Ronald Sullivan: How I help free innocent people from prison
Ronald Sullivan: Como ajudo a libertar pessoas inocentes da prisão
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
uma viagem de 19 horas,
desta viagem de 19 horas,
estabelecem a você a pergunta:
mais centenas de vezes, facilmente,
a hundred more times, easily,
wonderful, wonderful trip.
de volta para casa.
está esperando por você.
ocorrido enquanto você estava na Flórida.
were away in Florida.
who will listen,
e a todos que queiram ouvir:
and Minnie and my kids!"
que você estava mesmo na Flórida
I have worked on
de pessoas inocentes
no Brooklyn, em Nova York,
in Brooklyn, New York,
em Disney World com seus filhos.
que ele estava em Disney World.
no arquivo da polícia,
no processo do promotor,
in the prosecutor's file,
to his public defender.
que estava lá, onde ficou por 20 anos.
o arquivo, encontrou o recibo,
and we found it,
que outra pessoa havia cometido o crime.
committed the crime.
em Disney World, e agora está livre.
do promotor de justiça do Brooklyn.
from the Brooklyn District Attorney.
interessado em criar um programa
in designing a program
de revisão de condenação".
a unit in a prosecutor's office
é uma unidade do Ministério Público
analisam seus casos passados
they made mistakes.
cerca de 13 condenações erradas,
e libertou 21 pessoas até o momento,
significativo de vida atrás das grades.
significant time behind bars.
of the men and women
no decorrer deste programa.
in the course of this program.
I've been framed.
like it was open and shut,
por uma única testemunha
esses casos um pouco mais de perto.
a little bit closer at those cases.
disse que ouviu um tiro,
olhou e lá estava o sr. Logan.
and turned around and looked,
and in jail for 17-some-odd years.
e preso por 17 anos.
de testemunha única.
so we took a look at it.
do crime, e havia uma inconsistência.
and there was an inconsistency.
de onde ela disse que estava
from where she said she was
que ele não havia feito isso,
that he didn't do it,
suspeito sobre essa testemunha.
about this witness.
de papel com um número,
had a number on it.
that this witness had a record.
tinha antecedentes criminais.
de documentos não digitalizados.
of non-digitized papers
quando disse ter visto o que viu.
29 years later.
foi anulada 29 anos depois.
it looked open and shut.
à primeira vista, parecia evidente.
that juvenile confessions
sem a presença de um dos pais
isso inúmeras vezes.
que os meninos não poderiam saber.
os policiais e os promotores.
were police and prosecutors.
exatamente quem pediu,
a confissão foi feita por coação.
e uma investigação completa
different hairstyle,
e cortes de cabelo diferentes,
haviam cometido o crime,
onde a condenação é discutida.
que os juízes dizem a toda hora,
that judges say all the time,
muito especial.
após os argumentos, e disse:
his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,
o sr. Stuckey, não teve esse benefício.
do advogado no lugar dele.
at counsel table in his place.
pelo resto de minha vida.
the rest of my life.
de integridade de condenação,
anything that I've learned,
that just descends from above
de cima e torna tudo correto.
wouldn't have died in prison.
não teria morrido na prisão.
de boa vontade fazem acontecer.
desses três casos que descrevi,
just an extra minute --
e encontrar este recibo.
o arquivo, encontrar o recibo,
find the receipt,
e dizer: "Não pode ser".
and say, "That cannot be."
estivesse vivo hoje.
would be alive today.
de um de meus poemas favoritos,
would always recite,
Elijah Mays sempre recitava,
prestar contas se abusar dele.
give account if I abuse it.
cada um de nós e todos nós,
their careers and their lives,
a carreira e a vida delas,
fazendo justiça todos os dias.
reservem um tempo para apenas...
whatever you do,
de David McCallum.
he was released from prison.
ele conseguiu abraçar uma sobrinha
you want to do?"
que você quer fazer?"
to walk on the sidewalk
about two weeks ago.
há cerca de duas semanas.
comemorando dois anos de sua libertação.
when we met with him
quando nos encontramos
a vida e a carreira dele
is locked up unjustly.
seja preso injustamente.
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