Ricky Jackson Interview release — Transcript

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1. 0:01Ricky how
2. 0:03this Ricky could you step up you come a
3. 0:05little closer pleas thanks a lot I
4. 0:06really appreciate it it feels uh
5. 0:09extraordinary I'm very happy needless to
6. 0:11say you know words can't express how I
7. 0:14feel right now I'm just glad to be out
8. 0:16glad to be a free man what are you going
9. 0:17to do where are you going to go wow I
10. 0:20mean you know you sit in prison for so
11. 0:22long you think about this day but when
12. 0:24it actually comes you don't know what
13. 0:25you you just want to do something you
14. 0:27know besides what you've been doing for
15. 0:2939 years is okay when you heard the
16. 0:31judge say an hour ago you're a free man
17. 0:35goodbye talk about what you were feeling
18. 0:37what was going on that we couldn't see I
19. 0:39mean it was it was like an emotional
20. 0:41roller coaster you know it's just I mean
21. 0:43the English language doesn't defit what
22. 0:46I'm feeling right now you know it's just
23. 0:49I mean I'm just on the emotional high
24. 0:50right now really Ronnie how excited are
25. 0:52you to see Ricky Ricky Ricky how I'm
26. 0:54sorry Ricky how excited are you to see I
27. 0:56got Ronnie on my mind because I saw him
28. 0:57a few minutes ago how excited are you to
29. 0:58see Ronnie and wely well I really
30. 1:01haven't got a chance to meet him yet see
31. 1:03him yet I saw him briefly in the
32. 1:04courtroom but I'm dying to meet him I
33. 1:07want to embrace him and hug
34. 1:09him excuse me cuz we've been through a
35. 1:12lot together and we made it you know
36. 1:14we're here we made it one of the other
37. 1:16inmates who had been released through
38. 1:17the Innocence Project said that it's
39. 1:19hard to keep hope alive but once the
40. 1:21Innocence Project gets on your case I
41. 1:24mean listen I can't be getting to tell
42. 1:25you um those guys are fantastic really
43. 1:28they are you you know they once they
44. 1:30lock on to it it's like a pit bull they
45. 1:33don't you know this guy here I mean he's
46. 1:36my hero he saved my life literally you
47. 1:38know and everybody else on the team that
48. 1:40worked on my case for nearly a decade I
49. 1:43do believe you know guys are tremendous
50. 1:45they do great work you know I was glad
51. 1:48to have them you know because I wouldn't
52. 1:50be here without them you walked into the
53. 1:51courtroom today you smiled at some
54. 1:53people you waved at them who were they
55. 1:55uh family friends and I mean just people
56. 1:57I didn't really know I'm just glad to
57. 1:58see people
58. 2:01you know I'm just happy to see people
59. 2:04you know for real what are your thoughts
60. 2:06about the people who got you here in the
61. 2:08first place 39 years ago the people who
62. 2:11said you did it when you didn't well um
63. 2:14I guess a lot of people will want me to
64. 2:17hate that person and feel carry
65. 2:19animosity towards him but I don't you
66. 2:22know people have to remember that they
67. 2:24see him as a grown man today but 7 in 75
68. 2:28he was a 12 year old kid and he was
69. 2:30manipulated and coarsed by the police
70. 2:33you know and they they used him they
71. 2:35used him to get us in prison so as far
72. 2:38as uh that young man is concerned I wish
73. 2:41him the best I don't hate him I don't I
74. 2:44just wish he has a good life it took a
75. 2:46lot of courage to do what he did in that
76. 2:48courtroom you guys didn't see his
77. 2:50testimony you didn't hear his testimony
78. 2:52but it took a lot of courage to do what
79. 2:54he did they tried to break him they
80. 2:56tried to screw him up but at the end he
81. 2:59always always said the same basic thing
82. 3:02they didn't do it I lied and that took a
83. 3:04lot of Courage for him he been carrying
84. 3:05a burden around for 39 years like we
85. 3:08have but in the end he came through and
86. 3:11I'm grateful for that 39 years did you
87. 3:13ever think you would be tell me why how
88. 3:16you got through all of this knowing
89. 3:18you're innocent for 39 years I mean it's
90. 3:21it's a lot of things you go through but
91. 3:24honestly there are some guys in prison
92. 3:27right now some alllaw guys that really
93. 3:29helped me get through this taught me how
94. 3:32just because you're in prison you don't
95. 3:33have to be a prisoner you got to be a
96. 3:35man you know and you got to get yourself
97. 3:38together regardless of what the
98. 3:39circumstances are and you got to press
99. 3:41forward you know you know you're
100. 3:42innocent and you got to keep fighting
101. 3:44you know after this many years what are
102. 3:46your concerns getting back into societ a
103. 3:49lot A lot has changed a a great deal has
104. 3:51changed and uh really I haven't had time
105. 3:53to think about it you know I'm just so
106. 3:55happy to be right here you know I want
107. 3:57to get on with my life and maybe one
108. 3:59thing quiet now I have time to think
109. 4:02about that you what's your first meal
110. 4:05you're going to have what have you been
111. 4:06thinking everybody ask that I mean I
112. 4:08don't really long as it's not prison
113. 4:10food you know I mean it doesn't really
114. 4:13matter you know I don't not you know
115. 4:15it's not a big deal about the food you
116. 4:17think this day would ever come did I
117. 4:19think this day would ever come yes I did
118. 4:21I did because if you
119. 4:23don't I mean you just something inside
120. 4:26you is going to give if you don't feel
121. 4:28like that you have to you have to
122. 4:30believe that you're going to be here you
123. 4:33know and um you de how to keep leaving
124. 4:36you know what would you say to the other
125. 4:37people in prison right now who are
126. 4:40innocent who might have been wrongly
127. 4:41convicted like yourself get in touch
128. 4:43with these guys you know seriously I
129. 4:47mean get in touch with these guys if
130. 4:48you're honestly innocent get in touch
131. 4:51with these guys they can really help you
132. 4:53you know well they're going to try
133. 4:54anyway their best has this Chang your
134. 4:57view of you have a place to stay family
135. 4:59to be with Ah that's kind of precarious
136. 5:01right now it's kind of ironic because
137. 5:03for 39 years I've had a place to stay
138. 5:05but now you know that's precarious right
139. 5:08now I don't really know you know has it
140. 5:10changed your view the justice system I'm
141. 5:1357 57 has it Jang change my view no I
142. 5:16still believe in the justice system but
143. 5:18sometime you have people in certain
144. 5:21places in certain situations of power
145. 5:23that you know like everything else they
146. 5:25abuse it you know but I believe in the
147. 5:28system I believe it works you know but
148. 5:30you know you have people like I said
149. 5:32that are in certain positions and
150. 5:34sometimes they you know get out of hand
151. 5:37you know a journalist from the Cleveland
152. 5:39Scene Kyle Swenson oh man can you talk
153. 5:42yeah he's here can you talk a little bit
154. 5:44about hi Kyle how you doing can you talk
155. 5:46a little bit about Kyle in the Cleveland
156. 5:47Scene he was very instrumental in
157. 5:49bringing you know because I think it's
158. 5:52time to go by people forgot about us and
159. 5:55he was very instrumental in making
160. 5:57people remember like wow those guys
161. 5:59still in prison I remember such and such
162. 6:02and he brought a lot of people you know
163. 6:04out into the Forefront you know and some
164. 6:06of those people were here in court this
165. 6:08week you know so I can't forget Kyle
166. 6:10thank you Kyle Ricky you were you were
167. 6:13given the death penalty at one point um
168. 6:15Al was resolv an appeal uh it's a big
169. 6:19issue right now can you say anything
170. 6:20about your feelings on the death penalty
171. 6:23Ohio I mean considering the case I don't
172. 6:26even know why they gave us the death
173. 6:28penalty in the first place but you know
174. 6:30they did and um have you asking them
175. 6:33opponent or proponent of the death
176. 6:35penalty I I am no I don't believe in the
177. 6:38death penalty no because of cases just
178. 6:40like this you know and and everybody's
179. 6:43not as fortunate I was you know innocent
180. 6:45people have died back there I firmly
181. 6:48believe that so no I don't believe in
182. 6:49the devil what did you do this
183. 6:51morning you have a son God I you're you
184. 6:55I haven't slept in three days so I mean
185. 6:58I just paced the sale you know they let
186. 7:01us out at 6:00 and I turned on the TV
187. 7:04looking for something related to this
188. 7:06but I didn't and the next thing I know
189. 7:07they called me down to go to
190. 7:09court so and this happened in 10 15
191. 7:12minutes yes it did it did good yes um I
192. 7:17mean I'm just like I said I'm so elated
193. 7:19to be here happy to be alive you know I
194. 7:22got a lot of people to thank and I'm
195. 7:24really
196. 7:26grateful thanks guys God bless God bless