Original subtitles

Arms out.

OK, this way.

[BUZZING DOOR OPEN]

I don't have nobody.

I've been in the system for 36 years, man.

My whole life is gone.

I can't never get it back.

It ain't never going to come back, man.

I didn't rob nobody.

We're here to try to help you.

You know what I mean?

We're here to try to help you.

I'm going to tell you the truth, man.

[VOICE FADES OUT]

I was young when I went to prison.

I cried, and wrote people, pleading and begging for help.

[APPLAUSE]

In accordance with the Court of Criminal Appeals opinion,

this court finds you actually innocent of these offenses.

Today, you are a free man.

[APPLAUSE]

In 1997, Christopher Scott was convicted of capital murder.

Another man has since confessed to that crime.

Now Christopher Scott's finally free.

Scott says, when released, priority number one

is helping others who've been falsely accused.

Man, there's maybe hundreds, maybe thousands

or more in our situation.

And what I aim to do is fight for those guys

that were wrongfully convicted.

The Dallas DA's office is reviewing

another 200 cases of inmates who could be innocent.

Today's release brings the total number of exonerations

in Dallas County to 22.

DNA evidence has cleared another person wrongfully convicted

of a crime in Dallas County.

More than 30 men have been freed or cleared

of wrongful conviction.

Dallas County has now cleared 32 convicts in this last decade.

More than any other place in the country.

It's a growing fraternity.

Now that these innocent men have the attention of the nation,

they want people to know they are not

the only ones wrongfully convicted.

[POLICE SIRENS]

Oh, man, I can't believe this--

this is the neighborhood right here.

Ain't nothing changed.

Still the same neighborhood, man.

This is the house right here on Alabama Street

that I grew up in as a kid.

It was nine of us inside this house-- plus my parents.

That's 11 people in this little house right here.

Even though we didn't have much of nothing,

my mom raised us right.

A mother really can't explain it.

The hurt that you have when one of your children

is sentenced to life--

to life.

The day that they exonerated you.

That was the most happy day, I think, in my life.

My son was freed.

And everybody knew that he wasn't a murderer.

Being out of prison it's just the small things in life

that I cherish.

For me to cook a chili dog the way

I want to cook my own chili dog--

with relish, with shredded cheese, good hot dog buns.

You know what I mean?

No hot dog bun that when you open it up

is going to fall apart on you like in prison.

I've been out almost three years now.

I don't want nothing to remind me

of how limited I was in prison.

Oh.

That's delicious.

It don't get no better than this.

I could be holding an innocent man's life right now

in my hands and don't even know it.

You know, that's amazing.

"You once sat in my same shoes.

I'm an innocent man serving a life sentence, wrongfully

convicted of a crime I did not commit."

It has potential of being a good one.

But you need detail.

What place they supposed to rob.

If he's there at the time of robbery, that's it.

This lawyer here, he said, "My license

does not allow me to chase wild geese."

[LAUGHTER]

All I can say to you sir, is that we are very, very sorry

for what happened to you.

I know if I just kept fighting, the truth

will eventually come about.

[APPLAUSE]

Hey man, it's not his job to investigate.

Bullshit!

Well, hey man, who's gonna do it?

Yeah.

This might be a good case right here.

Let's write this guy a letter.

Let's give it a shot.

Write him a letter and say, "What about this?"

[CHEERING]

I don't feel any anger--

bitterness and anger.

Well, I just don't have time for that anymore.

[APPLAUSE]

I got myself a dream team.

I'm part of this special group of brothers.

We're each others rock.

We're each others foundation.

Howdy, folks.

This is Big Tex.

Welcome, to the State Fair of Texas.

Fingers on your trigger.

Eyes on your target.

[BELL RINGS]

Hey, look at them go.

Look at them go.

[BELL RINGS]

You know, when I got out, Steven gave me a place to live.

It was a two bedroom apartment--

I mean, nice.

And not only that--

Steven opened up me an account and put $20,000 just

so I can survive.

That's a hell of a person.

We looked out for him.

Took him wherever he needed to go.

Got whatever he needed to do.

Would do that again in a minute.

Chris is a good person.

This is the first time I ever been on a Ferris wheel.

Oh, really?

Don't look down.

[LAUGHS]

It's all about the view.

When you were where we were--

it's all about the view.

This right here let's you know this

come from an inmate in prison.

"My name is Max Soffar.

And I was convicted of a triple homicide that I did not do.

The truth is, I did not kill anyone at the bowling alley."

Two teenagers and one adult were murdered in an execution style

slaying in Northwest Houston.

A fourth victim is in Hermann Hospital in critical condition.

[POLICE SIRENS]

Police officers say, it was one of the most cold blooded,

triple murders they've seen in a long time.

A bowling alley was hit by armed burglars who shot all four

people in the back of the head.

Houston police will file capital murder charges

against a 24-year-old Max Alexander Soffar.

Charged with murder punishable by death

is 24-year-old Max Soffar.

How you doing, Max?

[SIGH] Hanging in there.

I'm Christopher Scott.

And actually, I was kind of like in your position.

I did 13 years in prison for a crime I didn't commit.

This is my 35th year--

on Texas death row.

Over 500 men have died in my little tour of duty here.

OK.

Take me back to the day that all of this happened.

I've been awake for four days maybe--

I can't remember-- on speed, injecting methamphetamines.

I stole this motorcycle.

He pulled me over for stealing a motorcycle.

I said, "I know something about this bowling alley murder

case."

And that's when it just blew up.

All of them kept on drawing maps and showing me

these things about the case.

They keep me in custody.

Mold this story around me.

"Here, sign here."

So, I sign it.

What made you just come out and confess to the crime though?

Well, I was a drug addict and a nut case.

I've been in the Texas Department of Mental Health

for four years when they let me out and all this happened.

I mean, I didn't really understand

what was happening to me.

But I had already read and seen on the TV

a lot of the details of the case.

But they go back to the same thing.

Don't nobody confess if they didn't do it.

You know what I say to that?

You know what I say to that?

If it doesn't make sense, it doesn't add up,

it's a lie, man.

The DA, the homicide division, and the trial court judge

is supposed to be looking for the truth.

And this don't add up!

They know it's a lie.

That's why I want something done now.

I want an investigation into what's happened to me.

I don't think he wrote that confession.

Well he confessed anyway.

Yeah.

They wanted me to confess.

And I'm going like, no, I didn't do it.

Right?

A confession is a confession, man.

So if he made a confession, that's it.

Something smells about this case.

Something smells about this interrogation.

It might be hard to get some sympathy for this guy.

Well, let's not forget his past.

Yeah.

Knowing a little bit about his past history

could help us think about how are we going to deal with Max.

I first encountered Max on my first day at work

I first encountered Max on my first day at work at the child care unit at the Austin State Hospital.

at the child care unit at the Austin State Hospital.

They were trying to get Max in, what we call, the quiet room.

Which was basically a concrete cell

where they put the young kids for discipline purposes.

Were the kids criminals?

No.

The vast majority were there because nobody wanted them.

Nobody wanted to take care of them.

Nobody wanted to deal with them.

They appeared to me to be typical, rowdy kids.

The biggest problem we had with Max

is the whoppers he would tell.

I find it impossible to believe he

would hurt anybody or anything.

I find that impossible to believe.

I find it very believable that he could make up

a story about anything.

You name it.

When I heard that his conviction was based on his confession.

I thought, "What a joke."

Testing, testing.

August the 6th, 1980.

This is a continuation of the interview with Max Alexander

Soffar.

It's now two minutes until 10.

You mind going through it one more time

that night you went over to the bowling alley?

Well, it's like I said.

They got down on the ground and--

Laid down on the floor?

Yeah, well they didn't lay down on the floor.

They were down on their knees.

On their knees?

Somebody moved.

Somebody came from the back.

Shot four people.

Three of them are dead right there.

And one of them managed to hang on.

I imagine he's about scared to death.

[SCOFFS]

That's a gruesome-ass -- gruesome-ass crime really.

Mm-hmm.

You know my take on it is?

Max Soffar had been up like, three or four days

on a methamphetamine binge.

So you know this guy is tired.

He would tell anything just to get them of off his back

or whatever the case may be.

I don't like him, dude.

It ain't about us liking him.

He should still get a fair shake.

Yeah.

I'll go for it.

Take it real slow and easy and just tell me

exactly what that sucker looked like--

the pistol.

Automatic or Revolver?

Revolver.

What color was it?

Blue.

The metal part was blue?

Barrel butt.

I don't know.

How long it was?

Four inches?

Three inches?

Four inches.

Soffar's case has the kind of thing

you see in the false confession cases.

He's got the mental illness.

He tends to go along with what others say.

But he was also interrogated for 26 hours.

Looked like a pretty good pistol?

Or looked like a--

.357 Magnum.

[YAWN] Might have been bigger.

What might have been bigger?

The pistol.

Might have been-- .44?

The average interrogation is a half hour, or maybe an hour.

In the false confession cases, the average is like over 6.

And that psychological pressure, leads to lies.

So how do you evaluate a confession?

Oh, it's hard.

It's hard.

See if they telling the truth or not.

Well, I think you've got to look at whether the confession

matches the physical evidence.

And whether or not the suspect knows details

that only the true perpetrator would know.

Soffar says things like, they shot the victims

when they were on their knees.

Yet the ballistics and eyewitness

show that they were all laying down.

He said the money was taken from the snack bar register.

But the evidence showed that it was taken from the locked

manager's office.

Yeah.

He said that all the victims was lined up in a straight line.

The eye-witness-- he said was like a semi-circle.

We know the difference between a straight line and semi-circle.

Soffar gets too many facts wrong.

It doesn't demonstrate that Soffar

knew something you would expect somebody

who committed a crime to know.

In the Houston bowling alley murders,

24-year-old man Max Soffar reportedly signed a confession.

Houston homicide says the confession reveals details

that only a participant would know.

Reports are being typed now.

The officers are getting together

and trying to decipher which is good,

and which is not going to be relevant to the case.

When I talk to somebody and they're giving me a confession,

the first thing I'm going to try to do

is find out whether or not they are telling me the truth,

or they're just blowing smoke.

How do you do that?

Well, I asked Max when he went up there I said,

"Sir, did you see the people in the bowling alley

through the front windows?"

There wasn't no windows.

That's right.

Well, what did he say?

That's exactly right.

And Max Soffar knew that.

It had been publicized on the news about what

actually had happened.

Everything?

Everything, everything.

And for Max to maybe see it on TV,

that should have brought about a red flag off the top.

We are kind of experienced in being screwed over by cops.

And we see the same inconsistencies

that's dealing with Max Soffar case

that we probably have all seen in our cases.

Let me tell you what, Max Soffar told me

he laid those people down on the floor

and he shot them in the back of the head.

The third person, he told me, moved.

And when he shot, he missed.

So he had to shoot again.

And then he shot the other boy.

Now there were four victims.

There's five bullet holes in that carpet.

Did you know about the five bullets?

No, I didn't know about that.

Nobody knew about them except the person who did it.

The person who did it would have known there were five shots.

You can't overlook that.

So you are 100% sure that Max Soffar is guilty?

I don't have any doubts about that at all.

It's kind of frustrating.

I really don't know now.

Maybe Max committed this crime.

[SIDE CONVERSATION]

Your basketball game is trash.

[LAUGHS]

And you know we done played a million times, one on one.

I always come out on top.

You know that's just me.

When we first played, I was probably 42 at the time.

Oh, yeah.

You were real young.

I'm like fine wine.

I get better with time.

See, you're still young.

You're still brewing and growing.

When I see your son, Tre, it really

made my heart feel good when he called me, "Papa".

I'm like, yeah, he's growing up.

He's knowing who we are now.

So once he go to realize who we are,

those are the most important time

you're supposed to be there for him because I wanted

him to know that I am his Papa.

You know what I mean?

And you should want your son know that you his dad.

That's why a lot of trouble that I

got in recently by surrounding myself by people that I

shouldn't have.

I'm just trying to rectify that situation

by not falling into that same cycle

again on what I was doing.

Lately, I try to spend as much time as I can with my son

because anything is possible.

It's not even about your life no more.

It's about your kids life.

Your son's life.

Your life is his life.

You know what I mean?

Mm-hmm.

[POLICE SIRENS]

[VOICES ON POLICE RADIO]

When I got arrested, I had my kid staying with me.

Girlfriend living with me.

We're a family now.

Everything was playing right until that night.

I was driving over to a friend's house

and I saw a lot of cops driving around the neighborhood

like they're looking for somebody.

As I'm turning the corner, a cop gets behind me.

And I'm thinking, what the hell is going on here?

[POLICE SIREN]

As I'm driving up to my friend's house,

I see these cops following me.

When I went into the house the cops just surrounded the place.

[VOICES ON POLICE RADIO]

The cops told us to come out.

And they laid us down right here.

And said I was --

they came and identified me.

And said somebody is going to take a fall for what happened.

To be face-down on the ground for something you didn't know

what you supposedly did--

I was so close to crying.

When we pulled up to the police station

they handcuffed me immediately to a bench.

They said, "Somebody is going to come identify you."

And I saw this lady crying very distraught.

When I looked up, I see the cop pointing at me.

"Is this the guy that killed your husband?"

And I'm the only one on this side handcuffed to this bench.

Who do you think she's going to chose?

In court, my judge is white.

The prosecutor is white.

The jury, white.

I knew I was going to be convicted.

My trial lasted-- for a capital murder case--

one day.

I'm over here with a guy with two life sentences, three life

sentences--

199 years.

These are the people that I was surrounded by.

And I'm innocent, but I'm around individuals like this--

please.

You don't know if you're going to make it to the next day.

This would be the box of stuff that kept the hope alive.

Hope is a very big deal in prison.

It's almost like a commodity.

This is where it kind of began.

Check this photograph out, dude.

"Why can't Steven Phillips get a DNA test?

For that matter, why can't any incarcerated man or woman

with a good reason get one?"

In my case, the state withheld evidence of another suspect.

And this guy, his name is Sidney Alvin Goodyear.

They withheld the fact that he was identified

by some witnesses in this crime spree

that I went to prison for.

Dallas cops let that guy go.

Dallas prosecutors let that guy go.

And he went on to commit more crimes.

That should be a crime in itself.

Texas law states I get $80,000 bucks a year

for every year that I was wrongly convicted.

I wanted to do something with the money besides just go

to Las Vegas and screw it off.

I did go to Las Vegas.

Didn't lose that much.

But I bought these houses with that in mind to do some good.

Putting guys in here who are part of a 12 step program,

and down on their luck program, and trying

to do better program--

like me.

12 steps, addictions and stuff, you know I can relate to that.

When I first got out, I was self-medicating whatever pain

When I first got out, I was self-medicating whatever pain from prison.

from prison.

Somebody had some coke, and I did it.

I did some more.

I bought some.

And then about the time I got a million bucks,

I started doing coke every day, man.

I did a 30 day rehab.

I did a 30 day rehab. The drugs ran off about 15 days into that.

The drugs ran off about 15 days into that.

All my feelings started pouring back in.

And I was a mess, man.

As I go through these letters, I have

to see my case inside of their case.

If I feel his sorrow and his pain,

that will be the letter that I chose to work on.

"Sir, I am writing you on behalf of Isaiah N. Hill, who

has been wrongfully imprisoned for 36 years on a charge

of aggravated robbery.

The district attorney offered Mr. Hill

a plea bargain of 10 years.

And he said to Mr. Hill, 'Boy--' I mean boy--

'you don't know where you are.

If you don't take this plea bargain,

I'm going to make an example out of you.'

I believe if you will just take the time to interview him,

you will see what I am talking about.

Please, help this man."

Tell me something.

What was you doing before you went to jail?

What kind of life you was living before you went to prison?

I grew up.

My mama come off the Indian Reservation.

My daddy was black.

I'm what you call a half-breed baby.

My mama had me drawing disability checks

because they classified me as mentally unstable.

So they say you was mentally disabled?

Yes, sir.

So why your lawyer didn't bring it up in trial?

He didn't bring it up.

What I need you to do for me is take me through that day

that you was arrested.

OK.

From start to finish.

I went to Brownwood, Texas with this lady, her name was Diane,

and her boyfriend's name was Don Wallace.

So when we got there, Don Wallace

went into to rent this motel.

He said, "Man, I just cashed a hundred dollar bill

from the man up in the lobby.

And this man had a bank bag of money."

He said, "I'm going to go back and get that."

I said, "I don't want nothing to do with that, man."

But anyway, Don Wallace had robbed this man.

And so the police came to the motel and knocked on the door.

Diane, she told the police, "Don Wallace, that's my boyfriend.

He was with me in the motel all night.

So it had to be this guy."

And so when they locked me up, the DA

said, "Let me tell you something.

You a nigger-- and this a white folks town--

and you're in the wrong town."

And I said, "I ain't rob nobody, man.

Why do you keep on saying I robbed somebody, man.

I didn't rob nobody.

You ain't got nothing off of me, man."

He said, "Well, if you don't take this 10,

I'm going to make an example out of you as a nigger."

And that's what they did too, sir.

They gave me life, man.

[SNIFFLES]

They gave me life.

I even got raped.

I even got beat up.

My own race of people, man, raped me man, they beat me up.

[CRYING]

Calm down, Mr. Hill.

It'll be OK.

We're here to try to help you.

I was told that.

Anything is possible.

We need somebody to come forward and say they actually

committed this robbery.

I don't know how to find them, man.

I'm lost, man.

No, that's my job.

Tell me the guys name that was robbed.

Do you know his name?

His name was Tammy Blanton.

Tammy.

The guy's name was Tammy?

Yeah, he was about 6'7.

He was real tall.

The guy's name was Tammy?

Tammy.

Wow.

What mama named him?

OK, give me the name of the guy that was supposed

to committed the robbery.

What was his name?

Don Wallace?

Don Wallace.

OK.

If you can remember anything else dealing with your case,

have somebody write it down for you and send it to me.

Because all the information that I can get on you is a plus.

Yes, sir.

God bless you then.

Thank y'all, man.

God bless you too.

Man, please, man.

Get me out of prison, man.

I'm going to try.

At 3:00 AM at Brownwood, Texas, a Holiday Inn was robbed.

An 18-year-old clerk named Tammy Blanton was held up

at knifepoint for $200.

The witness, Blanton, said that after taking money

from the cash register, the robber ran off into the hotel.

The state did not produce Don Wallace

during the proceedings of the trial.

Do you think Isaiah Hill got a fair trial?

That has really bothered me--

that entire trial, and the punishment phase,

and everything about it.

The evidence was very confusing.

The Brownwood Police Department didn't do a lineup.

You would think too, that they would get back there

and they would fingerprint that cash register

to prove that it was Isaiah.

Well they didn't do that.

I don't think they did fingerprints on anything.

So it put all the burden of proof

on whether or not that eyewitness

was absolutely, positively sure that Isaiah did it.

That's why I took so long to deliberate.

When we first got in the jury room,

I held out, and held out about it.

But I felt pressure.

Eventually, you said, "Guilty."

If you know what you know now, would that verdict

still be guilty?

I learned a lot throughout the years,

and so I wouldn't do the same thing today

that I would have probably done then.

I think my decision would have been tougher.

Well then, could I ask you a question?

What confuses me is that after the robbery had took place--

and if I understand correctly-- that police officer

went up to one of the rooms.

And it was Mr. Hill, Don Wallace--

And Diane Clemons

Yeah, Diane Clemons.

They didn't really bring up the fact

that Wallace had a girlfriend there.

And it could have easily been him.

And hey, these two people could have been setting him up.

Maybe they found a purpose for him

riding to Brownwood with them.

That was troublesome.

Mm-hmm.

Now, I just think that Isaiah Hill got set up.

That was the easy way to escape that crime was, hey, I'm going

to put it off on Isaiah Hill.

And as they were arresting him, Don Wallace flying like a bird

it night, with the money.

It's a scot-free getaway.

We're going to look at Don Wallace

and see if he's still alive.

I'm looking for this guy right here.

His name is Don Wallace, but his alias name is 'Papa Dog'.

He was part of a crime that was committed.

And there's a guy sitting in prison

because of something he did.

We ain't telling you to do no snitching or whatever.

We're just trying to get an innocent brother out

of prison, that's it.

A lot of guys hang out in this area.

You may know of him and may see him also,

because our people don't like moving.

Is there any information you can give me

that would lead me to Don Wallace?

Well, he was a friend of my mom's.

He was a drug addict and dope fiend.

Don was-- he probably pulled that robbery because Don--

he did a lot of stuff back in the day.

Take it easy.

All right.

Guy's been locked up for 30 years behind a crime

that this guy committed.

I appreciate you being concerned and asking about it.

Thank you.

Do you have a address or a number

where I can reach him at?

Don wasn't worth a shit.

I didn't have nothing to do with no shooting dope.

Looking for Don Wallace is like looking

for a dead bird in tall grass.

You can't see him, but you can smell him.

All right.

That'll work.

[MEDITATION BOWL SINGING]

I got into meditation in prison.

A lot of times at night after it gotten quiet,

I would just lay in my bed and just

meditate for maybe 45 minutes, sometimes a hour.

It helped.

It helped me get through my dilemma.

Today, Johnnie Earl Lindsey was convicted

of a rape at White Rock Lake after the victim picked him out

of a photo lineup.

Johnnie Lindsey was sentenced to life in prison.

If you look at a place that is so quiet and peaceful,

how could something so nice turn into something so ugly.

They gave me a Court Appointed Attorney,

and he told me, he said, "Man, you're going to prison."

I said, "Man, where is the evidence?"

He said, "They don't need none.

A white female says that you assaulted her.

That's all the prosecutor needs."

And I said, "Well, man, I'm not guilty."

He said, "Well, it doesn't make any difference."

I kept thinking how can people be so heartless

and just throw my life away just like it was a piece of trash.

It always been a dream of mine to play the piano.

I really don't know what I'm doing.

But I just like making music.

As long it's not noise.

I was 30 when I went into prison.

I was 56 when I was released.

My opportunity to start a family, to raise kids--

I've missed that.

And that's something that--

I don't care how much money they give me--

cannot replace that.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

[LAUGHS]

I just cling on to the good things of life and being alive.

And to put the icing on the cake,

I found the woman of my dreams.

The woman that I've always wanted.

And now it's about staying in that moment.

[LAUGHS]

Shh.

Shh.

Houston police are continuing to work on the latest

lead in a triple murder that occurred

two weeks ago in a Northwest Houston bowling center.

Last night, investigators return to the bowling center

to stage a partial re-enactment of the execution style

slayings.

The test was conducted with a .357 Magnum,

the size gun thought to have been used in the murders.

the size gun thought to have been used in the murders. [GUN SHOTS]

[GUN SHOTS]

Max says, there were five bullets that were fired.

One was a warning shot.

Max says that everybody lined up along this area

in this straight line.

I used evidence from Houston Police Department

as to where bullets were found.

All of those bullets were found right in this very small area

here.

One of the victims, a bullet went through his head

at an angle.

And as it came out the front of his face,

it went into the carpeting and came out

and hit him in the chest.

Some of the investigators thought

that there were five bullets.

Two holes-- one here, one here.

They were both from the same bullet.

It was four bullets.

There's no question.

That's crazy, man.

The cop was totally saying, "It was five bullets."

And that's basically all they had to go on.

If you go back to the beginning, you

will find Max being interrogated.

And they're telling him what they think happened,

and he ends up agreeing with them.

And then they put it in writing, and Max signed it.

Max went along with what the police theory was.

Max was wrong.

When the bowling alley murders occurred

I heard about them like everybody else in Houston

heard about them.

It was a horrific crime.

I mean, I'd say I'd pay money to prosecute

somebody that did that.

So if we can find something that excludes

Max Soffar from this case, how would you feel about that?

Everything has been heard by 12 people.

The Jury's heard all of this stuff.

Could you have convicted Max Soffar without a confession?

Could I have convicted Max Soffar without a confession?

Yeah.

No.

OK, then.

So Max Soffar-- inconsistencies in this confession--

you said that's not enough.

Yeah.

Max Soffar would not be where he is today--

If it weren't for you.

- -no, if it wasn't for him.

Before Max's trial, I was not a believer.

But then I came to know Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior.

What did this have to do with Max Soffar's case?

What did it have to do with Max Soffar?

What does it have to do?

I'm going to tell you, if you'll just give me a moment.

So when I got this case, I turned this case over

to the Lord.

And said, "Lord, I want to let you guide, direct me, and tell

me what to do."

I said, "Lord, I believe the guy did this,

but I want you to be in control."

On the day we had the start of the hearing,

I get an email from "The Upper Room",

which is a devotional that I used to get.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you.

I have summoned you by name.

You are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

When you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

For I am the Lord your God, your Savior."

If that wasn't a sign to me, that I

was doing the right thing.

And that the Lord was with me through all this process,

then I don't know what was.

I never try to judge nobody religion.

But some time in our mind, we choose

to just listen to our inner being

because this is just what we want to hear.

No.

So when you ask the Lord for this guidance it was already

in your mind, and in your heart and soul that--

it was already made up on it.

Then I'm giving you false testimony.

It was already made up in your mind.

My belief is that God is in control of everything

in heaven and earth.

Because you felt that Max was guilty.

When you were in the penitentiary,

you were there because God wanted you there.

Yes, it is [INAUDIBLE].

With all due respect, you don't have a clue

what happened in this case.

I have no doubts that Max Soffar is on death row,

and that's where he belongs.

There's no evidence.

We've sit here, and we've talked two hours.

And all we have is this man's confession.

And you have not one time put him

there other than him putting himself into there

like a cluck-head.

Your attitude is the same attitude and demeanor

of all prosecutors that I have met.

There was at least 30 exonerees out of Dallas.

And if you ask any one of them prosecutors,

they're going to tell you-- at that time--

yeah, I know he was guilty.

I'm 100% sure he was guilty.

I want to tell you that the last time that I

was here and soon as I left, we started talking

to people about your case.

Yes, I tried to be strong.

I remember that you're all working to try to help me.

Remember that, a lot of people care, man.

I was taken for a CT scan to treat me for hepatitis C.

They did the x-ray and told me that they had found tumors

on my liver.

They tell me, "We're going to have to cut you open.

We have to make sure we get everything."

So they cut me from here, all the way to here.

And opened it up.

I didn't think I'd live through it.

But no matter how much pain I may have,

the most painful thing in the world

for me is the prosecutors, the homicide detectives are never

going to say, "We knew he was innocent.

We made a mistake."

They don't want the truth.

And the truth is what's going to set me free.

My food?

That's your food.

If you're bad, I'm going to tickle you.

[LAUGHS]

I ain't ticklish.

But I know you are.

I know you are.

[LAUGHS]

I feel like, maybe--

some of it is my fault. I don't know.

I don't know if y'all are holding me accountable

for going to prison.

Or this is just something that--

you trying to get over with but can't.

I can't lie.

The way I was raised, I wasn't raised up rough.

You wasn't there for me.

[SNIFFLES]

There's a lot of people out there

that do love you, and show you that they love you.

But in order for you to make that right

you've got to do right by yourself.

And do by right by your child.

You know I'm sorry.

I'm in some unfortunate circumstances right now.

Talking about a child that needs to be raised by his parents.

And that shit is not happening because both of y'all are

locked up right now, man.

Y'all got a beautiful, handsome, two-year-old boy that's just

now being potty--

I potty trained your son.

That's something you should have been doing.

Yeah, there ain't a day that goes

by that I don't think about my son, man,

I think about it because I do care about it.

There ain't nothing I can do about it right now.

I sit here every day.

I just say everything is going to be all right.

I just try to keep faith in here.

I know I'm strong, though, man.

I ain't even going to lie, I ain't cried in so long, man.

It's alright to shed a tear.

Anything you want me to tell him?

There's a lot you can tell him.

You can tell him I love him and I miss him.

I'll tell him.

But I don't think I'm going to prison.

We hope not, but we want you home.

And hopefully, one day soon that you can be with your family.

I love you, dude.

I love you too, man.

[SNIFFLES]

My son was driving, and I was in the passenger seat.

[POLICE SIREN]

And I got stopped.

This cop Googled my name.

He was convinced I was a felon.

I am not.

When he shook me down, he found something.

I had a little bit of cocaine in the truck.

There's a real chance of a felony conviction here.

And it's scary.

OK.

Don Wallace, we think, was a part of a aggravated robbery

case.

And I can't find him.

Is there any possible way you can put me

in the right direction of finding Don Wallace, please?

I'm not the one to report anything about about Don.

I've got in trouble myself and--

Well, my story is the same.

You know what I mean?

My name is Christopher Scott, I went to prison

for 15 years for a crime I didn't commit.

And the guy that we're trying to help get out of prison,

he'd been locked up for 36 years for a crime he didn't commit.

And we think Don Wallace committed this crime.

I don't think a guy should be spent 36 years in prison

for a crime he didn't commit.

Well, last time I seen Don Wallace is--

I've heard talk about him.

I think right now, he's been sick for the last 10 years.

He had two or three strokes and he's disabled.

Uh-huh.

Well, I'm not going back into him doing any time like that.

I don't know nothing about that because he's an old man now.

No, no, no, no.

Statutory limitation already ran out.

He can't do no time nowhere because statutory limitations

has ran out.

That's why I'm trying to locate him.

Well, let me give you a phone number here.

And you can call this number.

All right, I appreciate this, sir.

Thanks for giving me this information.

OK.

Thank you.

That's supposed to be his number.

Yesterday, I did a phone search.

And a phone search led me to these apartments right here.

Hopefully, this is a good number for him.

[PHONE BEEPING]

The person you have called is unavailable right now.

Please try again later.

What I'm thinking if the numbers is not correct,

they just didn't want to give us the information to get in--

That's what it is.

- -contact with him.

So I'm just thinking that it was a smokescreen for him

and we just got to go back to where we first started

looking for him in, and try to beat the blocks up there

or something.

Yep.

Last time I was here we was talking about Don Wallace.

So have y'all heard any news about the whereabouts of Don Wallace?

I ran into him down by the State Theater and The Paramount.

Him and his daughter was together.

Mm-hmm.

He said that Quickie Pickie that's right there.

Who?

That Quickie Pickie right there on 12th and Chicon.

12th and Chicon?

Yeah.

OK, right in that alley on that corner is a big house.

He said he lives right there.

Mr. Wallace, our thing is not to badger you or anything

like that.

Our thing is just trying to help Mr. Hill.

He have done enough time for a bullshit case of $150,

I think it was.

Mm-hmm.

That's too much time.

Somebody needs to step up, have a heart,

and try to help this man.

So this has nothing to do with the police or anything.

This is just trying to help.

Can't nobody be retried on the case no more.

It's dead and gone.

You know what I mean?

And we just want you to tell us what happened.

We checked into a motel and they didn't have no room for him.

So I gave him money so he could get a room across the street

over there-- the other hotel.

About 2:00 or 3:00 o'clock the morning,

he's knocking on the door and he held out a bag of money.

And I said, "Man, if you don't get out

of here with all that money.

Where you get this from?"

He said, "I got it from that dude across the street."

I said, "Man, you went and robbed somebody?"

"Oh, no, no, no.

I talked him out of it."

That's what he said.

And so he went outside to hide the money.

By the time he comes back in, the police

kicked the door in right then and come on in the hotel.

And they took him on to jail.

And we didn't see him no more.

When you look at his arrest record,

would that be his MO to commit this type of robbery?

No.

But when you look at your rap sheet,

it would be more prone that you would

be the person that would have committed this type of robbery

because you have several assault cases,

and robberies on your rap sheet.

Yeah, some of them I didn't do.

I know about them, I know about them,

but I didn't do them though.

But they filed charges on me for it.

But I beat them all.

People just don't beat.

You probably had like five or six robbery cases

on your thing.

We looked at it.

People just don't beat five to six robbery cases.

If they didn't do them, they do.

I just can't see that, man.

I ain't never did no robberies.

I've been a con man all my life.

And pimping hoes, I ain't never did nothing like that.

No drugs?

Hmm?

No drugs?

No, I didn't do no drugs.

You can bullshit people, but you can't bullshit the bullshitter.

Your story is not holding water.

That's all I'm saying.

Your story is not holding water.

This guy has been locked up 37 years man--

37.

Imagine that.

See, you can't imagine that because you

haven't did a lot of time like that for something

you didn't do.

And I say that because I've been in that same position.

Somebody had to come forward and testify

on my behalf to say they the one that did it.

That's how I got out of prison.

No, no.

Uh-uh.

I ain't done-- I wouldn't do it like that.

[NO AUDIO]

It's kind of dangerous playing with someone's hope in prison.

It's the only thing that's keeping them alive in there.

I really don't know what good I'm doing here.

Steve, man.

Man, we even went through hell and back, man.

And here you is just standing in the doorway of hell again.

Believe me, I'm not perfect.

Been a couple of times that I did hang--

I was out with the wrong company,

but when I sit back and look, and I didn't just

think about myself.

I thought about all the people that would disappoint.

People depending on me.

Why would I want to jeopardize it with some nothing.

That was not supposed to be like that at all.

I can't even explain that shit.

What you're doing right now don't only affect you.

It affects all of us because you have a responsibility not

of just you.

Dang, man--

We all about to try to free people.

But how is going to look like--

those guys is trying to get people free,

but you've got one of them that's always going to jail.

Dang, man.

I can't say anything, man.

I can't say shit.

I don't understand it, Steve.

I don't understand it.

I'm like Chris now.

What is your future?

What do you plan?

Right now, you can't plan a goddamn thing.

Because your future is in that judge's hand.

Man, you better get your mother fucking head right.

Because apparently you wasn't hurt bad enough from we

went through what we went through.

26 years-- man, I can't tell you how many nights I cried.

It hurt me.

When I asked you a question about if you needed help,

you could of been and got it.

But it got to be in a fucked up situation for you

not to say nothing about it.

I was ashamed.

And I still am.

You're going to kick me in the ass behind the shame, dude?

Fuck being ashamed.

I think that's a cop-out out or something.

Because you know us better than trying to pass judgment on you.

When I first got out, you were the only person that helped me.

And to see where we at right now, I

would never in the wildest fucking dreams

thought I'd be looking at Steven Phillips where he is right now.

Because you know why?

When I got out and you did what you did for me,

that made me look up to you.

I'm talking about I idolized what you was doing.

[SCOFFS] God, I was going to say something, man.

I talked to your brother about two years ago.

I said, "Hey, man, you know who I am?"

He looked me, right?

He said, "Yeah, I know who you are."

I said, "You do?"

He said, "Yeah, you're Steve Phillips."

[SCOFFS] He said, "Of course I know who you are."

So I didn't realize I was like that high, dude.

[SCOFFS] So I don't know if you get that or not.

I get it.

You got two good friends around you

right now that's not going to try to tell you nothing wrong,

or try to help you do nothing wrong.

All we're concerned now is your well being.

Your other shit, I'm not going to even worry about it.

I'm just going to worry about what happened to you.

All right.

That's my brother.

I appreciate that, Johnnie.

Yeah.

That's my brother.

I love you for real.

I love you, with your big head.

I know, dude.

Now, get the hell out of here.

We going to do what we can.

All right, thanks for coming for me.

All right, babe.

When you come up for parole, do they

tell you why they set you off?

Yeah, the same thing.

Denying me parole.

They've been doing this since 1985.

They been over 28, or 29 years.

They've been doing the same thing, man.

That's excessive punishment, man.

Yes, sir.

Well, I'm going to tell you this, dude.

And I ain't going to sit up here and lie to you,

and make you no false promises saying, "I can get you out

of prison on this case right here,"

because I don't want to give you no false hope.

But what I can do for you, I can at least talk to somebody

about helping you make parole.

And then we can try to figure out something

once you get out of prison.

You have done enough time.

I feel like I can get you out on parole.

Yes, sir.

Isaiah Hill has did 40 years for a robbery

case, where nobody got hurt.

He's done too much time already.

Already.

Yeah.

This is the alternative we've just now come into.

If we can't get him exonerated, help him make parole.

They are going to be real reluctant to turn him loose.

And they probably fear, that when he gets out,

he's going to be wandering the streets.

There's going to be nobody there to mentor him.

So you have to have plans in place,

so they can be reasonably assured

if they parole this man, that he's

going to have a place to go to help him get settled in.

going to have a place to go to help him get settled in. And so if we can assure the parole board of that factor,

And so if we can assure the parole board of that factor,

I think that will go a long way to help get him a parole.

And we're faith based.

And I have the credentials that does say

that I'm a faith based counsel.

So we got a commercial kitchen here.

And on this side over here is our dining room.

This guy's going to need some type of help,

and some type of structure.

And I want him in a structured environment.

I understand where you're coming from.

And I don't have a problem with trying

to help an inmate get home.

Well, what we do is do life skills.

He'll learn about how to have a new quality of life.

Even if he had seen some things back then,

it has changed tremendously in our society.

So yeah, it's going to be a challenge.

He can be accepted here.

It all depends upon the State saying he can come to us.

That's the bottom line.

OK, give me your friends name.

Christopher Scott.

And where does he live?

He lives in Carrolton, Texas.

Hey, I'm being bonded out.

When I get on the road I'll give you a call.

How about that?

All right, bye.

Chris, Johnnie, they helped me to make bond.

Whether you're in there, or out here,

you know who's got your back.

Hey-ho.

I've got to figure out how I'm going

to pay all these lawyer bills.

This is a matching pair right here.

They both work good.

Yeah, you can sell those.

OK.

Sell those.

How about this coffee table right here?

It's got a matching part over here.

Sell the couch.

Sell that love seat.

Sell that.

See what's in here.

Texas law is pretty clear that if I get convicted

on this case, the compensation will end,

and I'd be basically out on the street.

Max Soffar's attorney told us something

about that this guy that is in Tennessee

that could have something to do with these bowling alley

murders.

That's him right there.

That's him right here.

Paul Reed lived in Houston in 1980, right here in this house,

right there.

It's about 11 miles from the bowling alley.

And he terrorized an entire city.

And that was actually eight homicides

we know that he's involved in.

He's received seven death sentences.

Y'all robbed places?

Yeah, we actually did over 25 robberies.

Criminally insane, is what he was.

There's some things I should have

done to stop him over the years, and I didn't do it.

And I feel bad about that.

The bowlers would bring the time sheets up,

and we'd ring them up.

We had this one guy come up.

I asked him, "Where's your time sheet?

I need it to be able to charge you."

He said, "I threw it away."

I said, "Well, you need to go get it."

He said, "No, I'm not going to go get it."

15, 30 minutes after, we kicked him out.

Get a phone call.

And he says, "Well, I'm the one that you kicked out.

And you better have eyes on the back of your head

because I'm going to blow your heads off."

It was less than a week later is when the shooting occurred.

I went to HPD and talked to a detective

and told them about this time sheet.

So did you testify in Max's case?

No, I never knew that it went to trial.

Aw, man.

That's sick.

Paul had told me that he had shot four people at a bowling

alley.

I asked him did he kill them.

He said, "No, they're all right now."

Did you actually believe him when

he said he didn't kill them.

Yeah, at that time I did because I didn't think

he was a stone cold killer.

This is the witness composite.

Does that match Paul Reed's description?

Sure it does.

That's Paul Reed.

There's no doubt in my mind.

He should have come forth and cleared Max Soffar

because Paul Reed did them.

Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah.

That's him.

That's him?

Yeah.

I'll never forget his face.

This is mad.

Everything I've been going through for 35 years

is pure madness.

Why in God's name am I still here?

Why?

No one cares about justice.

They care about putting me on that gurney

and putting an end to it.

It's never too late.

I got faith in God.

But I'm saying, when teams of oncologists doctors,

get here and tell you, "You're dying."

You don't have nothing to hide anymore.

And then I'm reading about this disease I'm having.

Some say five months, some say with chemo

you might live eight.

But you have a death sentence that you cannot get out of.

It's not for the murders at 14441

in Northwest Freeway in Houston because I did not

commit those murders.

The victims' families deserve the truth.

That's the most painful thing in the world

for me is those families still look at me,

and still believe that I killed those people.

We're not going to stop.

We're not going to give up until we clear Max Soffar's name.

Raise your right hand for me.

State your name.

Christopher Scott.

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that these things are true,

correct, to the best of your knowledge?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

So you are charged with two counts of first degree

aggravated robbery.

Pursuant to the plea agreements, I assess your punishment

as confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

where you shall serve a period of seven years.

It is the order judgment in decree of the court

that you would take--

[VOICE FADES]

What's that?

It's a letter from your daddy.

Yeah?

Papa and daddy?

Yeah.

Hold on.

It say--

[INAUDIBLE]

"It hurts me that I'm not here with you.

Every day I'm away from you, takes a piece of my soul away.

But I love you more than anything in this world.

Soon, it will be over.

I love you so much."

Papa.

"Your dad, Christopher Shun Scott Jr."

Hold it?

You want to hold it?

Yeah.

And I don't know what the city thinks about this.

My neighbor's probably think, oh, my gosh.

The Beverly Hillbillies are back.

Right now, the electricity is off.

Got some water, but no hot water.

A judge is going to make a ruling on whether they

had probable cause to search.

If he rules in my favor, it could dismiss the case.

If he rules against me, they're going to set the case for trial

in a month or two.

If I'm convicted, I could do a stretch of prison time.

I don't know if I can handle that.

For the record in CF-1410, The State vs. Steven Charles Phillips.

This court's opinion is, based on the totality

of the circumstances, that the evidence should be suppressed

as fruit of the poisonous tree.

The demurrer is sustained.

You are excused.

The judge ruled in my favor that the search was illegal.

But I'm a little bit surprised.

Been a pretty tough six months here.

And it has cost me--

a lot.

[CHURCH BELLS RINGING]

Father God, we come to you to celebrate

the life of Max Soffar.

Father, we just pray for the family

that you would comfort them.

And we thank you for your blessings, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Max spent essentially his entire adult life in prison.

From 1981, Max entered death row to last Sunday, when he died.

State of Texas executed 537 people.

Far surpassing every other state.

Max never stopped believing he would be exonerated

because he was 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt, innocent.

He planned to win at the Fifth Circuit

in the hearing that was set for just a few days ago

on Wednesday.

And he wanted to start making arrangements

to get decent medical treatment.

The state didn't use the lethal injection,

the state didn't use the electric chair,

but in a lot of ways, the state killed Max.

The first time I laid my eyes on Max, it was a connection.

It's a lot of more Max Soffars in prison right now.

It's so many more.

I know Max would want us to fight for them.

[CHURCH BELLS RINGING]

What's up, dude?

[LAUGHS]

Lord, have mercy, Jesus.

[INAUDIBLE]

Man, thank God.

With y'all to help, I'm so happy.

[CRYING]

What is that?

That your phone singing?

Want to see this?

Who is that?

That's you, man.

Is that me?

Oh, man.

I got you.

There's a bunch of pictures.

Man, man, man.

Now, did somebody want a steak back here?

Yes, ma'am.

Yeah.

Yeah, Lord.

[LAUGHTER]

Can I ask you a question, ma'am?

Sure.

I ain't hugged a lady in 40 years.

Get up.

Can I give you a hug?

Just get up.

[LAUGHS] Lord, thank you, Lord.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thank you, ma'am.

I don't mean no harm.

You're not going to hurt a thing.

Thank you.

[QUIET CRYING]

[SNIFFLES]

Give me one. Give me one.

Ah.

Got him all hooked up.

[APPLAUSE]

[LAUGHING]

Just like that.

[LAUGHS]

Alrighty, got a letter from Michael's Unit, [INAUDIBLE],,

Tennessee Colony.

He says, "I was wrongly convicted and I need help.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King said that.

It says, "To whom it may concern,

I'm an innocent man wrongly serving a 45 year term.

I pled not guilty, and I stand by my innocence.