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Morley Safer's pick: Lenell Geter's in Jail

Morley Safer's Pick: Lenell Geter's in Jail 25:46

When we asked Morley Safer to choose a piece for our 2011 summer series of "Correspondent Favorites," he had a lot of options. As a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1970, Safer had a huge archive of stories.

Yet he didn't hesitate when he made his choice: a 1983 piece titled "Lenell Geter's in Jail." It was also a favorite of 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt.

The piece tells the story of Lenell Geter, a young, successful engineer in Greenville, Texas, who was sentenced to life in prison for the armed robbery of a Kentucky Fried Chicken store. Prosecutors were convinced that they had the right man.

In a great piece of investigative reporting, Safer and producer Suzanne St. Pierre dug into the case in a way the prosecutors had failed to, and ultimately their story saved the life of this young man. How did they do it? Watch the piece. What happened to Lenell Geter? At the end of this "60 Rewind," Safer answers that question.

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