Heather Ann Thompson

And two judges in the Bronx suddenly decide to go back.

They look at all of these old misdemeanor citations, and then they issue a blizzard of warrants against

against these teenagers on the basis of these misdemeanor charges.

So suddenly overnight, the media grabs hold of this and says they are dangerous criminals.

Look at all the charges they have mounted against them.

Mind you, these are nonviolent misdemeanor citations.

And one of the judges actually calls them, it says this is evidence that they are violent criminals.

And of course, everything just flows from that.

They then

are no longer able to be victims.

Yeah, that's right.

This trial is an extraordinary example of a jury hearing evidence and Americans hearing a story unfold right before their eyes and nevertheless deciding

in favor of the shooter, nevertheless deciding that he should be vindicated.

It is a dramatic trial.

Bernie Goetz manages to get one of the most flashy, incredibly smart, really brilliant defense lawyers, Barry Slotnick, to defend him.

This is a guy who

has defended the mob.

I mean, he knows how to really spin a yarn and get the jury on his side.

But he has this extraordinary moment in the trial where he persuades the judge.

to reenact what happened on that subway.