David Dickson speaks about freedom after serving 32 years in wrongful conviction case | Exclusive
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- This will be the first weekend of freedom for a local man who spent nearly three decades in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit.
He's speaking only with Action News in an exclusive interview.
"I don't want to sleep," said David Dickson to Action News reporter TaRhonda Thomas. He sat down for an interview less than 24 hours after his release from serving more than three decades in SCI Mahanoy Prison.
Dickson said the reason he didn't want to go to sleep is that he's afraid what he's experiencing isn't real.
"I'm constantly hugging my family just to make sure it's reality," he said, adding that he had his sister pinch him to make sure it was real.
MORE | Philadelphia judge orders release of man convicted in 1984 killing of Drexel student
Dickson is still in disbelief of the fact that he's free. It seems like a dream because for 32 years, he lived a nightmare in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit.
"I've watched the world pass by, like I was in a coma almost," said Dickson.
After three decades, a judge on Tuesday ordered Dickson's release. He walked out of the gates of SCI Phoenix Prison on Wednesday afternoon.
"I actually asked the sergeant, 'Can I really go out the door?' And he said, 'You're free,'" recalled Dickson of the surreal experience.
He walked right into the waiting arms of his brother, Michael Avery.
"It was like so much joy to see him on the opposite side. And I haven't seen him that way in over 32 years," said Avery.
Sixty-five-year-old Dickson was serving life without parole for the 1984 murder of Deborah Wilson. The Drexel University student was found strangled in the rear stairwell of a building on campus.
Dickson was a security guard at Drexel at the time.
Key testimony in the case came from an informant named John Hall. In recent years, an investigation revealed that Hall lied, and the district attorney at the time, the late Roger King, knew it.
"This is a prolific informant. He's been involved in -- we don't even know how many other cases," said Jennifer Merrigan, Dickson's attorney with the non-profit law practice Phillips Black.
To gain his freedom, Dickson's team made a deal with the prosecution, entering what's known as an Alford Plea on the lesser charge of third degree murder. The judge on Tuesday accepted that plea. The sentence she issued was covered by the 32 years that Dickson had already served.
An Alford plea is when a defendant maintains their innocence, but acknowledges prosecutors could have enough evidence for a conviction.
"Some would wonder if you're innocent, why take the Alford Plea?" asked Thomas in the interview.
"I basically didn't want to risk another tainted trial," responded Dickson. "My main concern was coming home to my family. My father is in the hospital; he's 87 years old. His only wish was to see me come home."
With his family by his side, Dickson lives knowing Deborah Wilson's family is without their loved one.
Wilson's sister spoke in court on Tuesday, giving an emotional victim's impact statement, maintaining they believe Dickson did commit the crime.
"I'm not a monster. I really feel their pain," said Dickson, "but they have to understand they got the wrong man."
Dickson, who was on active duty in the Army at the time of his arrest, is now adjusting to life on the outside. He went out for a big dinner with his family members the day after his release. He's fascinated by how even the seemingly simplest things have changed over three decades, like the face of a $20 bill.
"When (my brother)showed me his money, I said, 'What's that?'" said Dickson.
"He looked at them like they were Monopoly money," laughed Avery.
Despite the original murder conviction, Dickson was honorably discharged from the Army. He's now working to recoup his military benefits. He says now that he's free, the one thing he wants to do most is go on a vacation.
As David Dickson looks forward, he also reaches back with a message of hope.
"To the innocent, keep fighting," he said. "I am proof that the impossible can happen."
