What is this American experiment about? Is it a tale about big business? Or is America a tale about the little guy, the average Joe, or the average Sally? Is the United States of America about the Rockefellers, Carnegies, and the Elon Musks of the world?
America is about both. America is very much about how one man or woman has overcome enormous odds to become incredibly successful. But America is also about how one man or woman fought to keep their head above water.
Two Tales of Justice
Baithe Diop was shot twice in his cab. He was left to die. Unfortunately, his story of being an immigrant trying to overcome the odds ended in the Bronx in 1995. Eric Glisson and four other defendants were convicted of his senseless murder. Eric Glisson maintained that he was innocent. Glisson did everything he could from behind bars to legally free himself from prison.
Seventeen years later, as a Hail Mary, he writes a letter to a prosecutor in the US attorney’s office. He reiterates the details of the case and states that he is innocent. The prosecutor he wrote the letter to had retired, and somehow the letter ended up in the hands of John O’Malley, an investigator and former Bronx homicide detective.
In what can only be described as divine intervention, O’Malley was a former Bronx detective who helped take down the street gang, “Sex Money, and Murder.” He was personally involved when two of the gang members, as part of their plea deal, confessed to shooting a cab driver in 1995.
So, while reading the letter from Glisson, O’Malley remembers this confession from over a decade before. O’Malley takes it upon himself to reinvestigate the murder. The original case against Glisson was flimsy at best. With increased scrutiny, the case falls apart.
The conviction was overturned. Eric Glisson and his four co-defendants were finally freed. They received a $40 million judgment from the city of New York. It took over 17 years, but ultimately, justice was served.
