Charistmatic listening, journalists, and exonerating the innocent

When Colin Miner became a True/Slant contributor last month, I noticed that his brief biography stated his “reporting has freed from prison a man wrongfully convicted of murder…”

Although I know countless journalists who investigate alleged wrongful convictions, I did not recognize Miner’s name. So I sent him an email, asking which case he was referring to on his True/Slant site, which is titled “The War at Home” and is not about wrongful convictions.

Collin Warner’s case, Miner replied. That name I did recognize: Warner served 19 years incarcerated for a New York City murder he did not commit. The exoneration came in 2001.

I asked Miner how he happened to become involved in the Warner case. After all, many journalists ignore inmates’ pleas for investigations into alleged wrongful convictions. At the time, Miner was working at NY1 News. On the tips line, he received a call from a lawyer. The lawyer said he represented a prisoner wrongfully convicted of murder. Though skeptical of the claim, Miner was wise enough to listen carefully. That’s what newsroom tips lines are all about–what I call charismatic listening, something that allows an intelligent, experienced journalist to initially separate the garbage from the diamonds.

The lawyer’s account seemed plausible, so Miner began digging. The breakthrough arrived when an important prosecution witness admitted lying under oath during trial. The prosecutor’s office paid attention, too–that doesn’t always happen when the integrity of an office’s convictions are scrutinized–and played a role in releasing Warner.

Looking back, Miner told me that “in my 20-something years of reporting, watching Warner get out of his lawyer’s car after driving away from the prison is probably the moment that gives me the most pride…”

I am hoping to hear lots more journalists utter similar words after listening carefully to innocent inmates and their representatives.