Valentino Dixon Walks Free After 27 Years — Transcript

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1. 0:00well this is a story that we have been
2. 0:01following for quite some time a man who
3. 0:04was wrongfully convicted for murder and
4. 0:06spent 27 years behind bars is tonight a
5. 0:09free man good evening once again I'm
6. 0:11Scott Levin and I'm Mary Ellis Stemler
7. 0:13Valentino Dixon went before a judge to
8. 0:16be exonerated today and another man who
9. 0:18confessed to the crime pleaded guilty to
10. 0:21the 1991 killing Channel two squatting
11. 0:24Ewing has been following this story and
12. 0:26was on hand for its conclusion Valentino
13. 0:32Dixon can now smile he's a free man
14. 0:34unbelievable he was serving 39 years to
15. 0:38life he spent 27 years in prison at
16. 0:40Attica and Wendy
17. 0:42all the while saying he did not murder
18. 0:44toreano Jackson today a judge exonerated
19. 0:47him of murder but the gun charge sticks
20. 0:49and this man Mark Scott who confessed 10
21. 0:52times including twice to channel 2 that
22. 0:55he was the killer was charged with
23. 0:57manslaughter and assault and now the
24. 0:59Dixon family can breathe daddy it's time
25. 1:07that we start living life to get there
26. 1:09in the real road she wants to get her
27. 1:12dad a cell phone
28. 1:13Valentino stood before a judge and
29. 1:14because audio was not allowed we can
30. 1:17only show you the crowd applauding as he
31. 1:19was exonerated of murder but outside as
32. 1:23he left the courthouse no longer wearing
33. 1:25prison issue closed the cheers were loud
34. 1:28and he had a message prison rhetoric
35. 1:31what the mass incarceration needs to
36. 1:33stop and we need to come up with a
37. 1:34solution on how to you know render
38. 1:37justice for those that's poor because if
39. 1:40you don't have any money in this system
40. 1:41it's hard to get justice because the
41. 1:44system has not equipped and designed to
42. 1:45give a poor person a fair trial
43. 1:47we got to talk with him briefly after
44. 1:49court I always felt this day would come
45. 1:51but I didn't know when okay because God
46. 1:54always sent me the signs you know every
47. 1:57time I was in the funk or I felt like
48. 1:59you know I can't do it go any longer you
49. 2:03know God always sent somebody to help
50. 2:06coming out and seeing your mother that's
51. 2:09the best feeling in the world you know I
52. 2:11just look forward
53. 2:12doing a lot of things that don't
54. 2:13necessarily cost money but just spending
55. 2:16time with them you know I like to cook
56. 2:18so I'm gonna do a lot of cooking you
57. 2:20know and just spend quality time right
58. 2:23now as a free man will include a fight
59. 2:25to change the criminal justice system my
60. 2:27solutions for prison reform is to reduce
61. 2:29the sentencing laws
62. 2:30okay the simply C laws are outrageous
63. 2:33especially in New York State you're
64. 2:35giving people double-time and he's an
65. 2:37artist his colored pencil drawings of
66. 2:39golf courses have been featured in golf
67. 2:41magazines life now will be art and
68. 2:43family Valentino Dixon plans to spend
69. 2:47time this evening with his family at Red
70. 2:50Lobster
71. 2:50that was this choice a lot of credit
72. 2:52also goes to Georgetown University
73. 2:53students who use this case for a prison
74. 2:56reform project they helped reveal that
75. 2:58the results were negative on Dixon's
76. 3:00hands for gun residue quote he knew a
77. 3:03channel 2 News local defense attorney
78. 3:06Paul Cambria joins us in studio Paul the
79. 3:09defendants spent almost three decades
80. 3:10behind bars for a crime he did not
81. 3:13commit and it appears that the
82. 3:15prosecutors had some information that
83. 3:17they withheld that is not good news
84. 3:19that's terrible news I mean that's that
85. 3:21cuts at the heart of the criminal
86. 3:24justice system when the prosecutors are
87. 3:26not ethical if they intentionally
88. 3:29withheld this information which they'd
89. 3:31have to because it's prominent then
90. 3:33that's an unethical act and it really
91. 3:35destroys the fabric of criminal justice
92. 3:38obviously he can never get that time
93. 3:40back but he in our system of justice
94. 3:42it's paid by money I'm sure there will
95. 3:45be some type of a suit there'll be no
96. 3:46doubt about that we've seen that in the
97. 3:48past with others who were wrongfully
98. 3:50convicted and I'm sure he'll make a
99. 3:52claim and be compensated and what about
100. 3:55will it be even larger than normal
101. 3:57because some of that evidence may have
102. 3:58been withheld well I think that the fact
103. 4:01that it was withheld and not only that
104. 4:04we had somebody who confessed to the
105. 4:07murder correct was recently pled guilty
106. 4:08to the murder I think all those things
107. 4:11will make a a substantial recovery a
108. 4:14likelihood for him and before I let you
109. 4:16go how rare is this we do see pockets of
110. 4:19it around the country somebody always
111. 4:21says that they're innocent but a lot of
112. 4:22people who are guilty say they're
113. 4:24innocent also but how
114. 4:25where is this that you find someone who
115. 4:27says I actually did this and the other
116. 4:29gentleman is is let out well if you
117. 4:31think about a thousands of people go to
118. 4:33trial every year no doubt about it and
119. 4:35we only hear a handful of these cases
120. 4:38where because of DNA or something like
121. 4:41this where they've discovered
122. 4:42withholding evidence it finally the
123. 4:45truth comes out so they're very rare
124. 4:47local defense attorney Paul Cambria
125. 4:48always great to have you in studio Paul
126. 4:50pleasure thanks for joining us