Ronald Sullivan: How I help free innocent people from prison
رونالد سوليفان: كيف ساعدتُ في تحرير أشخاص أبرياء من السجن؟
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
تستغرق فيها 19 ساعة بالسيارة،
a hundred more times, easily,
مئة مرة أخرى بكل سهولة
wonderful, wonderful trip.
في طريق العودة.
were away in Florida.
who will listen,
من الممكن أن يسمع لك،
and Minnie and my kids!"
ميكي وميني (شخصيات كرتونية) وأطفالي!"
I have worked on
أشهر في السجن
in Brooklyn, New York,
بروكلن، نيويورك،
in the prosecutor's file,
ملف المدعي العام،
to his public defender.
أنها موجودة.
and we found it,
committed the crime.
ارتكب الجريمة.
from the Brooklyn District Attorney.
من المدعي العام في بروكلين.
in designing a program
في تصميم برنامج
a unit in a prosecutor's office
وحدة في مكتب المدعي العام
في قضاياهم السابقة
they made mistakes.
قد ارتكبوا أخطاء أو لا.
السراح الأكبر في تاريخ نيويورك.
تم إطلاق سراحهم إلى 21 --
significant time behind bars.
وراء القضبان.
of the men and women
من الرجال والنساء
in the course of this program.
I've been framed.
لقد تم تلفيق تهمة لي.
like it was open and shut,
قد فُتحت وأُغلقت،
a little bit closer at those cases.
عن قرب على هذه القضايا،
صوت إطلاق نار،
and turned around and looked,
واستدارت وبحثت،
and in jail for 17-some-odd years.
لحوالي 17 سنة.
so we took a look at it.
لذلك دققنا النظر فيها.
and there was an inconsistency.
ولاحظنا وجود تناقض.
from where she said she was
من المكان الذي قالت أنها كانت فيه
that he didn't do it,
about this witness.
حول هذه الشاهدة.
had a number on it.
كان عليها رقم،
that this witness had a record.
الشاهدة لديها سجل.
of non-digitized papers
في أوراق غير مرقمة
29 years later.
it looked open and shut.
يبدو أنها فتحت وأعيد إغلاقها.
that juvenile confessions
أن اعتراف القاصر
لم يعرفوا ما حدث.
were police and prosecutors.
هم الشرطة والمدّعين العامين،
الاعتراف كان بالإكراه،
different hairstyle,
وبتسريحة شعر مختلفة،
that judges say all the time,
ما يقوله القضاة،
his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,
at counsel table in his place.
على طاولة المحامي في مكانه.
the rest of my life.
anything that I've learned,
أي شيء تعلمته أنا،
that just descends from above
wouldn't have died in prison.
السيد ستاركي في السجن.
just an extra minute --
دقيقة إضافية فقط --
find the receipt,
ويجد الإيصال،
دقيقة واحدة فقط
and say, "That cannot be."
ويقول "لا يمكن أن يكون هذا صحيحًا".
would be alive today.
على قيد الحياة اليوم.
would always recite,
بنيامين إليجا ميز،
give account if I abuse it.
وأيضًا إذا أسأت استخدامها.
their careers and their lives,
حياتهم المهنية وأعمارهم،
whatever you do,
مهما كنت تفعل،
he was released from prison.
تمكن من أن يعانق ابنة أخته
you want to do?"
to walk on the sidewalk
about two weeks ago.
قبل نحو أسبوعين،
when we met with him
عندما تقابلنا
is locked up unjustly.
مسجون ظلمًا.
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