Survivors Guide to Prison Page #3

And he grabbed me and put me

against the bathroom door jam

and held a knife to my throat

and said,

"If you ever touch

my sh*t again, I'll kill you."

And he was gone, and I thought,

whew, thank God, he's gone.

My mom told my dad

the day before the murder

that Mike Ryan had been there

that day looking for money,

looking for food,

looking for... you know.

We know it in our hearts,

my dad and I,

Mike Ryan killed my mom.

This is... this is the letter

Lisker writes to Monsue

after he's arrested.

He's behind bars,

and he goes, "Dear sir,

I'm sure that by this point,

it has become apparent to you

that I am not the murderer."

And this is where

he turns him on to Ryan

as a potential suspect.

When Monsue went to find Ryan

to interview him,

he tracks him down in a jail

in Mississippi

where I think he was arrested

for breaking

into a woman's house.

His story was so full of holes,

I mean,

you could have driven

a truck through it.

He said that he was sleeping

on the streets.

He was sleeping in carports

until March 10th,

when he checked

into a Hollywood motel,

which is 12 miles away from

our house at around 11:00 AM.

Suddenly,

at 3:
00 PM on March 10th,

four hours after my mom

was killed and robbed,

he has money to check

into a motel.

I don't think that Monsue

was out to get Lisker.

I think that he developed what

detectives call tunnel vision.

I had heard a lot of things

about him being narrow-minded.

Once he made his mind up,

there was no way of...

of making him change his mind.

And so, that... that leads

to some serious problems

when you're dealing

with a homicide investigation.

[Matthew] Detective Monsue

did a search

on Mike Ryan's criminal record,

apparently using

the wrong birth date.

He had the wrong date

of birth for him,

and if he had the right date

of birth

and he checked

criminal records back then,

he would've found

that just a few months prior

to the Dorka Lisker slaying,

Ryan had allegedly held a knife

to a friend's throat over $12,

which you would think

would cause, you know,

a detective to consider him

a little more seriously,

you know, for the offense

he was investigating.

Eventually, like Bruce,

you're gonna have

a detention hearing.

During which time a judge

is going to make a determination

as to whether you're going to

stay in jail

or you can be released

while you await your trial.

Well, unless you have

a lot of money for attorneys,

you're not going anywhere.

Basically, you go in there

with your hands

tied behind your back

because of the power

that we give to police officers

in this nation.

His word carried the day.

The Constitution is supposed

to guarantee

a speedy trial

and prohibit the use

of cruel and unusual punishment.

Myself, I spent 15 months

before trial

in the county jail

in deplorable conditions.

I was in numerous riots,

various situations

where I had to defend myself.

I made a new word.

It's called I was petrinoid.

I was petrified

and paranoid at the same time.

Surviving County jail.

The first thing that you're

going to want to do is get out.

So whatever you have to do

to get the money, it's worth it.

You definitely don't want

to be going to trial

in a jumpsuit or in cuffs.

[Matthew] A study of defendants

in Kentucky found

that individuals in jail

were over three times

more likely to be sentenced

to prison

than those who were released

and showed up for court

in regular clothes.

If you're stuck in jail,

be prepared to be completely

humiliated and violated.

You are going to be stripped

of all your personal possessions

and your clothing.

Your integrity,

your respect, everything.

Keep to yourself.

Be polite and ask permission...

- To use the water fountain.

- The bathroom.

- The lights.

- The sink.

That's it right there.

Mind your own business

and be respectful.

Never call the guards

if you got a problem

with somebody.

Just talk to the person

that you have a problem with

directly or let it go.

You're gonna want to make a lot

of phone calls to your family.

- To get advice.

- Find a lawyer.

- To talk to a friend.

- To find out how to get out.

As quickly as possible.

They can charge

over a dollar a minute.

Calls to and from your lawyer,

your son, daughter,

your mom, or your dad.

I wouldn't want to do any time

in the county jail at all.

It's not bearable

because they don't treat you

with any type of respect.

Like, you're supposed to be

innocent until proven guilty.

Okay, well, this is a place

where it should show that.

"Innocent until proven guilty"

originally meant...

[Matthew] Nobody should

ever be denied a trial.

And it was created

as a protection...

Against torturing people

into confessions.

It was established

as a shield...

Against mob mentality

and witch hunts.

And this presumption of

innocence until proven guilty

is a foundational notion

of civil justice.

The problem is,

is that it's

a difficult principle

to preserve.

You have to be vigilant

about preserving it.

[Matthew] David Sirota's an

investigative journalist who's done

extensive work in America's

criminal justice system.

Our media culture,

where the camera is on,

you've got Court TV...

On the murder count,

he is going to walk.

[crowd] No justice!

No peace!

People want to see retribution.

They want to see

somebody punished.

Who in the heck

is in that jury room?

You've got politicians

running around.

Just stoking the flames.

When folks mess with Americans,

we go after them.

- People want revenge.

- And it's reminiscent

of medieval times,

people screaming for blood.

And our present culture

doesn't seem to value

the concept of innocent

until proven guilty.

And so, unless you're vigilant

about preserving

a presumption of innocence,

then you're going to lose

that presumption of innocence.

Kalief Browder was a teenager.

He was walking home

from school

when someone accused him

of stealing a backpack.

The police didn't do

any investigating.

They just arrested him.

And the next thing you know,

they putting the cuffs.

I don't even know this dude.

His family couldn't afford

the $10,000 bail.

Kalief was subjected

to officer assaults,

which you can see here,

and groups of inmates

attacking him.

They was just all bawling

on my head to the point

where I just had to just grab

my head, like, I can't take it.

[female reporter]

He missed his sister's wedding,

the birth of his nephew,

and so many family events.

[Matthew] After nearly three

years of unimaginable torture,

incarcerated without a trial,

he was finally offered a deal.

If he would plead guilty,

they'd let him go.

She told me if I lose trial,

I could get 15 years.

Take the time served,

and you go home today

if you say you did it.

I didn't do it.

I'm not saying I did that.

[reporter]

He went back to jail.

In June, he was suddenly freed

with no explanation.

No apology, no nothing.

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