I fell into the hands of a corrupt detective.

I was naive enough to believe that I would be able to just present all of my proof of actual innocence

that they would investigate adequately and so that I wouldn't be going to prison because I was a good person, I hadn't done anything wrong.

In the back of your mind you say, well, when we go to a hearing or we go to court, the truth

will come out.

The prosecution from day one knew I was innocent and let force testimony go uncorrected

from the lower courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.

You have someone with a badge with ultimate

and really in that moment unchecked authority.

Don't presume that people are guilty when you see them on TV

because it may just be a dirty DA that is trying to rise upward.

This is wrongful conviction. I'm Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom. Today's guest is a friend of mine.

He's a remarkable human and an inspiration to everybody who knows him and I want to embarrass you.

But without further ado,

let me introduce you, Ryan Ferguson. At just 19 years old, Ryan Ferguson was wrongly convicted

of murder. He served nearly a decade in prison. Ferguson was convicted for the brutal murder

of beloved journalist Kent Heitolt in 2001. The crime scene outside the newspaper where he worked, littered with physical evidence,

bloody footprints, fingerprints, and even hair.

But none of it matched Ryan.

Again and again, he denied knowing anything about the murder.

Charles Erickson, a childhood friend of Ryan's,

came forward two years after the murder, claiming he had dreamlike visions that he

...