Outlaws： The Innocence Project
Stream Summary
Devon Stack and Rebecca Hargraves open this rescheduled Friday episode of Outlaws with Devon's account of the death of his cat Churro, who was diagnosed with leukemia and autoimmune complications and put down on Wednesday. They look back on Churro's life as a desert stray who went from a heated tub in a shed to living in the house. The main segment is a critique of the Innocence Project and its co-founders, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. The hosts argue that the organization uses DNA and hair-comparison evidence to create reasonable doubt rather than prove innocence, and that it works as an anti-death-penalty campaign. They go through the defense's attack on the DNA evidence in the O.J. Simpson trial, then the Robert Earl Hayes case and his portrayal in the film The Exonerated, along with shorter looks at Maurice Caldwell, Steven Avery, Shaurn Thomas and Scott Peterson. The episode closes with Devon explaining what he means by "blackpilled," a discussion of how long death-penalty appeals take, and a long run of viewer chats, many of them condolences for Churro.
- Churro's illness, death, and life story (the "Ghost Cat" stream, ChurroCam, the heated tub)
- Background on Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and the founding of the Innocence Project
- Disputed estimates of wrongful-conviction rates
- The O.J. Simpson trial: blood and DNA evidence, the contamination defense, and the Mark Fuhrman cross-examination
- The 2015 anonymous ethics complaint about hair-comparison reviews
- Touch DNA, contamination, and whether a DNA exclusion proves innocence
- The Robert Earl Hayes case and the film The Exonerated
- Claims about re-offense rates among exonerees
- The Maurice Caldwell, Steven Avery, Shaurn Thomas, and Scott Peterson cases
- Circumstantial versus DNA evidence, and the "CSI effect"
- Streamlining appeals in death-penalty cases
- What "blackpilled" means to Devon
- Viewer chats and the upcoming schedule
Sources
Key Points of Wisdom
- [00:11:34] "Well, you did the right thing because he would have just gone home and suffered, and I know that was hard, but you did the right thing." (Rebecca, on Devon's decision to put Churro down.)
- [00:16:52] "I think that no matter how you look at that situation, that shows that he liked it here... he ended up back here." (Devon, on Churro coming home after going missing for months.)
- [00:41:05] "Is that going to change the DNA properties? ... No, it's there or it's not there. It's as simple as that." (Investigator in the O.J. documentary clip, on whether contamination can create a false DNA match.)
- [00:53:09] "Touch DNA is totally erratic. Sometimes you leave it. Sometimes you don't... It's not really a way to convict somebody or to prove somebody's innocence." (Rebecca, arguing that the absence of DNA doesn't prove innocence.)
- [01:33:48] "Until the advent of DNA technology, all cases were circumstantial... DNA evidence is a nice to have." (Rebecca, on how much of criminal justice rests on circumstantial evidence.)
- [01:35:30] "It's an imperfect system, obviously, and eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable. But it still has to be done." (Rebecca, on still pursuing justice despite uncertainty.)
- [01:48:17] "I find when I lose a job that later it becomes apparent that I'm glad I lost the job." (Rebecca, encouraging a viewer who lost a job.)
- [01:48:25] "Sometimes it gets you out of a job that you would have maybe languished in too long anyway... it lights a fire under your ass and makes you rethink things." (Devon, same context.)
- [01:51:33] "We must not be too sad it's over. We should be glad it happened." (Viewer Yo Jimbo Rockford, read by Devon, about Churro.)
Hyperchat Highlights
Note: the transcript doesn't say which chats were paid, so this list includes every viewer chat the hosts read aloud. Timestamps mark the transcript segment where each chat was read. Offensive content has been omitted.
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[1:37:56] Romega:
In 1986, Larry Davis was acquitted by a Bronx jury after shooting six cops. Larry was believed to have murdered up to eight people. [remainder omitted – offensive content]
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[1:37:56] Obadiah Vandal:
Catching the replay. I'm very sorry to hear about Churro. May he rest easy.
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[1:37:56] Lori:
September fun fun.
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[1:37:56] Okimek:
There's a good episode of Forensic Files called Paintball about the longest-serving prisoner in California. He never received the death penalty. He was originally sentenced in 1962 and died in prison in 2023.
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[1:40:03] murmur:
Rest in peace, Churro.
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[1:40:13] Herb Derp:
I think I have more fingers than the number of streams I've actually watched, even though I've listened to almost all of them. A shame SubscribeStar doesn't support one-off donations. Replay gang.
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[1:40:59] likes to watch:
Hope Churro's okay. Thank you both for rescheduling. Devon, can you please explain what exactly it means to be blackpilled? I feel like many people misunderstand it and think it means the same as giving up.
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[1:43:28] likes to watch:
Should have waited for the update. Sorry, Devon.
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[1:43:28] Gorilla Hand:
o7 Churro.
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[1:43:28] Denise the Celt:
Sorry, Devon. Churro was a legend. Thank you for taking care of him and giving him the best life possible. He was beautiful.
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[1:47:02] Tomohawk:
Sorry for your loss, Devon. We're all going to miss Churro and the stories of his adventures. o7
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[1:47:34] cursed Yakub:
Cursed Yakub.
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[1:47:34] D Man:
I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of Churro, Devon. He brought a lot of joy to the dark Black Pill adventure as we go on with this channel. I too am having a bad week because I finally got a job and lost it after a few weeks. Long story short, I made a bad miscalculation. Here's to Churro, and dear God, help us rise out of the troubles. Amen.
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[1:48:47] Zappas racist son:
Been listening to Black Pilled for a while. Appreciate all the work you do. Listening to the show on replay has got me through a lot of days of work. The last episode of Outlaws was your best. Thank you both.
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[1:49:54] Purple Catman:
Devon, you gave Churro his best life. I think that kitty had more than nine lives, and I think he had a blast.
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[1:50:58] Harry Turtle:
Rest in peace, Churro. Thank you for all you do.
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[1:50:58] Purple Catman:
Rebecca, I wanted you to watch a YouTube Be Kind Rewind episode about Vanessa Redgrave. I think her heart was in the right spot, but it's always fun to see the left eating its own.
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[1:51:33] Yo Jimbo Rockford:
I watched Ghost Cat Edition in real time. Now here we have come full circle. You gave him a good life. He became part of the show and became our little buddy too. I'm going to miss the Churro stories. We must not be too sad it's over. We should be glad it happened.
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[1:52:37] Ghost Dog Man:
Our Churro, we helped feed him.
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[1:52:56] sticks sent me here:
Devon, I'm sorry, dude. We love you guys.
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[1:52:56] cursed Yakub:
Sorry for your loss, Devon. Rebecca, do you find it hard to maintain girl friendships with your views? My gal lost a childhood friend over the Clancy case for not thinking she's innocent.
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[1:54:23] Harry Tuttle:
Get out and start engaging in IRL activism for our people. Join groups and start rebuilding our communities today. Much love to you both. [remainder omitted – offensive content]
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[1:54:23] Sober in the Valley:
Tears for Churro. God bless.
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[1:54:23] Ghost Dog Man:
FYI, Gypsy fight against the Jew will be streamed on iHippocrit's channel tomorrow.
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[1:54:23] D-Man:
I rewatch your O.J. stream from time to time. I have to look away at the photo of the dead Nicole every time. [portion omitted – offensive content] Looks like this is a part two of the O.J. stream you made two years ago. Might as well watch both as a chronicle.
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[1:56:37] Giga Chad of NPC:
Hey Devon, regarding some Caucasus pops (Avars, Laks) that don't cluster with modern Euros yet are closer than some South Euros to the West Eurasian core and Western European hunter-gatherers — are they white? According to modern genetics and anthropology, the defining characteristic separating Europeans from Arabs and/or Iranians is affinity to European hunter-gatherers.
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[1:58:21] Pepe Matters:
Sorry for your loss. You gave him a good home. Thank you for the informational, entertaining streams. [remainder omitted – offensive content]
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[1:58:21] The shadow band:
Thanks for all the great content. These people are so slimy.
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[1:58:21] D Man:
Side note, in case you never knew, R.I.P. Mark Fuhrman. He passed away earlier this year.
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[1:59:50] Gorilla Hand:
The jury has been in deliberation all day deciding on the guilt of Lindsay Clancy.
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[1:59:50] Gorilla Hand:
Even though she has admitted to killing her three children.
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[2:00:09] Godzilla Hand:
Replay gang, much love, keep busy. R.I.P. Churro, you will be missed, but the fight continues. Seasons change.
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[2:00:09] D Man:
It turns out The Exonerated is on DVD. Go on the Blu-ray.com website.
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[2:00:09] Yo Jimbo Rockford:
I remember when Oprah did a show on the Innocence Project. They brought out [remainder omitted – offensive content] to brag about how they got him off death row. I think he was the only white guy.
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[2:00:09] Yo Jimbo Rockford:
While I do not have proof, I think we all know they only did that so they could say, "See, we help white people too." [remainder omitted – offensive content]
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[2:00:09] D Man:
In closing, I want to remind you of a special stream request, either on the Insomnia stream or Outlaws: the 2007 double homicide in Knoxville.
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[2:02:23] Yo Jimbo Rockford:
As a football fan at the time, I, along with many others, was shocked because of his good-guy public image, but the best part of the O.J. saga was watching him devolve. [remainder omitted – offensive content]
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[2:03:09] Iron of Sodder:
Replay gang. Hope Churro gets better. You're both great. Thanks for the show.
Hyperchat Contributors
- Romega
- Obadiah Vandal
- Lori
- Okimek
- murmur
- Herb Derp
- likes to watch
- Gorilla Hand
- Denise the Celt
- Tomohawk
- cursed Yakub
- D Man
- Zappas racist son
- Purple Catman
- Harry Turtle
- Yo Jimbo Rockford
- Ghost Dog Man
- sticks sent me here
- Harry Tuttle
- Sober in the Valley
- Giga Chad of NPC
- Pepe Matters
- The shadow band
- Godzilla Hand
- Iron of Sodder