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i have lived 44 years with his face etched in my brain it was everything that you
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pray to god never happens to anyone for me it's really tough i'm i'm struggling i'm struggling to
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do the interview at all is it possible that you picked the wrong man no no when i close my eyes
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there's no other face that i see on may 22nd 1977 karen and sharon sanders who are identical twin sisters
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told police a black man asked them for a ride and raped them on a desolate road two weeks earlier
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the next day 25 year old vincent simmons was taken into custody as he was walking
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down the street did they ever give you a ride no did you ever meet them at a gas station no
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never i didn't rape karen and sharon's sadness i don't know these people the twins were
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asked to identify a suspect when i saw him in that lineup i didn't have to think twice
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when i looked at him i knew it the man they identified was 25 year old vincent simmons who police
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arrested that day [Music] i'm sitting on the chair and handcuffed when he gets through he
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said i want you to sign me i said what is that he said this is a confession saying that
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you uh committed this crime and said what crime you know he said wait for those two
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white girls that i don't even know these white girls that's insane it's horrible
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it disgusted me vincent simmons is an innocent man who was railroaded by a racist system
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less than 60 days after he was arrested vincent simmons went on trial what was the evidence against him
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the testimony of the witnesses the victims the twins testified that on the night
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they claimed they were raped vincent had told them his last name believe it or not
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all night long we called him simmons he told us to call him simmons when it was the defense's turn vincent took the
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stand i told the jury that i was innocent i didn't rape nobody after a two-day trial the jury had its
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verdict vincent simmons was found guilty of attempted aggravated rape i was shocked
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guilty i did nothing when the verdict came back guilty unanimously how did that feel sob relief
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we knew we were free vincent simmons was sentenced to two consecutive 50-year terms a hundred
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years behind bars from the moment he was found guilty vincent was determined to prove his
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innocence more than four decades later in january 2020 justin bonus a lawyer from brooklyn
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new york joined vincent's defense and was immediately skeptical of the prosecution's case
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i looked at the discovery i was like well everything they said at trial is a lie
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it's all a lie there's nothing that supports what they say included in that discovery were the
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original statements the twins gave to police in 1977. remember how at trial they said they
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knew his last name he told us to call him simmons turns out when they first spoke to police they
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didn't say that when the girls initially went to police they didn't say the name
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simmons no what name did they say they didn't give a name karen says they didn't initially give a name to police
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out of fear i mean we were scared of him and see i don't know why i didn't i mean i think when i was here we were
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afraid of him bonus also suggested a possible reason for the twins choosing vincent from the lineup in a photo that
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appears to show the lineup bonus noticed that vincent was the only one wearing handcuffs when you saw that line of
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photo what'd you think what i said this is crazy nuts highly suggestive 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
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attorney says that photo was taken after the twins identified vincent they call it the lineup it was a photo of the
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lineup after he was identified and placed in cuffs but how do you know it was after
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because the girls told me that bonus cited another item in the file that he says is critical a report from a
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doctor also the coroner who examined the girls two weeks after the reported rape
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did not document any signs of sexual assault good deal do you think the coroner's report plays in this story
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massive but riddle says the report does not prove that the twins were not raped because the definition of rape is
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slightest penetration and the part about uh no sign of sexual assault after two weeks it's very
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probable that there would be no sign of sexual assault still bonus says the jury should have
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had the chance to consider all of that at trial his attorneys they had nothing they went in there flying blind with
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their arms tied behind their back in a boxing match that's that's literally what it was so you're telling me the
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original statements that the girls and keith gave to police where they could not identify this individual right that
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was never heard by the jury absolutely not and the medical report from the coroner
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was never heard by the jury right and the lineup photo not seen by the jury no in february 2022 bonus got a hearing
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where a judge would decide vincent's fate once and for all what did the judge decide he decided to
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give vincent a new trial because of the constitutional violation that he didn't receive a fair trial at the hearing the
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judge was careful to say he has no opinion on the guilt or innocence of vincent simmons it was now up to
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district attorney riddle to decide whether he wanted to retry the case you stood up and said what
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i said that he served enough time and that we're not going to prosecute him again
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in the eyes of the people and the constitution he is presumed innocent and when charles riddle dismissed that case
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that presumption of innocence carries you free you're free you're done the twins say they accept the judge's
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decision but they are still hurt by it the legal system didn't just fail him it failed us in many ways also it's
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frustrating because no one sees our bars they don't see our prison we still have our anxiety we still have
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our depressions we still have our fears just hours after the judge delivered the
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decision vincent simmons walked out of the louisiana state penitentiary he went in when he was just 25 years old and
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walked out three days before his 70th birthday later that night vincent shared a
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celebratory meal with his family and friends what's it like being out of prison oh
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man this is a joy that is unexplainable really