Wrongful Conviction With Jason Flom

One evening in March, 2003, a fire broke out in Deborah Nicholls' Colorado Springs, CO home, killing her three children. Her husband suffered significant burns, but escaped. After a 2-year investigation, it was determined that the fire was not accidental, and that Deborah and her husband started it for the insurance money. The trial was a battle of the experts – one presenting the junk science of arson evidence, one asserting that the science was outdated. The former triumphed, and Deborah was sent to prison for the murder of her children. Maggie speaks to Deborah Nicholls, Deborah's father, Douglas Baumgardner, and Deborah's attorneys, Anne-Marie Moyes, Director of the Korey Wise Innocence Project and Kathleen Lord, Staff Attorney at the Korey Wise Innocence Project. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/149-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-arson-evidence/ https://www.colorado.edu/outreach/korey-wise-innocence-project/ https://giving.cu.edu/fund/korey-wise-innocence-project-f

In October 1997, Skip Clark was killed in York, PA. Police officers decided that the death was gang related, and that two gangs were out for each other after having a dispute. Tysheem Crocker was dragged into the conversation. The State argued that he and others plotted to retaliate against their rival gang, and that Skip was caught in the middle. Despite four witnesses testifying that they knew who the killer was and that it was not Tysheem, and despite the fact that his whereabouts were accounted for at the time of the crime, Tysheem was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.change.org/p/innocent-man-sentenced-to-life-mother-of-victim-says-wrong-man-convicted-of-sons-murder?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=85e6b1a0-b1dd-11ec-af26-eb687487e64a https://www.facebook.com/justuiceforTysheem/ https://sgpub1.com https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B074SPJV6N/about Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ P

On October 16, 2005, Dennis and Norma Woodruff were found murdered in their Royse City, TX home. Their son Brandon, a freshman in college, had been visiting that weekend and police became suspicious of him and his lifestyle. Brandon is bisexual and was struggling in school, so police developed a narrative that Brandon had to kill his parents in order to maintain the double life he wanted. These details, however, were not secrets to Brandon’s parents at all. And despite evidence that supported his innocence, Brandon was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. To learn more and get involved, visit:https://www.change.org/p/texas-court-of-criminal-appeals-take-up-brandon-woodruff-s-case https://freebrandon.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.

On October 29, 1996, two gunmen broke into Michael Kershner’s apartment in Elkhart, IN and robbed Kershner, his mother and four friends. After fighting back, Kershner was shot in the abdomen. Months later, Keith Cooper was arrested on a purse snatching charge. Lead Detective, Steve Rezutko, determined that Cooper might be one of the perpetrators in Kerschner’s case based on his resemblance to a computerized sketch of the gunmen. After placing Cooper’s photo in a lineup, witnesses identified him, along with one witness who claimed to recognize his voice without ever seeing him. However, the DNA from the hat left at the scene by the gunman did not match Cooper. Solely based on eyewitness testimony, Cooper was convicted of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and sentenced to 40 years in prison. To learn more, visit: https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/211-jason-flom-with-marcus-wiggins/ https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/289-jason-flom-with-andrew-royer/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podc

On July 19, 2008, a police officer found the body of Julie Burchett in her parked car in an abandoned pallet mill in Monticello, KY. Hope and her boyfriend lived nearby and gathered with other observers at the scene. A police informant eventually concocted an elaborate story that Hope threw a party at her mother’s house where she stabbed Julie to death. Despite Hope’s alibi, another suspect, and evidence that there was no party at all, Hope was arrested, tried and convicted. Maggie speaks to Hope White, Brittany White, Hope’s sister, and Hope’s attorney, Miranda Hellman, Attorney at the Kentucky Innocence Project. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://dpa.ky.gov/home/about-dpa/who-we-are/kip/ 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 2011, 17 year old Octavius Williams was at a Halloween party hosted by his father and his father’s girlfriend in Cleveland, OH. Toward the end of the party a fight broke out in the backyard of the apartment building and Cole was shot. Cole survived, but suffered lower-body paralysis. Several witnesses said that Octavius’ brother Ricky was the shooter. But Cole identified Octavius as the person who shot him. Despite Cole’s account being the only one naming Octavius, Octavius was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison.  To learn more and get involved, visit:  tayda.williams@icloud.com Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts  in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 23, 2005, Planes Adolphe was found in front of his Louisville, KY apartment, robbed and murdered. Police were led to a man named Steve, but Steve told police that Adolphe’s 16 year old girlfriend, Johnetta, was involved. Police eventually arrested Johnetta’s two friends – one of which endured a lengthy interrogation which ended in her implicating Johnetta. Even though the friend quickly recanted, and despite the lack of physical evidence against her, Johnetta was arrested. Johnetta ultimately accepted an Alford plea and was sentenced to 20 years in prison at 16 years old. Maggie speaks to Johnetta Carr, Lorinda Baker, Johnetta’s mother, and Johnetta’s attorney, Suzanne Hopf, Directing Attorney at the Kentucky Innocence Project. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/eh6s2-travel-expenses www.kentuckyinnocenceproject.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 priv

This is an updated episode that originally aired on February 20, 2017. On July 7th, 1980, three masked robbers robbed the Bank of Ireland at Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. They attempted to flee, but crashed into a police car. A shootout ensued and 2 policemen were killed. Two men were arrested the same day. A third, Peter Pingle was arrested 12 days later. During questioning by detectives, Mr. Pringle allegedly admitted to involvement in the crimes. He was convicted and sentenced to death mainly on the basis of this alleged confession even though it was later discovered that the confession used by the prosecution was written down in a police officer’s notebook prior to his questioning about the killings.  Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts  in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 30, 1997, Tasha Shelby found her boyfriend's two and half-year-old toddler having a seizure on his bedroom floor. Bryan was pronounced dead at the hospital the following day, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. Tasha, a naturally small woman, was on bed rest at the time, after giving birth and undergoing multiple surgeries, and Bryan was more than half Tasha’s size, standing 3 feet tall and weighing 33 pounds. Tasha’s physical inability to have shaken Bryan to death did not stop the state, who prosecuted and convicted Tasha based on the junk science of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Maggie speaks to Tasha Shelby, Penny Warner, Tasha’s aunt, and Valena Beety, Tasha’s attorney.  To learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.change.org/p/free-wrongfully-imprisoned-tasha-shelby https://freetashashelby.com/clemency/ Call Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Ashley Sulser, Director of the Criminal Appeals Division (601-359-3800 or ashley.sulser@ago.ms.gov), and Harrison County District Attorney Crosb

In June of 1979, a 17 year old girl was found brutally murdered near Fort Peck, Montana. 17 year old Barry Beach was a classmate of hers and learned of her death on the news. He was interrogated by police three times, and all three times was told he was cleared and no longer a suspect. Several years later, while living with his father in Louisiana, Barry’s step-mother had him arrested for supposedly helping her 14 year old daughter run away. Police found out Barry had been questioned for the Montana murder, and decided to question him for other Louisiana murders they needed to solve. After threatening him with the death penalty, Barry caved under pressure and confessed to the murder of his classmate back in Montana. Because he had been cleared three times before, Barry expected to go back to Montana and be cleared again. But that did not happen. The prosecution presented his confession and the jury convicted him – sentencing him to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole.  To learn more about fa

In June of 1979, a 17 year old girl was found brutally murdered near Fort Peck, Montana. 17 year old Barry Beach was a classmate of hers and learned of her death on the news. He was interrogated by police three times, and all three times was told he was cleared and no longer a suspect. Several years later, while living with his father in Louisiana, Barry’s step-mother had him arrested for supposedly helping her 14 year old daughter run away. Police found out Barry had been questioned for the Montana murder, and decided to question him for other Louisiana murders they needed to solve. After threatening him with the death penalty, Barry caved under pressure and confessed to the murder of his classmate back in Montana. Because he had been cleared three times before, Barry expected to go back to Montana and be cleared again. But that did not happen. The prosecution presented his confession and the jury convicted him – sentencing him to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole.  To learn more about fa

This is an updated episode that originally aired on September 25, 2017. On the afternoon of April 15th, 1994, two men were sitting in a powder-blue Cadillac in the Quindaro neighborhood of Kansas City, KS. A man dressed in black ran up to the passenger side, raised a shotgun and fired four rounds in what looked like a drug-related hit, killing the two passengers Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing. Lamonte McIntyre, who was 17 at the time, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The prosecution relied primarily on the testimonies of two eyewitnesses who identified Lamonte as the shooter. Both eyewitnesses later recanted. Even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.  Learn more and get involved at: 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 inf

One month apart in 1996, two crimes occurred in Portsmouth, VA. Terrence Hobbs was arrested and convicted for both of them, but he committed neither. In the first, two individuals were shot and killed, and in the second, a bank robbery occurred that hurt no one. Terrence’s ex-girlfriend was a victim of the double murder, and prosecutors fell back on the convenient assumption that the ex-boyfriend was jealous and must have been responsible. Once a few convicted felons were offered and ultimately given mercy in the form of sentence reductions for their own crimes, prosecutors had what they needed to connect Terrence to and incriminate him for the crimes. Despite solid alibis and an entire lack of physical evidence tying Terrence to either crime, Terrence was convicted, and is currently serving multiple life sentences. 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 2, 1986, a Springfield, MA drug deal turned into an armed robbery, which turned into the death of an innocent bystander named Victoria Seymour. Six men, all of whom were later determined to have been involved in the robbery, identified Mark Schand as the one responsible for Seymour’s death. Despite the lack of physical evidence, and the fact that he was 30 miles away the entire evening that the crime took place, Schand was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. As a three time Emmy award-winner, Lauren has worked as a writer, reporter and producer in various media spaces including radio, newspaper, television and podcasting. Her podcasts Murder in Illinois, Murder in Oregon, Happy Face, and more, investigate and report true crime cases. Mark’s case and story dovetails seamlessly with many of those which Lauren has tackled in the past. Specifically, and what disturbs Lauren most, Mark was convicted for a crime he did not commit, without any evidence, and with the help of

On July 1, 1977, the Welcome Inn bar in New Orleans, LA was robbed by two armed men and a bar patron, Cecil Lloyd, was killed. Weeks after the crime, 19 year old Elvis Brooks became a suspect when he was identified in a photo array by three strangers who had been inside the bar at the time of the robbery. But during the crime, the robbers touched two beer cans inside the bar and left them on the counter after they fled. Investigators from the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) collected fingerprints from these beer cans as evidence. The results excluded Elvis. Yet and still, he was charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. To learn more and get involved, go to: https://www.mightycause.com/story/Elvisbrooksfreed  https://ip-no.org/ https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s1e4-orlean-s-parish-district-attorney-jason-williams-on-criminal-justice-reform/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just past 1am on November 26, 1995, 50 year old Harry Kaufman was working the token booth at a subway station in Brooklyn, NY, when multiple men set the booth on fire, causing explosions, an eruption of flames, and ultimately, Kaufman’s death. Hefty rewards were offered for information, and police received many tips from multiple informants. Ultimately, they honed in on James Irons, Thomas Malik and Vincent Ellerbe. The three were ultimately convicted based on confessions they made to the Detective Louis Scarcella. They were all sentenced to 25 years to life. As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers. To learn more about false confessions, visit: https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in associ

On October 10, 1982, a 22-year-old woman was abducted at gunpoint outside a tavern in Louisville, KY and taken to a nearby park where she was beaten, raped and robbed. The victim described her assailant as about 5’ 11” tall, weighing more than 200 pounds and with blue eyes and curly dark brown hair. Michael VonAllmen, despite having brown eyes, was picked out of a photo lineup and charged with the crime. With no physical or forensic evidence tying him to the crime, and 3 alibi witnesses, VonAllmen was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison on the strength of the victim’s identification. To learn more and get involved, go to: https://kcadp.org/ www.kentuckyinnocenceproject.org https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/050-jason-flom-with-ronald-cotton/ 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 summer of 1987, Joyce Watkins received a call from her sister asking for help caring for their 4 year old great niece who lived in Georgia. Joyce agreed to come pick up the little girl and bring her to her home in Nashville, TN. Joyce noticed almost immediately that the girl was acting strangely and suffering from abnormal vaginal bleeding.  Joyce took her to the hospital and learned that the little girl suffered from a vaginal injury and bleeding on the brain. She received emergency care but died the next day. After an investigation that relied on an erroneous autopsy report and little else, Joyce was charged with the sexual abuse and death of the child. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Kemba Smith spent 6.5 years of a 24.5 year sentence in federal prison for her boyfriend’s criminal activity, until President Bill Clinton granted her clemency. Now, Kemba is a public speaker, writer, and educator on a variety of criminal justice issues, including mandatory drug sentencing, women and i

On June 1, 1996, Kevin Jackson and Antwaun Cubie accompanied Jeremy Bruder to buy a set of rims for his Jeep. When they arrived, Kevin and Jeremy went to make the purchase while Antwaun waited in the car while on the phone with his girlfriend. Several gunshots rang out and Jeremy was shot multiple times. He died the next day. Kevin and Antwaun were both taken in for questioning at which point Kevin, in exchange for leniency from the state, alleged that Antwaun killed Jeremy. After a series questionable legal maneuvers, Antwaun was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. To hear about the Marcus Wiggins case, go to: #211 Jason Flom with Marcus Wiggins To learn more about the junk science of gunshot residue evidence, go to: #161 Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science - Gunshot Residue Evidence To learn more and get involved, go to: https://www.change.org/p/judge-help-free-an-innocent-man Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, LLP Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ P

On September 17, 2007, two men broke into a home in Detroit, MI and fatally shot four people. 14 year old Davontae Sanford, who lived nearby, went outside in his pajamas to see the commotion. Police approached Davontae and brought him back to the station where he was interrogated for two days without a parent or guardian present. The questioning ended when Davontae falsely confessed. Despite someone else taking responsibility for the crimes, Davontae was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison. As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers. To learn more about false confessions, visit: https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in