There are moments in life that call for everything a person's got to give. Once, in such a moment, Barry Beach had confessed to murder. But here? Here was the chance to undo it. To persuade Montana’s board of pardons and paroles that he is innocent. Here was the climax of the so-called “innocence phase” of the hearing.

Barry Beach: I want to thank the parole board members for allowing me to come here, and let me say, I did not kill Kim Nees.

Prosecutors trying to keep Beach behind bars would get the first crack, hammering Beach for changing his story over the years and for suggesting that Louisiana detectives coerced him, drugged him, or somehow made him unable to recall his own confession back on Jan. 7, 1983.

Question: It seems to me from listening to your testimony that you can remember everything that benefited you on January 7 but anything that hurts you, your memory has gone hazy or you can't remember?

Beach: I don't know that anything on January 7 benefitted me. But my memory did begin to fade later on in the evening.

Question: So you can't remember giving your confession?

Beach: Correct.

Question: You can't remember the officers recording your confession?

Beach: No, I do not.

Question: Even though you're not denying that you actually gave the confession?

Beach: I would never deny that took place. Look at what it's caused.

Marc Racicot, former prosecutor and governor: You can't claim that you were coerced and not remember giving the confession at the same time. So Barry Beach's credibility is more than a little suspect here.

But Beach's defense team, when it came their turn, gently led Beach through the confession process.

Beach: At some point in time I broke weak. And I made the biggest mistake of my life by breaking weak.

Question: And when you say broke weak what are you talking about?

Beach : They broke me. I mean, I just wanted out of there and I didn't care what it took to get out of there. I didn't want to go through what Alfred Calhoun told me, Alfred Calhoun told me he would watch me fry in the electric chair and I didn't want to go through that.

Question: Were you down in the park on the early morning hours of June 16, 1979, when Kim was killed?

Beach: No, I was not. I had no involvement with Kim Nees’ murder whatsoever.

But Beach, it turned out, was not the final witness. There was a surprise.

Remember: during his original trial, Beach said he was at home, asleep, when the murder occurred, but didn't have anybody to vouch for his alibi -- until now, 28 years later.

Question: Is this the first time you've been allowed to give public testimony about what you saw on June 15, 1979?

Salinda: Yes it is.

Her name is Barbara Salinda. She’s a 47-year-old former youth counselor and mother from California.

And she also Barry Beach's sister.

With Beach looking on in tears, his sister told the board that despite her late appearance, she's told the same story from day one: Barry was right where he said he was the night of the murder, at home, asleep.

Salinda: So when I went upstairs I was able to see by the light, and when I turned the light on. I was able to see that Barry was in his bed asleep.

Question: Was the door open?

Salinda: Yes, we slept with our doors open.

Question: About what time was that?

Salinda: I would say it was about 12:40.

Why wait so long to tell her story? Well, she claimed she didn't. Back then, she said, she told the sheriff and she told Barry’s original defense attorney what she'd seen, but she wasn't allowed to testify at trial because she was Barry’s sister. Nobody would believe her. Would they now?

Camiel: Any time a family member comes forward and provides an alibi, there's bound to be skepticism. But Barry’s sister presented herself to the board. Exposed herself to cross examination. Her demeanor was examined. She gave a very complete, very credible story.

Not surprisingly, the former prosecutor saw it quite differently.

Racicot: His attempt to have his sister testify at the clemency hearing, providing an alibi that she'd never mentioned for 25 years, I think evinces the character and quality of the case that was presented by Centurion. I don't question their motives. I don't question their hearts. But I do question their competency and the character of their investigation.

The innocence phase of the hearing was over. But Barry Beach didn't have to be innocent to be released from prison. And the board was about to hear a groundswell of support for setting him free.

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