“48 HOURS: LAST CHANCE” – 10:00 PM, ET/PT

Captions (L-R) Ryan Ferguson; Damon Thibodeaux

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Two men convicted of murders they say they didn’t commit, two convictions overturned, and one night of back-to-back editions of 48 HOURS and Erin Moriarty exploring cases where the real killers got away with murder because of questionable investigations, to be broadcast Saturday, March 29 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Both cases involve young men wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, even though there were serious issues raised at their trials.

The double feature begins at 9:00 PM with the celebrated case of Ryan Ferguson, which 48 HOURS has been covering since 2005. Ferguson was released from prison last November after nearly 10 years behind bars for the murder of Ken Heitholt, a Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor who was killed in 2001. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison largely on the confession of Charles Erickson, who later told 48 HOURS he lied to police.

Erickson, who has only talked with 48 HOURS, says he was manipulated by prosecutors and believes he should get a new trial. “I’m angry. I’m angry at myself. I feel like I have been played for a fool,” he tells Moriarty. “And I feel like I should be released from prison.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, talks with Moriarty about his new life outside of prison, where he’s adjusting to everyday life.

“It’s an incredible feeling, I can go where I want, do what I want, and that’s just something I haven’t experienced in my whole life, pretty much,” Ferguson tells Moriarty.

He also tells Moriarty that since getting out he’s had to relearn lots of everyday things people take for granted.  “It’s very daunting,” Ferguson says. “You don’t know what you’re doing in this world and you don’t know how to navigate in it and operate in it.”

The second part of the double feature is Moriarty and 48 HOURS’ investigation into the 1996 murder of Crystal Champagne, 14, and the conviction of Damon Thibodeaux, which was based on his own confession. In this case, however, Thibodeaux tells 48 HOURS he confessed to police after an intense interrogation and because he was sure he would be cleared during trial.

“Until someone is in the position that I was put in, they will never understand why someone confesses to a crime they didn’t commit,” Thibodeaux tells Moriarty.

At the time, Thibodeaux was a distant Champagne cousin who moved to town recently and worked as a deckhand on a Mississippi riverboat. He was with the Champagne family, too, when Crystal disappeared. Police immediately questioned Thibodeaux and after nine hours of interrogation, he confessed to murdering – and raping – the young girl.

“I’m thinking, ‘Well, okay, I’ll give them what they want to hear, and the evidence’ll come out and it’ll show I didn’t do it, and people will see that,” Thibodeaux tells Moriarty.

When he met with an attorney hours later, Thibodeaux denied having anything to do with Champagne’s death or disappearance. Thibodeaux went on trial in 1997. The prosecutors had 84 pieces of physical evidence and none went back to Thibodeaux. He was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He was sent to Louisiana’s notorious Angola prison.

His story doesn’t end there, however. His case caught the eye of Denny LeBoeuf, an attorney who specializes in cases to get inmates off of death row. She filed an appeal for Thibodeaux, though the State Supreme Court upheld his conviction. LeBouef then sought help from Minneapolis attorney Steve Kaplan. Together they came up with a risky plan to show everything they had to Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick. One misstep, and Thibodeaux’s chances of getting out of prison would disappear. If the plan worked, though, the imprisoned man had a chance of getting his life back.

And if Thibodeaux didn’t kill Champagne, who did?  Moriarty and 48 HOURS piece together Champagne’s murder through interviews with her  mother, Dawn Champagne, Thibodeaux, retired forensic pathologist Fraser Mackenzie, psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner, attorney Denny LeBoeuf, attorney Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project, Connick and others.

48 HOURS: “Ryan Ferguson @LifeAfterTen” (9:00 PM)  is produced by Gail Zimmerman. Doreen Schechter is the producer-editor.  Elena DiFiore is the field producer. Mead Stone and Diana Modica are the editors.  Judy Tygard is the senior producer. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

48 HOURS: “Last Chance” (10:00 PM) is produced by Gail Zimmerman. Richard Barber is the editor. Anthony Venditti is the field producer. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

Chat with members of the 48 HOURS team during the broadcast on Twitter and Facebook.

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Press Contact:  Richard Huff      212-975-3328    huffr@cbsnews.com