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Mar 17, 2009 11:45 pm US/Central
N.Y. Man Chooses Freedom Behind Bars
Edgerton Wagstaffe Has Been In Prison For 17 Years, And Chose To Stay There Despite Getting Parole
Says He's Staying Out Of Principle: "I Didn't Commit The Crime"
COXSACKIE, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Edgerton Wagstaffe has decided to skip his chance at freedom from prison through parole and serve the eight remaining years on his 25-year sentence. Why? Out of principle, he says. "I didn't do it." And he means it.
CBS
Almost all prisoners say they're innocent, but Everton Wagstaffe of Brooklyn has refused to leave prison for parole, even after 17 years behind bars, as a matter of principle. Even some guards were impressed.
Wagstaffe has been locked up since 1992. Two weeks ago he could have walked out of prison on parole. But he refused.
"Exoneration," Wagstaffe said when asked what it would take for him to leave prison. "I didn't commit the crime, Mr. Guzman. I mean, I didn't commit the crime!"
If he is not exonerated he will have to do the full 25-year sentence. That is another eight years.
CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City: "Are you're prepared to do that?"
Wagstaffe: "I'm, I'm prepared to do that. I mean … I'm tired. I mean … I'm all, I'm … I'm tired. I mean I cannot give up because the truth; and just …would not do; and justice … would not allow me to give up."
Here's how Wagstaffe got to prison: It happened in the middle of the crack epidemic. The murder rate in New York was through the roof. Police picked up Wagstaffe. They said he killed a teenage prostitute.
Very early in the morning of Jan. 1, 1992, the body of 16-year-old Jennifer Negron was found dumped in East New York. She was a crack addict, and streetwalker. She was stabbed, beaten and sexually abused.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' prosecutors did not have enough for a murder case, but they did put Wagstaffe on trial for kidnapping Negron.
WCBS-TV: "Did you know Jennifer Negron?"
Wagstaffe: "Never met, met, met that lady. Never."
WCBS-TV: "Did you have a record before?"
Wagstaffe: "Ah, I was on probation, for drugs."
For the last 17 years, Wagstaffe has maintained his innocence. He has spent that time digging up police records and other documents that never came to trial. When asked if anyone picked up on what he had uncovered, Wagstaffe couldn't wait to answer it seemed.
"Nobody. Not even the trial lawyer. Had the trial lawyer caught this, there wouldn't have been a trial," Wagstaffe said.
And now, he may even have DNA on his side. Tests begun last year show hairs on the victim do not belong to Wagstaffe, or his co-defendant, but the Brooklyn DA is now saying the DNA could belong to a mystery "third suspect," who could have been with Wagstaffe.
The DA would not talk on camera and instead e-mailed this two-line statement to WCBS-TV:
"The kidnapping conviction has been upheld at every level of appeal. We did not object to DNA testing."
Ironically, Wagstaffe has used these 17 years to better himself.
"I cannot even curse the circumstances that I'm in now," Wagstaffe said. "It's sad. It's like a bittersweet thing because when I first got locked up, I couldn't even write a letter. I mean, to really help myself.
"I mean, I've gone to school inside here and educated myself. Yes."
So perhaps the silver lining, if any, may be that Wagstaffe, while maintaining his innocence, has had some rehabilitation.
Wagstaffe's new lawyer, Elizabeth Emmons of Legal Aid, believes the documents Wagstaffe has uncovered on his own may do more to get him cleared -- or get a new trial -- than even the DNA results.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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