"48 Hours" wins Emmy for "Grave Injustice"
CBS News' "48 Hours" has earned a News and Documentary Emmy Award for its broadcast "Grave Injustice," which told the story of a Texas man who was wrongfully convicted based on flawed evidence for brutally murdering a family.
The Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News story in a News Magazine was presented to "48 Hours" for the story of Anthony Graves, a Texas man who was released from prison in 2010 after being wrongfully convicted of capital murder and spending nearly two decades in jail. "48 Hours" devoted two broadcasts to telling Graves' story, and he's credited the broadcast with getting the State of Texas to pay $1.4 million in compensation.
Students help free wrongfully convicted man
Graves has said that had it not been for "48 Hours," "I don't think I would be getting my compensation."
"It's been a long time since '48 Hours' has been here, it's great to be back," correspondent Richard Schlesinger said when the "48 Hours" team was presented the Emmy.
The Emmy for "48 Hours" brings full circle Grave's tragic story, which began in when he was convicted in 1994 for allegedly killing a family two years earlier. Then, several years ago, a group of journalism students from the University of St. Thomas in Houston started digging into the case and found information that proved Graves was innocent. A story in Texas Monthly magazine highlighted Graves' predicament and then "48 Hours" put a national spotlight on the case.
Schlesinger credited the folks at Texas Monthly and the University of St. Thomas for taking on this investigation. Their reporting and participation in the broadcast was a tremendous asset for '48 Hours,'" he said.
"48 Hours"' first broadcast on the Graves case aired in April 2011. The Emmy Award-winning broadcast aired in March 2012.
"Grave Injustice" was produced by Lourdes Aguiar and Jenna Jackson, Jennifer Ashmawy was the field producer. Atticus Brady, David A. Spungen and George Baluzy were the co-producers. Lauren Clark was the associate producer. Judy Tygard and Nancy Kramer were the senior producers. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.