colleagues but
20:19that but that are Pennsylvanian
20:21residents that this way they can't
20:23dismiss myself and my policy director as
20:26these rabble Rous is from New York just
20:27you know get out of here no one has
20:29cares about you know but that but we we
20:31have a Statewide Coalition so we're
20:33leveraging that so no matter who's which
20:36office we go to we have a member of our
20:39team that we could give a more prominent
20:41role to in that in that meeting you know
20:44no I live in your District I vote so
20:46that's an example of doing Beyond New
20:48York and then in terms of California uh
20:51in New York we were able to pass a
20:53landmark bill it was called a commission
20:55on prosecuted conduct so it's an
20:57independent oversight
20:59board that can investigate allegations
21:01of prosecutorial misconduct uh it was a
21:04landmark Bill and what we're doing in
21:07California is we are building support
21:10for the commission on prosecutor conduct
21:12we're building support amongst the
21:14elected we're building support amongst
21:16the advocacy organizations individual
21:18Advocates and we hope to bring that
21:20there and you know we have a team of
21:22California Exon also whose stories were
21:25trying to leverage into getting this
21:28getting this past and the same thing
21:30with uh you know getting the support of
21:32other other Advocates so I like doing
21:34change policy work more than New York
21:37and my ultimate dream is to have a
21:39chapter of the organization each state
21:42and and ultimately in each country I
21:44mean I really see this as a worldwide
21:48issue uh because um you know I I think
21:50that you know wrongful conviction you
21:52know is happening across the world in
21:54countries where we don't care about it
21:56it's not because the injustices are not
21:58occurring it's simply because there's
22:01nobody working on those cases there I I
22:05would agree yes I would agree
22:06wholeheartedly you know and some of the
22:08things you touched Bas on um touch touch
22:11dear to me and and and to my family
22:13because we you know I've had several
22:15family members that have been
22:17incarcerated um and one in particular
22:20one of my close family members you know
22:22he served four 14 some odd years in in
22:25prison and and I know exactly what it
22:27looked like when he was released from
22:29prison there there was no uh you know
22:32the the the parole system here in Texas
22:36um was not is not set up was not set up
22:38for Success um you know many challenges
22:42and although he um was supported by my
22:47wife and I um I can definitely see how
22:50many folks would fall uh fall flat on
22:53their face per se you know because that
22:56systems are not set up you know help
22:58them and the job force and everything
23:00else um is not aligned to do that um so
23:05you know my hats off to you for
23:06persevering and and I guess one thing
23:08you know I have you know my question is
23:13you know Jeffrey um what is the one
23:16thing that helped you that you held on
23:19to for all those years being
23:21incarcerated that just kept your mind
23:24clear so so you know I worked in in the
23:28early 90s I worked in a parole violator
23:31facility um I didn't really know which
23:33direction I was going to go with my
23:35College college schooling I knew I liked
23:37sociology I knew I liked psychology
23:40criminal justice quite honestly was the
23:42quickest and easy bachelor's degree for
23:45me to get out after I had spent too much
23:47time in college right um but I had
23:49worked with kids at the YMCA and places
23:51like that for many years and I met a
23:54lady who was in juvenile probation and
23:56and and I I thought well that resonates
23:58with with me you know so that's how I
24:00wound up in juvenile probation But
24:03ultimately um I guess you know my my my
24:06question is I did work one year prior to
24:09juvenile probation with adults in a
24:11parole violator facility and there were
24:13so many men that I encountered that
24:15talked about
24:17institutionalization and that's a word
24:19that we don't hear so much in society
24:21anymore but it's a real it's a real
24:24situation it's a real word and um I know
24:27that there were men that I met that had
24:29been in in and out of you know being
24:32incarcerated so many years you know so
24:34many times fourth fifth time PR
24:36violators back and forth because they
24:38were institutionalized and functioning
24:39in society was a struggle for them so
24:42what if you could share with the
24:43audience you know what is the one thing
24:46that helped you stay focused so that
24:49where you are today man it's amazing um
24:52you know what is the one thing that
24:53helped you stay
24:55focused I knew that nobody was coming to
24:58my rescue so that meant I was going to
25:00have to go out and recruit somebody to
25:04help build the bridge between me and the
25:06ultimate legal help that I that I needed
25:09which I had read had happened in other
25:12cases of wrongful conviction and
25:14exoneration and so to do that you know I
25:17knew I had to keep my mind together I I
25:20I didn't have the luxury of giving into
25:23feelings of hopelessness helplessness
25:26thoughts of giving up uh you know
25:28suicidal ideation all all those things
25:30which you know semi frequently came into
25:33my mind that I had to keep fighting them
25:35off so those things helped keep me going
25:39uh I suppose on a second you know uh
25:41that was the my primary mindset but I
25:43mean some other things also were were
25:47that
25:48uh you know I didn't think about well
25:50I'm doing my mind wasn't while I'm doing
25:52a 15 to life sentence my mind was I I
25:56just have to do I just have to hold on I
25:58just have to hold on for like a year or
26:00two until the next appeal which I was
26:04sure I was going to win because I was
26:06innocent and I still believed in the
26:08system so you know that that mindset
26:11there and as some other external things
26:13I mean I uh were that I would collect
26:17and read about articles of other people
26:20who were exonerated and and I would um
26:22do that for for Mo motivation and lastly
26:26there was another uh prisoner there who
26:28um was wrongfully convicted also we had
26:32similar cases and uh we helped keep each
26:34other going for 13 and a half years I
26:36mean I don't want to make more of it
26:37than what it was um it was we we would
26:40meet once every six weeks in the in the
26:42yard and you know half the conversation
26:45would be about keeping each other going
26:47morale wise and the other half the
26:49conversation would kind of be like a
26:51brainstorm session you know the
26:52conversation might go something like did
26:55you see the latest article that came out
26:57about wrong Folk conviction no no no do
26:59you have a copy who wrote it what about
27:02the latest book well is the contact
27:03information well did you hear about the
27:05latest court of appeals decision no no
27:08what was the issue and and are they
27:10applying it to Old cases will it be like
27:12what's the next move to make what's the
27:14next LA what's the next person you know
27:16you know and and that's what would be
27:18the the the conversation so that that
27:20helped me continue on as well and uh
27:23that guy whose name was Frank Sterling
27:25um I want to share with everybody that
27:28uh you know he was in fact exonerated
27:30two years after I was he did Frank did
27:3318 years so I wasn't naively thinking
27:36that he was innocent just because I
27:38happened to be in prison and and was but
27:40he actually was and uh you know one of
27:42the things I think about it uh you know
27:45in my last uh year of incarceration I
27:48was really just I was so desperate just
27:51for for communication for contact with
27:53the outside world because by you know
27:55but in general I did most of the time by
27:57my by my myself I had a couple sets of
27:59aunts and uncles but they would come and
28:01then disappear for three years you know
28:03my mother used to come see me but in the
28:05last five six years I mean I was lucky
28:07if I saw her once every six months and
28:09my younger brother came like three times
28:11in 16 years not not at all in the last
28:14decade so so for most intents and
28:16purposes I did the time by my own and I
28:19said that to say that I placed an egg in
28:22the in in the newspaper the Sacramento B
28:25actually uh I chose that cuz somebody
28:27else recommend that I put an ad there
28:29and I had put ads in more local
28:31newspapers twice and got in trouble
28:33twice with the prison for doing that but
28:36I wasn't GNA just be a good boy follow
28:38all the rules and stay in prison on a
28:40life sentence I was gonna you know take
28:42my take my chances but I wrote there and
28:44somebody answered the point though is
28:46that you know somebody answered uh
28:48actually somebody uh been a crime victim
28:51and he he he wrote me back and we you
28:54know I was openly asking the stranger
28:56you know we wrote for like about a year
28:58I was openly asking this stranger that I
29:00didn't know from a Canon
29:02paint do you think I should just give up
29:05should I just be done with this they
29:06just go ahead and you know commit
29:08suicide and be done with it and he would
29:10always encourage me you know to keep
29:12going I mean uh so I like he showed up
29:15at the right time I mean h half the you
29:17know his ideas his ideas his tactics you
29:20know were were were were off the wall
29:22did it did it make any sense so I just
29:24ignored that part of it I mean he didn't
29:26understand the law just for comedy sake
29:28a light humor in a dark situation like
29:29one time he you know he he suggested
29:32that I you know contact a uh a board
29:35that investigates you know allegations
29:37of a police brutality and you know a
29:39different time he he he thought that uh
29:42I should contact the United Nations you
29:44know like they were gonna like they were
29:45gonna intervene on a for conviction you
29:48and I both that wasn't happen so you
29:50know what I did I I I ignored his uh his
29:53tactics he meant well he really didn't
29:54know what he's talking about I just paid
29:56attention to the morale stuff so all
29:59those things were how I how I how I kept
30:02going man what an amazing story of of
30:06you know it's just so huge because like
30:08I said in my in my workspace you know
30:11mindset is something we talk about a lot
30:15um and and different events that I
30:16attend and different things um but the
30:20mindset that you held on to to to in
30:24short increments and that was actually
30:25you know Jeffrey one of the things that
30:27I would focus on with the kids that I
30:29worked with the juveniles and even my
30:31own children you know if they're having
30:32a difficult time at school or something
30:34I tell them just short short short
30:37increments you know it's one day it's
30:40not five days of school for for example
30:42you know with my son it's not it's not a
30:44whole week just one day just have a
30:48great day today get get to the four
30:50o'clock Bell and then and then you move
30:52on so I definitely can see that how that
30:54helped you because you focused on okay
30:57I'm I'm moving from this point to this
30:59point not the entire sentence um and
31:02that definitely helped you um speaking
31:05of the school theme I want to chime in
31:06just quickly building on the school
31:08theme of of of you know the application
31:10so I mean that that was also how I got
31:13through the three weeks of law excuse me
31:15the three years of law school yes you
31:17know you don't think about the whole
31:19three years and all the classes you have
31:20to pass I mean I I I was just trying to
31:23get through just you know just just one
31:25just one semester and you know and last
31:28seven weeks this semester I'm getting
31:29ready for finals in at least four
31:31classes sometimes uh some sometimes
31:35five you know I'm like look I got to get
31:37this outline together but I wouldn't
31:38think about doing all the outlines look
31:40let me just get one together I I I got
31:43seven weeks I got four classes that
31:45means I can spend like a week in change
31:47you know going really hard putting in
31:49maximum effort and you know get the
31:51outline and as soon as I'm long as I'm
31:53done with the one Outline by this time
31:54period And I can move on to the next and
31:57you know so I would at one piece at a
31:58time and you know and then I I even I'm
32:01just trying to get some momentum you
32:03know I I would focus in on the the
32:05subject that I thought was the easiest
32:07or that had the most knowledge of and
32:09you know get that outline together and
32:10build some confidence and then go on to
32:12the next and finally and and finally and
32:15finally the last you know and you when
32:17it was crunch time I I tried to shut out
32:19most of the things other things I was
32:21doing and just you know focus in on it
32:23and that would that would be how I would
32:26do things yeah
32:29well Jeffrey it's it's been amazing you
32:31know to connect with you and talk with
32:33you um Amazing Story you're doing some
32:36some some super work you know for folks
32:39helping people out who who need hope
32:43right any anybody who is wrongfully
32:45convicted sitting in one of the
32:47penitentiaries one of the you know state
32:48or federal or anywhere in the US right
32:51and as you mentioned across the world
32:53now you know you're connecting with so
32:55many people um in other areas in
32:57different states
32:58um if there's anybody there's a viewer
33:01or has a family member or somebody that
33:03that says you know what I want to talk
33:05to somebody who can just help me because
33:07I believe my family member or my friend
33:09or whoever it may be may be wrongfully
33:12convicted how can they reach your
33:14foundation or C how can they even
33:17support your foundation can you tell the
33:18audience how they could do that yeah
33:20absolutely so we have a website
33:24www.escco.org uh there's a web form
33:27there people can email me through that
33:29we we're also on social media on
33:31Instagram desic foundation on Facebook
33:33Jeffrey desic uh Foundation uh and uh
33:37also I have my own profile there which I
33:39use primarily as an information
33:40dispensing tool bringing light on the
33:42advocacy work so all those platforms all
33:45have a messaging system and I answer the
33:47messages and so people can reach me that
33:50way uh in terms of supporting the
33:52organization you know if uh you know
33:54another podcaster or um you know Blog
33:57Talk radio or someone a regular
33:59traditional media um they can certainly
34:02recommend there to me I mean places is
34:04schools whether it's colleges
34:06universities high schools other
34:07educational institutions sometimes they
34:09bring in speakers so if you've liked
34:11what you've heard you can uh put a be in
34:13the Bonnet uh you know bring me to the
34:15attention of there and uh you know
34:17that's usually how I get booked for
34:18speaking engagement someone suggest
34:20something uh that way if you work at a
34:22corporation and they do corporate
34:24philanthropy I mean if you could bring
34:26our our work to their attention so we
34:27could be on their uh radar board and
34:30they reach out we share more information
34:32we see see where it goes from there so
34:34and if you can you feel like you have
34:36any kind of talent or whatever field you
34:38work in if if there's a potential way
34:40where that could could be applied to the
34:42nonprofit organization I mean you can
34:44you can reach out always uh welcome to
34:47have U you know to have assistance it's
34:49definitely all hands on deck for sure I
34:51mean you know I you know have Advisory
34:54Board and I you know we do some hard
34:57work but you know it's a lot I mean we
34:59do have a we do have five cases approved
35:03that are that are waiting that's aside
35:05from you know that we have um 13 Active
35:07cases we have another five that are
35:09approved but waiting and you know we we
35:11have another um 40 to 40 cases that are
35:14waiting to be screened and people are
35:16still contacting us maybe five to 10
35:18people uh a month you know so but you
35:21know we frankly need to raise more money
35:23so that we can hire additional Personnel
35:25you know attorneys pargal Etc so that we
35:28could work be able to work on more cases
35:30right now we're really stretched to our
35:31limit sure you and what we're doing so
35:34people can can help in that way or if
35:35you know somebody that is of capacity
35:37that the call is likely likely um would
35:39likely speak to please um bring me to
35:42their attention we we can take it from
35:44there there you go there you go well
35:47guys so you've heard it tonight on
35:49tonight's episode and um if if you have
35:52a family member a friend or somebody who
35:53needs services or you know somebody
35:56who's looking for a nonprofit
35:58organization or foundation with an
36:01amazing cause helping people um who who
36:05are struggling to help themsel um this
36:08is this is your opportunity right here
36:10it's right in front of you um Jeffrey
36:13thank you so much um for your time um
36:17and and sharing your story on Leverage
36:19nation and um I I I wish you the best my
36:22friend and I know that this is not our
36:24last conversation we'll definitely be in
36:26communication and uh I'll support you
36:29how I can and uh once again guys uh my
36:32name is Jacob Davis and this is leverage
36:34Nation thank you so much Jeffrey thank
36:37you

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