Ronald Sullivan: How I help free innocent people from prison
Ronald Sullivan: Jak pomáhám osvobozovat nevinné lidi z vězení
Ronald Sullivan is a leading theorist in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, trial practice and techniques, legal ethics and race theory. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
a 19-hour, very long drive
velmi dlouhé cestě do Disney Worldu,
19 hodinového výletu
„Už tam budeme?"
a hundred more times, easily,
ještě nejméně 100 krát,
wonderful, wonderful trip.
čeká na vás policie.
spáchali zločin v době,
were away in Florida.
who will listen,
poslouchat, říkáte:
Nemohl jsem to udělat!
and Minnie and my kids!"
a svými dětmi!"
usvědčeni a odsouzeni.
dokud se neobjeví někdo, kdo prokáže --
když byl tento zločin spáchán.
I have worked on
osvobozováním nevinných lidí,
24 let a 8 měsíců ve vězení za vraždu,
in Brooklyn, New York,
v New Yorku,
se svými dětmi.
v kapse měl účet --
že byl Disney Worldu.
in the prosecutor's file,
to his public defender.
jeho veřejnému obhájci.
and we found it,
a našli jsme ho,
a zjistili, že zločin spáchal někdo jiný.
committed the crime.
a byl propuštěn.
from the Brooklyn District Attorney.
brooklynský státní zástupce.
in designing a program
o navržení programu
a unit in a prosecutor's office
je v úřadě žalobce,
a zjišťují, jestli neudělali chybu.
they made mistakes.
asi 13 nesprávných odsouzení,
a osvobodili jsme všechny.
a už mají 21 osvobozených --
significant time behind bars.
značný čas za mřížemi.
of the men and women
o několika dalších mužích a ženách,
in the course of this program.
v rámci tohoto programu.
a napsal mi dopis.
Stálo v něm:
I've been framed.
Byl jsem falešně obviněn.
like it was open and shut,
jako jasný případ, ale můj výzkum ukázal,
jedním svědkem jsou náchylné k chybovosti.
na tyto případy podívat trochu blíže.
a little bit closer at those cases.
and turned around and looked,
a podívala se a tam byl pan Logan.
and in jail for 17-some-odd years.
ve vězení byl nějakých 17 let.
tak jsme se na něj podívali.
so we took a look at it.
a objevili nesrovnalost.
and there was an inconsistency.
from where she said she was
kterou ta žena popsala.
that he didn't do it,
about this witness.
kousek papíru ve složce měl na sobě číslo.
had a number on it.
that this witness had a record.
že ta svědkyně měla záznam.
of non-digitized papers
nedigitalizovaných dokumentů,
a ukázalo se -- a ukázalo se --
když údajně viděla to, co měla vidět.
a David McCallum.
odsouzení bylo zrušeno o 29 let později.
29 years later.
it looked open and shut.
that juvenile confessions
nezletilých bez přítomnosti rodiče,
případech potvrdily.
a ukázalo se,
co ti chlapci nemohli vědět.
were police and prosecutors.
byla policie a žalobci.
někdo jim pověděl, co mají říct.
která osoba to udělala,
a pátrání,
different hairstyle,
s jiným účesem,
ne tihle dva chlapci.
k osvobozujícímu slyšení,
jak odtamtud pan McCallum odchází.
co soudci říkají vždy,
that judges say all the time,
„Pane McCallume,"
„Jste volný a můžete jít."
„Jste volný a můžete jít."
his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,
pan Stuckey, neměl tuto možnost.
ve věku 34 let
at counsel table in his place.
the rest of my life.
děťátko to neudělalo.
děťátko to neudělalo."
Udělali to jiní dva muži.
anything that I've learned,
jsme si odnesli, jsem si já odnesl,
that just descends from above
která by se snesla shůry
wouldn't have died in prison.
by nezemřel ve vězení.
co lidé dobré vůle uskutečňují.
just an extra minute --
tu složku a našel tu účtenku.
find the receipt,
na složku, našel účtenku
podíval na video doznání
and say, "That cannot be."
would be alive today.
would always recite,
a nazval ji „Boží minuta."
give account if I abuse it.
zpovídat se, pokud ji zneužiji.
každého jednoho z nás,
si vyhraďte jen jednu minutu
their careers and their lives,
jako veřejní obhájci,
whatever you do,
ať děláte cokoli, dejte si pauzu
nesmějte se, promluvte.
jedna minuta navíc každý den,
Davida McCalluma.
he was released from prison.
které se dosud nemohl nikdy dotknout.
you want to do?"
to walk on the sidewalk
se jen projít po chodníku.
about two weeks ago.
mluvil s panem McCallumem,
jeho propuštění.
objali jsme se, plakali jsme.
when we met with him
a svou kariéru tomu, aby zajistil,
is locked up unjustly.
nebude neprávem vězněn.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. - Clinical professor of lawRonald Sullivan is a leading theorist in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, trial practice and techniques, legal ethics and race theory.
Why you should listen
Professor Ronald Sullivan is the faculty director of the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute and the Harvard Trial Advocacy Workshop. Sullivan also serves as Faculty Dean of Winthrop House at Harvard College. He is the first African American ever appointed Faculty Dean in Harvard's history. He is a founding member and Senior Fellow of the Jamestown Project.
Sullivan has merged legal theory and practice over the course of his career in unique and cutting-edge ways. In 2014, he was tasked to design and implement a Conviction Review Unit (CRU) for the newly elected Brooklyn District Attorney. The CRU, designed to identify and exonerate wrongfully convicted persons, quickly became regarded as the model conviction integrity program in the nation. In its first year of operation alone, Sullivan discovered over 10 wrongful convictions, which the DA ultimately vacated. Some of the exonerated citizens had served more than 30 years in prison before they were released.
In 2008, Sullivan served as Chair, Criminal Justice Advisory Committee for then-Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In this capacity, his committee made policy recommendations on a range of issues in an effort to put into practice some of the best research in the field. He also served as a member of the National Legal Advisory Group for the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign. Finally, Sullivan was appointed Advisor to the Department of Justice Presidential Transition Team.
In 2007, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Sullivan was asked to create a system to solve a criminal justice crisis. More than 6,000 citizens were incarcerated in and around New Orleans without representation and with all official records destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Sullivan designed an indigent defense delivery system that resulted in the release of nearly all the 6000 inmates.
Sullivan still maintains an appellate and trial practice. He has represented persons ranging from politicians to professional athletes to recording artists to pro bono clients in criminal jeopardy. Representative clients include: The family of Michael Brown, former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez and the family of Usaamah Rahim.
Sullivan is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College and the Harvard Law School, where he served as President of the Harvard Black Law Students Association and as General Editor of the Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal.
Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. | Speaker | TED.com