The Real-Life Story Behind "Conviction"

(CBS)  For those who don't know her, she's simply a woman who runs a Bristol, R.I., bar. But for thousands of others, Betty Ann Waters is a hero, reports CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell.

Her story began almost 30 years ago, after the brutal murder of a 48-year-old Massachusetts woman. The main suspect was Kenny Waters, Betty Ann's younger brother.

"I told them I never killed nobody," Kenny Waters said. "I don't know what you are talking about."

But three years after the murder, Waters was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

"I had a five-day trial and I was away for the rest of my life," Waters said.

His sister never believed he did it.

Betty Ann said that Kenny was the life of the party, and admits he was a troublemaker. But in her heart she knew he was not a killer. So Betty Ann, a high-school dropout, enrolled in community college, then on to law school, and became her brother's attorney.

Betty Ann said that she never had a moment when she wanted to give up.

"How could I? If I gave up that would have been giving up on him and he wouldn't have made it," Betty Ann said.

She faced setback after setback, and after a long, frustrating search, finally a breakthrough.

"I felt like someone a mile away could hear my heart beat," Betty Ann said. "It was amazing."

With the help of attorney Barry Scheck's Innocent Project, she was able to show through DNA testing that the blood found at the murder scene was not her brother's - and after 18 years in prison, Kenny Waters was declared innocent.

The Innocence Project
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"I think it's absolutely amazing that she dedicated her life to this," Kenny said.

Now the real life drama is hitting the big screen in the movie "Conviction."

Tragically, in 2001, 47-year-old Kenny died after a freak fall, just six months after his release. But his sister said that he enjoyed every minute of his freedom.

"I just wish he was here to see this movie. I wish he was here to live his life. I feel that he's here," Betty Ann said.

Betty Ann Waters doesn't practice law any more, but still fights for others wronged by the criminal justice system - a sister who continues to live by her convictions.

[JIMMYIGOE]

GOD BLESS YOU KENNY AND MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOUR ANGEL BETTY ANN. MY COUSIN SAID I RAPED HIM WHEN I WAS 11 YEARS OLD AND HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD. HE SAID I ALSO TOUCHED HIM FOR 10 YEARS. DSS NOTIFIED MY WORK AND I HAD A HEARING AND THEY ASKED ME ONE QUESTION. "WHY IS HE BLAMING YOU" AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY AND I SAID TO MYSELY "WHY NE". I TOLD THEM I DON'T KNOW WHY. THERE WERE ABOUT 8 PEOPLE AT THE HEARING AND ONE GUY SERIOUS WAS LIKE SLEEPING. I THOUGHT I WAS SEEING THINGS. ANYWAY I SHOULDN'T SAY THIS BUT THEY FOUND ME GUILTY! JUST ON HIS WORD WHICH WAS ALL LIES. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS. HE WAS STALKING ME WHILE THIS WAS GOING ON I EVEN HAVE A POLICE REPORT THAT HE WROTE SAYING HE HAD SEX WITH HIS "MOTHER" I WANT TO TELL DSS WHY WOULD HE LIE ABOUT HAVING SEX WITH HIS 'MOTHER'. THE STORY GETS WORSE. I WAS THEN ARRESTED APRIL 13,1993 WITH 3 COUNTS 1.RAPE AND ABUSE OF A CHILD.2.INDECENT ASSAULT OVER 14.3.INDECENT ASSAULT UNDER 14. I END UP IN THE HOSPITAL AGAIN. SHOCK! WHY "ME'GOD I SAID. WHEN THE COPS FOUND A LETTER AFTER HE GOT CAUGHT STEALING THE LETTER WAS THROWN AWAY BUT THE COP AND STORE OWNER SAID MY COUSIN WAS SO GRAPHIC AND CRAZY THE COP THREW IT AWAY BUT HE WAS FUC... BY HIS MOTHER. I HAVE BOTH TESTIMONIES AND BOTH COINCIDE WITH EACH OTHER. I RAN TO MY LAWYER AND HE SAID WE CAN'T USE THAT BECAUSE OF THE RAPE SHIELD LAW.NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING WAS ON MY SIDE. MY MOM WAS GETTING SICK BECAUSE IT LASTED ALMOST 5 YEARS FOR THE TRIAL. I AM REALLY THE VICTOM BY HIS OLDER STEPBROTHER WHO TOCHED ME WHEN I WAS SLEEPING. IT GETS WORSE. I COULDN;T ADOPT A BABY BECAUSE OF HIS WORD. WOW.ANYONE CAN DO THIS.IT HAPPENED TO ME PLEASE PLEASE SOMEONE NEEDS TO LOOK AT THIS. DSS SAID THEY ONLY HAD A SMALL CASELOAD. THEY JUST BELIEVED HIM BECAUSE NONEWOULD LIE. GUILTY FOR ME. AT THE DAY OF THE TRIAL MY LAWYER CALLED ME 7:30 AM AND CONVINCED ME TO NOT GO FORWARD BECAUSE MY MOM WOULD NOT LAST FOR THE TRIAL. I SAID WHY GOD WHY. THAT MORNING I FELT STRONG IN SPIRIT BECAUSE THIS IS MY MY MY MY DAY. THEIR FAMILY WERE EVEN LAUGHING IN THE HALLWAY. MY BROTHER WHO HAS A STRONG IRISH TEMPER JUMPED OVER THE SEAT TO SAY HIS STEPBROTHER IS THE PERERTRATOR WAS TOLD TO LEAVE FOR AWHILE. THE PROSECUTER TOLD MY LAWYER 2 YEARS PROBATION AND HE BEGGED ME AND I SAID KNOW AND THEN HE SAID MY MOM WOULD TAKE A HEART ATTACK AND SHE LOVES YOU. HE KNEW WE DIDNT HAVE THE REST OF THE 25000 HE WANTED. WE SOLD FAMILY CARS TO GET HIM THE MONEY. MY BROTHER GOT ARRESTED JUST FOR SAYING PLEASE TELL THE TRUTH. AT THE TRIAL, I WAS CRYING SO HARD I FELL TO THE FLOOR BECAUSE IT WAS THERE I SEEN JESUS IN MY HEAD AND A BLUE VEIL BLESSED MOTHER AND SOMETHING CAME OVER MY HEART LIKE A WARM FEELING AND ACCEPTED A PLEA AND MY LAWYER SAID HE WOULD FILE A MOTION REVISE REVOKE AND IF ANYTHING COMES OUT LATER YOU CAN GO BACK FOR LIKE NEW EVIDENCE. WELL 18 YRS LATER HE RECANTED AND HAS AIDS AND I HAD TO GET IT NOTARIZED AND I AM PRAYING PLEASE PLEASE SIGN IT AND HE DID. HE NEVER SAID HE WAS SORRY HE HAS NO EMOTION AND SAID QUOTE"YOU ARE NOT A SEX OFFENDER" I WANTED TO SAY TO HIM. REALY REALLY I NEVER TOUCHED YOU AND WHY DID HE SAY THAT. I OFTEN SAY WHY DO I HAVE A BIZZARE FAMILY EXCEPT MY BROTHER AND MOTHER WHO WOULD DIE FOR ME. TRUE LOVE IS WORTH MORE THAN ANY KIND OF MONEY. ANYWAY MY MOTION GOT DENIED BY SUFFOLK SUPERIOR COORT. THE AFFIDAVIT STATED "I NEVER TOUCHED HIM' AND HE LIED BECAUSE HE NEVER LIKED ME AND WAS HIGH ON POT. REALLY WEIRD! MOTION TO RECONSIDER DENIED. I HAVE ONE MORE SHOT!! APELLATE COURT. I JUST WANT TO SAY LOOK AT KENNY AND MY STORY AND YOU NO WHAT IN JAIL FOR FALESLY ACCUSED OR OUT OF JAIL PLEA. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW

[tam1489]

To all you people who thinks it ok for people to go to jail just because of past history shame on you, because it coould be you! I also have a brother who is accused of kiddnapping and he was sentenced to 70 years with out parol, now we aare going for a new trial, but he dose have a preious conviction and has been clean for 23 years so when cops das and judges are crooked then people do need to stand up because even god said there are reason we suffer and alot of us will go to jail because of false truth, people who live in glass houses should not throw rocks!! I like this other woman is giving evething up to save my brother and with the lords help it will happen, so shame on all of you

[wisperinwaters]

i think this is a terrible thing that has happened to the waters family. just shows u how when children grow up without a loving family and are torn apart by the cps , the bond they can capture , for life. a sister loving her brother and beleiving in him...wonderful. the women in his live were poor choices,and they may be the ones that made him like he was.god bless his soul...rest in piece kenny.....u finally deserve peace.the women that want to bash u once like u, so what does that say for them and their stories today

[libertybell13139]

you can bet mr.waters has been charged with volent offenses and then some!
does betty ann tell you how he did a home invasion on a personal friends home ? with his friend and beat her with a baseball bat? broke her arm thank god for 911,and there she was on the today show lieing thru her teeth saying he wasnt the type to do things like that .right thats why betty ann was at the womans home after she came out of hosp with a broken arm and other injuries .amd begged her not to bring charges .and by the wat the girl jewltte lewis is playing what a jole she is so far off base i know because its me ,and no i never had rotten teeth and no i never looked like that lol i have long blonde hair always have ,oh but maybe they are talking about the 4 bottom teeth that kenny punch out with one punch!i had to see a specialts the next morning and after i filed charges on kenny ,betty and kenny came to the house with kenny crying in the bk seat of the car they both begged me to drop charges i felt bad i know my bad and went and dropped them.little did i know why it was so important to them.and no i was 1 withness out of a few like his girlfriend brenda who bought all of this to a head.read up on what he did to her if u have a comp.and no i was never kennys girlfriend.he was someone i hung out with ,with all the waters so get your facts straight wish i had time to write more but i have important things i have to do at moment

[mom_1107]

First I have to say your story is amazing! I hope you stay stead fast with you God or whatever keeps you grounded. How is your mom? It's horrible to say but God has a way of righting whats wrong; My mom passed in 2006 married to a man marked as a "bad apple" but she died knowing and believing that God would make things right. I know it may sound simple but it gets me through the tough times! I hope your doing okay!!! God bless you in your journey.

[national1942]

God Bless this wonderful sister who, from the beginning had faith in her brother and who put herself out to prove it. I am glad he had at least 6 months of freedom before he died but these kinds of innocent stories make me sick. We should be able to do better than convict the innocent in this country. Thank God for DNA. Hopefully, that will prevent a lot of these wrongful convictions. God Be with all of you who are in prison for something you truly did NOT committ.

[Gititdun]

The American judicial system has become one of the most corrupt in the world.
http://www.myspace.com/persecutionofstevegilmore/blog

Here's a case where a man was protecting himself at home and has now been attacked by the judical system in an egregious way.

If judges can lie to suppress NOT GUILTY verdicts in fabricated cases with ALTERED evidence, why don't we just eliminate trials and just start grabbing people off the streets and jail them.

[cinesimon]

poor little vsmit - apparently he sees the world as either America, or evil.
No surprise he isn't even aware that there are other western countries - New Zealand, Australia, England, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, the list goes on and on.,

But no: the only alternative to America is some bizarre return to the 1970s when the cold war was in full swing.

Grow up, kiddo - the world is not as black and white as your right wing fantasy so wishes it would be.

[Gititdun]

vsmit,
it's lazy complacency like yours that has gotten this country into the state of affairs we are in today. Did you happen to see "48 Hours" last night about an L.A. man being framed by the cops and D.A. and wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years?

Your either one of those who have made this problem to what it is or else just another one of those who when confronted with miscarriages of justices and wrongful acts you run and hide while others fix the problems while your merely part of the problem.

[ouchitatom]

Like many of a judge have said and many of a lawyer after losing case after case for thier innocent clients. The legal system is by far perfect however it is the only one we have .

[abaker08]

WOW, this is a life time movie in the making

[redway633]

AlanW3225
You need to see a logic councelor. "for every person that is innocent in jail that person committed 14 other felonies the didn't get caught for. That is a criminal use of whats left of you brain.

[mom_1107]

I agree some people are where they should be. Maybe there are some innocent people locked up but they put themselves in a bad situation. Or in some cases some people just have a serious break from reality and feel there is no way out. It may sound new ageish but we really need to as a world reach out to our fellow men and women and let them know that there are other options. I am a women brought up by a single mom who worked crappy jobs and pulled her self out of poverty to give me a better life but you have to want it i guess.

[OnTheRoad01]

The story that I read was that the tragic fall that killed him happened while he was running from the police????

[KeithDrippingSprings]

And I suppose you wouldn't run if you had spent 20 years in prison for something you didn't do. There are lots of folks in prison for things they didn't do.

[SixLeggedFreak]

Actually that is incorrect. According to his family and the news stories that were published directly after he died, he had just had dinner with his mom and was going to meet his brother. He took a shortcut that included jumping a 15 foot high wall. He simply fell off the wall, fractured his skull and died from a brain injury.

I'm sure if you researched it, you probably could find some of the news stories from that time.