Ohio woman released from prison after politicians, celebrities take up cause
Tyra Patterson's release after almost 23 years in prison came as a Christmas miracle for her family.
"To sit here with my best friend and my mother is the best part of my Christmas," Patterson said, choking up.
Now free on parole, the 42-year-old had been serving a life sentence for being an accomplice in the 1994 murder of 15-year-old Michelle Lai, reports CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz. On the day she was murdered, Lai and a group of friends were out burglarizing local garages in Dayton, Ohio. The group was sitting in a car when they were approached by Patterson and another group of girls. The two sides got into a shouting match that ended with Lai getting shot in the head.
Patterson insisted she was innocent of the killing, and over the years lawyers, politicians and celebrities took up her cause in an "I am Tyra Patterson" campaign. The parole board cited support for her among the community in granting her release.
"I really do strongly believe that Tyra Patterson is innocent," said David Singleton, Patterson's attorney. He believes his client was coerced into a false confession by detectives. She said at the time that she was at the murder scene and committed a robbery.
"And from which girl in the backseat did you take that necklace?" a detective had asked in a video dated Sept. 20, 1994.
"The driver on the back," Patterson had responded.
At trial, the jury heard that confession. Though she didn't pull the trigger, it ultimately landed her in prison.
"She was 19, inexperienced with the system, naive, and the detective pushed her too hard and said things that made her admit to something that she didn't do," Singleton said.
Singleton also said Patterson's public defenders were outmatched, failing to introduce a crucial 911 call that showed Patterson called the cops.
"Something's going around. I don't know what it is. But I heard a gunshot," Patterson could be heard saying in the call.
The turning point in this case came when Singleton found that missing call, and with its discovery came renewed interest from the unlikeliest of places: Michelle Lai's own sister.
Holly Lai Holbrook was at the murder scene when her sister was killed. She sent a letter to Ohio Gov. John Kasich asking for Patterson's release. That letter led to a campaign that included celebrities, politicians and even former jurors. But not everyone agreed on Patterson's innocence.
"She's not the victim in this case. The victim in this case was 15-year-old Michelle Lai," Montgomery County prosecutor Leon Daidone said. He believes Patterson should still be behind bars.
"She needs to own up to what she did and own the aggravated murder and the robbery that they've been contesting all these years," Daidone said.
Still, Patterson remains grateful to those who have helped her.
"Every time somebody signed a petition, sent up a prayer, became my advocate for me, they literally gave me that extra breath to keep moving forward," Patterson said.
Patterson entered prison with a sixth-grade education. Since then, she has received her GED, putting herself through paralegal school. Patterson's attorney tells us she will be working for his firm in Cincinnati to help others who have been falsely accused of crimes.