From .
Christopher Scott was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 for capital murder. He spent more than a dozen years behind bars before another man confessed to the crime and Scott was declared innocent. With his second chance at freedom, Scott teamed up with two other exonerated Texans to form a Dallas detective agency of sorts to help others who have been wrongfully convicted.
Their story is now a documentary called 鈥� 鈥� and it鈥檚 coming to Independent Lens on PBS.
When he was in prison, Scott says he wasn鈥檛 likely to be exonerated because the case didn鈥檛 involve DNA evidence to test.
鈥淚 was writing different organizations and they were saying the same thing,鈥� he says. 鈥溾�業t鈥檚 like a million in one chance for you to get out.鈥欌��
Scott began to realize that many other inmates had been wrongfully convicted, too.
鈥淲hen you heard so many times other individuals that fit your description are saying the same thing, you鈥檝e got to understand that something is wrong. Because the system is not fair to African American men,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o I started talking to some guys in prison like, 鈥楲ook, whichever one of us get out first, we鈥檝e got to do something about this.鈥欌��
The day Scott was exonerated, former inmate Steven Phillips was there to offer help.
鈥淗e told me, 鈥楲ook, I鈥檝e got a place for you to stay.鈥� He said, 鈥楳an, just go and get your thoughts together, and then you鈥檒l be okay.鈥� But when the first person there to approach you was a white guy, and you felt like the white people are the ones that did this to me, so there鈥檚 a trust issue. Like I don鈥檛 even trust this guy. I don鈥檛 even know him, why he鈥檚 even offering me this kind of thing,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淏ut I realized he was an exoneree. He was out before me. So he was already going through that process.鈥�
Then Scott met Johnnie Lindsey, another exoneree, and Scott started the organization . Scott, Phillips, and Lindsey now work together to support wrongfully convicted inmates. Scott says he checks his PO box every other week to find at least 100 letters from inmates. Deciding which cases to work on is a matter of instinct.
鈥淲hen you have a person that gives you that much detail,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd every time you come in contact with this person, he鈥檚 saying the same thing, you鈥檝e got to start trying to, you know鈥ometimes you鈥檝e got to believe the people.鈥�
Scott says the solution to wrongful convictions is clear 鈥� holding prosecutors and judges accountable.
鈥淵ou could take my life from me, and then don鈥檛 even have to worry about repercussions behind it,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 slap on the wrist, we鈥檙e going to give you 200 community hours and two days in jail. That鈥檚 nothing. You destroyed my life and I guarantee you 100 percent, wrongful conviction will stop if they feel like they can get time for it.鈥�
Written by Jen Rice.
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