Interviewer 0:01

How often do you think about your brother, or the events that happened, like today?

Yvonne 0:19
Today it's only when it comes up in a conversation. And it's funny because it's like, random that
it'll come up. About a month ago, the last time when I was with [friends], I don't even know why it
came up but it came up. So I'm going through the whole memories, and the whole time I'm
talking to them, I keep telling them they had to remember this happened when I was 13, you
know, and I'm trying to remember all the details and I really don't know the details. And as a 13
year old child, you don't know all the specifics either. It's kind of like what you overheard in the
adult conversations, what you might have read in the newspaper. You know, that kind of stuff but
it's like that.

And there was another time when we were out with [friends], one of [their] brothers, and the
conversation came up. And it was so random, you know, because the guy brought it up and the
guy didn't even know who I was or didn't know that I was any part of it. I don't remember why or
how, but he was talking about that incident and- because I don't know if he lived in those trailer
homes too or I don't know what the issue was, but- he was like, “You know, back then there was
this guy that did this and that and the other,” and then I'm kind of sitting there and I'm like,
“Yeah, well that was my brother.” And then I remember everyone was like “What?” like, you
know, shocked and so it's weird because it's like that. I don't know if it's because I still live in the
south side that, you know, somebody has a memory of it at some point, and it comes up in a
conversation, or if it's because my friends, who kind of know that I'm part of it but don't really
know the details and don't really know the story, eventually end up asking more and more
questions. It's not like I personally think about that time anymore.

Recently, now that I've been cleaning the house and everything, I've been finding the letters that
he used to send me when he was in jail. And so I was reading a couple of them the other day.
So obviously that brings back some of the memories but. But other than that, you know, when
you watch something on TV. Like when I saw that one that I was telling you about, the Central
Park Five, like how it affected the entire families and all that, that brings back the memories too.
Then I talk to like whoever and I tell them, “I get that. I get that because it's not just the person
going through it, it's their families like, they've also lost somebody.”
Interviewer 3:05
So whenever you end up recounting everything to friends or like people who, you know, ask
about it, what kind of reaction do they usually have when you're telling your story?

Yvonne 3:25
Part of it is, you know- when I tell the story, I'm not trying to say that my brother didn't do it. I'm
not trying to say that he didn't have any part in it. I'm basically kind of, again, trying to recount
the facts as I remember them. And so a lot of people come back and they're like, “Yeah I think
he was framed” or “Yeah, there's no way he could have done that” or, you know, they kind of say
all those things. And I don't know if they say that because they think I want them to say that, or
because they think I don't want them to think that my brother did this or whatever because, in all
honesty, in my opinion, I would like to know the truth. And there was just a lot of open questions
and a lot of things that really didn't happen to really truly defend him because we didn't have the
money for a lawyer. We had court appointed lawyers, so then there's just a lot of open
questions. So that's kind of their reaction, it's always that “Yeah, there's no way he could have
done it” or this and that. Or sometimes they're surprised at the fact that I went through
something like this, because again they kind of knew something but didn't really. So they kind of
are surprised that- like that he was actually executed. It wasn't just, you know, the trial and
everything, but it was everything that happened. It was from the day that it happened to like 10
years later to when he was executed. I guess they- I don't know. Like I said, they're surprised,
you know? Like how many people do you know experienced something like that? But nobody's
ever been ugly to me. None of my friends. Nobody's ever been, like, thought less of me or my
family because of it. It's just more shock... that something like this happened to somebody that
they know.

Interviewer 5:28
And so you brought up media like true crime media, like Central Park Five. And I know you're a
big fan of true crime. Do you think that you're so into true crime because of what happened?

Yvonne 5:54
I don't know. You know I've always wondered that too. I've always wondered if that was where I
got this whole fascination of, you know, real life crimes and stuff. I honestly don't know if that's
where it came from. I mean, I find it fascinating. I find it fascinating that people can do the things
that they do. And then I find it also, like, disheartening that sometimes the cases aren't handled
correctly- I think they're not handled correctly- whether it's somebody getting wrongfully accused
or railroaded. Or when you see something like the OJ Simpson trial, you know, where like there
was all this evidence and, you know, and then he gets off scot free. So it's kind of like I see that
inequity in the justice system and that's what frustrates me. And so that's why I think I'm
fascinated with it because like part of it is, number one, I can't believe people are psycho, and,
you know, it’s that they are. And then number two is that when a crime happens, like, are we
even convicting the right person? Are we letting the wrong- are we letting the person go free
when we shouldn't? All of that, that's I think what interests me a lot about it.
Interviewer 7:11
So like when you're telling friends about your story that you tell them to remember that you were
13, a lot of it was based off of just a memory of a 13 year old. Does that mean like you haven't
like looked up, or done your research about like the actual case? I don't know just any kind of
news reporting, or..?

Yvonne 7:36
The case itself? No, I did do- The only thing that I've done, and I don't remember when I did this,
it was years later after he was already executed. I don't know why I was kind of googling his
name and I saw- it wasn't even a transcript, tt was a- I don't remember exactly what it was but it
was describing his case, kind of a summary of his case and it was saying, you know, what he
was accused of. It talked about him signing that confession, stuff like that. And so it was kind of
a little bit eye opening because I kind of- Again, I kind of knew something about the confession
that he signed. I read the confession and I can't remember when I read it. I kind of feel like I
read it afterwards. I don't think I read it back then, I want to say that I read it later on, years later.
I don't remember how I got my hands on it or what, but what was said in it was very- Because
you know, back then I knew he had signed something, and he was always telling us like, “I don't
know what I signed. I was in the hospital and, you know, drugged up with medication and stuff
like that. So I know I signed all these papers and I don't know exactly what I signed.” But then
later on, when I read the confession it was very detailed, very personal things that like, only he
would have known. Because I know a lot of people have always said like, “It was a setup” and
“The police also- just to get somebody convicted of it and accuse somebody, they manufactured
this confession” you know like I've heard a lot of that from a lot of people. But when I read it, it
was like, come on. Somebody who didn't know him wouldn’t have known the song and stuff like
that that he mentioned in the confession.

So I don't remember when I read it but that's the only thing I have done. I've never really gone in
depth to actually try to find the court transcripts because again when I was young, I wasn't
allowed to go to court, and I don't even think my parents really even went. I think my dad went
here and there, but they had to work. So that was another thing, they couldn't miss work. It's,
you know, when you are blue collared workers and you can't just be calling in. And even then,
like I told you kind of what happened with my mom, how at her work they were kind of mean to
her, you know? So nobody was gonna understand and be like, yeah take all the time you need.
They weren't like that with her. So they weren't really in court, either to see what was going on.
But yeah, I've never gone back to actually like look things up like that.