Public Defenseless 31: The Wrongful Conviction of Cyrus Wilson with Cyrus Wilson and Dawn Deaner
On the night of September 15, 1992, in the Nashville Tennessee area, teenager Christopher Luckett was shot and killed.
Two days later, another teenager Cyrus Wilson was arrested for the crime. Even though there was only circumstantial evidence and many witnesses later admitted they were coerced into lying, Cyrus was found guilty and spent over 20 years in prison.
Today, he is 48 years old and still fighting for his innocence while on parole.
In this episode, Cyrus tells his story and how he is working to get the verdict overturned. Dawn Deaner, Former Public Defender in Nashville and Executive Director of the Choosing Justice Initiative joins him to add her expert perspective.
The fact is, thousands of innocent people are sitting in jail right now, powerless and without the resources they need.
The question is, how can we get the system to listen and take action?
Key Topics and Takeaways:
- A quick summary of the case. [0:18]
- Dawn talks about her public defense background. [16:58]
- Why Cyrus originally waived his right to an attorney and what his later attorney interactions looked like. [26:16]
- The appeals process. [45:20]
- Where accountability should be put in place. [52:13]
- Reasons attorneys and judges become complacent. [1:06:16]
- Lawyers and judges need to understand the power they have. [1:17:29]
- Cyrus's life on parole. [1:22:45]
- How Cyrus is still trying to prove his innocence. [1:29:34]
- Two things Cyrus wants people to understand. [1:36:40]
Guests:
Cyrus Wilson
Dawn Deaner, Former Public Defender in Nashville, Founder and Executive Director of the Choosing Justice Initiative
Resources:
Cyrus Wilson Granted Parole, Set to Be Released
Memorable Quotes:
"Once the police hone in on their guy, it can be difficult to get them off that gut intuition that police are very often instructed to follow." (1:53, Hunter)
"If we continue to believe that the only way victims can be made whole is by somebody going to jail, then we are gonna continue to end up in situations like this, where, who cares who goes to jail as long as somebody did." (12:48, Hunter)
"I don't necessarily know that there were more problems in public defense 30 years ago than there are today. I think that things have been bad and they've been bad a very long time." (31:26, Dawn)
"You can't give someone like 50 cases and understand that and think that they're realistically going to investigate cases appropriately." (51:32, Cyrus)
"We need to recognize that lawyers and judges in positions of power perpetuate this system that oppresses people." (53:09, Dawn)
"I've never committed a crime and I could be continually detained and incarcerated for something that I did not do that I'm still held accountable for right now in this moment. No matter what kind of life I create, it could be taken away at the drop of a hat simply because this situation has never been totally corrected." (1:24:02, Cyrus)
"Innocent people and people who are not necessarily innocent should be treated justly and fairly without bias." (1:37:29, Cyrus)
Contact Hunter Parnell:
hwparnell@publicdefenseless.com