Ronald Sullivan: How I help free innocent people from prison
Ronald Sullivan: Jak pomagam uwolnić niewinnych ludzi z więzienia
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
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a 19-hour, very long drive
w 19-godzinną, bardzo długą podróż
tej 19-godzinnej podróży
a hundred more times, easily,
jeszcze ze sto razy
wonderful, wonderful trip.
z powrotem do domu.
were away in Florida.
z dala od domu, na Florydzie.
who will listen,
and Minnie and my kids!"
Mini i moimi dziećmi!".
I have worked on
i osiem miesięcy w więzieniu
in Brooklyn, New York,
na Brooklynie, w Nowym Jorku,
in the prosecutor's file,
to his public defender.
jego obrońcy z urzędu.
że paragon tam był.
and we found it,
i znaleźliśmy go.
popełnił to przestępstwo.
committed the crime.
from the Brooklyn District Attorney.
od prokuratora okręgowego Brooklynu.
in designing a program
opracowaniem programu
a unit in a prosecutor's office
jednostką biura prokuratora,
przeglądają starsze rozprawy,
they made mistakes.
byli w więzieniu,
significant time behind bars.
swojego życia za kratkami.
of the men and women
o kilku innych mężczyznach i kobietach,
in the course of this program.
podczas tego programu.
I've been framed.
jestem niewinny, zostałem wrobiony.
przyjrzeć mojej sprawie?".
sprawa wydawała się łatwa,
like it was open and shut,
a little bit closer at those cases.
przyjrzeć się tym sprawom.
and turned around and looked,
budynku, odwróciła się
i spędził w więzieniu ponad 17 lat.
and in jail for 17-some-odd years.
więc przyjrzeliśmy się jej z bliska.
so we took a look at it.
i była tam pewna nieścisłość.
and there was an inconsistency.
from where she said she was
z miejsca, w którym podobno była,
że nie popełnił tej zbrodni,
that he didn't do it,
about this witness.
że coś jest nie tak ze świadkiem.
had a number on it.
that this witness had a record.
że świadek była kiedyś skazana.
of non-digitized papers
29 years later.
it looked open and shut.
that juvenile confessions
że zeznania nieletnich
udowodniły to wiele razy.
i prokuratorzy to wiedzieli.
were police and prosecutors.
zeznania były pod przymusem,
i użyliśmy technik śledczych
different hairstyle,
innych fryzurach,
that judges say all the time,
co sędziowie zawsze mówią,
wyjątkowego znaczenia.
his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,
at counsel table in his place.
na sali sądowej.
the rest of my life.
tego nie zrobiło.
tego nie zrobiło".
anything that I've learned,
that just descends from above
która po prostu zstępuje z nieba
wouldn't have died in prison.
nie umarłby w więzieniu.
opisanych przypadkach,
just an extra minute --
find the receipt,
znaleźć paragon
and say, "That cannot be."
do winy i stwierdzić: "Coś jest nie tak".
would be alive today.
z moich ulubionych wierszy,
would always recite,
a napisał go Benjamin Elijah Mays.
give account if I abuse it.
i tłumaczyć się, jeśli jej nadużyję.
their careers and their lives,
pracę zawodową i życie,
niezależnie od tego, co robicie,
whatever you do,
podnieście go na duchu.
he was released from prison.
wypuszczony z więzienia.
you want to do?"
to walk on the sidewalk
"Chcę po prostu iść chodnikiem,
about two weeks ago.
jakieś dwa tygodnie temu.
when we met with him
niesprawiedliwie uwięziony.
is locked up unjustly.
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