We initially released Terrell Barrows's story on June twenty fourth, twenty twenty based on newly discovered evidence and witnesses. His conviction was vacated and he was released on bail on August fifteenth, twenty twenty three, right into the arms of his mother. I remember getting the call from his advocate, Nurjana Hindy, one of the former students with Georgetown's making Alexander Ree class, and I think I I think I
almost passed out. Honestly, I was so excited and I'm so happy to hear the good news, and we hope that now Rhode Island will do the right thing and dismiss all the charges. Here's our original coverage from when Terrell was still on the inside. August twenty six, twenty twelve, started off as a relatively normal night. Terrell Barrows was at Monet Lounge in Providence, Rhode Island, with Stephan Boden
and some other friends. In disagreement ensued between Stephan and two other clubgoers, Rokeem Henley and Jamal Cruz, but the tension didn't boil over until later in the parking lot. See Stefanboden wanted his cigarettes and he would ask Torell for his car keys because that's where they were, So he left ahead of the group, and as fate would have it, who was parked right next to Terrell, but
Jamal and Rokeem, who were now ominously approaching. Terrell and the rest of his friends, though, were just arriving on the scene and trying to avoid the drama, So Terrell made for the driver's side door, and then gunshots. Terrell quickly ducked into the driver's seat and Stephan bod jumped into the passenger side. Seconds later, the cops were at the car and they saw Stepan trying to hide the gun. Stepan confessed on the spot to the shooting as both
men were cuffed. An intoxicated and mortally wounded Jamal Cruz had put his head down when shown Terrell a far cry from an identification, but that didn't stop a detective from testifying a trial about a quote unquote dying declaration. The state even ignored Stephan Boden's immediate and uncoerced confession, forging blindly ahead to ultimately send Torell to prison, where he remains to this day, serving two consecutive life sentences
plus thirty years. This is Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flomm. Wrongful Conviction has always given voice to innocent people in prison, and now we're expanding that voice to you. Call us at eight three three two oh seven four six sixty six and tell us how these stories make you feel and what you've done to help the cause, even if it's something as simple as telling a friend or sharing on social media, and you might just hear yourself in a future episode. Call us eight three three two oh
seven four six sixty six. Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom. Today we're going to be discussing the really troubling case of Terrell Barrows, who was wrongfully convicted of a shooting in which one person was killed and another was badly injured. And with us today we have a student at Georgetown who's been doing incredible work investigating his case under the leadership of my friend, Professor Mark Howard. So Nurgenna Hendy, welcome to the show.
Thank you, Jason.
The Georgetown class that Nurgenna is a student in is taught by Mark Howard and a name that you'll recognize from being on our show more than once. Marty Tankleff, and of course this class was directly responsible for the exoneration of Valentino Dixon. If you haven't heard his episode, please go back and listen to it. It's extraordinary. So we hope to be hearing from Terrell Barrows very soon.
Of course, in this COVID time that we're in, it's very hard to get to the phones in prison, but we will be discussing his case and hopefully hearing from him as the podcast progresses. So let's go back to twenty twelve.
Back in August of twenty twelve, Terrell Barrows and a group of friends headed out to Monet Lounge in Providence, Rhode Island. While they're in the club, there's some sort of verbal altercation between Terrell's group and a couple of members of another group, including the two that got shot. One was Rokeem Henley, who got shot in the leg and who I spoke with a couple of times over the past few months, and then Jamal Cruz who ended up dying that night. But Terrell wasn't a part of
that verbal altercation. It was stuff in Boden who was and so a name was called Someone's hat got tapped off their head and then no one really stays. There's not a physical altercation at all. Later on in the night, Stephan Bowden asked Terrell. He goes, hey, let me get the tack to go get your car keys. So as he's heading over, there is another car that is parked bumper to bumper with Terrell's car, and it just happens
to be the car of Jamal Cruz. Stephen thought that Jamal and roe Keem were coming to cause problems when reality they were just walking to their car. Stefan grabs the gun and you know, witnesses say he told them don't come any closer. And at this point Terrell starts heading over to his car with his group of friends.
Terrell is about ten to fifteen feet away from Stefan Bowden and Jamal Cruz, which is where all eyewitnesses placed him as well, and he's actually walking to get to the other side of his car to hop in the driver's seat because he knows that there's trouble about to happen he doesn't want to be a part of it. He hears two gun shots, he jumps into the driver's seat and almost immediately Stefan jumps into the passat and the cops are there to arrest them.
And there's more to this too, because when Stephan jumped into the passenger seat, he had it sort of a moment of self awareness right where he started apologizing to Terrell for sort of involving him in this.
Yeah, you know. At this point, the arresting officers are on either side and the gun is still with Stephan Bowden. He is caught concealing the gun in the passenger side door, and Stefan actually confesses on the scene. He said it's me. It's all me, It's all mine. Yet they are both arrested, taken to a paddy wagon, and then there's a show up that is done. Now they spoke with a couple of jury members who told me this is what caused
us to believe Terrell is guilty. So in the show ups, they bring Stephan over to Jamal, who was in critical condition on the floor, extremely intoxicated, and they say, is this the man that shot you? And Jamal looks away. Apparently when they bring over Terrell, Detective Matrasia says, Jamal.
Nods, that's what they say he did. It doesn't matter if he nodded or not. He was in no position to make any identification of anyone, and we still don't know if he did. It's not like he stuck his finger out and went, yeah, that's the guy who shot me. Then he's out right, that's not what happened.
They actually did not even do a show up identification with the other guy, Rokeim Henley, who was shot and he was not in critical condition.
They also didn't bother to swab the hands of either Terrell or Stephan, right, that would be so critical to figuring out who did or did not commit this horrible crime.
And Jason, I think it was clear to arresting officers this had to have been Stephan. It was in his hand, he confesses. That's probably why they didn't even swab their hands. And then you know, somehow the story gets twisted and it's now in Terrell because of what they call a dying Ducktionterrell Owas says, he goes, there were two lives lost that night, Mine and Jamal Cruz. And I feel bad because Jamal Cruz didn't get justice.
This is a free call from row, an inmate at maximum security facility. Thank you for using securists. You may start the conversation now.
I love Heyterrell, thanks for calling in. I know we have limited time, so this woul get right to it. Can you take us back to the awful night of this crime and give us your perspective having lived through this night, Mary yourself.
Well.
Back at that night and the two dudes approached, you know, we're talking to Stuffan about something. The problem wasn't with me, so we went outside in the front of the club, Stephond one of my keys, to go get it figures. So when we go to the top, the two dings approaching. So I see them two dudes. I'm like, oh man, here we go. So I try to down to go with Javiside on the car. Then I hear shots, so I just run into my car. Since I run in my car, Pp is like on us, he had the
gun on me. He put your hands on stading wheel. I put my hands on standing wheel and he keeps on saying it, but he's talking to Stepan, So he puts his hands on the standing wheel and he's like, yo, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I love y'all, love you. The police officers hopping up and he's like oh yo, the passions has got the gun. So as soon as he opens up the door, Stephan says, it's me. It's all me, It's all mine. He's like it's shoot. He's like, yeah,
it's me. So when he took him out, he's already hear come from the other cop that had the gun on us. He comes. He flashed the cuffs on the wrist, my wrists and slings me on the floor. Brings it back to the paddy wagon. There's a guy that was shot. I didn't know no one was shot. I could see blood every this dude's hurt. So this dude shot in the chest, and this dude's like doing a show up with this guy shot in the chest, asking him this sin decend to shin. The guy just looked at me
and put his head down. He didn't say nothing, he didn't do nothing. He ain't saying nothing. He just put his head down. So then they had put me back into patty wagon. They bring me back to the station, and they bring back the station and you know they do the mob shot the finger prints, whether they got me to a room or two detectives. I asked for my lawyer to touch his angelo Levon was the lead detect He was the one that questioned me the first time in the first night. So he's like, oh, you
know he wants cigarette. You want a cigarett. I'm like no. He's like, you want a water. I'm like no. And he kept on chrying to talk to me, and I'm like, I want my lawyer. I want my lawyer. I want my lawyer. So he leaves the room and he comes back and he brings back to hold himself. So it's one of the times I'm like, yo, I'm banging on the door. Cop comes. He's like, O what you're banging. Don'm like, I want my phone call. He's like phone call. I'm like yeah. He's like, are you gonna play? Phone
calls were up going. I'm like, where am I going. He's like, You're gonna kill What the hell? They bring me in the bus they chance put me there and I find out one day the raiment and I'm getting charge with murder. I go up into the courtroom had a split up. Stephan was on the left side on the right side, so they reach stuff in his charges seven bolroom possession of firearm, and that was that. He goes with Crell Barrow's first degree murder. I'm like, they
charge me with murder. I'm Paul is showing everything I love. I did not do it. He admitted it on the scene to the prop That's the part I don't understand.
I don't understand it either, because it should have been over right then and there.
They told me I got to get up the phone.
Okay, the caller has hung up.
You're listening to Wrongful Conviction. You can listen to this and all the Lava for Good podcasts one week early and ad free by subscribing to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I have never and may never again hear of a case in which the actual shooter skates on the charges after confessing on the scene. Right, I mean, at that point, this should be a very short podcast. That should be the end of it. I mean, this
would be funny, except it's so freaking serious. Right, And this is the system that we all rely on day in and day out. I'd like to believe that we have people who are doing the job that they're paid to do. But in this case, it's absolutely true. It failed society, it failed the victim, It failed to rell and that's what we're here to talk about. And then it gets weirder because then you start with the eyewitness.
The only eyewitness is a guy named Gregory's or Obedient, and he initially claims he didn't see the shooting and then changed his testimony six days before the trial to say he saw to Rell do it. We have a document signed by the assist Attorney General promising not to charge him for perjury should he alter his testimony. That's maybe just a little bit of a red flag there. Now get this, Okay, this Gregory's or Obedient guy had well let's just call it an extensive criminal history, but
that might not even be doing a justice. So his rap sheet went back thirty years. It included convictions not arrest, convictions for living off the earnings of a prostitute, grand larceny, dui causing death, cocaine possession, burglary, theft, escape, and that's just the beginning. So do we think that after doing all these other things he's done, he might be willing to lie in exchange for a deal? I would say that's a pretty good likelihood. And then let's get to
Detective Charles Mtrasia. Do you want to take that one, Jenna.
He was actually the one who claims that he saw Jamal Cruz nod when they brought over. Terrell asked ROCITYO, were you watching Jamal? He said, yeah, I was watching him. I said, did he not? He said no, he didn't do anything. So whither he did or did not is another story. But again, Jamal Cruz was under the influence of alcohol. He had a BAC of point one six ' two, which seems like a lot until we look at Rokem
who had to actually hire BAC as well. And then both Stephan Andterrell were wearing white T shirts and darker pants. Out of the group that Terrell was in, he was not the only one with two long black braids. He just wasn't. It was a style. If you look at the pictures of his friend group, he's not the only one with two long black braids. And so out of a group of people wearing white shirts, dark pants, two
long black braids, you're dying on the floor. And Detective Matrasia says, yeah, he nodded when we brought over Terrell. I mean, how unreal could that be? And so now we're moving into GSR testing.
GSR stands for gunshot residue yep.
And there are three particles of gunshot residue that they test for when they're looking at clothing. So when Stephan and Terrell were initially arrested, Stephan was pulled out of the car and he was slammed against the side of the car. When Terrell was arrested, he was pulled out of the car and slammed to the ground, so he actually had some dirt on his white shirt in a
specific area. What they initially test was the chest area of both Terrell and of Stephan, because the theory is if someone is a shooter and they hold the gun straight ahead, that the gunshot residue will recoil and hit them in the chest area. So they talk about Steffan, they go, well, we found lead on Stepan, and they say, well, you also found lead on Terrell. So Terrell whispers to his attorney ask if they happened to find the lead
where my shirt was dirty. They said yes, So it makes sense that that's the only place on his clothing where they found lead. So this is all the information they had in terms of GSR at trial, But there is more GSR evidence to which is part of what we are motioning for with the new hearing coming up.
Well, we're on initials, right, we'll go from GSR to DNA, and the DNA report excluded to Ralp from having held the gun. So let's touch for a second on the DNA expert for the state, who we know was well, I mean, most, unfortunately, quote unquote experts are pro prosecution. In fact, the whole system is pro prosecution. Over eighty
percent of judges are former prosecutors. So throughout the process there's a tilt towards prosecution, and the experts that you're seeing may not be objective at all, and this is one of those cases where I think that there's a strong argument to that effect. So Nujena, can you talk about that?
Yeah, Kara Lapino gave extremely pro prosecution testimony. In the way that she had presented it. The attorney would ask a question the prosecutor, she would respond and say, yes, Enteroll was included. And then you all of a sudden get to the very very very end and they really quickly sneak in a couple of lines of Terrell was excluded and Stefan Bodden's DNA could not be excluded. So when I'm talking to the juror, she goes, I don't even really remember him being excluded. It was so confusing.
There were a lot of numbers thrown out. Terrell seemed to be included in almost every mixture that they're talking about. It's absolutely insane and if I was in the jury, I would have thought the same thing.
The state's witness essentially muddy the waters of what was a pretty cut and dry DNA report that excluded Terrell from having ever held the gun. But then there's Rokeem Henley, the other guy who got shot that night. His testimony, along with the ballistic evidence known at the time of trial, make it an actual impossibility that Terrell could have been the shooter.
He does testify, and when I asked him the same question when I met with him, he said, the only person standing close to Jamal Cruz was Boden. So I said, here's the discrepancy. Did you see who shot you? He said no. I said, okay, well, ballistic evidence proves that the shot was made from near contact to eighteen inches away, and you are telling me that the only person standing near contact to eighteen inches away from Jamal Cruz we was Stefan Boden. He said, yes, but I didn't see
him shoot the gun. It's kind of a confusing testimony. You don't see Steffan do it, but you also claim you did not see Terrell outside. You don't know who Terrell is. The only time he saw Terrell was at trial. So if rokeeem had never seen Terrell and the shot was made from near contact to eighteen inches away, it is impossible that Terrell was the shooter.
Nevertheless, the incentivized witness, the muddy DNA report, and of course the testimony of Detective Matrasia with too much to overcome, and Terrell was sentenced to two life sentences plus thirty years.
This is a free call from Roe, an inmate at maximum security facility. Thank you for using securists. You may start the conversation now.
I love Okay, the investigators in your Caseterrell, it was Detective Atrasha and Detective Angelo, right.
Yeah, Detective Angelo was though he was the leader of the case. Matasha was the one that lied about Jamal saying it was me at the show up. So what I was told was this from a lot of lawyers, and they all gave me the same answer, y'all in this situation, they pin this on you. It's because you asked for your lawyer. I asked my way. That's not right. They said, yeah, but you didn't tell them what they
wanted to hear, and they threw it on you. Jamal ain't here, So you could cut any words in that man's if you won't, because you can't put him on a stand and cross examine him. So what the cops do. They go on the stand and they think, no, they know, they know that the jury look at them as superheroes. The jury don't think that the cops are going to go on the stand and lie, and that's what they did. And Jamal ain't here. Now this is before this even
going on with George Floyd. This wasn't like twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, So around that time that climate was like, oh no, the publice ain't gonna lie on this.
Kid, Torell. You've gone through this insane nightmare. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong so far. But then comes the moment where the jury goes out and they come back in. Did you think that they were going to find you innocent? Tell us about that moment.
They bring me down in the elevator to the court room, and they can just feel like the tension in the courtroom and the jury come in their faces are funny. They said I was guilty, and then everybody, just my family, everybody was just like nah, he's in and say like they just went crazy. I'm just sitting there like and shocked. I'm in shock. Like everybody's standing up. I'm the only one sitting down and what got me out of the chance as I've seen Detective Angelo Levon laughing, So I said, yo,
what you think this is funny? They just looked at me, and I looked at Jamaal's family and I turned around to him. I said, I didn't do this to your son. I promise you. I promise you. I did not do this to your son. I did not do this. They didn't get justice for your son. They're lying to you, and they're just looking at me like in a shock.
Everyone's going crazy, so they earn that commotion. I've seen the prosecutor like hugged the brother like like they wanted the Super Bowl, smacking his back like yeah, yeah, we got him. And I'm just looking at him like you're lying too. This family, like this is a big lie, like you just found an innocent kid again. They just want to take conviction. I know they know why they do it, because the prosecutors do know when you see bogus charges, but you still go forward with it because
you want a conviction. They don't care yet.
Yeah, they're thinking about their future, their aspirations, the way they can be successful, and they know that's by having a good conviction rate by and large. But it's like it's some sort of six scoreboard, and there are decent
prosecutors out there. There's some really good ones too, but the ones that are willing to ignore evidence of innocence and prosecute clearly bogus cases like yours just to get another notch on their belt, just to move up the ladder are They're a disgrace and they're actually a menace to public safety.
They use on that for the stepson to talk. They want off family to make this family got them. Yeah, they just look at money sign like me cattle, you know.
And as if this case couldn't get worse or weirder, Stephan Boden put out a song. I guess he was trying to rid himself of the guilt of skating on the murder rap and allowing his friend to rotten prison right.
He wrote this song called Letter to Terrell. It's really more of a guilt trip, saying things like we should have never went out to the club that night. It's painful that you're in that cell. It's painful on my mother.
And I'm sorry that you win that gym.
It's painful on my mother.
But I think about you every day in life.
How is he out in Terrell's in prison?
Stephan Boden is now dead. He was shot in a car shooting in twenty seventeen.
It's too much. I mean, the good news is he's the only good news here I guess is that he's got a fantastic team. Now we've got some momentum. Can you talk about that new evidence, talk about his new lawyer and what lays ahead.
The original theory was if you hold a gun straight out in front of you, the GSR or gunshot residue will fly back and hit the chest area. As I mentioned before. However, Bob Kando, Terrell's newer attorney, went ahead and looked at the trajectory of the bullets and he had a couple of questions about where the shot was actually made from. How is it possible that Rokim didn't see the shooter? How is it possible that if Jamal gave a dying declaration, then he gave it to the
wrong person. And how is it possible that if Stefan's the real shooter, we find only lead on him. Where are the other particles of GSR? So Bob Kando goes ahead and puts in a request for other areas of Boden's clothing to be analyzed, including his cross and belt area. Lo and behold, they come back with more particles of GSR, which ends up being huge news. Putting together trajectory of the bullets. Putting together GSR, Stefan Boden actually took the
shots from right next to his belt. He actually did not hold the gun straight ahead. So if that were to happen, someone who's extremely intoxicated wouldn't be able to see the gun. And when I actually ended up speaking to Rakim later, I said, well, you know, the new evidence really says that the gun was next to him. He responds, he goes, oh, that might explain it. So that might explain why Rakem didn't see that Stephan shot him,
So that's very exciting. And with this new evidence, with the new affidavit that we have written, new eyewitnesses who are coming forward, family members of Stephan Boden who are coming forward and saying, I know Stefan did it. He told me multiple times. We are taking all of this and Bob is pushing for a hearing in September with emotion for new trial, and we're hoping that we can get Terrell home very soon.
And that leads to what happens now and what can people do?
A mini documentary came out about Terrell Barrows. Please check it out. The title of it is on YouTube. It's called Making an Exonery twenty twenty dash the Story of Terrell Barrows. And then that you'll really see everything that we outlined throughout this entire podcast, as well as getting to hear from people who heard from Steffan himself that
he did it. And then there's also a change dot org petition that sends a letter to the governor, who has been pretty vocal about, you know, the BLM movement and everything that's happening right now, so we're hoping that she'll also hop onto this change dot org slash free Terrellbarrow. So it's changed dot org slash free Terrell Barrows.
Our wonderful producers have put the link in the podcast description so you can just scroll down on whatever platform you're listening to. Please share it on social media. Tell people listen to the episode, watch the video content that's out there. We can win this. So now this is the part where I get to thank our guests in this case, or Jenna Handy, thank you for being here, and of course Terrell Barrows, We're here for you. I'm going to fight for you, and thank you as well
for sharing your thoughts with us. Now I'm going to turn off my microphone, pick back in my chair and Letnorgena Handy share her final thoughts in the segment we call closing arguments.
Terrelle is an amazing man. I could go on and on about who he is as a person, the character that he has, and the change that he will make when he is brought home. And it has been such an honor to be in his life, to be in his mother's life, to be in his attorney's life. And I'm hoping that we can prove Terrell's inn his and bring him home to his mom, to his family, and to society where he belongs and where I am one thousand percent sure that he is going to make a difference.
This is not the end and it's definitely not the beginning. This story with Terrell has happened many times in the past and unfortunately will continue to happen unless people like me, like you Jason, come together and bring Terrell home.
And now over to you Terrell again, thank you for being here, and thank you for your courage and your spirit. Hang in there. We're all out here rooting for you and more importantly fighting for you. So now over to you for closing arguments.
I just want to thank everybody for listening, and I want to start off I think and Jason for give me this platform to explain my situations. We need people like Jason mob Power, Madi Tank with the Georgetown students and Jean I'm Leo Caroline. They are fighting so hard for me. My attorney, Robert Kando, just want to thank him for being there for me and really really fighting for me because he knows I'm really innocent. You know. I also got to think the two main women in
my wife, my mother and Ann Lisia. If it wasn't for a Lisa reaching out to my out with that, none of this right now, this interview, the documentary, the petition, none of this would be going on right now because it wasn't for her. I want to thank my mother for always being there for me. Her strength is where I get it from. But right here, I'm innocent and she told me to fight, fight, fight until I get
my freedom. But the post conviction aren't coming up, and I'm fighting for a new child and I'm fighting for freedom. I need your help. I just need as much people to sign this petition.
You have one minute left.
Its spread the word allies. There's a lot of us in here that are voiceless, and I am blessed to have the family. I have to have this voice to speak because it's given me a platform to speak for the voiceless in this prison. I feel like people are playing in my life for a reason. I know that I'm gonna get out of jail and I gotta fight on the front line for people that are innocent in present because it has to stop. These props need to
be held a poundable. They're not just killing us in the streets, They're killing us in these courts and there's no consequences when they do it. They need to be accomplished. Too many people in the prison system, what their life took in the thought they didn't do it has to stop.
Don't forget to give us a fantastic review. Wherever you get your podcasts, it really helps. And I'm a proud donor to the Innocence Project and I really hope you'll join me in supporting this very important cause and helping to prevent future wrongful convictions. Go to Innocence Project dot org to learn how to donate and get involved. I'd like to thank our production team, Connor Hall and Kevin Wartis. The music in the show is by three time OSCAR
nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction and on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast. Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flamm is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts and association with Signal Company Number one