Story Behind The Song

Bob Perske is very active in this area - going across the country to speak up for people in jail because they've been caught in situations like this.

Song Description

A protest song about people with intellectual disabilities (the old term is "mental retardation") who are sometimes tricked into confessing to a crime they didn't commit by police officers unable to solve the crime.

Lyrics

Washing dishes down at the diner since 1983
He had a smile for everyone he met walking down the street
There was a woman raped and murdered - Officer Moore ran out of leads
So he stopped in to talk to David Wayne Lee
He said David Wayne I consider you a friend of mine
You heard about that Jones girl killed last year about this time
Well I've been working on the case and I'm really in a bind
Will you come down to the station and help us solve this crime

I didn't do it I didn't do it
I didn't do it thought David Wayne
If I didn't do it there's nothing to it
I'll go down to the station then I'll come back again

Hidden in that station was a room few people saw
A bare lightbulb a table and a chair and nothing on the walls
Officer Moore said he'd be right back he gave no reason at all
David Wayne sat for 45 long minutes alone with his thoughts

I didn't do it I didn't do it
I didn't do it thought David Wayne
I didn't do it but there's something to it
Here I am at the station when will I go home again

The door opens Moore reads from a paper he calls Miranda rights
David Wayne Lee you can keep silent you can have a lawyer on your side
David Wayne can't understand it no matter how hard he tries
Why would he keep silent why would he need a lawyer when he's got nothing to hide

I didn't do it I didn't do it
I didn't do it says David Wayne
You didn't do it that's a new twist
Officer Moore locks the door when he goes out again

When Officer Moore comes back he's with another man this time
He says David Wayne we have evidence you're the one who did this crime
David Wayne's head is spinning and then he starts to cry
He learned in school a policeman is your friend so how could Officer Moore be telling a lie
Hour after hour Officer Moore and the other man
One says You remind me of my son I hate to see you in this jam
The other says We know you did it - now tell us why and when
Hour after hour after hour first Moore then the other man

I didn't do it I didn't do it I didn't do it says David Wayne
I didn't do it
I was in St Louis
On the weekends I visit my sister I go to see her on the train

Maybe I do need a lawyer says David Wayne finally
If that's what you want says Officer Moore you'll get no more help from me
We're really close to the end of this I think I'm what you need
But if you decide to have a lawyer then I'm gonna have to leave

You didn't do it You didn't do it You didn't do it That's what you say
You didn't do it
You're sticking to it
But the fingerprints and the witness say you were there that day

Maybe you can't remember maybe you blacked out
You got the knife from the kitchen right it was already in the house
Officer Moore keeps talking til David Wayne begins to doubt
If you sign this paper they say you can go home now

I didn't do it I didn't do it I didn't do it says David Wayne
I didn't do it
but I can't go through this any more
So he signs their paper and his whole life is changed

He's a jackal says the prosecutor and he deserves to die
David Wayne in a WalMart suit with the receipts pinned inside
The public defender's got 400 cases and precious little time
There's not a witness or any evidence but the jury must decide

He didn't do it he says he didn't do it
But here's his confession the prosecutor shouts
David Lee did do it he put his signature to it
Now you go and do your duty and find him Guilty when you come out

Now David Wayne sits in a cell sentenced to the electric chair
His friends and family have turned away but still somebody cares
A psychologist a lawyer and a literacy volunteer
A detective a nurse and a businessman working to get him out of there

He didn't do it He didn't do it They believe what David Wayne says
He didn't do it
but they can't prove it
There's no one to testify now that his sister's dead

All across this country there are people on death row
Convicted with no evidence of crimes they didn't do
Tricked to sign confessions by policemen who should know
Better than to take advantage of defenseless folks

They didn't do it They didn't do it
They hear Miranda but they wave their rights
Here in the U.S. is this what we call justice
And the way the laws are written it's impossible to fight

They've shaved his head and body put shackles to his hands and feet
Hot dogs applesause and mashed potatoes that's what he asked to eat
David Wayne stumbling down the row of cells held up by two guards and a priest
And Moore promoted to Captain just last week

I didn't do it I didn't do it I didn't do it
Hear David Wayne cry I didn't do it...

C 1997 Karl Williams/ Robert Perske)