Valentino Dixon Fighting For Freedom — Transcript

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1. 0:00We begin with a man who has been sitting
2. 0:02in prison for 27 years for a murder he
3. 0:05says he didn't commit. Good evening once
4. 0:07again, everybody. I'm Adam Bennie. This
5. 0:09man, Valentino Dixon, is asking for the
6. 0:12District Attorney to clear him, and
7. 0:14Channel 2's Claudine Ewing goes behind
8. 0:15prison walls to ask him some tough
9. 0:17questions, while survivors of the
10. 0:19horrific tragedy still believe justice
11. 0:22was served. It is a 2 On Your Side
12. 0:24original story with a number of twists
13. 0:26and turns.
14. 0:29To understand this story, we have to
15. 0:31connect the dots. Watch closely. This
16. 0:33man, Valentino Dixon, is in prison for
17. 0:36murder, yet this man, Lamar Scott,
18. 0:39claims he's the real killer. The victim,
19. 0:42Toriano Jackson, just 17 when he was
20. 0:44killed, and his brother, Aaron, was also
21. 0:46shot, but he survived.
22. 0:48All right.
23. 0:49Dixon has maintained his innocence from
24. 0:51day one, yet for 27 years, his life has
25. 0:54been behind bars.
26. 0:55August 10th, 1991,
27. 0:58you did or didn't do it.
28. 0:59I did not shoot anyone. I did not commit
29. 1:02this crime.
30. 1:03This is where it happened, Bailey and
31. 1:05East Delavan in Buffalo. Back then,
32. 1:07Louie's Hot Dog was where a drug store
33. 1:08now stands. It was a popular hangout,
34. 1:11but this night trouble was brewing.
35. 1:14Jackson recalls leaving to go get his
36. 1:16brother, and when they returned,
37. 1:18it was a street fight that turned into a
38. 1:20homicide, and it was a machine gun that
39. 1:22was used. Uh my younger brother was shot
40. 1:2515 to 20 times, and I was shot myself.
41. 1:28Aaron Jackson considers himself a living
42. 1:30witness, a survivor. For him, it's
43. 1:32hurtful reliving the past, but he is
44. 1:34forced to think about his younger
45. 1:36brother, Tory.
46. 1:38Never had a chance to be the light that
47. 1:39I knew that he was. Never had a chance
48. 1:42to be a father.
49. 1:43Valentino Dixon has filed a 440 motion
50. 1:46for his murder conviction to be
51. 1:48overturned.
52. 1:49Valentino Dixon says he did not do it.
53. 1:52Are you 100% sure?
54. 1:53200.
55. 1:55Do you remember his face?
56. 1:56It looked like Valentino Dixon.
57. 1:59Just take accountability and take
58. 2:00responsibility for what you created.
59. 2:04This is what you've created.
60. 2:06In prison is where you sit.
61. 2:08I live with a decision that you made.
62. 2:11According to Dixon, he was in a nearby
63. 2:13store when he heard shots fired. There
64. 2:15was a huge crowd and he says he jumped
65. 2:17in his car and took off. Did you have a
66. 2:19weapon?
67. 2:20That night I didn't have a weapon. Okay,
68. 2:22I didn't shoot a weapon and have a
69. 2:23weapon.
70. 2:24Buffalo police eventually pulled him
71. 2:26over. Dixon was arrested for the
72. 2:27shootings.
73. 2:29He went to trial and that's where he
74. 2:31believes the truth didn't come out.
75. 2:34Show me a case where a lead detective
76. 2:36doesn't testify in a murder trial. Show
77. 2:38me a case in a miracle where eight or
78. 2:40nine witnesses is going to lie about a
79. 2:42person committing a crime, especially
80. 2:43people in the ghetto, it doesn't happen.
81. 2:45He's referring to witnesses on this list
82. 2:47to testify that he was not the shooter,
83. 2:50but they were never called to court.
84. 2:52Some were charged with perjury. There
85. 2:55was a third shooting victim interviewed
86. 2:56by police while still in ICU. This
87. 2:59police statement indicates he answered
88. 3:01by nodding that, quote, Dixon did not
89. 3:04shoot him. In 2007, a Marine, a veteran,
90. 3:07gave a statement for the first time
91. 3:09saying that he saw Dixon ducking as if
92. 3:12he was trying to get out of the way. He
93. 3:15was not shooting. Dixon's clothes were
94. 3:17tested for gun residue. No report or
95. 3:20testimony in court showed he had any.
96. 3:23But this may be the most head-scratching
97. 3:25part. Lamar Scott admitted he was the
98. 3:28killer. He first said it in a Channel 2
99. 3:30interview hours after the homicide in
100. 3:321991.
101. 3:34Listen.
102. 3:35I don't want my friend to take the rap
103. 3:37for something that I did. The guy that
104. 3:38did the guy that I shot, him and his
105. 3:40friends were threatening us all day
106. 3:42long. So, I rode home on my bike on
107. 3:45Montana Street and came back with an Uzi
108. 3:47that I have I obtained on the street.
109. 3:49The reason when died because I I didn't
110. 3:52have any control of the automatic weapon
111. 3:54at all.
112. 3:55Our camera was rolling when he was taken
113. 3:57away, but he was released. He recanted,
114. 4:00claiming the prosecutor made him change
115. 4:02his story. Scott is now in prison for
116. 4:05attempted murder, but has said several
117. 4:07times in statements to police in 2002
118. 4:10and 2006 that he shot and killed Toriano
119. 4:13Jackson. In 2004, he spoke with Channel
120. 4:172's Pete Gallivan while in prison.
121. 4:20Did you shoot Toriano Jackson?
122. 4:21Yes, I did.
123. 4:23Valentino Dixon is serving a
124. 4:2439-year-to-life prison sentence. He
125. 4:26spent time at Attica. Now he's here at
126. 4:29Wendy, and he's not eligible for parole
127. 4:31until 2030.
128. 4:33His life at the end of 39.
129. 4:36I don't see that he should ever be free.
130. 4:38Dixon spends 8 to 9 hours a day drawing.
131. 4:41His artwork has gained national
132. 4:43attention by the Golf Digest because of
133. 4:45the golf courses, and he showed us some
134. 4:47of his latest work, and while doing so,
135. 4:50it was clear.
136. 4:51And you want out because you say you did
137. 4:53not do it.
138. 4:54do this crime. I didn't commit it.
139. 4:55All of the paperwork that he's putting
140. 4:58together to show that
141. 5:00he didn't do it. I mean, he's pressing
142. 5:02hard, right?
143. 5:03This is a deceptive enterprise that has
144. 5:04been put together. Like, all of these
145. 5:06lies, all of these misleading things,
146. 5:08all of pointing over here and looking
147. 5:10over there. Like, it's just he's
148. 5:12painting a picture.
149. 5:13Now, the Erie County District Attorney
150. 5:15must consider if newly discovered
151. 5:17evidence and witnesses should be
152. 5:19considered for a hearing that could see
153. 5:21Dixon exonerated, including a new
154. 5:24statement from Lamar Scott that he is
155. 5:26the real killer.
156. 5:27It It's obviously something to
157. 5:29to to look at.
158. 5:30But what about the ballistics, though? I
159. 5:32mean, no gun residue found in his car or
160. 5:35on his clothes.
161. 5:36that's a factor.
162. 5:37When will you make a decision?
163. 5:38Within a month, but if I need more time,
164. 5:40then I'll I'll ask the court for an
165. 5:41extension.
166. 5:42Here's what the DA can do. Agree with
167. 5:44the motion, oppose the motion and
168. 5:46consent to a hearing, or deny it, and
169. 5:49Dixon stays in prison.
170. 5:50You will be able to decide whether or
171. 5:52not Valentino Dixon
172. 5:55walks or stays.
173. 5:57I definitely have a major role if I
174. 5:59don't oppose it.
175. 6:00You're talking about a wrongful
176. 6:02conviction. No, it was righteous.
177. 6:03Justice was served. And I trust and
178. 6:06believe that it will continue to be
179. 6:07upheld.
180. 6:08There
181. 6:09a lot of people who believe that you
182. 6:11didn't.
183. 6:11Claudine, they all know I didn't do it.
184. 6:14Aaron know I didn't do it.
185. 6:15And what about the people who say that
186. 6:17you're lying?
187. 6:18I don't have no credibility. Let's get
188. 6:20that straight. Okay? Because I can say
189. 6:22I'm innocent all day long. I don't have
190. 6:23no credibility. The evidence shows you
191. 6:25that I'm innocent.
192. 6:26Evidence, there is a lot. And that's
193. 6:29what the DA will use to make a decision
194. 6:31on whether or not this man should be set
195. 6:34free.
196. 6:35I'll hang in there for as long as I have
197. 6:37breath in my lungs.
198. 6:39He might be a model prisoner, but he was
199. 6:40a reckless citizen.
200. 6:42Connecting the dots in the search for
201. 6:44truth and justice.
202. 6:47So, the key here is new evidence. That
203. 6:49is what the district attorney will
204. 6:50concentrate on. That could be a juror
205. 6:52coming forth or new witnesses. In fact,
206. 6:55Flynn tells me if he believes the motion
207. 6:56has merit, we could see a hearing this
208. 6:59year. We'll have more from our
209. 7:00interviews online this evening on
210. 7:02wgrz.com.
211. 7:04Claudine Ewing, Channel 2 News.