On February 1, 1997, Charles Newsome, a member of the 18th Street Group was murdered while driving through the Mayfair Apartments in West Memphis, AR. The city was caught in a wave of retaliatory violence between two groups: Foxwood and 18th Street. 
Kendrick Gillum, who was loosely affiliated with Foxwood, became a suspect based on inconsistent and coerced witness testimony from a single eyewitness who initially told police that he did not see anyone at the scene of the crime. The State had no evidence Kendrick was ever at the crime scene, never established motive, and had the testimony of Tarsha LeFlore who confirmed he was with her at her apartment the night of the shooting. Nevertheless, Kendrick was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

To learn more and get involved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLX2P0bt49U
https://www.instagram.com/freekendricgillum/?hl=en
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/post/episode-10-demarco-wilson
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/017-jason-flom-and-barry-scheck-with-jason-baldwin/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/073-jason-flom-with-damien-echols-live-from-the-church-of-rock-and-roll/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/095-jason-flom-with-joe-berlinger/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On August 10th, 1994, a man and a woman were in a van in West Philadelphia, when two males approached. One blocked the passenger door, while the other shot the man before he could get out of the van. The witness identified 16 year old Johnny Berry from a photo, but rescinded the ID at a preliminary hearing. Inexplicably, Johnny was re-arrested and sent back to juvenile detention, where he met Tauheed Lloyd who had admitted to being one of the assailants. When Lloyd refused to clear Johnny's name, they fought. Months later, Lloyd was arrested in an unrelated incident, and his gun matched the murder weapon. Unaware of this evidence, Lloyd thought Johnny had snitched. In turn, he gave false testimony for leniency and out of spite, sending Johnny away for life without parole. Years later, Lloyd's attempted recantation was silenced by threats of perjury and another murder prosecution. It took a slew of Supreme Court rulings on juvenile life sentences and the Philadelphia CIU to right this wrong.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

berryjohnny1111@gmail.com

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Bowlin, new co-host of Wrongful Conviction and host of the long-standing podcast Stuff the Don’t Want You to Know and Jason Flom from the Wrongful Conviction podcast had the honor of sitting down for many hours to speak with Leonard Peltier about his personal life, the historical context of the resistance movement and events that led to the attack on Jumping Bull Ranch in ‘75, as well as his near 50 year fight for justice that led to his sentence commutation in the final minutes of the Biden Administration.

In part two of this three-part series, the FBI had such a large suspect list after the shootout on Jumping Bull Ranch that it included every native combat veteran in the area and even a 4-year-old. But soon the target list was narrowed down to Dino Butler, Bob Robideau, and Leonard Peltier. Both Butler and Robideau were soon arrested, tried, and acquitted, successfully arguing self defense. 

But Leonard tells us how he sought help from Marlon Brando, and asylum in Canada before the presentation of false evidence brought him back to the US to stand trial. 

The Wrongful Conviction of Leonard Peltier is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. It follows the January 2025 Sundance premiere of the documentary FREE LEONARD PELTIER, a searing investigation of the case from Public Square Films and directors David France and Jesse Short Bull.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 21, 2002, 17-year-old Brian Carrick, a stock boy at Val’s Foods, a grocery store in Johnsburg, IL, was reported missing by his mother. Police determined that one of the last sightings of Carrick was a day earlier, on December 20, when he went to the store to pick up his paycheck. On December 22, police found blood spatter near a cooler used to store produce and a bloody fingerprint on the cooler’s exterior door handle. DNA tests identified the blood spatter near the cooler as Carrick’s. The blood that was on the cooler door handle was identified by DNA testing as belonging to Robert Render, another stock boy at Val’s. But a different stock boy, 19-year-old Mario Casciaro, was charged and sentenced to 26 years in prison for Carrick’s murder.

To learn more, visit:

https://casciarolaw.com/

We started the Wrongful Conviction podcast to provide a voice to innocent people in prison. 

We want to hear your voices, too.

So call us at 833-207-4666 and leave us a message.

Tell us how these powerful, often tragic and sometimes triumphant, stories make you feel.  

Shocked?

Inspired?  

Motivated?

We want to know! 

We may even include your story in a future episode.

And hey, the more of you that join in, the more power our collective voices will have.

So tell a friend to listen and to call us too at 833-207-4666

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early morning hours of June 15, 1979, 17-year-old Amer Zada’s truck stalled out near the waterfront in Nyack, NY. While he waited for a ride, Amer discovered the body of Shirley Smith behind a dumpster in a restaurant parking lot. Minutes later, police arrived on the scene. Amer was thrown into the cruiser, arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. Evidence proving his innocence was never turned over to his trial attorney.  “I guess the first time the reality of my situation hit me was the day of my sentencing, when they gave me 25 to life,” Amer remembers. “I just fell apart. I can still feel that feeling right now in my heart.”

https://www.gofundme.com/f/innocent-man-released-from-prison-after-41-years

https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On March 14, 1998, Anthony Galati was found murdered along the side of a road in Rancho Cordova, CA. The case went cold until October 1999, when Israel Septs, an inmate in a California prison, told police that he witnessed the crime. Septs claimed that 23-year-old Jeremy Puckett and 18-year-old Angela Dvorsky killed Galati after they robbed him. Despite having an alibi and no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Jeremy was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder.

To learn more, visit:

https://ncip.org/

We started the Wrongful Conviction podcast to provide a voice to innocent people in prison. 

We want to hear your voices, too.

So call us at 833-207-4666 and leave us a message.

Tell us how these powerful, often tragic and sometimes triumphant, stories make you feel.  

Shocked?

Inspired?  

Motivated?

We want to know! 

We may even include your story in a future episode.

And hey, the more of you that join in, the more power our collective voices will have.

So tell a friend to listen and to call us too at 833-207-4666

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the morning of February 19th, 2022, Cassandra Black Elk awoke to find her three-week-old daughter StarLight lifeless beside her. Police insisted the baby had died due to Shaken Baby Syndrome - and that Cassandra was responsible. “They were telling me their story,” Cassandra remembers, “that somebody did something to StarLight…somebody killed her.” Cassandra knew she hadn’t hurt her baby. She asked her lawyer repeatedly - what does the autopsy report say? But by the time she got the answer, Cassandra had been convicted of having caused her daughter’s death, and was already in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/cassi-black-elk-innocent-and-finally-freed

https://www.greatnorthinnocenceproject.org

F5 Project

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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Two gunmen robbed a liquor store in Edmond, OK, on December 30, 1974. The gunmen fatally shot an employee and left an eyewitness injured. At this time, police were also investigating a series of unrelated crimes and brought 22-year-old Glynn Simmons and his co-defendant in for questioning due to a tangential connection to the suspects in the other crimes. Glynn was put into various lineups and charged with the liquor store crime despite no physical evidence tying him to the robbery/murder. The two men were ultimately both sentenced to death for the crime. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/glynnrsimmons

We started the Wrongful Conviction podcast to provide a voice to innocent people in prison. 

We want to hear your voices, too.

So call us at 833-207-4666 and leave us a message.

Tell us how these powerful, often tragic and sometimes triumphant, stories make you feel.  

Shocked?

Inspired?  

Motivated?

We want to know! 

We may even include your story in a future episode.

And hey, the more of you that join in, the more power our collective voices will have.

So tell a friend to listen and to call us too at 833-207-4666

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 30th, 2005, police were called to a home in New Orleans, LA. There, they found Renaldo Curley dead of a single gunshot wound. His estranged wife, 32-year-old Catina Curley, told police that she was in fear for her life when she shot Renaldo in self-defense. Police evidence - and the testimony of their children - showed that Renaldo had been physically abusing Catina for years. Yet, she was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. “It could have been me, you know,” she reflects. “It could have been me that was dead and away from my kids.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the national domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-safe or text “start” to 88788.

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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In the early morning hours of March 24,1984, a fire erupted on the first floor of an apartment building in Chicago, IL. The fire destroyed the building and killed six people, including young children. Four years later, James Kluppelberg was taken into police custody after he had reported an unrelated arson case. Police began intensely interrogating James about the apartment building fire until he falsely confessed to the crime. Despite the fact that the only evidence against James was the testimony of a single incentivized witness, he was sentenced to life in prison for the fire.  

To reach James, email him at: 

jrkrepair@gmail.com

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/392-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-arson-evidence/

https://www.exonerationproject.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jose Arreola was shot to death inside a pickup truck on November 14, 1995, in Sunnyside, WA. Five months later, a police informant identified a local teenager, Evaristo Salas, as the shooter. He was arrested and taken to the adult jail. “I'm 15 years old, I look like I'm 12. I weigh about a hundred pounds,” Evaristo remembers. “I'm five foot and I'm just surrounded. And I'm scared as hell.” Despite the fact that there was no physical evidence tying Evaristo to the crime, he was convicted and sentenced to 32 years and nine months in prison.

To learn more, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/v47qe2-a-new-beginning

https://wainnocenceproject.org

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2007, a man wearing a wig and sunglasses entered a Bell Wireless store on the west side of Cincinnati, OH brandishing a gun. He ordered the patrons to the floor, demanded money from the store manager, and fled with the store's till. A witness across the street allegedly saw the man put on the wig and sunglasses, enter the store and flee a few minutes later in a Ford Expedition. The witness later identified that man as Chris Smith. Soon after the robbery, police found the Ford Expedition, a wig and sunglasses in the vicinity of Chris’s residence. Despite DNA test results performed on the wig and sunglasses that pointed to another man, Chris was still convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/therealolhound/?hl=en

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVPwQ_EQ5KpY52SgneVAGw

https://open.spotify.com/artist/22mtNHFVtFOzdsPPuuJCJt

https://soundcloud.com/olhound

https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2020/04/n20907729.html

https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law.html

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Bowlin, new co-host of Wrongful Conviction and host of the long-standing podcast Stuff the Don’t Want You to Know and Jason Flom from the Wrongful Conviction podcast had the honor of sitting down for many hours to speak with Leonard Peltier about his personal life, the historical context of the resistance movement and events that led to the attack on Jumping Bull Ranch in ‘75, as well as his near 50 year fight for justice that led to his sentence commutation in the final minutes of the Biden Administration.

In part one of this three-part series, Leonard discusses his early life and experiences with American injustice before joining the American Indian Movement (AIM). He goes on to explain how the FBI targeted AIM with the same counterintelligence apparatus that was used against Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers.

When American businesses were interested in mining uranium in South Dakota, the FBI funded a paramilitary group that sought to neutralize any resistance on the Pine Ridge Reservation. To support the resistance effort, AIM set up camp at Jumping Bull Ranch. Leonard and his co-defendant Dino Butler tell us about their harrowing experience on June 26th, 1975, when tensions broke out into a deadly firefight.

The Wrongful Conviction of Leonard Peltier is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. It follows the January 2025 Sundance premiere of the documentary FREE LEONARD PELTIER, a searing investigation of the case from Public Square Films and directors David France and Jesse Short Bull.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On November 29, 2002, a 7-month-old baby enrolled in Kim Hoover's Columbus, Ohio home day care began to struggle to breathe. After being taken to the hospital, the baby was found to have a skull fracture and bleeding on her brain; tragically passing away two days later. Doctors and authorities began to suspect the child was a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome due to her brain injuries. Despite no evidence of prior abuse or accidents while under her care, Kim was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murder and child abuse. 

To learn more, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/410-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 25, 1979, Rabbi David Okunov was robbed and fatally shot while on his way to temple in Brooklyn, New York. Two eyewitnesses described the perpetrator to authorities, and the police's first primary suspect fingered 19-year-old Carl Miller as the gunman. Despite not matching either eyewitness's descriptions, not being picked out of the line-up, and no physical evidence tying him to the crime, Carl was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder.

To learn more and get involved, please visit:
https://jhenninglaw.com/contact/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One day in May of 1992, 19-year-old Eron Shelman was driving around Detroit, MI with three of his buddies. Eron was at the wheel with his friend Antonio Knight beside him when suddenly, a shot rang out, and Antonio fell over, dead. “I almost crashed the car,” Eron recalls. “I had my dearest friend laying in my lap, bleeding out the back of his head.” Despite someone else confessing to the shooting, Eron was convicted of Antonio’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday, June 23, 1973, a man attacked Anne Kane outside of her apartment in Boston, MA.  The man forced her inside, beat her, robbed her, raped her, and then kidnapped her dragging her all over the city for the next 6 and a half hours. She escaped into a local firehouse and ran away before the police arrived. A few days later, she identified Tyrone Clark as the assailant by picking his photo out of several photographs the police shared with her. Tyrone Clark was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/tyrone-clark-released

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/050-jason-flom-with-ronald-cotton/

https://www.newenglandinnocence.org/

https://www.publiccounsel.net/pc/innocence-program/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“When I tell people that I was sentenced 25 to 50 years, they automatically assume that I was accused of murder,” says Lorinda Swain. “And I always tell them, no, I was accused of worse than that.” In August of 2001, Lorinda was arrested in Calhoun County, Michigan for allegedly sexually molesting her adopted son, who was seven years old at the time. Although the boy recanted the allegation prior to trial and then again after her conviction, Lorinda remained incarcerated for seven years before being released on bond.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/michigan-innocence-clinic-0

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A house in Pittsburgh, PA, went up in flames on February 14, 1995, killing three firefighters while they were trying to put out the fire. A week later, a neighbor of 17-year-old Greg Brown came forward and said that he suspected Greg of lighting the fire. Greg and his mother lived at the house that had caught fire, and authorities suspected that the two of them set the fire to claim insurance money. Despite no physical evidence supporting this theory, Greg was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, arson, and insurance fraud.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/392-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-arson-evidence/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/386-jason-flom-with-kristine-bunch-update/

https://painnocence.org/

https://www.pointpark.edu/news-communication/innocence-institute-work-leads-to-reopening-of-highprofile-case

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In February of 1999, 86-year-old Rosemary “Mama Rose” Williams arrived at a hospital in Queens NY, claiming that she’d been raped at knifepoint. She named her 36-year-old grandson, Gary, as the assailant. Despite there being no physical evidence that Ms. Williams was assaulted, and the fact that Gary was in another state he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Years later, Mama Rose admitted to family members that she regretted making the accusation, saying, “It’s time to get Gary out.” Speaking with Maggie at Fishkill Correctional Facility, Gary says that he believes his grandmother was in the early stages of dementia when she made the claim that sent him to prison - and that he forgives her. “I have to,” he says, “because I believe that something was wrong with her.”

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

January 18, 2006, 3-year-old Trustin Blue tumbled down his basement stairs in Cincinnati, OH, became unresponsive, and later brain dead. Trustin had been under the supervision of his mother’s boyfriend, Lamont Hunter, at the time of the incident. When Trustin was declared dead, the police began suspecting that Trustin had been raped and abused by Lamont, and had not actually fallen down the stairs as Lamont claimed. The case against Lamont was centered around allegations of prior abuse against Trustin and the manner of Trustin’s injuries. Lamont  was convicted and sentenced to death for the incident. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/3k5jem-free-after-wrongful-incarceration-on-death-row

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/172-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/373-jason-flom-with-elwood-jones/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/379-jason-flom-with-keith-lamar-pt-1/ 

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a November Sunday in 2005, two 14-year-olds were shot outside of a street carnival in South Central Los Angeles, CA. One of the teenagers died, but the surviving victim and other individuals identified 21-year-old Jason Walton as the gunman. Despite having been seen on video surveillance footage miles from the scene at the time, and with no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Jason was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. Jason believes police never bothered investigating other leads.“I don't feel like they ultimately cared about the victim nor myself,”  says Jason, speaking by phone from California State Prison. “It's like, “Well, one gang member's dead, one gang member's shot, one gang member's in jail. We got a three for one in a way.”

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://theinnocencecenter.org/jason-walton

https://linktr.ee/Justice4jasonwalton

https://gofund.me/0b59e571

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early morning of March 24, 1994, 20-year-old Kenneth Hayes was getting out of his car when someone emerged from the bushes, chased him down, and fatally shot him in front of his home in Detroit, MI. 18-year-old Larry Smith Jr. became a suspect when a car belonging to a friend of his was spotted near the scene of the crime. Since there was no physical evidence tying Larry to the crime, authorities relied on junk science and questionable eyewitness testimony to convict him of the murder and sentence him to life in prison without parole.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.lifeafterjustice.org/

https://www.jarrettadamslaw.com/redeeming-justice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiterrorism_and_Effective_Death_Penalty_Act_of_1996

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/396-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-footwear-comparison-evidence/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On November 18, 2001, a woman returned home from church to a man burglarizing her apartment in Thunderbolt, GA. While wearing a pair of batting gloves, the man proceeded to sexually assault her and steal various items. In the days following, police found those items in the residence of a man named Sterling Flint. When the victim identified Flint as a possible perpetrator, Flint blamed a man named Sonny Bharadia, who had pressed charges against Flint days prior for stealing his car and threatening to kill Sonny and his family. A new photo array was presented to the victim, and she identified Sonny, however that photo array disappeared prior to trial. Nevertheless, Sonny was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/sonb1944/
https://healingjusticeproject.org/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/050-jason-flom-with-ronald-cotton/
https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/act/donate-2/ 

Wrongful Conviction with Ben Bowlin is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In February of 1993, 70-year-old Anthony Dolff was found murdered in his home in Saskatchewan, Canada. That morning, indigenous sisters Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance were picked up by police. The two were held at the station for five days and questioned repeatedly without counsel - even though someone else had confessed to the killing. “These were two young indigenous women trying to cope with white police officers, all male,” says their attorney, James Lockyer. “And on the basis of those unrecorded statements that the police alleged they gave, they were convicted the following year."

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.innocencecanada.com 

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several shots were fired from an alley toward a group of friends on the night of January 16, 1993, in Chicago, IL. One person was fatally shot and two others were wounded. Chicago detectives brought 16-year-old Fabian Santiago in for questioning and interrogated him for hours. The detectives claimed that Fabian admitted to the shooting, but there was no written or electronic record of this statement. Despite no physical evidence tying him to the crime, Fabian was sentenced to 90 years in prison for the shooting. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/155-jason-flom-with-marilyn-mulero/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/243-guest-host-patrick-pursley-with-jacques-rivera/

https://www.bonjeanlaw.com/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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In November of 1999, a fire broke out in Angela Garcia’s home in Cleveland, OH. Angela jumped out of a second-story window and ran for help, but her two young daughters died of smoke inhalation. Several months later, she was charged with their murder and received two life sentences. “I didn't hurt my daughters…I loved them like I love myself,” Angela tells Maggie. “I always believed that the truth would prevail…that's what the news teaches you to think. So why would I ever think that the system would let me down?”

To learn more visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/392-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-arson-evidence/

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 22, 1989, two men were fatally shot at a garage on the south side of Chicago, IL. Twenty-three-year-old James Gibson was falsely implicated in the shooting and severely beaten by local police officers. After brutal interrogations and despite no physical evidence tying him to the crime, James was sentenced to life in prison for the murders. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.imjamesgibson.com/about
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-giving-back-fund-inc/the-clara-and-james-gibson-foundation
https://www.instagram.com/imjamesgibson/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/3z.musichouse/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn-kCEoD6_Y
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYguC3ZanKTh3A7hB_AvnxQ
https://www.actioninjurylawgroup.com/cases/james-gibson
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/211-jason-flom-with-marcus-wiggins/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/399-jason-flom-with-sean-tyler-and-reginald-henderson/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 15, 1993, two gunmen entered a home in Detroit, Michigan, and murdered Lavonda Brown and her son, 20-year old Douglas Williams. Detroit police rounded up  a number of suspects, questioning them for hours, including Wilson Rivera. Wilson had a solid alibi for that night. Not only that - the shooter had actually confessed to Wilson that he’d done it.  “I asked Roger, like, what's going on?” Wilson recalls. “And he explained to me what had actually taken place with the murder. I’m assuming the facts are gonna bear me out.” But one by one, the other suspects were dropped from the investigation. By the time the trial began, Wilson was the only one left.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.freewilsonrivera.com/donations/

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On January 15, 2013, Matt Huang’s eight-year-old adopted daughter, Gloria, unexpectedly passed away in Doha, Qatar. Despite the fact that Gloria had a variety of health issues and often exhibited symptoms of an eating disorder, authorities in Qatar immediately suspected Matt and his wife, Grace, of starving their daughter to death. The couple was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the death of their daughter.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.youmightgotoprison.com/

https://theinnocencecenter.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On March 8, 1991, 27-year-old Nikki Zinger and her boyfriend Daniel Risher returned home to find Nikki's mother brutally murdered. Despite there being no evidence that tied them to the crime, and a number of potential alternate suspects, both were convicted. Now sixty and in declining health, Nikki is still hopeful that DNA testing could exonerate her.  And she's still grieving her mother's death. "She was my, she was my playmate. She was my everything," Nikki tells Maggie. "Why would I take my life away from me?"

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.freefunder.com/campaign/help-nikki-with-basics

https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/search.php?dcnum=704283&token=74fd66594dc3ea95e65ede4a15dffe3fca2529a7fb7044fc85ede454170cb364&lastname=zinger&firstname=nikki&sex=b&agetype=1&disclaimer=1&PHPSESSID=c7b1c691a6208b755733675fe6f954b4

Or write her here:
Nikki Zinger #704283
302 Corrections Drive
Newport, AR 72112
freenikkizinger@gmail.com.

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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In May of 1983, Clyde Coleman was fatally shot at his home in Philadelphia, PA. Eyewitnesses reported seeing three men fleeing the scene. But when police found that 22-year old Larry Walker was in a relationship with the victim, they stopped looking for other suspects. Two of the three eyewitnesses, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, testified that Larry was the perpetrator. The third testified that he was not. And despite the complete lack of physical or forensic evidence implicating Larry, Larry was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/9c5qdn-free-larry-walker

https://centurion.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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This special edition of Wrongful Conviction was recorded on December 1, 2023 live from the United Justice Coalition (UJC) Summit in New York City. This annual gathering brings together activists from all over the world with the expressed purpose of raising awareness of and devising ways to address some of the key social issues of our time. 

In this episode, Jason and Maggie sit down with Andre Brown at the UJC Summit 2023. Andre was charged with attempted murder for chasing down and shooting two teenage boys in the Bronx, NY in 1999. Even though Andre had a medical condition that made running nearly impossible and several witnesses saw someone else commit the crime, Andre was convicted and sentenced to two 20-year prison terms.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/SupportAndreBrown

https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/post/episode-19-andre-brown

https://cuomollc.com/oscar/

https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/cases

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On April 5, 1985, around 11 p.m., a woman exiting her car in her apartment complex parking lot just north of Atlanta, GA was approached by an African-American man. The man asked her if she could help him find "Paul." He then pulled out a gun and told her to move into the passenger seat. He drove to a nearby dead-end street where he raped the victim. After the attack, he drove her back to the parking lot and left on foot. She reported the attack to the police and helped them draw a composite sketch of the perpetrator.

Five days later, another woman exiting her car in her apartment complex was approached by an African-American man. This parking lot was on the same street in the same area as the other crime. The man asked her if she could help him find "Carol." He then put a razor blade to her throat and got in the car. He demanded sex and tried to pull off her clothes. She was able to talk the man into leaving her car. The police showed the second victim the first victim's composite sketch, and the second victim immediately identified the sketch as resembling her attacker.

Later that month,  Willie “Pete” Williams, a 23-year-old part-time painter, was in a car pulled over for a traffic violation when police noted that he resembled the composite sketch of a serial rapist in a nearby neighborhood. The officers included Pete in a line-up, and two victims and a witness identified Pete as the perpetrator. The actual rapist was not included in the line-up. 

Based solely on faulty eyewitness identification, and despite arguments Pete’s attorney made about an alternate suspect, a jury convicted Pete of rape, aggravated sodomy, and kidnapping. The judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison.

Learn more and get involved at:

https://nacdl.org/

https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

February 9, 1992 started as a normal day for 16 year old Faye Jacobs – she attended church and hung out with friends in Little Rock, AR. When she and her mom drove home later, they passed bustling police activity. Intrigued, they stopped the car and got out. Suddenly, Faye was grabbed, pushed against the car and arrested for the shooting murder of Kevin Gaddy, a classmate of hers. Despite an exculpatory alibi and eye witnesses, Faye was sentenced to life without parole. Maggie speaks to Faye Jacobs, Tricia Bushnell Esq. Faye’s attorney, and Tiffany Woods her girlfriend.  

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/innocence-too-kansas-city

https://www.journeytonewlife.org/newsletter/reflections-winter-2020/from-innocence-to-innocent/

Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On January 15, 1980, in Wilmington, DE, a 15-year-old girl, "G.S," reported she had been raped alongside the railroad tracks. The victim and her young male friend, "K.C.", said they were together on the tracks when a young black man approached them and assaulted G.S. After giving numerous inconsistent statements, K.C. told police he recognized the attacker from school and that his name was Elmer. 18-year-old Elmer Daniels was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for the rape despite scant physical evidence and a strong alibi that was corroborated by several witnesses.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-elmer-daniels-after-39yrs-wrongful-conviction?member=1327822

https://lavaforgood.com/junk-science/

To hear the story of Guest Host John Huffington's own wrongful conviction listen to;

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/052-jason-flom-with-john-huffington/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On May 19th, 1975, in front of a store in Cleveland, OH, two assailants robbed a man, splashed acid in his face, shot and killed him, and then fired into the store injuring the co-owner. 12 year-old Eddie Vernon was riding a bus near the scene and later bragged that he had seen Rickey Jackson, as well as Ronnie and Wiley Bridgeman commit the crime. However, according to all the other occupants of the bus, they were too far away to even see the crime. But police ignored other more compelling leads and focused on Eddie’s story. When he tried to back away from the fib, they threatened to take his parents to prison if he didn’t stick to the story. Eddie’s false testimony at trial helped send all three young men to death row.

To learn more and get involved, visit: 

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

https://otse.org/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14135822/

https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law.html

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In September 1986, 34-year-old Douglas DiLosa was found bound with rope in his Jefferson Parish, LA home. His wife was found strangled upstairs. DiLosa, who is white, told police that he was awakened by a noise, and when he went downstairs to investigate, he was beaten and bound by two black men. Police suspected that DiLosa, who was in financial trouble, had murdered his wife for the insurance money. A jury convicted DiLosa of second-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.first72plus.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early on the morning of August 11, 1979, an intruder broke into a Manchester, GA home to find a 74-year-old woman asleep on her couch. The man beat and sexually assaulted the woman and then demanded all her money. She gave the attacker cash from her purse and then he left through the back door. 

The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but no rape kit was collected due to the extent of her injuries. At the victim’s house, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) crime scene investigators collected pubic hairs from a bed sheet that had been on the couch at the time of the rape. Police then created a composite sketch of the attacker from the victim’s description, and a GBI agent who was investigating John Jerome White on another charge thought he resembled the sketch. White was convicted on May 30, 1980 of rape, assault, burglary, and robbery. 

To learn more about the junk science of hair microscopy evidence:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/152-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-hair-microscopy-evidence/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/from-2007-snapshot-eyewitness-mistake/TxDolwbHy82ba4w1eefq8H/

https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's exploration of Shaken Baby Syndrome on Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

Shaken Baby Syndrome isn’t a foolproof diagnosis. There are in fact many other causes for the symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome that do not arise from intentionally shaking a baby at all.

Learn more and get involved:

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 3, 2004, in Port Huron, MI, Terry Ceasor was at home alone with his girlfriend Cheryl’s 1 year old son, Brenden. Terry and Brenden had been playing a game that consisted of Terry chasing Brenden behind the couch when Terry briefly stepped away from the room to use the bathroom. After he left the room, Terry heard a loud thud and found Brenden unconscious on the living room floor. The medical professionals at the hospital believed that Brenden was a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Terry was subsequently convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison. Jason talks to Terry Ceasor and Dave Moran, Terry's attorney.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/michigan-innocence-clinic-0

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/269-jason-flom-with-temujin-kensu/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/172-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Dubin discusses Eyewitness Testimony with renowned psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. She studies human memory, specifically the malleability of memory, a huge factor in cases where eyewitness testimony is used as evidence.

It turns out that memories, just like other forms of evidence, can be manipulated, contaminated, and planted.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

Learn more and get involved:

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just after midnight on July 25, 1990, a man was shot and killed in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Oakland, CA. Shortly after the shooting, police picked up 17-year-old Jerome Dixon, who had been hanging out with his friends nearby, and drove him to the crime scene and then to the police station. Police interrogated Jerome for 25 hours eliciting a confession. Despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Jerome accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

To learn more about false confessions:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

To learn more and get involved:

Write to Governor Gavin Newsom's office in support of a pardon for Jerome. Email pardons@gov.ca.gov, and be sure to put Jerome Dixon's name in the subject line.

Contact your Representative or Senator and tell them you support the Protecting Miranda Rights for Kids Act, which would require police to notify and contact parents or guardians if their child is arrested or detained.

Get involved with the work of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. Visit their website at https://antirecidivism.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Dubin examines Roadside Drug Testing with Greg Glod, Criminal Justice Senior Policy Fellow.

Faulty tests, which cost police departments $2 a piece or less, are widely used across the United States, causing countless people to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit, despite scientific evidence that proves just how ineffective they really are.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

Learn more and get involved.

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

https://www.propublica.org/article/common-roadside-drug-test-routinely-produces-false-positives

https://www.propublica.org/article/no-field-test-is-fail-safe-meet-the-chemist-behind-houston-police-drug-kits

https://www.propublica.org/article/unreliable-and-unchallenged

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming of age in Honduras, Clemente “Shorty” Aguirre was faced with a choice: join MS13 or die. He moved to Nicaragua with his grandmother instead, but with no economic prospects, he chose to come to the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Life was calm for a while, as he worked as a cook and lived in a trailer park, where he had found a place in a nice community of friends. Then, on June 17th, 2004, after a long night out, Shorty dropped by a neighboring trailer shared by his friends Cheryl Williams, part-time by her daughter Samantha, and her mother Carol Bareis. They were known for always having a stockpile of beer, and Shorty was going to ask them for an early morning nightcap, when he discovered Cheryl and Carol had been stabbed and were lying in pools of their own blood. Realizing that they were gone and that making a call to the police would certainly get him deported to a country where MS13 awaited his return, he went to his own trailer to lay low. Later that day, he came forward to investigators with his discovery and became the prime suspect. With the combination of an ineffective public defender, the prosecution’s tunnel vision, and plenty of circumstantial evidence, Clemente would be tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.

If you feel compelled to support Clemente, please go to: https://www.mightycause.com/story/Clementeaguirree2019

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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On April 15, 2011, Dawone Taylor was murdered in Oakland, CA over a dispute about an allegedly stolen ipod. Pierre Rushing, a promising young musician who never met Mr. Taylor, was later charged and convicted for the murder primarily on the questionable testimony of a struggling drug addict who was unable to accurately describe Pierre’s appearance. 

Learn more and get involved:
Pamela Price
alcoda@acgov.org
1225 Fallon Street Suite 900
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 272-6222 

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Dubin does a deep dive into the psychology behind Coerced Confession Evidence with David Rudolf, criminal defense and civil rights attorney, and co-host of the podcast Abuse of Power.

It turns out tactics used to extract Coerced Confessions are also rooted in Junk Science. Just like Bite Mark Evidence, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, and so many others covered in this show, Coerced, or False Confessions are another link in the chain of the Junk Science epidemic.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

Learn more and get involved.

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On July 16, 1949, 17-year-old Norma Padgett and her estranged husband, Willie Padgett, reported to police that they had been attacked by four black men in Lake County, FL, with Norma claiming that the men had raped her. On the same day, police arrested 16-year-old Charles Greenlee, and 22-year-olds Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin. 26-year-old Ernest Thomas was hunted into the woods and gunned down by a mob of men, as he was also blamed for the attack. Despite weak evidence and testimonies tainted by racism, the remaining three were convicted and faced severe sentences, including life imprisonment and death.

Jason is joined by Gilbert King, host of Bone Valley and Pulitzer-prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove which chronicles the story of the Groveland Four, as they came to be known, and future United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s efforts to defend them in court.

To learn more, visit:
http://www.gilbertking.com/devil-in-the-grove/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The notion that tools leave a unique mark on a surface is commonly presented to unsuspecting juries. But, it turns out that it's not necessarily the case at all.

Josh Dubin talks about Tool Mark Analysis with Tim Requarth, a freelance journalist who often writes about the intersection between science and criminal justice and a lecturer in science and writing at New York University.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 
Learn more and get involved.

“Forensic Science Put Jimmy Genrich in Prison for 24 Years. What if It Wasn’t Science” By Meehan Crist and Tim Requarth https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-crisis-of-american-forensics/https://cifsjustice.org/donate/https://opd.ohio.gov/law-library/innocence/wrongful-conviction-projectwww.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On July 17, 1982, in Hanover County, VA, a white woman was raped by a black man who was a total stranger. During the rape, the man beat her and threatened her with a gun, and also mentioned that she was not the only white woman he had had sexual relations with. Based on this statement alone, police immediately suspected 18-year-old Marvin Anderson to be the perpetrator because Marvin lived with his white girlfriend at the time. Despite a complete lack of evidence linking him to this crime, and evidence pointing to another more viable suspect, Marvin was convicted of rape by an all white jury, and sentenced to 210 years in prison. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://innocenceproject.org/ 

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.