Ronko Yamada

This is how the verdict was covered in K.W.

Lee's Koreatown newspaper.

This Pan-Asian movement of old and young, Japanese-Americans, Korean-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and many others, had come together, and they had freed a young Korean immigrant from death row.

But Chol Soo Lee was still a convicted murderer for the prison stabbing in 1977.

His lawyers, though, were able to strike a plea deal.

In March of 1983, he walked out of prison a free man.

Cholsoo Lee had spent nearly 10 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

And during that entire time, Ronco Yamada never lost focus on getting him back home.

It inspired her to go to law school and become a champion for the underdog.

But it wasn't just her life that was changed.

K.W.

Lee left mainstream English language newspapers and dedicated himself to journalism about Korean Americans and for Korean Americans.

He was also working hard to train a whole new generation of journalists.

That's how Julie met K.W.

Lee in 1990.

KW stayed friends with Chol Soo Lee for the rest of his life.

He was his mentor, a guiding hand that helped Chol Soo when he struggled to adapt to life outside prison.

KW was like a father figure to him, which made it even harder when Chol Soo died unexpectedly in 2014.

But KW was also angry.

That speech inspired Julie to make the documentary Free Chol Soo Lee.