LFTG Radio
With truth as our guiding principle, we leave no stone unturned in our quest for unvarnished facts. Brace yourself as we take you on a journey to the gutters of society, where raw truth lies hidden beneath the layers of deceit and manipulation. No longer shall the masses be kept in the dark, for we have made it our mission to bring the light of truth to every dark corner of the world.
Join us as we unravel the enigmatic tapestry of global affairs, dissecting the complex web of events that shape our reality. Through rigorous investigation and unwavering determination, we aim to pierce through the veils of misinformation that cloud our minds and lay bare the raw truths that lie at the heart of every matter.
LFTG Radio
How Richmond County's Justice System Railroaded an Innocent Man
What happens when the justice system refuses to correct its mistakes? Edward Harrison's story is a chilling reminder of how difficult it is to overturn a wrongful conviction, even with compelling evidence of innocence.
Harrison describes being accused of raping a woman while he was already incarcerated for a parole violation – a physical impossibility that should have invalidated the case immediately. The complainant, described as a schizophrenic woman with addiction issues, later admitted to fabricating the allegation because she feared losing her bed at a treatment facility. Despite this recantation and numerous procedural violations – including detective-written statements, mismatched physical descriptions, and improperly handled evidence – Harrison was pressured into going to trial for a sexual misconduct he did not commit.
The consequences have been devastating. Harrison must register as a sex offender, undergo regular polygraph tests, and faces significant barriers to employment despite his qualifications. For over two years, Staten Island's Conviction Investigation Unit has possessed all evidence proving his innocence but continues to stall with claims they're "still reviewing" materials. Since its formation in 2019, this unit has overturned only one conviction, compared to hundreds reviewed by similar units in other NYC boroughs.
This conversation pulls back the curtain on Staten Island's notoriously conservative justice system, where judges, lawyers, and police officers live and work together, creating an environment resistant to acknowledging mistakes. Harrison's fight for vindication highlights how wrongful convictions disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities and the uphill battle faced by those seeking justice.
Have you witnessed similar injustices in your community? Share your thoughts and help spread awareness about the need for meaningful conviction review processes that operate with integrity and urgency.
Follow our IG & YouTube for live updates @LFTGRadio
Good morning, Godspeed. It's your boy, Elliot Carter, on the line with my OG, Ed. We're reporting live from the gutter. I got some serious stuff to talk about today, so let's get into it. Introduce yourself, Ed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my name you know everybody call me Ed. My name's Edward Harrison. You know I'm here with the good brother so I can make it happen and let it be known. You know that the jiu-jitsu system out there in Richmond County, you and let it be known. You know that the jiu-jitsu system out there in Richmond County, you know they're just like any other county. You know they falsely convict people and they know it and they don't feel, like you know, they should have to overturn a case or any cases that they falsely accuse somebody of.
Speaker 1:I agree that they falsely accuse somebody of.
Speaker 2:I agree, you know, staten Island specifically is the most corrupt borough when it comes to police in New York, exactly, and a real, how would you say it? Like it's a real conservative borough? Yeah, definitely, because a lot of judges, lawyers, police officers, they live out there so they actually feel they can do what they want to do with, no, you know, no consequences. Yeah, no repercussions. Exactly, just like you know, when they have their stat now in advance, that covers for them Absolutely. Yeah, they'll put in what we've done, but they won't say you know what the judicial system done, what the police department has done, or any of the errors made by the system.
Speaker 1:You know they always target our young black men. You know, that's a fact. I agree with you. I agree with you, that's a fact. So let's get into what was your wrongful conviction for?
Speaker 2:My wrongful conviction. It started out as rape in a second degree but as I was going on and challenging it and going through my hearings, they broke it down to the less included offense of the indictment. It was an indictment of two accounts and one was rape in a second degree. They tried to fancify it by saying it was like oh, it's a nonviolent, just take the cop out. I wasn't taking that because I didn't do anything. So they broke it down to sexual misconduct, you know, under the penal law of 130.20, subdivision 1. So, and to this day, because when people ask me, you know, how did they pick you out out of? You know, out of everybody. And that's a question I still can't even answer.
Speaker 1:Well, let's get into what the situation was so the viewers could understand. So they're saying they started off by saying it was second degree rape. Yes, all right. So what was the actual incident that occurred where they said you allegedly raped a?
Speaker 2:woman. Well, they were saying that some female, she was a schizophrenic drug addict, drug addict, self-mutilator, and they were stating that she said she was raped. And I don't know how, I don't know where. You know there was a lot of stuff with it. But I know, like the lawyer that I had at the time, somebody said he passed away Gregory Clark. He said if it would have been a black female, or even in a different barrel, he said it wouldn't even have went past the precinct. So you know the rape conviction. You know once it was like going through the hearings. You know I was taken into trial.
Speaker 2:They broke it down as sexual misconduct. And why did they do that? Because they didn't want to, because they know they couldn't Like when you go to trial I don't know if people's familiar with it when you go to trial they complain it. They must come to trial. Only reason that they don't come to trial, if there's, you know they're deceased. Deceased they're really, they're impaired or they are minor. And then they have to, pretty much have to go through certain channels if they're a minor. But once they realized I was taking it all away, they broke it down as sexual misconduct and you copped out to that, not with with the track.
Speaker 2:Oh, and you blew Because it's still on the indictment. It's still part of the indictment, even though, like some people think, because, like on indictment, you have certain accounts. You have certain accounts on the indictment, so your lowest account might be a misdemeanor, but you're still under indictment. Yeah, I get it. I get it. You understand what I'm saying. Like, once you're indicted that's what it is so you might have count one, count two, count three, so on and so forth. Mine was just a two-count indictment Rape in a second degree and sexual misconduct.
Speaker 1:Once they dismissed the rape, they must have thought that you were going to just cop out and not take it to trial. Right, you were going to just cop out and not take it to trial, right.
Speaker 2:So I did my hearings, I went through that and Mr Clark had told me he said listen, we got him. I waited, waited, waited. It came back. I didn't happen. But that's because I was like pretty much the fall guy for this person that they allegedly said was raped who was this person?
Speaker 1:what's? What's this female's name? Because if she's making false allegations, I think the world should know who she is and be aware of her yeah, uh, they said her name is, uh, sarah warner so you've never had any encounters with sarah warner I don't even know her, so how did you get picked to?
Speaker 2:be the fall guy. That's that's what I'm trying to find out to this day. You know how did she pick me? I?
Speaker 1:remember when we first spoke about this. I think you said if I'm not mistaken, you was actually incarcerated during the time that the incident occurred.
Speaker 2:Exactly, I was on a parole violation when the detectives came to see me and that's how, like, as time went on, I started finding out that this complainant, you know, was schizophrenic, self-mutilator drug addict. Also, you know, it came out that the complainant, sarah Warner, you know she repented her statement. She said that because she was saying that they wouldn't let her go out and smoke, by the paperwork and saying that they didn't let her go out and smoke a cigarette. I guess she was in a program called Chat House and they didn't let her go out and smoke. I guess she just left and they said they found her wandering and she was drunk or high or whatever the case may be. And then in the dd5 files they were showing how she was cursing them out. I don't want to deal with you people, fuck out of here. This, that and third, and then the last dd5, I guess they did they put on the medication, whatever the case may be. And then they did they put on a medication, whatever the case may be, and then they did it again. I'm just going by what the lawyer was telling me at that point.
Speaker 2:So then it come to find out in the paperwork that I have, and I had sent it to you where she said, oh, I was never raped. I lied and I devised a story of being raped because she thought she was going to lose her bed at the chat house she was at. I guess it's like a drug program or people that deal with like or have like schizophrenic whatever. And I did my research on schizophrenia. Schizophrenia doesn't mean like. A person is like fully crazy what it is. They compile stories. Yeah, definitely so, definitely. So you know, when they try to say that, oh, she was schizophrenic, this and that like, or even if she was under the fluence of drug, that's when I had started doing a lot of research on it. When a person is under the fluence of drugs or anything of that nature, and if you have sex with them, technically there's no, it's not consensual.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm telling you know, I started like explaining to people that you know, if you suppose you don't even know this person, and they come up with a story like that, like, how do you counter that? Yeah, then on top of that, they try to say that, oh, we got a dna. This was all like in the beginning of the case, but as I got an attorney, an attorney found out that the district attorney's office not a lab, but they they office held somebody's DNA, or they held DNA that they allegedly stated was mine, but they held it for a year. How do you? You know? It was something similar to like the Grant Williams case. Yeah, when they, they or they were saying they had a hat with DNA, come to find out they had no hat, or if they did have a hat, the DNA was tainted. Once you keep it in your, in your office, it's tainted now. So whose DNA is it?
Speaker 1:yeah, my whole thing is this if you could clearly establish that you was incarcerated during the time of the incident, how come you can't get it overturned, because obviously you weren't even in the vicinity of her when the incident occurred? And then, second, I want to know was there a rape case?
Speaker 2:Right, that's what I'm trying to. They're saying that they sent it to the lab after a year, but if I'm already locked up, I'm upstate. It's a case called SINGA. Right People versus SINGA. They charged a guy. In his case it was a murder. He was already upstate as he was getting ready to come home. They come to pick him up and they said it was a sealed indictment that was similar to mine's. Mine's, it was just a sex offender case. So, that being said, they violated. It's considered. Also, it was proof that when the detectives came to see me when I was upstate, there was no audio, no video. There was nothing.
Speaker 2:It was a statement that was supposed to have been produced. Well, it was produced, but then it was Gregory Clark started questioning the detective Detective Anthony DeMaria, that he actually stated in the hearing because you know I have my waiting hearing he wrote the statement. He wrote the statement Absolutely and he actually stated, like when some of the paperwork I sent you it's in there and Mr Clark was questioning him on it Like, what do you mean? You wrote the statement? You mean to tell me you had the man in the room. You had him in there for like an hour or two hours and you only wrote a half a page. Also, he stated that when they asked him, like you know, make a description of me, he said I was like 5'10", 220 pounds. I'm 5'6". You understand what I'm saying? That, yeah.
Speaker 1:And how much did you weigh at the time?
Speaker 2:At that time I was only like 205.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was just completely off, right, and he also.
Speaker 2:Did he provide?
Speaker 1:a description. That was the description.
Speaker 2:He didn't even go into all of that, like he said, said you know I was 5, 10 210 pounds. You know I was light-skinned, I'm not light-skinned, yeah, you understand. He also admitted that he issued my Miranda warnings and see, all this was done like post the Central Park 5 case. So now you were supposed to follow a certain protocol.
Speaker 1:Especially after that case.
Speaker 2:It wasn't even followed. Also from the gate, like I stated. You know, the complainant stated that she lied. I have five different uh, dd-5 files, right, I have. It was five different statements that was made. The last statement is when they put on a medication, whatever the case, and she admitted that she lied. So my thing is how did you, like you know, stat now that she lied? So my thing is how did you, like you know, stat now? And it's so corrupted with all of that, how did you even get an indictment? And then, when you look at, because they said she kicked me out in the photo, right, but now when you go through all the paperwork prior to the indictment is saying unknown, unknown, unknown, so you don't know who it is. If the person is unknown, how did she pick me out in the photo, right? I wasn't even on the scene, I was on a parole violation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what were you on a parole violation for?
Speaker 2:I was on a parole violation because at that time you know they was violating people using drugs and this and that and I had caught a misdemeanor for a misdemeanor assault on what's her name. They used to live in West I'm not West Brighton, stapleton, her name is Janisa, I don't know her last name, but prior to that she had spit on me, spit some food on me, so when I seen her I slapped her for spitting on me and it was a misdemeanor. It was a misdemeanor assault. So they gave me nine months for a misdemeanor assault and at that time, like I stated, they was violating me for that. So after I did my nine months I did six months out of the nine they sent me upstate For a violation, right, for a parole violation, and, being that I had a violent crime, I was category one, so I had 18 months On top of the six you just did, exactly. So I was gone for like 24 months and then when they brought me back down for the case to fight the case, I laid up like 11 more months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy. So how long were you incarcerated for before they actually brought you down and alleged that you raped this woman?
Speaker 2:The 24th, I was locked up like 20, 23 and a half months yeah, that's crazy. And it was like the day I was supposed to get paroled to come home. What they did? They had packed me up like maybe like three, four days prior to that and I'm like, okay, I think I'm going down to Lincoln or Edge one of them spots, because they was open at that time they brought me to Ulster County, put me in a box you know they had me in a shoe instead of general population, put me there.
Speaker 2:The date of my release was I, I think was a Monday or it was a matter of fact it was a Tuesday because that Monday was a holiday. They brought me back down and I was like what's this? Oh, this is the breaking of the seal of an indictment, you know. And I was like about what? And they was like well, you've been accused of rape in the second degree. And I was like what? So the first lawyer that they gave me? She kept saying I don't even remember her name. She kept saying, oh, just take the cop out, it's nothing. It's like it's my first day in court. I don't even know what's going on. They offer you one and a half to three, just take it. And I was like, no, I'm not taking nothing. Next time I went to court I had Gregory Clark.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the right thing. When you have a lawyer like that that you don't even know and the first thing they're telling you to do is take the cop out or take whatever the DA is offering you. My advice to everybody listening fire them.
Speaker 2:Exactly Because we should be treated as if we was like police officer or anybody else.
Speaker 2:Let me go to my preliminary hearings. You had due diligence. See, it's a thing, it's called due diligence. Yeah, well, I've been arrested. I got a nice number. So for you to put a sealed indictment, pretty much, you saying you don't know where I'm at, you don't know my whereabouts. But then you sent two detectives to come talk to me all the way upstate. So you know my whereabouts and as I I'm in the system, I have a nice number. I'm not saying I have a halo full of my head. You know what I mean Because, like I tell people at that time, I'm a robber. You know what I'm saying. I ain't no rapist, I ain't no burglar, I'm none of that. I'm a robber.
Speaker 2:Well, I was you know, since I've been home yeah, back in the day, that's what I did, so to be accused of something like this and Richmond County, like the lawyer I have, she's a she's a good lawyer, but it's like she doesn't want to rock the boat because she knows how Staten Island is.
Speaker 1:Oh, the one that told you you should just take the cop out.
Speaker 2:No, my lawyer I have now. Oh, okay, yeah, I have a lawyer now and she submitted under a conviction investigative unit. They don't call it the conviction review unit or Staten Island, it's called the conviction investigative unit. They don't call it the conviction review unit or stat now, it's called the conviction investigative unit and they have the case. They've been holding that case for two years.
Speaker 2:All the evidence that's stacked against them. They've been holding it for two years and for the last 10 months they've been telling my lawyer because when I call, I try to call her like every other month or once a month to see what's going on and she's saying, well, the district, the ada on it, is saying that they're still going through the uh, the grand jury minutes. So I'm I'm staying like how do you go through something for 10 months? Yeah, like that's a stall tactic. It is. I want people to know that you know Richmond County like they. Only because I looked it up, I did my research only one person, one person that the conviction investigative unit overturned a case and that was Grant Williams.
Speaker 1:And how many years has that department been active?
Speaker 2:Since 2019. They stayed on paper when I looked it up through Google. Theirs started in 2019.
Speaker 1:And how many cases did they process for only one case? No, you said one case was overturned, but how many cases actually went through that department that they processed that weren't overturned?
Speaker 2:Per.
Speaker 1:Google that. I looked it up. It stated that it was only that one case, grant Williams. No, yeah, I get what you're saying. You're saying that Grant Williams was the only case overturn overturned. I'm asking how many cases weren't, how many cases failed to get overturned?
Speaker 2:they're saying that. They're saying that that was the only case. Yeah, it's not always the only case that they've reviewed oh, okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:so they haven't, they're just inactive, they're not doing shit.
Speaker 2:Right, and then they say that or one, like when I was going through it. They're saying that at one time the new district attorney, which is Michael McElhorn, he was stating something about, oh, they didn't have the funds. And then, as time went on, they found out. Well, I found out through reading and through my little research they had received $425,000 for that. You know, because every you're not going to sit there and say that all these other boroughs, even certain counties, when they get their money for the district attorney's office that you didn't fund, you know Staten Island, you didn't give them enough money to start a conviction investigative unit. You're not going to say that, like you know, you can tell the people that and it sounds good, especially the people out there, because, like, as I stated, there's a bunch of judges, lawyers and police officers, so they're going to be shaking their head when he says something. I'm like, yeah, that's true, but it's not, it's not so with that Grant Williams case.
Speaker 1:How long did it take for them to review the case and overturn it?
Speaker 2:This case was. I think it was like 22 months. It's what like about 22, say, rounded off 23 months. So what like by 22, they rounded off 23 months. They took, you know to even answer it and they answered his in July of 2021. So since then they haven't done another case, and I know mine's they had mine since 23, 23, may 8th, because I have the paperwork where my lawyers have sent it in. It was around May 8th of 2023 and you're just sitting on a case with all of this stacked against it and you you saying, like you still reviewing the grand jury minutes yeah, grant Williams is un right. Yeah, that's un. They used to call him boo-boo back in the days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think my uncle helped him come home. Yeah, he was in Green Haven. Yeah, I'm pretty sure London had his hands in that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I know he had went through the Innocent Project also. I guess he helped him. You know, get through to get through the Innocent Project. I don't know and I'm not going to. You know, spread nothing false.
Speaker 1:Have you reached out to London and let him know the situation that you're in?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I had talked to him one time because he had called my nephew, Ricker, and we was in a car together, Definitely, and I had spoke to him then and I think at that time he was in Firepoint Because me and him was in Sing Sing together. When I had started that bit off, we was in Sing Sing and he's the one that really opened my eyes to the law when I started explaining certain things to him and he was like, listen, because he worked in the law library when I was in Sing Sing. Yeah, that's a fact. So he was like, I'm going to get you in the law library. I gave him my name, my number. He got me pulled down in the law library. I gave him my name, my number, he got me pulled down and that's from that point on, you know, I would go down there every day.
Speaker 2:And one thing I could say about him he down for his business when it comes to that law and he ain't going to sugarcoat it. And he let me know. He said listen, no telling where. If I'm going to stay here, you stay here, whatever the case. So, no telling, if I'm going to stay here, you stay here, whatever the case. So take this book read it, read up on it.
Speaker 1:What book was that that he told you to read up on?
Speaker 2:It was the Lawyer's Cooperative. That's the. It's a lawyer. He's a high-powered lawyer from out of Rochester and he wrote that book, the Lawyer's Cooperative. Every I think it's like every year or every two years he comes out with a more upgraded book. Yeah, so I had got that book and, if I'm not mistaken, it was like an older book, the Lawyer's Cooperative. But it's all good and he had gave me that because to this day, I still got the book, the actual one that he gave you. Yeah, it's to this day I still got the book, the actual one that he gave you. Yeah, it's called the lawyer's cooperative. I brought it home with me and everything, because it was like, you know, with certain people give you certain things. It's like it has like a, a value to it. Yeah, definitely. So I took that as like sentimental, valueimental value to it, exactly, and that's how I took that. I was like, okay, this is coming to me that brought me for the whole thing.
Speaker 1:You still have it today, so that speaks of its significance.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And you know, my thing is like why? You know, I hear people they speak about certain things, but they don't talk about Richmond County, they'll talk about Manhattan. Manhattan last year was like the beginning of this year. I don't want to call it wrong because I know you know we're about truth and facts, but I know this one case that was just recently overturned in Manhattan. It was a Spanish brother and what I'm getting at is that Manhattan said that they reviewed over 500 cases.
Speaker 1:Meanwhile in Staten Island. We've reviewed one, reviewed one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:I think that number alone should cause some type of internal investigation, because, like, what are y'all doing?
Speaker 2:Right, you mean to tell me you only did two cases? Right, you didn't even do two. You got one in your office now and you did one. So you mean to tell me they don't need a federal probe? Yeah, I agree, they need a federal probe to go. I agree, they need a federal probe to go into their records and find out, like, why are all the boroughs and the counties you're not even reviewing cases?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree, because you're not going to sit here and say you've been there since 2019, which makes you seem like you're the last of all the five boroughs to even have a conviction investigation unit, because you have Brooklyn, queens, manhattan, the Bronx, all these other boroughs. They have uh, uh, there's some call it a conviction review units. Staten Island, cause, there's uh conviction investigating unit, just like when you have the uh, what's that Uh finishing project? Then you have, like the uh, the branches. That's off to it, because I guess anybody can't go under the uh that, that that said off to it, because I guess anybody can't go under the uh, that that's saying yeah, innocent project.
Speaker 2:So you have, like uh, an innocent initiative.
Speaker 2:Uh, yeah, just a bunch of different right, it's like it's like a tree and you have branches, that that that go out. It's called like bifurcating. So when you, when you have these other things of these lawyers, they don't have the juice Like the Innocent Project where they can get your stuff out to the media quick and that's why they answer so many things so fast. Yeah, because they have the resources. Yeah, and again, like it was an incident where when I went to a lawyer's office since I've been home and pretty much they was like once they found out it was Richmond County, they backed up Then a few times, lawyers, you talk to them and they'll be like, okay, you know where is this at. I said, well, it happened in Richmond County. Oh well, you know, we only do civil. It's like everybody's kind of like frightened yeah, they start getting cold?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's so conservative, and a lot of lawyers you know some of them might live out there and they don't want to rock the boat and keep it real, which is like you know how they say it justice delayed, justice denied yeah, and that's what it's like. I even went and spoke to Yusuf Salam's mother about trying to help me. You know they don't do legal stuff, but they're supposed to be like. You know, somebody said they can get your stuff out there. They have an influence on the media Right, and I'm still on the media Right and I'm still waiting for her phone call.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, we're going to get your stuff out there now. Do you think? Can your evidence vindicate you, and are they facts or truth?
Speaker 2:Yeah, everything I have is facts. The only way they wouldn't if they rubber-stamped it, but if they follow the letter of the law and they see once the person recanted and with all the evidence stacked against them. As far as the detectives wrote the statement, they issued my Miranda warnings. The complainant is a schizophrenic, self-mutilator drug addict. All that alone should have put them in a thing. Be like you know what. It wasn't even supposed to go past the prison, pretty much. Yeah, that's, that's crazy, yeah. And then I you know, as I stated, you know how do you get dna. You're saying you have dna but you hold it in your office for a whole year prior to you even sending it, I guess, to a lab or wherever they sent it. And then they said it's mine. Anybody could that could be anybody. You just stated it was mine.
Speaker 2:And this was during a time when, like it was, you know us prisoners at that time, they was enforcing prisoners to give up their DNA, like blood or whatever the case may be, and they was pretty much saying like well, docs. I don't know if the government was saying it, but I know docs, when I was upstate, was saying like, well, and if you don't give it to us. They're going to forcefully take it, which means they're going to assault you, cuff you and take your blood. Yeah, you know your uncle, I know he tell you what it is about, how docs has been going on, like in Marcy, mid-state and a few of these other prisons, attica, where they was really like killing people. Yeah, you know. So you know. With that being said, who's to say that they didn't take you know the DNA and say, oh, this is his or this is his, because it's happened. Like I stated with the grant williams case, you said you had a baseball cap with dna in it. Now you can't find the dna or the cap yeah, it's out of pocket.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you this how has this false conviction of sexual misconduct affected you in your life?
Speaker 2:It's affected me because, like certain jobs I might go to and even if I have the qualifications, once they do a background check, that mixes it. That automatically mixes it. You know, my family and everybody, they all know I'm innocent, so I don't have a problem with that. But you know, before I got all the paperwork, some people they look at that and oh man, did he do it? Is he telling the truth? He didn't do it. You understand what I'm saying, so that skepticism, skepticism and people's heads, yeah, skepticism, and people's heads Like, like what's going on?
Speaker 2:Well, how did you get accused? You know what I mean and you know most people. They get brainwashed sometimes by the system. They feel like, well, if you, if you were accused of it, you did it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So do you think this conviction took a shot at your reputation? Yes, it did. Yes, it did. Do you feel like niggas in the streets started dealing with you differently after that?
Speaker 2:To be honest, like, especially like on Staten Island, people will say things. But when you present they won't say it. But you can feel it Like Beanie Seaton said one time you know the handshake ain't matching the smile. Yeah, you feel me, that handshake ain't matching the smile, ain't matching the smile. But I'm getting it out to the people now, like for all those who were saying it behind my back or whatever. You know, with the paperwork, I have it all. Ask me, I'll show it to you. You understand what I'm saying. I got everything to show that. The lies and the deception of Richmond County, yeah, so it did. It did Like me personally, like I still move on with my life in whatever the case may be. But when that's like over your head, you know it's hard to get like certain type of employment or jobs it's hard to. Some people might be like well, you know, okay, you got paid with, you didn't do it, but you go to the crib or whatever the case may be, and it's like they don't want you around their kids or something.
Speaker 1:And it wasn't even kids.
Speaker 2:It's a full, it's an adult. It was an adult, yeah, and I got daughters of my own, so that's one thing I always had pride of myself in. Prior to the case, Like I never had that on my record, yeah was telling him how do you? You know you're trying to get this man home with the registration and it's a sexual misconduct. He doesn't even have a history, no background, no nothing. All is just robberies.
Speaker 1:So do you have to register. Are you sex offender because of this? Yeah, so do you have to register? Are you sex offender because of this? Yeah, so what would getting?
Speaker 2:this conviction overturned mean to you it would be like like a form of parole. You understand what I'm saying now. It's like you made the parole board, yeah, you know. And it's like I hear people say after the conviction it gets overturned, oh, I'm not angry, you know, as time went on I let the anger go and moved on with my life and just you know I fought this to get here.
Speaker 2:Anybody with that over their head, you know, has some form of anger, like let's keep it real. The lawyer probably tell them. Don't say you're angry or whatever, because it looks like you know you want to be vindictive or whatever. How are you going to be vindictive or whatever? How are you going to be vindictive to the judicial system? You can't win that fight, yeah, but you can be angry. You understand what I'm saying now? Not at all. What do I look like? Trying to go after them? I'm fighting two brothers and a cousin. You can't win pretty much, yeah, but you still feel it Like you know whether it's a murder, a robbery, a burglary, and you get it overturned, you still. You spent time in prison for that. You was accused of that. You was looked at now like people you know may not even trust you no more. So yeah, I'm angry.
Speaker 1:You have every right to be angry. You know what I'm saying. If you're falsely convicted of something that you didn't do and it's altered your life. You haven't been able to find, you know work that you're qualified for. You got people side-eyeing you and looking at you suspicious. You have to register as a sex offender and you're not a sex offender. So my heart goes out to you. I feel for you.
Speaker 2:Yesterday. Matter of fact, yesterday I was at parole. Now, like they take like sex offenders, they take their picture. Sex offenders, they take their picture. I think it's like every 90 days you have to take a photo. Yesterday I had to take a photo. Was it a photo? No, I did the polygraph. That's something that you do for a sex offender.
Speaker 1:Like why would you polygraph me, and what are some of the questions that they're asking you when they polygraph?
Speaker 2:you. Well, I had told them that you can't ask me any legal, like the first time they did it, they was asking me, well, about the case and I kept denying it. So when this polygraph came back, it came back like like I lied or something because I kept denying it. And this is, you know, once it's focused into, okay, this is what you was locked up for, and I wasn't even that, for that parole I'm on now hasn't even nothing to even do with the case. It's just the way that the facility printed out my release papers. So now they got me going to that. So I did that yesterday and, uh, that they asked. Well, they couldn't ask me nothing yesterday because, like I told them yesterday, I said, listen, my case is in litigation now and I can't answer it.
Speaker 2:My words to don't answer these questions, yeah, you know, but as far as the podcast or anything I speak on, I'm going to let it be known I'm and listen later. For all that, don't, don't answer this question, don't say this. This has to be stated. It has to be stated in the record, because if I'm falsely accused, I need somebody to hear it. I need somebody to even go down to my lawyer's office. Listen, if you don't have the resources to get it out there, you know we're going to help you now because now it's out there.
Speaker 2:You know people always like to come on the aftermath. You understand I'm saying like once it's out there or you found somebody to get it out. It's like once you get always like to come on the aftermath. You understand what I'm saying. Once it's out there or you found somebody to get it out, it's like once you get a lawsuit, you could be looking for a bunch of lawyers to help you out. They won't help you until the suit starts being activated. Now they want to come out to Woodworth. Listen, we will help you represent, we'll participate with your lawyer and this and that because now everybody want a piece of the pie. Yeah, exactly, you know I have a good lawyer. She's like, when it comes to like stagnant, you know like she's pretty much like passive-aggressive. Yeah, you know, but she got over 45 years of being a lawyer. I looked up in the lawyer's diary. It's got like 45 years in the lawyer and she's she's excellent, but she, she knows how Staten Island is and she doesn't want to.
Speaker 2:You know run after me Right and they rubber stamp my, my case, Cause it's pretty much Right and they rubber stamp my case. Yeah, Pretty much. That's how Staten Island is, If you know. If you get at them, they're going to just rubber stamp it. I know that for a fact because when I was upstate and when you say rubber stamp.
Speaker 2:What do you mean by that? They're just denied, just like dang stamp. Ok, it's denied, yeah, and under the conviction investigation unit, lawyers, a lot of lawyers well, the eight additional district attorney's officers know that. It's like, uh, pretty much how you want to put it. It's like the grand jury. That's their fault so, and there's no appeal process for it. So you would have to try to come at them another way. If they deny it, come with a 440 or find a loophole. That's either a statutory or constitutional violation to come after them, and staten allen knows that. So this is why they they're milking my case. They're not doing any other cases. You know what I mean. Hopefully brothers from this here will start like putting in their paperwork, getting lawyers and putting in their paperwork to show that. You know like, let's keep it fair, yeah.
Speaker 1:I agree. I hope everything works out for you and I hope you know you coming on this podcast and us getting you out there it benefits you in some way, right?
Speaker 2:hopefully, like with the paperwork that was sent to you, it gets out there and when people read it now they can. You know you still gonna get the sideways looks, because you know the case hasn't been actually overturned.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just the nature of the case hasn't been actually overturned. Yeah, just the nature of the case is uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:Right. But now that the paperwork is out there, now you know, now people can be like oh snap, he was innocent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now they could witness your innocence, Right and the same way you know, like when I was locked up, like you know, sometimes like brothers talking and they say, like why wait till it's done? Whether it's family members or your homie, whatever the case may be, whatever you know, identify with people outside of your family members With this being said now, that's out there, we need to start. You know we protest for everything, but the right thing we need to protest. You know in'll protest for everything but the right thing we need to protest, you know, in front of this district attorney's office on Richmond County and sound like you know enough is enough with these wrongful convictions, because I'm quite sure you know especially us as black and brown people. We know we have family members that have been falsely accused. We know we have family members that have been falsely accused. You know why not go in front of the district attorney office out there on Staten Island and march in front of them. You know, request for a federal probe. We need a federal probe out here because there's a bunch of people that I know that was locked up with me.
Speaker 2:Whether they take a plea or they went to trial, staten Island won't even file your notice of appeal and that's something that is your lawyer. That's their last obligation to you. I looked that up and everything. If your lawyer don't file your notice of appeal, they drop the ball. Yeah, you know because drop the ball, yeah, you know, because you can't. And they always say, well, I took a plea, this, and that my lawyer said I can't appeal it, you can't waive a constitutional right. So for them to not file your notice of appeal, that's a constitutional right. That's ineffective in the sense of trial counsel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm sure you're probably opening a lot of eyes to things that people don't know.
Speaker 2:Exactly because one of the last cases that Sonia Sotomayor you know who that is? No, she's a United States Supreme Court Justice. She's from out the Bronx. That's the Spanish lady. I don't know. I know she's of Latin descent. I don't know exactly if she's Dominican, puerto Rican or whatever the case may be, but I know she's of Latin descent and she's for the people. You know what I mean. And she sits up there now in the United States Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the land. But she came from the Second Circuit, which covers things in the Eastern District, everything that's considered under the Eastern District. That's where the Second Circuit covers district. That's where the Second Circuit covers.
Speaker 2:Her last case prior, or one of the last cases, it was Compasano v US. She made the actual decision on that case and she stated in there that you know it doesn't matter, you went to trial, you take a plea or whatever the case may be misdemeanor, felony. The last obligation of a lawyer is to file your notice of appeal Period. You know what I'm saying. If they feel you have no meritorious issues, they file your appeal pursuant with an Andes brief, which is California versus Andes. That pretty much states that you have no issues, no meritorial issue, but we're going to file your appeal so the appellate court can look to see if you have any constitutional issues or statutory issues that need to be addressed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, as far as like that I have. You know brothers get on the thing. They say they know the law. You know we all know the law, but do we understand the law? We can read something and be like, okay, I read that, I know that, but do you understand it? That's a different issue now. Yeah, so you know the evidence that I have. You know. Hopefully, you know, they look at it, review it and stop playing with it and give me my just due, give me my vindication. Yeah, I agree, you know, instead of working against the people you're like you want these votes. You know, because you get voted in to be the district attorney, you want these votes. You know, do the right thing. And Grant Williams' case Michael McEnroe he stated that you know if cases is being brought forth for these wrongful convictions, he's going to. You know they're going to move expeditiously to right the wrong. You know, as it stands right now, he's being mendacious. He's not right in the wrong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, hopefully we could get the ball rolling to help you with that. Before we close out this interview, I wanted to ask you one last question. Sure, I wanted to ask you to, uh, give us some rodents from your era. You know, I'm saying, yeah, let's, let's speak on that real quick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I know like this dude, I don't know. I don't know his government, but they used to call they. They called him nitty at the time. Okay, he's, he's like up there my age, if not older. You know, he got matter of fact. He, he got a, a baby from his uh sister named daisy puerto rican chick. He's a bro.
Speaker 1:He told all mal jibs, you understand, oh uh, scooties pops, yeah, scooties pops is a rat too, who mal jibs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what he told on some african niggas in queens but they were saying that that was the dude, nitty, that did that. Oh, the Africans in Queens, yeah, because he was messing with Jibbs at the time. Him and Jibbs was down together. Yeah, jibbs told Wow, that's in black and white. Yes, sir, okay, okay. Well, I know Nitty had told on him His son is a rat too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I heard. I heard he told on Thomas Cintron. That's in black and white too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know who Thomas Cintron is. They probably a younger crowd. Yeah, probably.
Speaker 1:Oh, maybe he's in your age bracket. Maybe he's in your age bracket, but you know from the interview when I did with him he definitely sounded like a rat hunter. He said he was going to catch Scootie and fuck him in the ass Damn that's some gay shit, that's gay.
Speaker 2:That's like even when I hear brothers like, tell other brothers, you know what I mean. Like, and this is I got one time me and your uncle was talking and somebody we heard you know cause you know sound travels 1,100 feet per second. Somebody told me, man, fuck you, you're gonna suck my dick. And your uncle was like, wow, he should just punch him in the face. Like you know, he must be a homosexual. You're telling another man to suck your dick. Like that's some gay shit. Yeah, you understand. Like when dudes be saying you know, suck my dick. Like you're telling a dude that like you gay. Like you know that's my opinion. That don't mean it's valid, but that's how I look at it. Like I'd rather just punch you in your face. Yeah, tell you like, suck my dick, I'll just punch you in the face. You know what I mean. If it's that bad, get off the fucking, off the off the podcast and go and go handle your business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, niggas, just like running their mouth, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, then you had like other brothers too, like um, um, his brother, uh, deshaun lewis. He laid the booby in him and I think that's his niece or somebody that just got arrested for stabbing up some old lady or something. He's a rat who he told that um, um, deshaun lewis, oh yeah, he's a brat. He told on mike Deshaun Lewis oh yeah, he's a brat. He told on Mike Boone back in the days Boone Boone, yeah, that's Blocker.
Speaker 1:And his uncle. Yeah, I was about to say that you got to be related to Keynote and them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know. That's why when I heard like I've been listening to your podcast and everything and I heard that I was like they should know better because what happened to their uncle? You know what I mean. But everybody like you know we need to sit here and call, but we all got rats and somebody that's ratting our family. We may not be one, but we got somebody. That family has a rat. You know what I mean. So because what you would call it, what's his name? I don't his real name, because he named that for his father, his mother, scootie's mother. That's my cousin, donna. Yeah, yeah, that's my cousin.
Speaker 1:Scootie's name is Darren Lloyd. Yeah, the Lloyds have a lot of rats in their family those are my cousins through marriage yeah, that's very unfortunate for you. Yeah, is it right?
Speaker 2:so it's like you know, but there's a bunch more. There's a bunch more like there was just one brother he told somebody, uh, matter of fact, he told me he said, yo, you was talking shit about me. I said how was I talking shit about you? You're going around saying I told on you like, yeah, you did. Yeah, but you know, you going around, you know pretty much cause I'm going around, like somebody asked me, because he's not running around like a tough guy front end. He ain't doing that. You know he ain't no punk, but he's not running around doing it. He's staying in his lane as a rat, right, pretty much. And he told on me, you know what I mean. So and he live out there and shit, he lived. They say he live in a harvard now. So is that he's not running around doing that? Somebody asked me. I heard um, you know elijah had told on you. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he did I wish you nothing wrong with that. He wants you to not tell people, not speak on it, pretty much ignore the fact that he's a rat yeah, you told on me.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. I went upstate with a five to ten at that time and wound up doing close to 17 years because you know I was young man, vibrant, I'm running around the penitentiary, you know what I mean Putting in work and I caught a new bid. I caught two new bids on that case and I wound up doing like close to 17 years on the fly of the tent, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Then you had the kid he used to be in Stapleton. I don't know where he be at now. This kid named Wiz Gary Hernandez Shorty Wiz Nah, he's a dude. He's not no female. Somebody was saying they got a female out there named.
Speaker 1:Wiz. Yeah, but there's a dude out there named Shorty Wiz too.
Speaker 2:Shorty, I don't know. I know Wiz. His name is Gary Hernandez. Okay, he trolled on me on the last bit. I just did. You know for a robbery.
Speaker 1:Yeah man, Staten Island's full of rapists.
Speaker 2:And I'm on life parole because of that. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. He trolled on me and it's crazy because back in the days in the 80s oh hell, rails, uncle, you know, he told the police, told me, when I robbed the ups truck, oh man. So you know, when people start talking that you know we stole those stones at my house to make sure yours ain't. You know yours ain't glass. Yeah, facts, you understand, make sure yours ain't glass. But he's another one, like he's cool, I see him he be like yo, what's up, what's happening, how you doing, but anything I can't tell the district attorney, I don't tell him. Yeah, I agree, man, anything you can't tell a district attorney, don't say it. If you know the person is a rat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean anything. You can't tell a district attorney. You shouldn't be telling none of these niggas and we could end up with that man plus the murder game like I hear you talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I made this down. Murder game ain't to be talked about. Ain't no statute of limitations on that? Yeah, you know. So this damn thing, that thing, murder game ain't to be talked about. Ain't no statute of limitation on that? Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:So Then you got him on the podcast coming up here solving crimes, talking about, you know, such and such, pushed this nigga out the window and killed him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I heard like that's another thing, like what got me, because one day I was going through like because my.
Speaker 2:That snitching right there, yeah, what got me? Because one day, when I was going through, like because my um snitching right there, yeah, because I had pushed the thing up right and uh, because, uh, somebody helped me set up my Instagram, so when I had set it up I had seen, you know, your, your logo I said let me see what this is about and that you know and I'm starting to hear about, uh, you know you do a lot of things, especially with people on Staten Island. So so I really started and I started seeing certain shit and I started hearing and I heard when the brother, when he said that may he rest in peace then pushed the dude out the window.
Speaker 1:Yeah, facts Like you just told you just told he has allegations of telling on his name already. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:So if anything, that's a confirmation Right, right, especially after you put somebody else out there and you tell it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a fact you understand, like, but his brother, now Dan's brother, like, that's my age category, you know, because people were saying that Dan was wearing a wire, he was this, he was that, but I know his brother, his brother's official. May he rest in peace. To shit, curtis, he was efficient. Yeah, you know, like I don't. I never heard of him telling you know, so it's a whole bunch of people. Yeah, we could go on, we could go on and on and on and on forever. Like you know, especially like my generation. They like, like, like the Dells. They a big family, but they had a couple of rats in their family, like people it's naming certain people because but they got family members. That was rats too, from way back then, you know.
Speaker 1:Nobody can ever put that on me. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:And nobody can put that on me. You know why? Because all my crimes, pretty much like I got caught by myself. Even if I was with somebody and they got away, I got caught. I held. That, yeah, likewise you know, and I pride myself in that I can. That, yeah, likewise you know, and I pride myself on that. I can look in the mirror every day. You know what I'm saying and be like at least I ain't telling. No, motherfucker, you know, motherfucker, behind my back will call me a sex offender, but in my face they're not going to call it because I probably know something about them or somebody in their family. Like your family use a rat, you know, and I know it's hard to get away from family members that are rats because they're going to be in your circumference going family events, stuff like that, and nobody wants to ostracize them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I'm here for ostracize and destroy, eliminate all that and you know what.
Speaker 2:That's what made me really have, made me be attracted to your station, because you was putting, and then it was like certain people that was being said out there that I didn't even know pretty much, because they was like a younger crowd or whatever. And then, like I like it, like your uncle you know your uncle and like myself, you know we spent a lot of our life in prison because of rodents, right, and due to that, like people that's been out there, like from the last 20 years ago. I couldn't answer that because I was locked down. Yeah, you understand, but you know I can call out some rats that like, oh, the kid, mike Z, I don't know if you heard of him, mike Z, he's a rat, he told.
Speaker 2:And this goes back to when my boy he had a four to eight for a gun charge because he was fucking with some chick and Mike Z used to fuck with her. He kept coming around trying to disrupt the relationship. One thing led to another. He went and got his slammer, like let's get, you know, let's go, and Mike Z called the police on him. Shit like that. Yeah, and these are the type of dudes that was around like the old time I heard him say on your thing, like he used to be around, uncle and all of them.
Speaker 1:Uncle's from Park Hill. Yeah, so he was talking about Mike Z, I believe, and you said he's rodents. Let's get back into that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mike Z he was. You know he was a known rat. You know what I mean. He told, he told so and that's just what it is. Like you know, even in my family, you know I got some rodents and like I stated anything I can't tell a distant attorney. I won't tell them Because you know family, family will tell on you too. That's a fact. People always think like, oh, that's family, this, and that Family will get you too, you know, just to save their own ass.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, just to save their own ass. Yeah, you know, and I just like most people that that know me like, if you do like an investigation on, maybe like yo, he wasn't really like a people person. He, he go do his thing and that was it. Because I know how people are. I've seen people that I know and certain individuals they used to talk about and they was like yo. He told on me and this is like my era growing up, so I always had that thing.
Speaker 2:And then an old time told me one time, you know, in Brooklyn. He was like listen, if you feel you can't trust him, don't do nothing around him, don't do nothing with him. He said don't be with a person that people are saying that he's a snitch. You know, back then they used to call them stool pigeons. Don't be with somebody that's a stool pigeon and when something happens now what you going to do, you shouldn't have been with him.
Speaker 2:And I hear a couple of people on your cast. You know they be yeah, this, that and the third, but you're still hanging with him. Yeah, you still be with him. Dudes know to do whiz because somebody had asked me one time. Oh, I didn't know, whiz was a rap. I said yeah, you told him. I said yo, but you know he ain't running around like you know hummingstunting and none of that, but it is what it is. But then they still hang around him. You still. You know you disclosing pretty much. You know when you're hanging with the dude, you know what he is.
Speaker 2:So if you get caught, that's on them. Just like when I heard, when they knew that a couple of people that was rats I heard on one of your things. It was like, well, you know, this dude was a rat and you're still around him. Okay, well, if you get caught, you do something, because the way they're talking like they're still in the streets. Well, if you go to jail and he told on you, whose fault is it? Yeah, that's a fact. Don't run around saying, well, he ain't gonna tell on me because that's my man. You know it's like an exception to a rule, but a road in there ain't no exception, there is none. He gonna save his ass.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a fact At any cost, save his ass.
Speaker 2:And you know, just to put the icing on the cake, you know, fuck, how people feel like. I heard the uh the cast with you and the brothers from connecticut talking and they was like telling you same thing. I'm telling you. Fuck them people, that means you're doing a good job, bro yeah, that's a fact.
Speaker 2:You're talking about my man, randy, and oh yeah, when they was telling you you know, fuck them people. So what? They saying this? They saying that you got your cash you doing what you doing. The more people that's here, that means you're doing something right. Yeah, that's a fact. I agree. You feel me. You're doing something right. Fuck them motherfuckers. Tell them to eat shit and bark at the moon. Something right, fuck them motherfuckers.
Speaker 1:Tell them to eat shit and bark at the moon. Yeah, that's a fact, and we can end it at that. I appreciate your time. I appreciate this interview, man. Real love yeah, that's a fact. Likewise, you know what I'm saying. You know what I mean. We're going to get your voice out there to the people, get your story out there, and you know what I'm saying. Hopefully, some, some justice comes from it.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and I appreciate it and I appreciate you Absolutely, good brother. And if you want another one, you know to keep it going about like you know the system, the judicial system and the penitentiary we do, we set it up. Do another one, because I got some stories to tell you about the penitentiary too. Yeah, more than just that. What's that mid-state and Marcy incident?
Speaker 1:There's more to it. Yeah, definitely, we could definitely circle back for a part two. You know what I'm saying. I appreciate your time in this interview. Good brother, okay, you stay blessed.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, you too, all right.
