In August 2006, “Dateline NBC” profiled a dramatic meeting between Eric Nelson and Terry Vite-Anderson, the sister of murder victim Joseph Vite.
Vite-Anderson had decided to meet with Nelson in prison as part of the Restorative Justice program at Marquette University Law School, which aims to help support victims and communities to heal from the effects of crime.
The Dateline report on the tense meeting included Nelson’s account of pulling the trigger on the fatal shot, contradicting his testimony during his trial 21 years earlier.
A transcript of the report reads, in part:
“Armed with rifles they’d found in Joe Vite’s gun cabinet, they took positions. Then a car pulled in…
“Nelson: ‘I heard keys. I heard the door open…’
“Danny (Dower) fired off three quick shots – one hit his father in the elbow, who fell to his knees, and then Eric moved in.
“Nelson: ‘I didn’t aim or anything. I just shot.’
“The bullet tore through Joe Vite’s forehead – so much so there would have to be a closed casket.
“Danny and Eric took off, on the run, as the blinding snowstorm filled in their tracks.”
“Five days later they were captured,” the report continues. “Eric lied his way through his trial.”
The Dateline report notes that in a letter that Nelson wrote to the trial judge in 1993, eight years after the trial, he admitted, “I lied blatantly in your courtroom.”
In the prison meeting between Vite-Anderson and Nelson, the Dateline report states, the following exchange occurred:
Vite-Anderson: “How was justice done?”
Nelson: “I think I got what I deserved.”
Vite-Anderson: “If justice was done and you got what you deserved – well – why would you ever go to a parole hearing?”
Nelson: “Um – oh, you’re right. You’re right. I guess that doesn’t make sense in a way.”
Vite-Anderson: “And how old are you, Eric?”
Nelson: “I’m 37.”
Vite-Anderson: “Are you ready to die in five years? Joe was 42.”
Read the full Dateline NBC transcript here.
Keep a Murderer Behind Bars 