Right Past the Sun | S1 Ep6

February 4, 2019·34 min·2 clips

William Stevens confesses to lying about over 25 people after being pressured by police and prosecutors.

1. Conviction episode 6 follows private investigator Manny Gomez as he pushes his campaign to free Bronx teenager Pedro Hernandez into increasingly risky territory. 2. Host and journalist Saki Knafo narrates, accompanied by producer Meg Driscoll; the episode features Manny, civil lawyer John Scola, witness William Stevens, RFK Organization attorney Wade McMullen, Pedro's mother Jessica, and defense attorney Marty Goldberg. 3. The episode asks whether Manny's all-or-nothing conviction — 'my world is black and white, right and wrong' — is heroic persistence or reckless overreach that endangers Pedro. 4. The episode opens in Manny's one-bedroom apartment in the Northeast Bronx, above a laundromat, where a copy of a 19th-century Icarus painting hangs between his bedroom and bathroom as a daily reminder that 'it is better to die for something than to live for nothing.' 5. Manny has tracked down William Stevens, whom he believes was the prosecution's key witness; Stevens' mother told Manny that police removed her son for questioning 'many times,' leading Manny to guess as many as 25 people might be falsely imprisoned. 6. At Green Correctional Facility two hours upstate, attorney John Scola opens the prison interview with Stevens by saying 'we're here to make you some money,' a tactic that legal experts Knafo consulted described as risky because it could incentivize a witness to say whatever gets them paid. 7. On the prison tape, Stevens initially says he lied on 'a couple people,' then agrees to 'about ten' after Manny offers the number, and by the time the recorder is accidentally switched off, they claim Stevens admitted to over 25 false identifications. 8. Knafo notes that throughout the recording she hears John and Manny 'throwing out numbers and details, while Stevens quietly agrees,' and says she did not hear enough skepticism in the interview to be convinced Stevens' claims were solid. 9. Returning to the Bronx, Manny immediately announces he will take Stevens' account to the press and accuse the DA's office of corruption, brushing past the questions about the interview's reliability. 10. A viral article by activist and journalist Sean King about Pedro's case reached Kerry Kennedy, head of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization, who agreed to post Pedro's entire bail. 11. Pedro walks out of Rikers Island the next morning in a white Michael Jordan t-shirt and a matching hat, chosen by Manny so he would not emerge in a prison uniform; Jessica and a crowd of visitors cheer his release. 12. Manny's mood sours when RFK Organization lawyers — including attorney Wade McMullen — tell him to stop making public accusations against District Attorney Darcelle Clark while they negotiate a charge dismissal. 13. McMullen explains that every public accusation makes it harder for the DA to quietly drop charges because it forces her to choose between a major corruption investigation and fighting even harder to convict Pedro. 14. Manny rejects the diplomatic approach, saying 'you must roll through it like a Bradley tank going into a battle zone' and 'I'm treating this as an act of war,' and accuses the new lawyers of not understanding the Bronx. 15. Jessica herself warns Manny in writing to stop discussing Pedro publicly and refer all media requests to her lawyer, telling Knafo that Manny 'likes the limelight' and 'likes showing to the world that he won.' 16. Manny stages a TV interview with William Stevens, who repeats on camera that he lied about 'over 25' people and names prosecutor David Slott as having pressured him — an allegation neither Slott nor the DA's office would comment on. 17. McMullen says each new piece of media made Pedro's position 'riskier and riskier,' while an online police message board told Manny to 'jump off the George Washington Bridge and spread your wings.' 18. The episode blends intimate documentary footage — car bickering, vending machine selections, the impromptu thumbs-up outside the prison — with Knafo's measured narration questioning what she heard on the tape. 19. Listeners who appreciate long-form investigative journalism with moral ambiguity and character-driven storytelling will find the episode most rewarding. 20. Those looking for clear-cut heroes or expecting a straightforward courtroom narrative may find the deliberate pacing and ethical complexity frustrating.

As heard by us

A prison interview becomes a test of memory, coercion, and what the tape cannot settle.

Right Past the Sun tracks Manny, John, and the narrator through a prison interview that leaves coercion, false accusations, and William Stevens hanging in the air.

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Why you'd press play

You want one prison interview to keep changing shape in your head.

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