Sports have an undeniable ability to bring people together. Sometimes, for a few moments, people of all backgrounds unite as one in the exhilaration of victory or the collective disappointment of defeat.
The 49ers’ 26-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 16 was one of those times, as Robbie Gould’s field goal sailed between the uprights in overtime.
Right then, Malcolm Scott was with his fellow 49ers Faithful at Levi’s Stadium, celebrating an unlikely win by his team. Maybe for just a few moments he could escape the fact that he was Malcolm Scott, the man wrongly imprisoned for 20-plus years of his life. Maybe, for a moment, he could almost forget.
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SIGN UP HERE Scott’s story has played out like a movie script. His love for the 49ers started from afar when he was an 11-year-old boy going up in Tulsa, Okla.
Without a local NFL team, Scott just couldn’t bring himself to be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys or the Kansas City Chiefs, who were favored by most of his friends. It was 1988, and the 49ers were on their way to winning their third Super Bowl, so they were his team.
“When I started paying attention to sports,” Scott said, “It was Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, they were the best. The West Coast offense was amazing. From Roger Craig to Tom Rathman to the defense. They were everything.”
As a teen, Scott enjoyed the 49ers’ golden years. He grew to love Steve Young and knew that in 1994 the team was headed toward something special, its fifth Super Bowl.
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That season and that Super Bowl ended up marking the end of an era for the 49ers. It also was a turning point for Scott. At the age of 17, he and his childhood friend, De’Marchoe Carpenter, were charged with first-degree murder in September 1994.
Scott and Carpenter were convicted the following year and sentenced to life in prison, plus 170 years, for their alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting that killed 19 year-old Karen Summers.
Watching the 49ers’ path to winning their fifth title on a 13-inch TV from his cell was the only thing that helped Scott forget the horrible situation.
“It was an escape,” he said. “It was a stress reliever, and it gave me hope.”
Scott and Carpenter proclaimed their innocence throughout the entire process, but a third man, Michael Wilson, testified against them in a pre-trial hearing. Wilson originally faced a murder charge along with Scott and Carpenter, but it was reduced to an accessory after the fact following his testimony.
Scott and Carpenter appealed their convictions, but they were upheld in 1997. By that time, Wilson had been convicted and sentenced to death for the fatal beating of a store clerk.
Scott and his friend wrote hundreds of letters to attorneys in an attempt for them to take their case but to no avail. Finally, in 2006, a young private investigator named Eric Cullen started working on their case pro-bono.
Things also started to look up for the 49ers in 2006. The team drafted Vernon Davis, and while they finished the season 7-9, Frank Gore ran for a franchise-record 1,695 yards. It was a vast improvement from their 4-12 record in the previous season.
Finally, in 2011, considering evidence that Cullen had discovered, the Oklahoma Innocence Project agreed to take Scott’s case. It was one of their only cases where DNA was not used, as authorities heavily relied on eyewitness testimony.
In that same year, the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as their coach and drafted Colin Kaepernick. There appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel for both the 49ers and for Scott.
“We went through these ups and downs together,” Scott said. “The last time I was free, we were winning. We had our ups and downs. I would take every little thing and connect it. It was inspirational for me. They didn’t give up, I didn’t give up.”
The 49ers went to three consecutive NFC Championship games and made one Super Bowl appearance. Meanwhile, Scott and Carpenter moved closer than they’d ever been toward proving their innocence.
Finally, on Jan. 7, 2014, just two days before he was executed, Wilson confessed to the murder for which Scott and Carpenter were accused and imprisoned. Wilson also professed Scott and Carpenter’s innocence while lying on his execution bed. That set wheels in motion for Scott and Carpenter’s release, but the process still took over two years to be completed, as two of Wilson’s admitted accomplices submitted sworn statements and eyewitness recanted what they told the court in the original trial.
Scott and Carpenter were released on May 9, 2016, 22 years after they were taken into custody for a murder they did not commit. Just a few months earlier, the 49ers hired John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, and a new era began for both the team and for Scott.
Through it all, one of the things that motivated Scott was his desire to attend a 49ers game.
“When I used to sit in there,” Scott said, “I used to say ‘Man, one of these days, I want to actually watch them play. I want to actually go to the stadium.’ It was one of the many things that pushed my drive.”
Scott’s wish finally came true two weeks ago when the 49ers flew him and his brother, Henry, to Santa Clara for a weekend of events with the team.
Scott, who’s now working as an Orangetheory Fitness coach in Texas, met and worked out with the 49ers’ strength and conditioning coach, Ray Wright. Gould gave Smith a tour of the facility and joined him for lunch in the team cafeteria.
Prior to the game, Scott stood on the sideline and met one of his favorite players, Keena Turner, and had a conversation with Lynch. Scott described the experience as surreal.
Scott never will take anything for granted again, and hopes his story will give strength and inspiration to others who might be in similar situations.
“When it’s taken from you,” Scott said, “when that freedom is taken from you, and everything that comes with it. When someone else is making all your choices for you and you have no control over anything, and you’re put into a cage, all those things come into focus.
“You got to believe. Never stop fighting. Never stop believing in the truth.”