Hi, this is Laura Nyrider. Because of COVID-19, Steve and I recorded this episode from our homes,

not together in the studio, we might sound a little different, but I think the story we tell is

as inspirational as always. Be well and stay healthy. Welcome to Wrongful Conviction False Confessions.

I'm Laura Nyrider. And I'm Steve Drizen. Today we'll tell you the story of David McCallum,

one of two New York teens wrongfully convicted of murder in 1986. Luckily for David, he had

incredible allies in his corner, the famous boxer, Ruben Hurricane Carter, and a district attorney,

Ken Thompson, who was dedicated to real justice. Here comes the story of the DA and the Hurricane,

and one of the men they saved.

So it was a 2006 and I had just become the legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.

And my colleague, Rob Warden, came into my office and handed me a VHS tape. On the tape,

there were confessions from David McCallum and Willie Stucky. And Rob told me, he said,

Ruben Hurricane Carter would like you to look at this. When Ruben Hurricane Carter asked you to do

something, you do it. At the time, Ruben Carter was the most famous person who'd ever been

wrongly convicted. In the 1960s, he was a prize-winning professional boxer, nicknamed Hurricane,

for his record of early-round knockouts. But in 1966, he was convicted of a triple murder he

didn't commit. After 20 years behind bars, Ruben was exonerated. He dedicated the rest of his life

to advocating for others he'd been wrongly convicted too. In 1976, Bob Dylan wrote the song

Hurricane, as a tribute to Ruben Carter. You know, I had met Ruben a couple years before Rob

handed me that tape. Ruben was at Northwestern. He was at a conference to honor dozens of people

who had been exonerated off of death row. And for me, it was, you know, there was a little bit of

hero worship on my part. I was eager to meet him because I was so impressed with the way he

remade himself, you know, from a brawler to a deep thinker. To be honest, you need both of those

...