#287 Jason Flom with  Vincent Simmons - podcast episode cover

#287 Jason Flom with Vincent Simmons

Aug 25, 202243 minEp. 287
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Episode description

In early May of 1977, Keith Laborde and his 14 year old twin cousins, Karen and Sharon Sanders, allegedly picked up a hitchhiking black man at a gas station in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. About 2 weeks later, when asked about a scratch on his neck, Keith Laborde and the twins told a story about this armed hitchhiker who allegedly forced Laborde into the trunk and raped both girls. Despite not matching the description, a man with a few petty priors, Vincent Simmons, was arrested, put into a suggestive line up, and ultimately selected. When he refused to confess, police officer Robert Laborde shot him in the chest. Vincent survived, but only to have ALL discovery withheld by the state including the medical examination that proved that Sharon Sander's could not have been raped.  Simmons was convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated rape of the twin teenage sisters and given a 100-year prison sentence. 

To learn more and get involved:

https://www.change.org/p/vincent-simmons-is-innocent-and-has-been-imprisoned-in-louisiana-since-1977

https://wrongfullyconvicted.info/vincent-simmons/

The Farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odx9NEHc17M

Shadows of Doubt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98lCNnEnxno

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction  is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

​​We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

Since our previous release of Vincent Simmons' story, an amazing series of events has occurred. In addition to the work of his investigator as well as his attorney, Justin Bonus, CBS Morning's lead correspondent David Begmow did his own investigation, and as part of that, he did an interview that aired in February twenty twenty two in which he spoke with the alleged victims in this case, Karen and Sharon Sanders,

who made some explosive revelations. In this re release, we will not only fill you in on the incredible developments in this case, but also you'll hear once again from the man himself, Vincent Simmons. In May of nineteen seventy seven, fourteen year old white twin sisters Karen and Sharon Sanders allegedly went to help their eighteen year old cousin, Keith la Board clean his house in of Olds Parish, Louisiana.

Years later, Keith Laboord admitted to carrying on a sexual relationship with Karen Sanders, but back in May of seventy seven, when asked about a scratch on his Keith began to spin a narrative supported by the twin girls, that led in a well tread direction. According to Keith and the twins, they picked up a hitchhiking black man who allegedly pulled a gun and forced Keith and Karen into the trunk

before raping Sharon, followed by Karen. Conflicting accounts and descriptions, as well as a rape kit that confirmed that Sharon was still a virgin, didn't stop the accusation of an alleged black assailant. While police officer Robert Laboord was out searching for a potential culprit on the morning of May twenty third, nineteen seventy seven, his partner Floyd Juno spotted

Vincent Simmons, whom he knew from previous petty crimes. Despite not matching what were already conflicting descriptions of this imaginary black man, they arrested Vincent for the alleged rapes. Both girls and Keith picked out the only handcuffed black man in the lineup, and when Vincent refused to confess, Officer Robert Leboard shot him in the chest. Miraculously, Vincent survived, but only to have all evidence, all of it exculpatory withheld from him at trial, condemning him to serve one

hundred years in Angola Prison. Vincent's fight against a web of family connections lies and the worst in American racism continues to this very day. This is wrongful conviction. Welcome back to wrongful conviction. I'm Jason Flopp.

Speaker 2

Today's case is so troubling that I don't know where to start. But I will tell you this before we even get into it, and I introduce to you the man himself, Vinctent Simmons, who's still incarcerated in Angola Penitentiary for over forty four years now for a crime he had nothing to do with. I will tell you that this case has a toxic mixture of small town racism,

false accusations, a total lack of evidence. A police officer who was closely related to what should have been the obvious suspect, who actually shot mister Simmons in the police station when he refused to confess in the chest by the way, narrowly missing his heart and killing him.

Speaker 1

Yes, you heard that correctly. And everybody involved basically is white except for mister Simmons, who's black. And now that's just the freaking beginning. So first of all, Vincent, I'm so honored that you're here today to talk to us. I'm so sorry that you are where you are, that we're talking to you from prison, and I'm hoping that soon we'll be having a totally different conversation from the free world. So welcome to Wrongful Conviction.

Speaker 3

Thank you, I haven't me.

Speaker 1

We're very happy to have you, and we apologize to our audience in advance for the audio quality on Vincent's phone. It sounds like he's calling us from a time capsule, and in many ways he really is. And Gola Penitentiary was built on a literal plant, which couldn't put a finer point on what this case is all about. And joining us today as a man who you may be familiar with from our coverage of Nelson Cruz in Brooklyn

and Marcus Wiggins in Chicago. Now today he's fighting for Vincent's case pro bono, flying back and forth from New York to Louisiana. So justin bonus, thanks for coming back to Wrongful Conviction.

Speaker 4

Not a problem, Jason. It's great to be on here again as well.

Speaker 1

So this insane saga goes all the way back to nineteen seventy seven. So, Vincent, before this happened and your life got turned upside down and inside out, what was your life like before this insanity?

Speaker 5

Yeah, I was born in a bald parish, a place called man Philah Lewis there. When I was living in man Phila, I had had some involved with a bald parent. Share of DePaul I was involved with compared to crime. I moved to Houston and I got a job and I learned that my father had that and I come back to do with Yeah, I was back for out a month.

Speaker 6

I was live with my sister leave.

Speaker 7

You, and I was on my way to work and I was picked up a vol parish bodice.

Speaker 1

So you were a known entity to a Bowls Parish police before heading to Houston for work and returning when your father passed away, which made you available to be picked up for what allegedly happened to these twin girls on May nine, nineteen seventy seven. And the date, I mean, we're not even sure of that because the girls were

never really clear on a date and time. But the narrative that comes out is a sadly familiar American tale, a false accusation of a black man by an alleged white victim or victims in this case, and the alleged crime that took place. The narrative that set this horrible

and justice against Vincent in motion is this. On May ninth, nineteen seventy seven, twin sisters Sharon and Karen Sanders allegedly went over to the house of their eighteen year old cousin, Keith Leboard remember that last name, to help him clean, and while driving the sisters home that night, the three allegedly stopped for gas when Vincent Simmons allegedly approached and asked the Board for a ride home, to which the

Board supposedly agreed. And then the claim is that six miles outside of Marksville, on a deserted stretch of Little California Road, Vincent allegedly took out a gun, forced Keith le Board and Karen into the trunk while he allegedly raped Sharon, and then he allegedly put Sharon in the trunk, drove on for a bit before retrieving Karen to do the same to her. Now Afterwards, Vincent allegedly threatened them all before dropping himself off to catch a bus, so

about two weeks after this alleged incident. May twenty second is when this narrative is first reported to the sheriff's office and the investigation, if you can even call it, that begins. Justin take us through this nightmare.

Speaker 4

So there was Karen Sanders, Sharon Sanders, and then Keith the Board that were allegedly basically kidnapped, thrown in a trunk. The two sisters were raped. That's their story. So on May twenty second, John Leboard, Keith's father, calls the sheriff because Keith's father is the parish assessor. What you have to understand about the the boards is there's like ten thousand of them in a Voles parish. This is a

very strong family. He calls the chief of police and he says that my twin nieces have been raped by a black man. That's how this begins. And then the girls are brought in. The girls don't know what date it happens. The police give them a date. The girls provide their initial statements, which weren't turned over a trial. They weren't turned over till nineteen ninety three. They give

completely inconsistent statements. Sharon Sanders actually calls the suspect the N word over and over again, says all blacks look alike, okay, and that's why she wouldn't be able to identify him. They don't talk to the boy Keith Leboard until after Vincent is already arrested. Neither of these girls give a description that matches Vincent. They say short and fat, well, Vincent is five nine one point fifty. Again, their descriptions conflict.

You know, it's just one thing after another, and specifically with regard to Karen Sanders, she talks about being raped anally orally vaginally. When the doctor looks at her after she talks to police, there is no injuries. Sharon talks about a thirty minute rape vaginally to the point where she bled. She said that she gave her panties to

her grandmother and they were washed, of course. And what's interesting about Sharon is that her hymen was intact when she was examined by the doctor in this case.

Speaker 1

So okay, Inconsistent statements, conflicting descriptions, and outright lies unsupported by physical reality. And the next day, at nine to twenty am on May twenty third, Vincent was just walking to work when he was picked up off the street, arrested and brought to the station.

Speaker 4

He was arrested on May twenty third of nineteen seventy seven on view for this crime. And what on view means is they didn't have a name Vincent Simmons, They had no probable cause to arrest him. They saw him on the side of the street. When I say they, you had mentioned a family member of one of the alleged victims, and that was Robert Leboard. And I don't know his direct relation to Keith Leboard, but I believe

it could be a cousin. So really, what you have to understand with Vincent is he out of history with the Marksville Police Department and the Voles Parish Sheriff's office. And Floyd Juno was driving with Robert Leboard on the Dave Vincent got arrested on May twenty second, and he knew Vincent, he knew who he was before, and he knew he was a troublemaker. And he's the glue to this. He's the person that basically points the finger at Vincent first.

Speaker 1

Right, right right, And if you have the chance to watch one of the documentaries about Vincent's story, there's the farm and shadows of a Doubt, we'll have them linked in to buy, of course. But in Shadows of a Doubt, Floyd Juno describes this arrest in much the same way

that Justin has. So that same morning, the sheriff sent deputies for the twins, who were picked up from school and brought to the station along with Keith Lebord, who was brought from work, and told them that they were going to view a lineup with the perpetrator in it. So officers picked out seven guys for the lineup, one of whom was white, Okay, a few others were well over six feet tall.

Speaker 8

I remember.

Speaker 1

The description was of this imaginary perpetrator was black, short and fat, right, And they placed Vincent in the center. And get this, Vincent is the only one who was handcuffed out of all of them. I mean, it wasn't like they were trying to be subtle here right as to who they wanted them to identify. So the twins and Keith lo and Behold all select Vincent as the perpetrator.

Speaker 7

They claimed that I was identified, and from that point they took me into another loan and that's when they told me that I had to give him a confession, and I refused to give a confession. I told him that before I confessed to a crime that I didn't do, I'll die first. And that's when they hit me. And they knocked to a cloth and started kicking me. And then when I tried to get out, he kicked me again.

And when I did you to chair I was sitting in to get up Robert Lopol he d his death from his seat where he would righting to a confression and pull his weapon and shot.

Speaker 6

He shot, then a check.

Speaker 1

This episode is underwritten by global law firm Greenberg Traig through its pro bono program. Greenberg Traig leverages it's more than twenty four hundred lawyers across forty two offices to serve the greater good of our communities and provide equal

access to justice for all. In the field of criminal justice, Greenberg Trowerg attorneys have exonerated and Freedoman in Philadelphia represent numerous individuals previously sentenced to life for crimes committed as juveniles and resentencing hearings, and received the American Bar Association's twenty twenty one Exceptional Service Award for death penalty representation

for their work on five death penalty cases. GT is reimagining what big law can be because a more just world only happens by design.

Speaker 4

I think something that I really want to bring to your attention, to your Jason, is this is that technically Vincent really should have been charged with kidnapping Keith Lebor. They didn't charge him with that. Why, well, you know, I think we know why. The other thing is the police all said that Vincent attempted to grab the gun of one of the officers and the safety was on or something like that ridiculous story. They don't ever charge Vincent with attempted murder of a police officer either.

Speaker 1

And this is weird, right because it's not like the state typically has any issue at all with piling on charges, right, But there were no gun charges here either, as that was part of the alleged kidnapping in this case as well. So at the preliminary hearing on July seventh, both twins testified, but neither the alleged kidnapping victim Keithlipboard, nor the alleged

attempted murder victims the police officers participated. Yeah that's yeah, sure, okay, So during her testimony, Sharon is asked three consecutive times to identify the man from the crime, and this is the twin who states that all black people look alike. She doesn't respond until the court steps in, and this was when, for the very first time ever, she says that the man said his name was Simmons. Now, Karen also parroted this statement that the culpert told Keith his

name was Simmons. But then in the same preliminary hearing, when asked why it took two weeks to come forward with this story, Karen testified that, quote, we couldn't go to the cops because we didn't know his name, unquote, So which one is it? Karen, right, which is it? Because both of those things can't be true.

Speaker 4

Everyone overlooked that. That means that their testimony and the preliminary hearing that they knew the man's name, and their testimony a trial that they knew the man's name is false. That kind of just got glossed over.

Speaker 1

So let's get to the trial. And I'm going to put trial in quotes here too. So there's no physical evidence that these rapes ever actually happened. Start with that no forensic tests were done on the twins, clothing, or the car in which the alleged rapes occurred, and police reports did not include a single lead that pointed the Vincent. Doctors didn't find any signs of injury on either of

the alleged victims, including Sharon's intact hymen. She was a virgin who was, according to her statement, the victim of a bloody rape, which of course is physically impossible. So if you're listening to this now and going, well, then there's all this evidence, right, how the hell could anyone, even a black man in the Deep South in the seventies, how could anyone get convicted on the basis of this. Well, it later comes out to Vincent and his attorney received

exactly none of this. They received no discovery in this case. By no, I mean zero. What I'm saying is all of that critical exculpatory evidence that you just heard wasn't revealed to him for another sixteen years. His lawyers never even knew about the shady lineup with the handcuffs, you know, which was obviously done for one reason, so that these alleged victims would know who to pick in this imaginary crime.

There were pictures of that the inconsistencies and conflicts in the initial accounts and assail of descriptions and initial statements. They said they didn't know his name, but later testified that he had told Keith his name was Simmons. How Karen gave a clue to that discrepancy in her preliminary hearing testimony, all of it. So the fix was in, So justin, can you take us through what happened at this sham trial?

Speaker 4

So they take him the trial and the girls get on the witness stand and they say they know his name. They say a rape happened. And the defense attorneys don't do a great job of poking holes in there because they don't have anything to poke holes in. They don't have any cross examination material. Okay, they have three witnesses that were allegedly with this man for three hours. That's

a long time to be with somebody. Mistaken identification is not really something you can argue when you're around somebody for three hours unless you saw the initial statements, right, can't really do it. I mean, the trial's a joke. Eddie Nole, who was the prosecutor, and the district attorney and his wife are the ones that tried the case,

and this was a flim flam show. They actually on occasion during direct examination they would interchange when they thought the other one didn't ask enough questions, or on cross exam.

Speaker 1

I've never seen that, And they probably could have done anything they wanted because without discovery, they had nothing with which to hold the prosecution or any of the witnesses accountable.

Then you have these racially charged elements, two white twin sisters under age, by the way, fourteen years old, a black guy in Louisiana in nineteen seventy seven, So they could have said that he took them in a spaceship, hit them on the head with a toaster oven, and then they went and visited, you know, talking penguins on Mars.

I mean, they could have said anything, and I could actually picture in my mind the jury just sort of sitting there, you know, horrified, with their mouths open, hearing about how these two young girls were brutalizing, you know, these poor little girls. It's hard to turn away from that kind of testimony. But there were some very significant things that still should have sowed serious doubts in the minds of these jurors.

Speaker 4

I think the biggest thing here that we started to uncover as we investigated, is that the area that Vincent allegedly sees these three at a gas station in the middle of Marksville, but then he takes them allegedly or tells them to go to a part of a Voles parish that's like Clan country. So where these alleged rapes happen is in the middle of Clan country. It's not where the black community is. That's what to me should have raised alarm bells for everybody, including the white jury.

This is not believable.

Speaker 1

What was alleged to be a three hour long encounter with two twin underage white girls being raped by a black man in the middle of Clan country. I would have sooner bought into the store worry about Mars and Vincent was able to present something in his defense right His attorney called him to the stand where he said that he was at a bar on May ninth and presented three alibi witnesses who all dated that he was at the bar with them.

Speaker 4

His alibi witnesses, they tried to discredit these people with traffic tickets and like petty crimes because they wanted to make the alibis look like they were not law abiding citizens, even though they basically were. I mean, one of the witnesses that testified for Vincent was a business owner, and they attacked them using like speeding tickets and parking tickets that he received.

Speaker 1

It was a joke.

Speaker 4

The trial was a joke.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it was a joke. But not a funny one though, because eleven white people and one black woman on the jury. I remember at that time in Louisiana and all the way up till twenty eighteen, they didn't need a unanimous verdict to convict. It was one of the ways that they disenfranchised black folks. You only needed ten of the twelve members on the jury to vote guilty. So black woman or not, let's just call it like it is.

There was no hope in hell for Vincent. And so there you are, still trying to heal from a gunshot wound to the chest at close range and watching this ridiculous trial. Did you still have any hope that they would see the discrepancies in this crazy narrative and see that you were innocent? Oh?

Speaker 3

Yeah, there was no hope because the greatest virror was focused. Oh what the victims were saying, there was no hope of receiving a fan trial, and you would know I was shot. They at that I was shut. There was no question answer to what happened.

Speaker 1

So vincent that moment, a lot had happened to you already. But I have to think this would be the worst moment of anybody's life to be wrongfully convicted of a crime they didn't commit. Do you remember that moment when they declared you guilty, and since you two one hundred years in prison.

Speaker 3

Yes, I did.

Speaker 7

When I heard all those lies told and the jury come back and condicted me, even with my alibi, with telling the children, the jurors still believed their lives. And it was amazing for me to believe that those people would tell that kind of lie to the juror, and the juror believed that. When I got to a gola and they slam to those behind me, it was like a shot for me. And from that moment then I

was experiencing nightmares at night. When I went to sleep, or tried to go to sleep, I would have a nightmare or be a shot and beat over and over again.

Speaker 6

When I got down.

Speaker 7

Even the guys in the town, they already knew what my job was, and I went through the New Aid Experiences day, so I bought all you ship human waste. You know your torture. I've been stalled several times, you know all the skin come off my bady, But I wouldn't report it because they would call your rack heear. I had several night night falls that was from the ball town. They would make it possible for they didn't may got a home year the gods hearing of all family.

They would intentionally like the remote where I would be the repartrator of the night. So from one lockdown to another, that's what caused me to be lockdown and a solitary confinement in all these years because I was being attacked and being transferred to another lockdown. I've step twenty some years in silentary confinements and I just got out in two thousand nineteen, and that's when I got the call from Justin say that he was go take my case.

Speaker 1

Forty four years wrongfully convicted, and twenty seven of those were in solitary confinement because of constant assaults from other who also found ways to believe the childish, nonsensical lie that these three backwoods redneck low lifes told to cover up their dirty, disgusting, little incest secret. And I don't even know what to say except that I'm absolutely amazed at your courage and your strength to persevere and just even be here at all. After all you've gone through, Vincent,

you are a living miracle. So justin We know that the post conviction litigation started almost immediately back in nineteen seventy eight, and it went about as well as the trial did. But Vincent finally got a break of sorts in nineteen ninety three. Can you talk us through that.

Speaker 4

Nineteen ninety three, Vincent files a man Damus, and somebody in the DA's office copies the whole file. That's how Vincent gets his file. That's when he first gets the discovery. And then Vincent got a letter from his lawyer in ninety eight saying that we've never seen these documents before. You know, and by the way, that lawyer in ninety eight, I think he was a judge by that point. I mean, these are credible people that came forward and said that they had never seen these documents before.

Speaker 1

Right, this is the discovery with the details that we mentioned earlier, that if Vincent's trial attorney would have had this at the trial in nineteen seventy seven, and of course it was totally illegal for them not to share it. But if they had had this discovery, it's very possible that even that jury could have come to the right conclusion. So, in addition to that, more exculpatory evidence has developed over time. Meanwhile, Vincent has denied parole again and again and again and again.

The sisters showed up at the parole hearings and said all sorts of awful racist things. I remember seeing this on the video and hearing about it on one occasion where one of the three members of the pro board was a black gentleman, and one of the sisters actually said in the parole hearing that she wouldn't feel safe alone in the room with him. And I'm talking about the guy who was on the parole board, the black guy on the parole board. Am I actually right about that? You are?

Speaker 4

You cannot make this sub.

Speaker 1

So now we're all the way at October twenty twenty and justin you've now joined Vincent's team, and Vincent has applied for post conviction relief based on several due process violations and newly discovered evidence which shows that the alleged rape was a total fabrication, and that part of the new evidence that was presented is from a family member of the alleged victims themselves. Right, So can you tell us about that?

Speaker 4

Essentially, we have a family member of the the Boards coming forward with a detailed statement about an admission that Keith gave her. I think it was in twenty eleven, twenty twelve, And actually what happened forty four years ago was she was there when Keith came into her mother's

house and he had a scratch on his neck. And it appears is that Keith is the first one that drops the story that gets thrown in prison, which is that you know, he gave a black man a ride home with the girls and the black man scratched his neck, threw him in the trunk, and raped the two girls. See the problem with that, though, is if you talk to this witness, she knows Keith Leboard. He's a total psycho. Keith also, I believe I said twenty eleven, twenty twelve,

he admitted that there was no black man. We actually have Facebook messages between Keith Leboard's first cousin and Karen, where Karen admitted that Keith le Board raped her. Now you have to understand this same cousin, Keith le Board, actually admitted that he had what he termed to be consensual sex with Karen and threw Sharon in the trunk. So that's why Sharon Hymen is attack because Keith threw her in the trunk because she didn't want to have

sex with him. But he definitely had sex with Karen. Now, Karen says that it was a rape, Keith says it was consensual sex. But at the time of the alleged sexual act, Keith was an adult, Karen was a minor.

Speaker 1

You know.

Speaker 4

Then we have an investigative report from our investigator who spoke to Karen where Karen said she might have made a mistake, that she doesn't want to testify again in this case.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I think I need a shower. I mean, this is even worse than I originally thought, which I didn't think was possible. So where are we now? What in the world is it going to take to bring Vincent Hope?

Speaker 4

Where are we right now? We filed the motion to vacate the conviction a post conviction relief motion in October of twenty twenty. I mean there's Affid David's newly discovered evidence. There's scientific reports in here, identification experts, doctors, obviously the previous discovery that wasn't turned over when the motion was initially filed, Carrie Sproul was the judge that was overseeing

the motion and Charles Riddle was the district attorney. And essentially what happened is in more Arch of twenty twenty one, I got my hands on a document where Carrie Sprool admitted that he represented Keith Leboard's daughter in a previous I don't know if it was a custody case or

a family court case. And so we had a hearing to recuse Carrie Sprool, and in that hearing to recuse Carrie Sprool, Carrie Sprool not only admitted that he had represented Keith the Board's daughter, but also that he had a close relationship with keithle Board since I guess almost childhood, and actually hired Keith the Board to work on construction projects in his house. So he had a long standing

relationship with Keith the Board and his family. And then after that is when we had the motion to recuse the District Attorney's office where we took testimony from Vincent's trial attorney, Mike Kelly, where Mike Kelly testified at the hearing that the defense received no discovery, not a document. They didn't know there was a lineup, they didn't know that there was original statements made, they didn't know anything.

We took testimony from a civil rights activist, Alan Holmes, who heard Charles Riddle admit that Mike Kelly didn't receive discovery, and then we took testimony from Charles Riddle himself, and Charles Riddle admitted that he believed Mike Kelly when Mike Kelly testified that they didn't have any of the discovery in this case. That caused Judge Bennett to recuse Charles Riddle because Charles Riddle refused to consent to give Vincent

Simmons a new trial. Essentially that Riddle was basically condoning a constitutional violation right he knew that there was a violation and refused to remedy it. And a prosecutor has a duty to act fair and and partial, and his duties are based upon the Constitution. He has to be fair to the accused and when there's a due process violation like there is in this case. The only way he can remedy that is by giving Vincent another trial, and he refused to do it. We now have an

Attorney General's office that's taken over. They're trying to vacate the refusal of Charles Riddle. They're basically trying to delay this as best as they can. No one wants to give Vincent any relief here, and that's where we are right now. We're in front of the Supreme Court battling it out over the motion to recuse a district attorney, and I'm in the process of filing something to try to compel the court to do the right thing here.

Speaker 1

After our release, Justin went to work on just that, and back in January twenty two, I got a call from Angola. It was Vincent thanking me and everyone here at the Wrongful Conviction podcast, and I didn't know what he was thanking us for. It turns out that at some point between the original release in November twenty twenty one and that January, Justin had won him a hearing set for February fourteenth and twenty twenty two, in which

his motion for some rejudgment was to be decided. Either the judge would rule against him or he'd be granted a new trial, at which point the prosecutor would have to decide whether or not to go forward with this case, knowing what we know now, and Vincent had faith that this would finally set him free. Now I'm ecstatic to report that he was correct. Vincent, Welcome back to wrongful conviction. You are so welcome. You know, words will never do justice to this mixture of joy and anger that I

feel about your case. But right now, I'd like to focus on that magical moment when you were set free. You know, I saw footage of it. I wanted to be there in person, but I couldn't, And I know that you knew it was coming, But there was a look of shock and surprise on your face.

Speaker 9

Yes, even though I had this vision, when did manifesent man, I was in shock free So you know I knew that based on the evidence that they had ded and look at the evidence that they have now, they had nothing dead, nothing but.

Speaker 6

The lines and then Boom. For a full year later, the family come forward and Boom revealed new evidence of what they had need all these years.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I mean not only that cousin who had come forward talking about Keith Lebboord, all of those damning messages that we had already discussed on the podcast, not to mention that there was no discovery at all in this case. Let me say that again, there was no discovery at all. Nothing was turned over to the defense, and all of the things that could have been turned over and should

have been turned over in discovery were exculpatory. Then, the two alleged victims accusers in your case, Sharon and Karen Sanders, went on CBS and had no good answers to explain the wild inconsistencies in their statements. Among others, to explain the inconsistency about when they knew your name and that they had actually known it all along, they had said that they had made a pack to not say your name,

which is total horseshit. After they had identified you in the lineup, they still didn't know your name in those statements either, which totally contradicted themselves. Again, they also admitted to the racist comments that one of the sisters had said, quote unquote, all n words look alike, and how could they even have identified you anyway? If that was the case, right, I mean, there's another direct contradiction there, and let alone that you didn't even fit their bogus description that they

had made up out of thin air. This case is madness. And in addition, Karen Sanders also admitted to a sexual relationship with Keith Leboard, starting as early as nine years old. Man, I mean I was watching that my job. I hit the floor. You were simply dragged into their web with sadness and lies, with neither probable cause nor having fit any description other than just being a black man. Your case is about as disgusting as any we've ever heard.

So with all of this floating in the zeitgeist, along with the mountain of Brady material, the judge finally set you free after over forty four years in prison and you were reunited with your family. Can you take us back to that night? Where'd you go?

Speaker 5

What did you do?

Speaker 7

Well?

Speaker 9

I was taken all by my family and missed the bonus to a restaurant, you know, a real expensive restaurant, and I'm looking around, said wow, you know, and.

Speaker 6

You ask me what I wanted to eat? That's said everything.

Speaker 1

Everything.

Speaker 6

I won't eat everything, So you know, we had lovely meal. We talked, we laughed, we joked.

Speaker 9

That moment is very special. It's very special. You know, that chills, you know, travel to your body, all the.

Speaker 6

Love and hugs and kisses and all that.

Speaker 9

It brought a warmth to me of something special that was missing when you're coming out of somewhere where you've been kidnapped and held against your will for forty four years. I value that, you know. You know it's hard because I got to relearn everything. You know, but it don't it doesn't stop us from thinking, you know, it doesn't stop us from living, and it doesn't stop me from doing the right things to freedom minds, you know, to show them that, you know, we we have to value ourselves,

you know, you have. You can't love somebody if you don't value who you are, if you don't love yourself, you know, and you come first, and then you know, you show compassion and love to others. You know just what our journis are, you know, our duties for being here on itar, you know, is to get people to understand God law, hey man, get them laws in you man.

You know what I'm saying. Whatever God, you believe that, you know every wouldn't have a duty to each other as humanity, you know, But yet we fighting each other. Why I'm here to deliver that message. I'm gonna fight it. I'm gonna fight it. I'm not gonna go along.

Speaker 4

You know.

Speaker 6

I'm not gonna be around. I'm not gonna turn a blind eye to the truth.

Speaker 9

And that's what I'm fighting for. I have a big family that I live beyond black and white. I'm fighting for us. What we do, what we here for justice? You know, we here the correct That's what your job is. Your report what's going on, you know, to the public, to the people.

Speaker 1

I love you, man, We love you too, Vincent. And you know, all I can do is to continue to shine a light on these injustices and help to be part of the team that works to correct them wherever and whenever I have the power to do so. And without you sharing your story, well we wouldn't be able to do that here. So I'd like to just thank you for on behalf of everyone that works on our team,

for joining us and sharing your story. And then I'm gonna turn to the closing of our show where I turned my microphone off, leave my headphones on, kick back in my chair and just listen to any final messages that you have.

Speaker 6

You know, I'm gonna give it to the people. I learned it.

Speaker 8

I learned it hardly. You know, I'm gonna give it to everybody. Row your way is the only way I'm fighting for the people. We're trying to fix a system that is broken based on racism.

Speaker 6

Don't say that racism though, it's because it do and everybody don't want to deal with it.

Speaker 8

Why not?

Speaker 1

You know they.

Speaker 8

Judges and prosecutor using the shield or distinct.

Speaker 6

To do criminal activity.

Speaker 9

Is you make all kinds of laws saying that you know will against this and will against that, but you ain't punishing them.

Speaker 8

They don't have a law by the constitution that say that the prosecutor.

Speaker 3

I can use my.

Speaker 8

Influence to intimidate other people to say what I want them to say, and if they don't say it, then I'm gonna send them to prison.

Speaker 6

I'm gonna punish them. No, who are you you human like I am?

Speaker 8

You represent the people, and when you miss you your authorities. You're supposed to be pitilized by the people that goes for judgesus.

Speaker 6

Lawyers, d is whoever you may be you're a human.

Speaker 9

And you suppot to act humanly, use your powers wisely.

Speaker 1

Thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction. I'd like to thank our production team Connor Hall, Justin Golden, Jeff Cliburn, and Kevin Wardis, with research by Lyla Robinson. The music in this production was supplied by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction, on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast, and on Twitter at wrong Conviction, as well as at Lava

for Good. On all three platforms, you can also follow me on both TikTok and Instagram at it's Jason Flam. Wrongful Conviction is the production of Lava for Good podcast and association with Signal Company Number one

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