exonerees

It's the roll of the dice. If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone.

And some people say the system worked because I got out. The system didn't work because I got out. I'm just going to tell you how I got out. I exhausted all my appeals to get out, which means the next step, if the death penalty was in effect, I would have been killed.

Two juries were wrong. Two judges were wrong. The state of Maryland was wrong... I am not here because the system worked. I am here because a series of miracles happened.

We've heard a lot about statistics today but I am here to tell you that the people who have been exonerated and released from death rows across the United States aren't just statistics. They're human beings, human beings who had hopes and dreams, just like all Americans.

I spent 17 years, eight months and one day on death row. I was not saved by the system. I was saved in spite of the system.