STORY. IT’S A STORY ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS
WRONGLY CONVICTED AND THE SECOND
CHANCE HE RECEIVED.
>> HUGH BURTON WAS 16 YEARS OLD
WHEN HE WAS CONVICTED OF HIS
MOTHER’S DEATH AND SPENT NEARLY
20 YEARS IN PRISON.
JUST THREE WEEKS AGO, A COURT
CLEARED THAT CONVICTION, AND WE
SAT DOWN WITH HIM EXCLUSIVELY.
>> CHEERS OF VICTORY AND SIGHS
OF RELIEF, 46-YEAR-OLD HUGH
BURTON CONVICTED NEARLY 30 YEARS
AGO FOR KILLING HIS MOTHER
FINALLY FREE.
FINALLY FREE. >> HOW DOES IT FEEL?
>> IT’S SURREAL SOMETIMES
BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN CARRYING A
WEIGHT FOR SO LONG AND TO
FINALLY BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN,
IT’S LIKE HAVING FREEDOM FOR THE
FIRST TIME.
FIRST TIME. >> IT IS A WEIGHT HE’S CARRIED
MORE THAN HALF HIS LIFE, IN 1989
WHEN HE WAS JUST 16 YEARS OLD,
BURTON RETURNED FROM SCHOOL TO
FIND HIS MOTHER STABBED TO DEATH
IN THEIR BRONX, NEW YORK, HOME.
>> I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE
POLICE AND FROM THAT POINT A LOT
OF THINGS ARE KIND OF LIKE A
BLUR.
BLUR. >> DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT WAS
GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND IN THAT
MOMENT?
MOMENT? >> ALMOST DISBELIEF, JUST
SCARED.
SCARED. >> OVER THE NEXT FIVE DAYS,
POLICE QUESTIONED THE TERRIFIED
TEENAGER ABOUT WHAT HE KNEW.
THAT’S WHEN BURTON SAYS THINGS
TURNED ACCUSATORY.
TURNED ACCUSATORY. >> THEY JUST KEPT SAYING THAT
THEY KNEW THAT I WAS GUILTY AND
THAT I SHOULD JUST ADMIT TO IT,
AND I’M NOT KNOWING WHY I’M
BEING ACCUSED.
BEING ACCUSED. >> BUT AFTER HOURS OF INTENSE
QUESTIONING, BURTON EVENTUALLY
GAVE A WRITTEN AND FILMED
STATEMENT ADMITTING THE CRIME.
>> YOU WENT FROM IT WASN’T ME,
COULDN’T HAVE BEEN ME.
I WAS IN SCHOOL TO I DID IT?
HOW?
HOW? >> WHATEVER THEY NEEDED ME TO
SAY TO GET OUT OF THAT ROOM I
WOULD HAVE SAID, AND I DID.
>> ACCORDING TO THE INNOCENCE
PROJECT, FALSE CONFESSIONS ARE A
FACTOR IN 28% OF DNA EXONERATED
CASES.
CASES. THAT NUMBER IS EVEN HIGHER WHEN
YOU FACTOR IN AGE.
33% OF FALSE CONFESSORS WERE
UNDER 18 AT THE TIME OF THEIR
ARREST.
ARREST. >> WHAT THE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN
ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE INNOCENT
IS THAT THEIR INNOCENCE PUTS
THEM AT RISK.
THEY BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH WILL
SURFACE, SO THEY WILL SAY
WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET OUT OF
THAT ROOM.
THAT ROOM. >> BUT IN BURTON’S CASE, HE WAS
FOUND GUILTY OF SECOND DEGREE
MURDER AND SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS
TO LIFE.
TO LIFE. HE SERVED 19 YEARS IN PRISON AND
WAS RELEASED ON PAROLE IN 2009.
>> AT SOME POINT, YOU DECIDE TO
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
WHAT’D YOU DO?
AND I WOULD WRITE PEOPLE,
DIFFERENT PEOPLE OR
ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD HELP
PEOPLE WITH CLAIMS OF INNOCENCE.
SOMETIMES I WOULD WRITE KNOWING
I’M NOT GOING TO GET A RESPONSE
BACK.
BACK. FINALLY SOMEBODY RESPONDED BACK.
>> THE INNOCENCE PROJECT, A
NONPROFIT DEDICATED TO
EXONERATING THE WRONGLY
CONVICTED JOINED BURTON’S LEGAL
TEAM IN 2016.
OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR
INVESTIGATION, THEY FOUND PROOF
OF HIS INNOCENCE, INCLUDING AN
ALTERNATE SUSPECT WHO DIED
BEFORE THE TRIAL AND EVIDENCE
THAT THE DETECTIVES WHO
QUESTIONED BURTON HAD ALSO
OBTAINED FALSE STATEMENTS IN A
PROOEFRS CASE
PROOEFRS CASE PREVIOUS CASE.
PREVIOUS CASE. NBC NEWS REACHED OUT TO THE NEW
YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR
COMMENT BUT DID NOT RECEIVE A
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. THE EVIDENCE WAS ENOUGH TO
REVERT BURTON’S CONVICTION.
>> I OFFER AN APOLOGIZE ON
BEHALF OF A SYSTEM THAT FAILED.
>> THE BRONX SUPREME COURT WIPED
HIS RECORD CLEAN.
>> WHAT DID THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
>> THAT LIFE WAS JUST STARTING.
LIFE WAS JUST STARTING.
SO IT TOOK 30 YEARS TO GET IT
RIGHT, BUT IT’S JUST STARTING.
>> HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS
NOW?
NOW? >> NOW BURTON WORKS AS AN
ELEVATOR MECHANIC, AND SPENDS
THE REST OF HIS TIME TRAINING
FOR THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON.
INCREDIBLY, HE SAID HE’S NOT
ANGRY ABOUT THE WAY LIFE HAS
TURNED OUT UNTIL NOW.
>> YOU JUST SEEM SO AT PEACE.
>> WHEN YOU IDENTIFY WITH YOUR
WHYS IN LIFE YOU’RE ABLE TO BE
AT PEACE.
AT PEACE. ALL OF THIS THAT HAPPENED TO ME,
MY MOTHER SHE JUST WASN’T A
WOMAN WHO JUST WORKED AND WAS
MURDERED IN HER HOME.
THAT CAN’T BE THE END OF THE
NARRATIVE, SO FOR ME THAT’S WHY
I’M HERE.
I’M HERE. THAT’S MY WHY.
>> OH, MY GOSH.
>> HE TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT
PART OF THE REASON HE SO
DESPERATELY WANTED TO CLEAR HIS
RECORD WAS HIS FATHER.
HIS FATHER PASSED AWAY SEVERAL
YEARS AGO, SPENT THE LAST YEARS
OF HIS LIFE VISITING HIM IN
PRISON BUT ALWAYS KNEW IN HIS
HEART THAT HE WAS INNOCENT, SO
HE HAD TO PROVE FOR HIMSELF AND
HIS FATHER THAT HE.
IN FACT, INNOCENT AND HE SAID
THAT’S ONE OF HIS FEW REGRETS
THAT HIS FATHER DIED BEFORE HE
COULD SEE HIS RECORD CLEARED.
>> IT’S A REMARKABLE INTERVIEW.
>> YOU KNOW WHAT ALSO GOES A
LONG WAY TO HAVING PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND HOW FALSE CONFESSIONS
COULD HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY A YOUNG
MAN LIKE THAT.
>> I HAD NO IDEA.
>> LAST YEAR GOVERNOR CUOMO
INTRODUCED LEGISLATION IN NEW
YORK, AND IT’S THE THE LAW NOW
THAT REQUIRES CONFESSIONS TO BE
VIDEOTAPED.