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[Music] I have lived 44 years with his face etched in my brain it was everything that you pray to
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God never happens to anyone for me it's really tough I'm I'm I'm struggling I'm struggling to do the
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interview at all we were at our grandparents house and Keith our first cousin came over
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asked us if we would come to his house to help him clean so we went to his house and when we were done he needed
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gas so we stopped at 7-Eleven and as we pulled up there was a um a man standing there he said well can you
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give me a ride instantly we knew something wasn't right but Keith tell him he would give him a
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ride I think we just cut off circulation in each other's hands we were squeezing
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our hands so tight right because you just have a gut feeling that this is not good he was telling us the directions on
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where to go which took us to little California road he told us to get out of the car he
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opens the trunk and he puts Keith in the trunk at that point he tell us to take off our clothes
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[Music] did you plan to tell anybody what happened no why because we were afraid
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he would come back and kill us when did the Twins actually go to the police I think it was about 2 weeks
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later a little bit more than 2 weeks you said the man was black yes did they ever give you a ride no did
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you ever meet them at a gas station no never I didn't rape Karen and Sharon sadness I don't know these
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people when I saw him in that lineup I didn't have to think twice when I looked at him I knew
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him he got convicted and received two 50-year consecutive sentences that's insane it's horrible it
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disgusted me there's no hairs no fibers no blood no sweat no Sean there's nothing Vincent Simmons is an innocent
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man who is railroaded by a racist system is it possible that you picked the wrong
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man no no when I close my [Music] eyes there's no other face that I see stop it stop it when are we going to
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talk about the facts why did we pick him why if it was Mr Simmons because it was
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Mr Simmons [Music] [Music] every time I talk about it makes me feel like I'm 14 again for identical twins
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Karen and Sharon Sanders life is broken into two part Hearts before May 1977 and after they say what Happened
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One Night that may changed everything the limitations it put on our life like with anxiety depression panic attacks
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scripp bling really is taken a lot from us back in 1977 the 14-year-old Twins were living
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with their grandparents in the quiet small town of Marksville Louisiana and for the most part they say they were
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happy there staying busy and enjoying the little things in life I was all about makeup and perfume and being
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prissy and Karen was more uh outside playing in the dirt this is true life was simple until it wasn't what makes it so
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difficult for you Karen 44 years later to even talk about well it's a lot happened that
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night the twins say it All Began May 9th 1977 when their cousin Keith Labour picked them up so that they could help
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him clean his house by the time they finished cleaning it was just beginning to get dark Keith was driving them home
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and that's when they say he stopped at that gas station and encountered a black man he walked up to the
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car and to Keith that he almost hit him and Keith you know did not and Keith was tell him he didn't want to fight and
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he said I don't fight I shoot the man said this the man said it instantly Karen went inside to pay for the
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gas and me and Keith were talking to this man and we exchanged names and he said said his
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name was Simmons the twins say any tension between Keith and the man soon lifted
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and that's why they say Keith agreed to give the man a ride we were like Keith you know don't and he's like it'll be
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okay it'll be okay but they say they knew it wasn't okay when the man directed them to that desolate area of
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little California road and threaten them he told us that before we could get a gun
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gun he would shoot us mhm which we did not have a gun so we knew he had a gun they say the man ordered them out of
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the vehicle and forced Keith into the trunk Keith's how old 18 so he got in the trunk yes he did he tell us to take
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off our clothes Karen started to run at that point and I yelled and she stopped he said this one's going
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to give me trouble and so he opened the trunk and he put me in the trunk with Keith and he had Sharon I took off my
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clothes told me to get in the back seat and I did and he told me how to lay and I did I can hear
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Sharon crying and of course I can't take it so I'm banging on the trunk and I'm banging and
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I'm screaming take me take me leave her alone take me take me Karen was back there making all kinds of
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commotion and things didn't work out for him with me sorry and he was very frustrated you
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could see it and feel it and he got very aggravated and told me to put my clothes back on
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and when you say things didn't work out for him what do you mean he tried to penetrate and was unsuccessful
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but at the time I was 14 I did not know he was unsuccessful I really thought you had lost your Virginia I had
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lost my virginity I had no clue afterwards Sharon say she was put in the trunk with Karen and Keith and
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then the man started driving we just found each other's hands and began to pray and then the car
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stopped and he said you out and pointed at you Karen yes he told me to lay in the back
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seat he uh he raped me then with Sharon and Keith still in the trunk Karen says the man just wanted
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to talk you like nothing had happened that we were like best friends that we were just hanging out and you went along
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with it just talking absolutely to keep him calm and how long did this go on for
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to me a lifetime he told me he came from a large family about where he had lived
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and all this and he had just gotten back from Texas she says when they stopped talking the man raped her again multiple
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times I remember like laying in that back seat and his chest I mean the he his heaviness on my chest and the sweat and
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it was just disgusting she says he then drove them to a local Cemetery where he got out of
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the car he opens the trunk and he lets them out he's going to let us go and he tell us if you tell anyone I know where
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y'all live I've Got Friends he said and I will come back and we all swore to each other that we would not tell a soul
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and I know they say just the fear of what might happen if they told kept them silent for 2 weeks until Karen says she
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couldn't keep it in anymore she says she confided in Keith's sister and I said but please please don't tell anyone
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please don't tell anyone she said I'm not going to tell anyone and it just unraveled from
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there the next day Keith's parents found out and soon Karen Sharon and Keith all
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ended up at the Sheriff's Office Karen and Sharon each gave statements reporting that they had been
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raped and less than 24 hours later on the morning of May 23rd 1977 25-year-old Vincent Simmons was taken
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into custody as he was walking down the street did you know Karen and Sharon Sanders never seen him before in my life
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[Music] [Music] it was May 23rd 1977 when Vincent Simmons was brought to the Sheriff's Office which used to be
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here on the second floor of the avo's Parish courthouse in Marksville and they took me and put me in a
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lineup Karen Sharon and Keith were all there to see if they could identify a suspect we're all three in the room but
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we're not all walking up to the window at the same time Keith goes first Keith writes the
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number down on a pad I walk up I look at him and I go to the pad I write his number down and then
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Sharon goes up to the window looks out and WR number down what number did you all write four four and then they
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said remember that oh my gosh yeah then they said to us y'all have all picked the same man that man they
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identified was 25-year-old Vincent Simmons he was from a big family in the next town over from
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Marksville and this wasn't the first time he found himself in the sheriff's office I didn't have a daddy you know so
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basically I grew up on my own looking out for my little sister I was doing wrong I was going in the
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stores just to get food to feed them Vincent was convicted of a home burglary at the age of 18 while incarcerated he
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escaped from the jail in Marksville he lived on the run in Texas for nearly 6 years until he came back to town shortly
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before that lineup and when I walked up to the window and I looked I had no second doubt I know
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exactly who rap me that night after Sharon Karen and Keith ided Vincent he says he was brought upstairs
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to the jail where he waited while an officer was writing something down I'm sitting on the chair and a handcuff when
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he gets to he say I want you to sign I said what is that he said this is a confession saying that you uh committed
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this crime I said what crime you know he said rap for those two white girls said I don't even know these
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white girls Vincent says when he refused to sign the confession the officer knocked him down and as they struggled
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another officer shot him boom I burn it through my chest you know and I fell on the floor when I woke up
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I'm in the hospital now the two officers involved tell a very different story they say
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Vincent grabbed one officer's gun and was pointing it at both of them when the second officer shot Vincent in the
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shoulder in self-defense whatever the truth Vincent was never prosecuted for that incident
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instead less than two months after he was shot he was brought to court to face Karen and Sharon less than 60 days after
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he was arrested Vincent went on trial is that a pretty rapid time in 1977 I would say for major cases they
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went to court quickly Charles Riddle was not the district attorney back then but he is
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now and he's very familiar with the details of the case what was the evidence against him the testimony of
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the witnesses the victims Karen Sharon and Keith all took the stand walk into a court room your
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parents everybody that loves you is sitting there and seeing him for the very first
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time we have not seen him since the line up and then seeing him face to face was
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really hard of course I had to put my hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth nothing but the truth which is all
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I had anyway they all testified that on the night of the rape Vincent had told them
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his last name believe it or not all night long we called him Simmons he told us to call him Simmons at trial they all
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say semmons Simmons the man told us his name was Simmons what' you think then I thought they were
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crazy I actually thought they were crazy you mean to tell me I'm going to do something to y'all and let y'all know
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my name I'm going tell you who I am no that don't make sense man the jury got to see Keith's car and
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a photo that police had taken of Karen Sharon and Keith reenacting how they fit in the trunk when it was the defenses
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turn the Vincent took the stand I told the jury that I was innocent I didn't rape
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nobody Vincent's lawyers also called three Alibi Witnesses who claimed that Vincent was at a bar on the night of the
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alleged crime the bar owner said Vincent was there all night he got into a fight
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and police were called but the prosecution called a police officer who said the bar fight was on another
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night after a two-day trial I don't think they had much of a defense the jury sided with Karen Sharon and
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Keith Vincent Simmons was found guilty of two counts of attempted aggravated rape I was
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shot guilty I ain't did nothing when the verdict came back guilty unanimously how did that feel s
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relief we knew we were free Vincent was sentenced to two consecutive 50-year terms 100 years
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behind bars we thought we'd never have to face them again but Vincent refused to give up
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hope I wanted to prove that I'm innocent man I never know these people more than
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four decades later Justin bonis a newly mened lawyer from Brooklyn New York would become involved in Vincent's
00:18:24
defense and was immediately skeptical of the prosecution's case I looked at the discovery I was like well everything
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they said at trial is a lie it's all a lie there's nothing that supports what they
00:18:38
[Music] [Music] say generations of men have labored in the fields at Louisiana State
00:19:03
Penitentiary it is the country's largest Maximum Security Prison built on the site of a former slave plantation called
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Angola you know we had to work 7 days a week till it get dark that's how Ang Goa
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was since the day that cell door closed behind him Vincent Simmons has been working to over turn his
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conviction in 1993 16 years after that guilty verdict he finally succeeded in getting a copy of the prosecution's case
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File mailman came and he gave me this big old envelope when I opened it up I man I was
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in shock inside that envelope were items that Vincent had never seen before including copies of the initial
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statements that Karen Keith and Sharon gave to police remember how all three testified at
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trial that they knew their attacker's name he told us to call him Simmons but as it turns out when they first spoke to
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the investigators they didn't say that defense attorney Justin bonus has since reviewed those statements when the girls
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initially went to police they didn't say the name Simmons No what name did they say they didn't give a name and bonus
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noticed something else in those statements Sharon used the n-word to refer to her attacker and said quote All
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Blacks look alike to me which she does not deny saying so what did you say when they asked you to identify the man I
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said all blacks look alike but still Karen Keith and Sharon all picked venson out of that lineup and bonus says he may
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know why this photo that was in the file appears to show the lineup look at Vincent he's the only one in handcuffs
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when you saw that lineup photo what' you think what I said this is crazy nuts highly suggested when you put the cuffs
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on them you're telling them that's who we want you to pick but Charles Riddle the current district attorney says that
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photo was taken after the twins ided Vincent they call it the lineup it was a photo of the lineup after he was
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identified and placed in cuffs but how do you know it was after because the girls told me that so when you picked
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him out of the lineup was he wearing handcuffs no he was not not at all and Karen says they initially
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didn't tell police the name Simmons out of fear I mean we were scared of him and
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see I don't know why I didn't I mean I think fear we we're afraid of him and there's another item in that file that
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bonus says is critical and was never seen at the trial it's this report from a doctor who also happened to be the
00:21:55
local coroner he examined the Girls 2 weeks after the reported rape and he did not document any signs of sexual assault
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how big a deal do you think the coroner's report plays in this story massive and bonus says that report
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suggests Sharon was still a virgin the doctor wrote that her himman was intact but Charles Riddle says the report does
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not prove that the twins were not raped because the definition of rape is slightest penetration and the part about
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no sign of sexual assault after 2 weeks it's very probable that there would be no sign of
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sexual assault bonus thinks the jury should have had the chance to consider all of
00:22:37
that at trial his attorneys they had nothing they went in there Flying Blind with their arms tied behind their back
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in a boxing match that's that's literally what it was so you're telling me the original statements that the
00:22:49
girls and Keith gave to police where they could not identify this individual right that was never heard by the jury
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absolutely not and the medical report from the cour ER was never heard by the jury right and the lineup photo not seen
00:23:03
by the jury no if the statements from the girls had been presented at trial right if the
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coroner's report had been known and presented at trial do you think Vincent still would have been found guilty no
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absolutely not back in 1993 when Vincent first got his hands on that evidence he made it
00:23:24
his mission to get his case in front of a judge he filed numerous pleadings over
00:23:28
over multiple years but no court ever ruled in his favor and not a single judge felt like there was enough
00:23:34
evidence not the appell courts federal courts state courts Supreme Court Vincent was hoping that the parole board
00:23:42
at the prison might have more sympathy so in 1997 20 years into his 100-year sentence he had his first
00:23:51
hearing with him and it was all filmed as part of a documentary called the farm which profiled inmates at Angola
00:23:59
Vincent showed them the evidence that his defense did not have at trial we didn't have none of this evidence none
00:24:05
of this evidence was presented before the jury you the only one handcuffed in the lineup I'm the only
00:24:13
one okay uh if yall step out we discuss the case Vincent hoped the board would rule
00:24:20
in his favor years I come oh yeah he did but they would Mr Simmons after uh listening to
00:24:32
testimony going over the reports the board has voted at this time to deny your quest
00:24:39
Pro I was hopeless but I know the truth and no matter how many times they knock you down keep getting
00:24:51
up almost 20 years later Justin bonis watched the farm documentary with his wife and we were shoed and she told me
00:24:59
you know you should take this case she basically said you need to write him and it wasn't really uh a
00:25:05
suggestion it was right him and that's what I did [Music] you're a Brooklyn guy you go down to
00:25:35
Marksville I felt like my cousin Vinnie I mean it was like country okay by early 2020 Justin bonus had
00:25:46
become Vincent Simmons lawyer he had just a year of experience under his belt and was warned that the odds were
00:25:53
against him it's over like he doesn't have any more peels I was like nah that's not true it's never true
00:26:00
absolutely not Vincent had been fighting unsuccessfully for decades to overturn his conviction all the while Karen and
00:26:08
Sharon remain firm about his guilt we have no reason to lie why would we lie why would we let someone spend their
00:26:15
life in prison if we even had the slightest doubt that it wasn't him not long after Vincent's ill fated parole
00:26:23
hearing documentary cameras were rolling again in the late '90s when he and the twin agreed to a Reconciliation meeting
00:26:30
it's where victims and offenders come together to try and heal we came today not to free you from your prison but to
00:26:39
free us from our prison today I am closing the door to my pain I'm Letting Go when the time came
00:26:47
for Vincent to speak he had questions my questions going to be directly based on your statement at you
00:26:54
no we're not going there and that's when the meeting unraveled what are you doing here then since
00:27:00
you're innocent what are you doing here y all putting here we did no a choice that you chose to make put you here okay
00:27:08
I think we I think we've had enough I think think it's kind of going sour so maybe one day you can get out of
00:27:16
your pain if you're misery they didn't let him speak cuz they don't view him as a human being
00:27:24
bonus wanted to put a spotlight on the case and really dig deeper but he needed some help so he turned to Jason flum a
00:27:31
recording industry executive known for launching the careers of Katy Perry Matchbox 20 and Lord among others flam
00:27:40
is also a criminal justice Advocate and he hosts a podcast called wrongful conviction which has featured bigname
00:27:47
guests like Kim Kardashian when I heard about Vincent's case I was just like this is another level had to do
00:27:52
something about it flam featured Vincent's case on his podcast how could anyone get convicted on the basis of
00:28:00
this this is a man whose life was stolen away from him and he gave Justin bonus money to go
00:28:07
out and hire a private investigator in Louisiana named Brian Andrews Justin actually asked me to be the boots on the
00:28:15
ground take statements gather information Andrews Tracked Down Diane prer the lone surviving juror from
00:28:24
Vincent's trial and the only African-American on the jury turns out she says she never wanted to convict
00:28:30
Vincent Prader was in her 20s at the time of trial and says she still remembers her reaction to the twins
00:28:37
testimony when they told a story I'm like Ain't No Way in the world that happened like that put a black men in
00:28:44
your court that time you didn't believe it because at that period in history you
00:28:50
just couldn't see white people giving a ride to black people correct was there a
00:28:56
lot of racism in Marksville yes it was it was in marsville was everywhere and she says the jury Foreman told her her
00:29:03
vote wouldn't matter in 1977 Louisiana juries could convict a defendant with only 10 out of 12 voting guilty so say
00:29:12
myself well it ain't going to do me no good to say none but I never never never beli vinon was
00:29:18
kiled the private investigator also tried to talk to relatives of Karen Sharon and Keith with me right now that
00:29:26
I'm speaking with he ended up conducting a videotaped interview with Keith's cousin Dana brouette and she told him a
00:29:33
shocking story Dana said that Keith told her in a bar long after the trial that Vincent Simmons was never with them on
00:29:41
little California road that night he came out and told me there was never a black
00:29:49
man instead in a sworn affidavit Dana says that Keith told her he had consensual sex with one of the girls and
00:29:58
and locked the other in the trunk he had gone down little California road and he locked Sharon in
00:30:06
Trump and he said the sex between him and Karen was consensual he said but the other one was
00:30:13
a little hell cat that's the one that put the scratches on his neck in the affidavit Dana said that Keith had
00:30:20
scratches on his neck she told the private investigator that she believes Keith and the twins made up the story
00:30:27
about a black man to explain away those scratches blew my mind the things that she
00:30:34
said had Dana ever told anyone that to my knowledge I I don't think she had should have come forward a long time ago
00:30:43
I really did think the man got released and Dana's allegations didn't stop there
00:30:48
she also gave the private investigator a copy of a Facebook message exchange that
00:30:53
she says she had with Karen in October 2020 Karen and Dana were talking about how Keith had allegedly made sexual
00:31:00
advances toward female relatives we asked Karen about that you said I didn't realize how sick he was I thought it was
00:31:08
only me I don't remember saying that yeah cuz that's the message from you so what did you mean by
00:31:18
that okay we need to cut right now cut this can we cut for a second yeah yeah right then Karen said she was not
00:31:29
ready to talk about that exchange with Dana but 2 weeks later in a follow-up interview with both her and Sharon she
00:31:36
admitted that years before she says they were attacked when she was a child and Keith was a teenager something happened
00:31:44
did you have consensual sex with Keith laort okay let's put it like this we were kids yes ma'am we
00:31:53
experimented so yes how old were you when it happened I have I could not honestly I don't know 9 10 maybe and is
00:32:03
this the first time you're saying this publicly yes it is but that has nothing to do with what Vincent did that's two
00:32:12
separate incidents David think about it if me and Keith have had had consensual sex way way before now why is he locking
00:32:22
Us in the trunk of a car why is he taking us down a dirt road but bonus believes they wanted to cover up what
00:32:29
happened that night it gives motive for why they would lie it shows that Karen always was hiding something from day one
00:32:37
Keith was 18 Karen was 14 so what do they do they blame a black man to be clear was Keith the
00:32:46
perpetrator that night no he was a victim also Keith was a victim he was not he was a victim mhm he stayed in
00:32:55
that trunk the whole time I went to Keith lebo's house to speak with him about all of
00:33:05
this no one answered the door so later I called him hello Keith [Music] hello Keith this is David begno with CBS
00:33:31
News when reached by phone Keith now 63 years old denied ever having sex with his cousin Karen he said they had just
00:33:40
quote played around like children end quote and he also insisted that whatever had happened between him and Karen had
00:33:49
nothing to do with what Vincent Simmons did that night that goddamn was guilty I
00:33:54
don't give yeah he's a goddamn and you could put that on TV I ain't scared of them despite the allegations concerning
00:34:03
Karen and Keith District Attorney Charles Riddle says he believes the right man was convicted I'm firmly
00:34:11
convinced that he's guilty I don't believe that the cousin was the one but bonus was more determined than ever to
00:34:18
see Vincent walk free and in April 2021 the district attorney made an offer that
00:34:24
would allow for just that riddle said he felt like Vincent had done enough time Vincent could have walked right out the
00:34:31
door but there was a catch Vincent would have had to been a sex offender though Vincent turned that down and said I'm
00:34:38
not a sex offender I didn't do this I am innocent I'm not a sex offender what' you think when you hung up the phone I
00:34:43
mean that's it we're going to war bonus kept fighting and in February 2022 he finally got a hearing where a
00:34:52
judge would decide Vincent's fate once and for all the day of the hearing as Karen and
00:34:58
Sharon made their way into the courthouse they paused to pray when Vincent Simmons arrived in a
00:35:08
prison van he was carrying a Bible a group of supporters greeted him they were [Music]
00:35:16
cheering V how are you feeling today really POS it you something you good going have
00:35:27
cameras were not allowed in the courtroom as judge William Bennett delivered his
00:35:32
decision what did the judge decide he decided to give Vincent a new trial because of the Constitutional violation
00:35:38
that he didn't receive a fair trial Vincent's conviction was thrown out due to the evidence that he himself had
00:35:44
obtained almost 30 years earlier and the fact that his defense team didn't even have it back in
00:35:53
1977 judge Bennett made it clear though that he did not Place fault on any anyone for that instead he found that
00:36:00
the speediness with which the case went to trial made it likely that the original district attorney on the case
00:36:06
Eddie null didn't even have all the evidence himself at the time so just to be clear you believe that in
00:36:13
1977 the police didn't turn over key evidence to the district attorney that's the only explanation feasible and
00:36:21
logical after studying everything that I did that's it are you blaming the police
00:36:26
no I don't believe anybody intentionally hid anything it's just the way it happened because it was fast in a court
00:36:33
affidavit the original da Eddie null said he did not hide or deny Simmons any evidence nor did he prosecute him
00:36:41
because of bias and he continues to believe that Vincent is guilty and he's not the only one that feels that way
00:36:49
current District Attorney Charles rdle do you believe a man who was convicted at a trial that was not fair should have
00:36:57
ever served a day in prison illegally legally okay legally no but he did yes the judge decided that
00:37:08
okay let me tell you he deserved to serve the 44 years why because he's guilty judge Bennett was careful to say
00:37:17
he has no opinion on the guilt or innocence of vinon Simmons with his decision it was now up to district
00:37:26
attorney riddle to decide whether he wanted to retry the case you stood up and said what I said that he
00:37:33
served enough time and that we're not going to prosecute him again in the eyes of the people and the constitu he is
00:37:40
presumed innocent and when Charles Riddle dismissed that case that presumption of innocence
00:37:47
carries you free brother you free you done so happy to see you I am so happy to see you God is good to you let me get
00:37:56
a picture all right Vincent is a free man but for Karen and Sharon nothing has changed he
00:38:07
went in guilty he's guilty now and guess what he he will die guilty so I'm I'm happy I got 44 years
00:38:18
all right let's go the twins say they accept the judge's decision but they are still hurt by it the legal system didn't
00:38:27
just failed him it failed us in many ways also while Vincent has his freedom they say they still don't have theirs
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it's frustrating because no one sees our bars they don't see our prison we still
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have our anxiety we still have our depressions we still have our fears our bars are real and if you look deep
00:38:52
enough you can see them judge Bennett is is sympathetic toward the women but he is confident in
00:39:00
his decision the case holds extra meaning for him because his father now deceased was one of the many judges who
00:39:08
denied motions filed by Vincent over the past years but that was before Vincent had gained access to the prosecution's
00:39:17
file he and I had talked about the Vincent Simmons case years ago and uh I know if he would be
00:39:25
here he today would have done what I did what's on your heart cuz I can see the emotion I did the right
00:39:40
thing to Freedom just hours after the judge delivered his decision and right before
00:39:47
the sunet Vincent Simmons walked out of Angola he went in when he was just 25 years old and was released 3 days before
00:39:58
his 70th birthday love you man you too man later that night he shared a celebratory meal with his family and
00:40:09
friends let's go to Freedom what's it like being out of prison oh man this it's a Jo that is unexplainable
00:40:22
really but with that Joy comes challenge it's going to take me a while oh got a phone adjusting to life outside Prison
00:40:31
Walls has proven to be difficult so much has changed since 1977 man new technology I'm just like a
00:40:42
little bab you got to learn what are the simple things that you enjoy now Brea the free air walking
00:40:55
outside basically it's freedom to just enjoy the [Music] moment 48 hours to miss it would be a
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crime were you at all prepared for what happened in this case [Music]