CONNECT Reporter Marlei Martinez interviewed Sierra Jiminez and Roxanne Bocyck about their experience with Walt Shepperd. Shepperd has been a political reporter in Syracuse for nearly 40 years. And now, he spends his time working with what he calls the most troubled group in the city: the youth.

Anthony Lewis

Written By Sierra Jiminez

Syracuse, N.Y.—Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes was all it took for Angelik Mitchell’s life to change.

On August 15^th, 2009, Anthony Lewis went downtown to the Latin American Festival in Clinton Square. Later that evening, police said there was an altercation at the festival between a group of teenage girls—and Lewis was asked to leave.

Lewis ran down South Salina Street amidst a mob of more than 200 people. As he crossed the intersection of Fayette and South Salina Street, police said he was surrounded and stabbed in the heart.

He was 20-years-old.

In twenty minutes, Mitchell lost her only son. Now, she and the rest of Lewis’ family protest on the streets where Lewis was killed.

“That day we were moving here and we stopped and went to the festival,” Mitchell said as she sat on her son’s bed in their new apartment. “We probably stayed maybe 15, 20 minutes… I had wanted him to come home with us, but he was like ‘I’m ok, I’m good. ’”

“I just wish he would have come,” Mitchell said. “I wish I would have made him. If I would have known, I would have made him.”

Mitchell said her son made an impact on almost everyone he met—including his girlfriend at the time of his death.

“It’s just hard. I didn’t think I would be here like this,” said girlfriend Ana Dourdas as she sat in his room. “I knew I would be here but I didn’t know I’d be here without him.”

“I really do miss him because I spent every day with him. I don’t know who’s gonna call me in the middle of the night. I don’t hear his ringtone anymore. And I never will. I want him to call me, I’m waiting for his phone call,” Dourdas said.

Lewis’ family said they believe his murder was an act of racial violence. And they said they know who was involved. They’ve even gone as far as to look them up on MySpace.

But police said without a witness to come forward, there’s nothing they can do.

“I feel like his life was cut short. I really do,” Mitchell said. “He wasn’t hurting anybody… I mean they all got chased because they were black.”

Ana Dourdas kneels by her boyfriend's vigil a month after he was stabbed to death in Downtown Syracuse.

Mitchell said police have tried to stop her protesting multiple times, stating it’s time to move on. But every Tuesday and Thursday, Lewis’ support group is back out on the streets—fighting for justice.

“Were not going anywhere so they might as well just arrest the people and do what they have to do. Because we’re gonna still be here,” Mitchell said. “We’re gonna be rallying and we don’t care if the officer said we’re making people mad. So what!? I really don’t care. I’m mad because they murdered my son. If they didn’t want to be made mad, then they shouldn’t of murdered my son. I don’t care how other people feel right now. Because my son is not here. So what if I’m making people mad? So what?”

Written by Sierra Jiminez

At-Large Common Councilor Stephanie Miner made Syracuse history Tuesday after winning the 53^rd Mayoral race—the first female to win the election. Miner pulled a victory over Republican mayoral candidate Steve Kimatian, gaining 50.1 percent of the vote.

According to unofficial tallies of Tuesday’s election, Miner, a Democrat, received 11,237 votes. That’s 2,454 more votes than Kimatian who received 8,783 votes. Conservative party candidate Otis Jennings received 2,313 votes.

Miner has been vocal in her campaign about topics such as “Say Yes to Education” and Destiny USA. Her campaign goals include stimulating job growth in the city and increasing neighborhood services and public safety.

“Tonight, we have triumphed in our efforts to convince people that we share that belief, and we will fight to make the city of Syracuse a better place,” Miner said after the results came in Tuesday evening. “But together we have tremendous obstacles to overcome. We all know the challenges of our educational system and economic development and quality of life in our neighborhoods. And we know that together, we have to work to solve these problems.”

Contributing reporting by Shayna Meliker

Steve Barnes, Courtesy of Syracuse.com

Photo Credit: Syracuse.com

Written By Sierra Jiminez
Produced By Landon Sears

UTICA, N.Y. — It was the summer of ‘89. And at an age when most 23-year-old males have their entire lives ahead of them, Steven Barnes saw his life vanish before his eyes.

Barnes was convicted of the rape and murder of his fellow Whitesboro High School classmate 16-year-old Kimberly Simon– a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment.

For almost 20 years, Steven Barnes says he lived a nightmare—paying for a crime he didn’t commit. Each day, he says he witnessed violence in prison.

“I was on hell on earth for 20 years. That’s what I call prison, hell on earth,” Barnes said. “You walk in the yard and you could feel the tension.”

But in January, that nightmare ended. Barnes was completely exonerated of the charges against him after forensic science lab tests concluded that the DNA found on Simon’s body did not match Barnes’.

Project Innocence

The Innocence Project originally took Barnes’ case in 1993, but it wasn’t until just last summer that they had a break through.

Barnes is one of 23 people in the State of New York to be exonerated based on DNA evidence. If not for the Innocence Project, it would have been another 5 years until Barnes was eligible for parole. Even then, Barnes says he never stood a chance at seeing free grounds again.

“All I can say is thank God they still saved the evidence in my case,” Barnes said. “And thank God for the Innocence Project. If they didn’t help me get my case back going, I’d still be in jail.”

Life after Innocence

After nearly two decades in prison, Barnes has missed out on a large portion of his life. His grandparents died. New additions to the family have been made. And friends have come and gone.

“You can’t put a price on twenty years, what I’ve been through in prison, what I’ve lost,” Barnes said. “I’ve lost the best part of my years.”

When he left, he says he had a “special woman” in his life. That’s all gone now.

“I probably would have been married to her,” Barnes said. “I could have had a family and kids.”

But one thing has stayed constant in his life: family.

“When I was in prison, my family was in prison with me,” Barnes said. “They’re the only ones who stick by you… Your friends are there, they write, but they don’t like to come and visit.”

He lives in his mother’s house now, piecing his life together. For him, he says every day is a holiday. He’s even considering writing a book about his experience in prison.

“I want my story out there to show people what happened to me,” Barnes said. “I didn’t do it. That’s my word. I swear on a stack of bibles, I had nothing to do with this case.”

Police say they’re re-opening Kimberly Simon’s murder case. And Barnes says he’s willing to cooperate in any way he can to find her killer.

“The person who really did this is still out there,” Barnes said. “They’ve been running free for 20 years.”

Written By: Sierra Jiminez
Produced By: Marlei Martinez

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- He’s known for his theatrical antics in the courtroom and his straight forward personality in everyday life. During the Stacey Castor trial, his booming voice was broadcast on local television stations and news sites for the Syracuse public to see.

But Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick says he doesn’t even notice the cameras. He’s just as intense when the public isn’t watching.

“I try every case the way I tried the Stacey Castor trial,” Fitzpatrick said. “People say, ‘That was the best cross-examination I’ve ever seen.’ It wasn’t even in my top 50.”

After 17 years in office and five elections, Fitzpatrick has faced criticism from the media, the public and his opponents. In 1999, Lawyer Ralph Cognetti intended to run against Fitzpatrick for District Attorney on the basis that he was “too powerful.” But then, he changed his mind.

“I realized that I probably had no chance at beating him,” Cognetti said. “And therefore I wasn’t going to spend the time or the money… in order to run a race that I believed I would lose. When push comes to shove, he’s probably the best D.A. we’ve had, certainly since I’ve been an attorney.”

Fitzpatrick says some people may think he’s too powerful, but he disagrees. To him, he’s just doing his job.

“When I was first in this job… I wanted to be loved by everybody,” Fitzpatrick said. “Well, believe me, after months on the job… you realize you’re going to be hated by a lot of people. And the quicker you get used to that, the better public official you’re going to be.”

Despite the long hours he spends at his job and the seriousness it entails, Fitzpatrick still manages to lead a semi-normal life. He’s a die-hard Yankees fan. He plays golf on a regular basis. And he still manages to spend time with his family. “I’m not going to be one sitting around missing my kids’ little league games… and things like that,” Fitzpatrick said. “What difference does it make if you’re a great public official and your kids are all disorganized, dysfunctional and don’t even know you?”

At 56-years-old, he says he should be thinking about retirement, but he’s not. Every time a new election year comes, he hears about the need for change but he says he doesn’t think it’s time for a new D.A., just yet.

“The fact remains that he’s run five times, he’s won five times. And not by any small margins,” Cognetti said. “That, to me, is how you judge the value of a politician. If he’s not well liked, or if there’s question as to his legitimacy, or honesty… my guess and belief is that (the public will) vote him out. And they don’t.”