I took my responsibility.
Nothing I can say or do could bring him back.
I messed up, you know, and
gotta man up and, you know, own up to your… actions.
I've been in prison over a decade already.
It's wrong. That's messed up.
I was a victim myself in this, you know?
And I can't-- I can't do nothing about it.
I can't defend myself. I cannot say nothing.
My name is Chucky Phillips,
and I've been sentenced to 20 to life for murder in the second.
I was born in Syracuse, New York.
Grew up playing sports.
I was definitely a jock in high school.
I was always the captain of the team, you know, whatever sport I played.
I had dreams of going to the NFL or MLB,
you know.
They were my dreams in those-- Be a professional athlete one day.
It wasn't till, well, high school I started getting in trouble.
About freshman year,
I started hanging out with the wrong guys, you know.
After school, you know, running the streets.
You know, chasing after girls. There was a period I was in selling drugs,
at one point, uh…
Teenage boy stuff, you know?
I met Eduardo…
I would say maybe 2007.
He dated my sister. That's how we got cool.
My name is Eduardo Trinidad,
and I was convicted for murder, 40 years to life.
I was born in Puerto Rico, and I was also raised over there.
I grew up in a foster home 'cause my mom had passed.
My father wasn't never there for me.
I was really quiet, uh…
Always timid.
Um, but…
I mean, I wasn't a bad person at all.
I came out here to the United States for a better life.
I had, like, work in construction, um, mechanic.
I know plumbing, I know electricity.
Um, they called me a little MacGyver.
I did a little bit of everything around.
My main purpose that same night was because my son was born that night.
Um, I made it to Syracuse around,
I'd say eleven o'clock, around there, almost midnight.
So, the visiting hours in the hospitals are closed. I can't go there.
So, I went to Chu-- I went with Chucky to the party.
Um, and like that, that's how I met the other guy, DeJesus.
I think the party was about ten to twelve people.
Wasn't no more than that.
In my part, I wanted to enjoy it 'cause, you know, I'm happy.
I was gonna have my newborn son,
and I wanted to celebrate that.
We did a lot of drinking, uh, mixing liquor,
beer, you know, various types of pills,
ecstasy, Xanax. There was marijuana there.
We was all pretty wasted.
One of the guys had a gun,
you know.
Even at the party, it was passed around the party.
The guys at the party wanted to hold it.
Everybody wanted to look at it and touch it.
The gun… Who brung it, I don't know.
I touched it, yeah.
I went outside,
trying to use it, but it didn't work.
Um, after that, I don't know who… who got it.
The owner of the apartment got mad and started kicking everybody out.
I was sitting behind the passenger.
DeJesus was in the middle, and Chucky Phillips was behind the driver.
Nobody was talking.
The only one that was doing the talking was me 'cause I was on the phone,
talking to, um, my kid's mom that's in the hospital.
When we get in the city, someone says, "Make a right, right here."
So we turn off the main road.
And I notice that's not my street.
That's when I said, "Okay,
we must be running because this is not my street."
You know, just… It was gonna be like not pay for a taxi ride, just run.
You know, young stupid kids' stuff, you know?
All I heard was the car going slow.
I didn't even know that the gun was in the cab when we left.
I see Denny take the gun, and he pulls it on the driver.
So I think maybe he's going to rob him.
The driver grabs the gun from him,
and there's a struggle.
So, I don't know why, I just-- I grabbed it, and I yanked it from him.
And…
I shot him.
I was opening the door when I heard a boom.
I ran out of the car
and ran between some houses.
I came back down to see where was the guys,
and I didn't see the… the cab driver.
The car wasn't there anymore.
So, I thought that everything was cool and I went back to the house.
I went up the hill, went to the house, and they was already there.
In the morning was when they came and arrested us.
We all got arrested and got taken down to the prison.
Why I plead not guilty instead of plea bargain?
Because I wasn't gonna allow them
to try to have me say I'm guilty for something I didn't do.
We didn't participate together on it, you know what I'm saying?
Nobody pointed me as the guy who pulled the trigger.
Nobody.
I wasn't shocked, um, when I heard them say guilty, or whatever.
At first, I was-- I didn't believe it.
I… I didn't have the feeling of believing it.
Hell… It's a decade lost already with my kids.
They're already grown-ups, um…
I lost all that part, um…
Um, that's pretty something like messed up, you know?
I'm still trying to figure out to this day, like…
Why?
I can't even tell you the answer, like…
I wasn't in my right state of mind. Um…
It's hard to explain, because
I think it was a combination of alcohol and pills mixing, you know?
Worst mistake of my life. You know, I think about it every day.
You know, not only that I took a life, but I ruined my life.
The gun was Trinidad's. He brought it from Utica.
Just the lifestyle, the lifestyle he lived, you know.
I don't know if he needed it for protection or he just need--
He wanted it, just the lifestyle he lived.
You know, I… I took my responsibility.
My part's played. I pled guilty. People don't usually plead guilty.
I felt that it was the right thing to do, you know?
I feel bad for the parties involved, you know, like the deceased…
co-defendants.
Trinidad, his sentence blew my mind
'cause he got 40 to life for going to trial.
It's just… It don't make sense how…
if I pled guilty
and he went to trial,
he gets more time than me for the same crime.
It makes me believe that,
okay, I did the right thing with taking a plea deal,
because I would have had 40 to life. There's no question about that.
Chucky with 20, and me with 40 to life.
I don't think that's fair.
My life's been destroyed.
I would have been going with my kids, trying to enjoy life.
Trying to give my kids things I never had…
Uh, parents.
I would have tried to give that to them, tried to break the cycle,
try to bring a better-- My life with…
with our family, as well.
My earliest release for parole will be in 2047.
I think I'll be around 70 around that time.
It will be a whole wasted lifetime.
At that time, you won't be able to manage nothing. What can you do?
I chose to fight for my rights.
And I think everybody has the right to do that.
The system is broken.
And they're doing to people just like me, all the time.
All the time. Always.
We got to be real about that.
No, it was not about running pockets or nothing, you know what I'm saying?
I was really worrying about what happened, you know what I'm saying?
I came running back down.
Yeah, and my intention was,
if there's nobody around who could help him, I'm gonna help him.
But he was gone.
So I thought it was all right.
I thought nothing really bad happened, you know what I'm saying?
Until I seen it on the news.
That's when my heart broke for real.
The gun was Trinidad's. He brought it from Utica.
Just the lifestyle, the lifestyle he lived,
you know.
I don't know if he needed it for protection or he just need--
He wanted it, just the lifestyle he lived.
No, um, I did come from Utica.
But not with a weapon. That weapon was already there.
That got nothing to do with me.
Trinidad's sentence blew my mind 'cause he got 40 to life for going to trial.
It just shows the justice system is unfair.
No, it wasn't fair at all.
I just came for my newborn son.
I came for my newborn son.
And didn't made it. Didn't made it, um…
I mean…
I know a lot of people-- They're gonna look at it, like,
lied, or whatever the position is, but…
um, I just came to celebrate my son, to see him,
to hold him in my hand, you know?
At least to accomplish something that my dad didn't do.
And, um…
I guess I got a…
I didn't have the opportunity. I wasn't having enough luck for that.
I destroyed ten years of my life already on this.
Is this really justice?