When Nifong recused himself he wasn’t joyful. “I just thought we’d get another person like this.” His only experience with a prosecutor had been Nifong and he figured they were all like him.
When Cooney said he was going to call the special prosecutors, Reade asked him why he would do something like that. Cooney said that’s the way the process was supposed to work, that they work together to find justice.
When Roy Cooper held his “they are innocent” press conference, “In a single word, the man gave us our lives back.” “It felt like an eternity. He talks really slow.” No one reacted with he said “insufficient evidence.” But when he said “these boys are innocent the room just erupted.” He’s tearing up again. “My whole life turned around on that one word.”
After he was cleared he received the Delbarton Medal, the highest honor his school gives. It was given to him for the way he conducted himself in a difficult situation.
