Stefon Morant notices the moon at night. He can see it now whenever he wants.
Until weeks ago, Morant and Scott Lewis were living in jail. They had spent decades in jail. They were supposed to spend the rest of their lives in jail.
Then a federal judge forced a reluctant state of Connecticut to set the two men free.
A blistering FBI investigation into corrupt cops and the New Haven drug trade — an investigation that cast a strong suspicion that Lewis and Morant had been framed for the murder; an investigation that in any case eviscerated the threads of evidence on which the pair had been convicted — had failed to convince the state to release Morant and Lewis. The two kept fighting, with the help of idealistic lawyers, to win their freedom.
The newly freed inmates spent Thursday morning in the WNHH radio studios to revisit their journeys and look at what life has in store for them now. Click on the above sound file to listen in on the conversation. Click here to download the show (“Dateline New Haven Ep. 5”) from iTunes.
The murder in question was the 1990 double fatal shooting at 4 a.m. in the Hill of a former New Haven alderman-turned-drug-dealer named Ricardo Turner and his lover in their bed. It was a sensational murder. The revelations that emerged years later, when Morant and Lewis were left in jail, proved sensational, too.
Their story may make you angry. It may also give you hope at a time when we hear so much about corruption and destroyed lives in America’s criminal-justice system.
Meanwhile, the pair is getting on with their lives. Moran is looking for work; he’d like to find a “helping” Lewis has married and launched a real-estate broker’s practice. He’s also going to school in hopes of becoming a paralegal — and putting some of the law he learned in jail to win his freedom to use for other people.
As the program neared an end, the news emerged that Connecticut’s Supreme Court — the same court that had once denied Scott Lewis his freedom — had declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional.
Lewis was asked his reaction.
“Good thing I wasn’t on death row,” he remarked. “It was close.”
He meant it. He was also smiling.
Click here for a detailed account of the FBI revelations and the specifics of this case, from a 1998 exposé in the now-defunct New Haven Advocate. And click here to read the full FBI report, which covered wide ground about New Haven’s drug trade.
Previous coverage of this case:
• 2nd “Killer” Ordered Freed In Corrupt-Cop Case
• Framed “Killer” Is Free At Last
Scott Lewis Comes Home
• Framed “Killer” Free At Last
• Scott Lewis Comes Home
• State Seeks To Keep Scott Lewis Jailed
• Federal Judge Orders Alderman’s “Killer” Freed
• Alderman’s “Killer” Gets 1 More 2nd Chance
First, congratulations to the two gentlemen who achieved their freedom after years of injustice. But, really this post is to the Independent. I think there needs to be a new format so that the emphasis on reporting local news doesn't come second to the radio format. Maybe there's just not enough time and/or reporters to do both. Thanks for any feedback.
[Paul: Thanks for the comment. We agree! We've been talking about that issue. Our goal is to add to the reporting we're doing, not replace it with radio. Some days (like today) it might feel otherwise, but our commitment is to mix the stories with he radio shows and summaries in with the regular reporting we've always done, like the past few days's stories on Church Street South, body cams, New Haven Promise, Doug Hausladen's new job, the State Street bridge, etc. Our hope is that the radio discussions broaden the coverage, adding more voices from the community, going more in depth into issues, and reaching people in more formats. Thanks for raising the issue, and please do keep us on our toes.)