Barbara Bradley Hagerty

So the document on the prosecutor's desk showed that the star witness against Ben, Gladys Oliver, had received some money in exchange for identifying Ben. Gladys Oliver said she didn't receive any money at all from any source, but she did. She received money from Crimestoppers.

And I should note, spoiler alert here, I should note that decades later, we discovered Gladys also received thousands of dollars from Ross Perot. At that point, we didn't know that. But here's the problem with the Crimestoppers reward. If the jury had known that she was receiving any money, Ben's attorneys could have used that information to undercut her credibility.

And I should note, spoiler alert here, I should note that decades later, we discovered Gladys also received thousands of dollars from Ross Perot. At that point, we didn't know that. But here's the problem with the Crimestoppers reward. If the jury had known that she was receiving any money, Ben's attorneys could have used that information to undercut her credibility.

And I should note, spoiler alert here, I should note that decades later, we discovered Gladys also received thousands of dollars from Ross Perot. At that point, we didn't know that. But here's the problem with the Crimestoppers reward. If the jury had known that she was receiving any money, Ben's attorneys could have used that information to undercut her credibility.

It happens all the time. It even has a name. It's called a Brady violation. So studies show that when someone is wrongly convicted and later exonerated, the police and prosecutors... were involved in misconduct 60% of the time. So more than half the cases, there's prosecutorial or police misconduct. In Ben's case, the judge looked at the fact that Gladys had lied and he vacated the conviction.

It happens all the time. It even has a name. It's called a Brady violation. So studies show that when someone is wrongly convicted and later exonerated, the police and prosecutors... were involved in misconduct 60% of the time. So more than half the cases, there's prosecutorial or police misconduct. In Ben's case, the judge looked at the fact that Gladys had lied and he vacated the conviction.

It happens all the time. It even has a name. It's called a Brady violation. So studies show that when someone is wrongly convicted and later exonerated, the police and prosecutors... were involved in misconduct 60% of the time. So more than half the cases, there's prosecutorial or police misconduct. In Ben's case, the judge looked at the fact that Gladys had lied and he vacated the conviction.

And at this point, you know, the state decides, okay, we're going to just try him again. Before the second trial, a prosecutor offers Ben a deal. He says, look, if you plead guilty to aggravated robbery, a lesser charge, we will ask for less time and you'll be out in two or three years. And Ben told me later what he thought of that offer.

And at this point, you know, the state decides, okay, we're going to just try him again. Before the second trial, a prosecutor offers Ben a deal. He says, look, if you plead guilty to aggravated robbery, a lesser charge, we will ask for less time and you'll be out in two or three years. And Ben told me later what he thought of that offer.

And at this point, you know, the state decides, okay, we're going to just try him again. Before the second trial, a prosecutor offers Ben a deal. He says, look, if you plead guilty to aggravated robbery, a lesser charge, we will ask for less time and you'll be out in two or three years. And Ben told me later what he thought of that offer.

Yep. He went to trial, and this time he got just what his attorney had predicted, a life sentence.

Yep. He went to trial, and this time he got just what his attorney had predicted, a life sentence.

Yep. He went to trial, and this time he got just what his attorney had predicted, a life sentence.

It's called the trial penalty. Yeah. So, you know, if you plead guilty, you get a lesser sentence. If you go to trial and lose, you get a really high sentence. And that's what happened with Ben. So Ben's attorney, Frank Jackson, told me that in a way he kind of saw the sentence as almost inevitable.

It's called the trial penalty. Yeah. So, you know, if you plead guilty, you get a lesser sentence. If you go to trial and lose, you get a really high sentence. And that's what happened with Ben. So Ben's attorney, Frank Jackson, told me that in a way he kind of saw the sentence as almost inevitable.

It's called the trial penalty. Yeah. So, you know, if you plead guilty, you get a lesser sentence. If you go to trial and lose, you get a really high sentence. And that's what happened with Ben. So Ben's attorney, Frank Jackson, told me that in a way he kind of saw the sentence as almost inevitable.

Yeah, I asked him that 30 years later, and here's what he told me.

Yeah, I asked him that 30 years later, and here's what he told me.

Yeah, I asked him that 30 years later, and here's what he told me.

So he was sent to the largest maximum security prison in Texas. It's called the Cofield Unit. And he doesn't really like to talk about this time, but standing back for a second, This was a really interesting time for crime and punishment. Things were changing so quickly. And I'll quote Charles Dickens here. It was basically the best of times and the worst of times.