Vincent Simmons case: "48 Hours" investigates the claims and stunning allegations behind Louisiana man's conviction

"48 Hours" contributor David Begnaud investigates the case against Simmons and hears for the first time from a woman who says she knows the truth.For identical twins Karen and Sharon Sanders, life is broken into two parts: before May 1977 — and after. They say what happened one night that May changed everything.Karen Sanders: Every time I talk about it, it makes me feel like I'm 14 again.Karen Sanders: The limitations it put on our life, like with anxiety … depression—panic attacks … It's crippling, really. Karen Sanders: This is true.Life was simple … until it wasn't.David Begnaud: What makes it so difficult for you, Karen, 44 years later, to even talk about it?Karen Sanders: Well, it's—a lot happened that night.The twins say it all began May 9, 1977, when their cousin, Keith Laborde, picked them up so they could help him clean his house…By the time they finished cleaning, it was just beginning to get dark, Keith was driving them home, and that's when they say he stopped at that gas station and encountered a Black man.Sharon Sanders: He walked up to the car and told Keith that he almost hit him. And we exchanged names … And he said his name was Simmons.The twins say any tension between Keith and the man soon lifted, and that's why they say Keith agreed to give the man a ride.Karen Sanders: We were like, Keith, you know, —don't. … So, we knew he had a gun.They say the man ordered them out of the car and forced Keith into the trunk.David Begnaud: Keith's how old? Karen and Sharon Sanders: Eighteen.David Begnaud: So, he got in the trunk? And he got very aggravated and told me to put my clothes back on.David Begnaud: When you say things didn't work out for him, what do you mean?Sharon Sanders: He tried to penetrate and was unsuccessful. … He told me he came from a large family …  and about where he had lived and all this and he had just gotten back from Texas.She says when they stopped talking, the man raped her again — multiple times.Karen Sanders: I remember, like, laying in that back seat and his chest – I mean, his heaviness on my chest and the sweat … And it was just disgusting.She says he then drove them to a local cemetery where he got out of the car.Karen Sanders: He opens the trunk, and he lets them out. He said, "And I will come back."Sharon Sanders: And we all swore to each other that we would not tell a soul.They say just the fear of what might happen if they told, kept them silent for two weeks — until Karen says she couldn't keep it in anymore. Please don't tell anyone." … She said, "I'm not gonna tell anyone."Sharon Sanders: And it just unraveled from there.The next day, Keith's parents found out—and soon, Karen, Sharon and Keith all ended up at the sheriff's office. Karen and Sharon each gave statements reporting that they had been raped and less than 24 hours later, on the morning of May 23, 1977, 25-year-old Vincent Simmons was taken into custody as he was walking down the street.David Begnaud: Did you know Karen and Sharon Sanders? Vincent Simmons: Never seen 'em before in my life.It was May 23, 1977, when Vincent Simmons was brought to the sheriff's office, which used to be on the second floor of the Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, in Marksville.Vincent Simmons: And they took me and put me in a lineup.Karen, Sharon and Keith were all there to see if they could identify a suspect.Sharon Sanders: We're all three … in the room.Karen Sanders: But we're not all walking up to the window at the same time—Sharon Sanders: No.Karen Sanders: Keith goes first. Of course you do.Karen Sanders: Then they said to us, "Y'all have all picked the same man."That man they identified was 25-year-old Vincent Simmons. After Sharon, Karen, and Keith, ID'd Vincent, he says he was brought upstairs to the jail where he waited while an officer was writing something down.Vincent Simmons: I'm sitting on the chair in handcuffs. Instead, less than two months after he was shot, he was brought to court to face Sharon and Karen.David Begnaud: Less than 60 days after he was arrested, Vincent went on trial. DA Charles Riddle: In 1977, I would say, for major cases, they went to court quickly.Charles Riddle was not the district attorney back then, but he is now and is familiar with the details of the case.David Begnaud: What was the evidence against him?DA Charles Riddle: The testimony of the witnesses — the victims.Karen, Sharon and Keith all took the stand.Karen Sanders: Walk into a courtroom. They all testified that on the night of the rape Vincent had told them his last name.Karen Sanders: Believe it or not, all night long, we called him Simmons. David Begnaud: At trial … they all say, "Simmons, Simmons, the man told us his name was Simmons." What'd you think then? Sharon used the N-word to refer to her attacker and said, "all Blacks look alike to me"— which she does not deny saying.David Begnaud: So, what did you say when they asked you to identify the man?Sharon Sanders: I said, "All Blacks look alike."But still, Karen, Keith, and Sharon, all picked Vincent out of that lineup. DA Charles Riddle: They call it the lineup … it was a photo of the lineup after he was identified and placed in cuffs.David Begnaud: But how do you know it was after?DA Charles Riddle: Because the girls told me that.David Begnaud: So, when you picked him out of the lineup, was he wearing handcuffs –Karen Sanders: No.Sharon Sanders: No, he was not.Karen Sanders: Not at all.And Karen says they initially didn't tell police the name Simmons out of fear.Karen Sanders: I mean, we were scared of him.Sharon Sanders: And see, I don't know why I didn't.Karen Sanders: I mean, I think it's –Sharon Sanders: Other than I was –Karen Sanders: — fear. … I'm letting go.When the time came for Vincent to speak, he had questions.VINCENT SIMMONS: My questions going to be directly based on your statement that you gave—KAREN & SHARON: No, we're not going there.And that's when the meeting unraveled.SHARON SANDERS: What are you doing here then? Prater was in her 20s at the time of trial and says she still remembers her reaction to the twins' testimony.Diane Prater: When they … told their story, I'm, like, "Ain't no way in the world that happened like that." … Put a Black man in your car at that time?David Begnaud: You didn't believe it because at that period in history, you just couldn't see White people giving a ride to Black people?Diane Prater: Correct.David Begnaud: Was there a lot of racism in Marksville? In 1977, Louisiana juries could convict a defendant with only 10 out of 12 voting guilty.Diane Prater: So, I say to myself …  it ain't going to do me no good to say nothing … But I never, never, never believed Vincent was guilty.The private investigator also tried to talk to relatives of Karen, Sharon, and Keith. David Begnaud: Did you have consensual sex with Keith Laborde?Karen Sanders: OK, let's put it like this: We were kids … We experimented. So yes.David Begnaud: How old were you when it happened?Karen Sanders: I have—I cannot—honestly … I don't know. David Begnaud: And is this the first time you are saying this publicly?Karen Sanders: Yes, it is. And when Charles Riddle dismissed that case, that presumption of innocence carries.JUSTIN BONUS [in court to Simmons]: You're free, brother.Vincent is a free man, but for Karen and Sharon, nothing has changed.KAREN SANDERS [in the courtroom]: He went in guilty. He went in when he was just 25 years old and was released three days before his 70th birthday.Later that night, he shared a celebratory meal with his family and friends.Vincent Simmons [making a toast]: This is going to freedom … David Begnaud: What's it like, being out of prison?Vincent Simmons: Oh, man. I'm just like a little baby, got to learn.David Begnaud: What are the simple things that you enjoy now?Vincent Simmons: Breathing the free air … walking outside … basically it's freedom … to just enjoy the moment.Vincent Simmons intends to go back to court to seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment.Under Louisiana State law, if he is unable to present clear and convincing evidence of his innocence, he is entitled to nothing.Produced by Stephanie Slifer, Sarah Prior and Murray Weiss.