Deven Grey, a young, isolated mother in Alabama, reached a point of no return on December 12, 2017. She shot and killed her boyfriend, John Vance. Rather than face a jury, Deven accepted a “blind plea” deal. This is Deven’s story, reclaimed. From Lemonada Media, this is Blind Plea. Coming May 17.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blind Plea (Official Trailer)

In 2017, Deven Grey, a young mother, shot and killed her abusive partner in a remote trailer in rural Shelby County, Alabama. She claimed self-defense and filed a Stand Your Ground claim.
Instead of freedom, she was handed a “blind plea” – an option to take an unknown sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. As a Black woman who shot and killed a white man in Alabama, she did the only thing she could: She took the plea. Deven’s sentence became the final link in a chain of deceit, haunted land, generational trauma, false identity, coercive control, and a broken justice system.
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Liz Flock, Blind Plea asks: Who do we believe, and why? And in America, who has the right to self defense and a fair trial?
 

True crime

We are dropping in your feed today to tell you about a new Lemonada Media series called Fail Better with David Duchovny. On Fail Better, David, who has experienced both low and high profile failures throughout his life, explores the vast world of failure - how it holds us back, propels us forward, and ultimately shapes our lives. Each week, he will chat with guests like Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, and more about how our perceived failures have actually been our biggest catalysts for growth, revelation, and even healing. Through these conversations, he hopes listeners can learn how to embrace the opportunity of failure and fail better together.
You’re about to hear a preview of the first episode of Fail Better, where David catches up with Ben Stiller. Believe it or not, Ben Stiller has failed. (Remember Zoolander 2? He’d probably rather you didn’t.) As it turns out, Ben has had his share of flops, and he chats with David about those times in his life and how they sometimes led to something better.
To hear more of Fail Better, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterfd See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen Now: Fail Better with David Duchovny

Today, we are dropping in your feed to introduce you to When We Win, a new podcast from Lemonada Media that asks, is the impossible possible? What will it take to create a truly engaged democracy that represents all of us? Each week, Maya Rupert talks to some of the most incredible women of color in office today who ran against insurmountable odds and won, from the all-women city council in St. Paul, Minnesota, to the youngest Black woman to serve in Congress. So stop asking yourself if we can win, and start imagining what we’ll do when we win.
 
You’re about to hear a clip from episode one of the podcast. After you listen, head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/whenwewin to hear the rest of the episode.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen Now: When We Win

Today we’re flipping the table and interviewing our host Liz Flock. Gloria Rivieria (host of The Defenders) gets an update about Deven and chats with Liz about her new book “The Furies: Women, Vengeance and Justice,” which centers around three women across the world who decided to fight back.   
Purchase your copy of  “The Furies” https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-furies-elizabeth-flock?variant=41038092337186
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent 
Learn more about criminalized survival at https://survivedandpunished.org/ 
This series is created with Evoke Media, a woman-founded company devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling to drive social change.
This series is presented by Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.
Follow host Liz Flock on Twitter @lizflock
Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bonus: Liz Wrote a Book!

Episode 11: Getting out of prison isn’t easy. In the two months since her release, Deven’s been busy: getting IDs, applying for jobs and taking care of her daughter. We caught up with her a few weeks after she left Alabama to see how things were going and what she hopes people will take away from her story.
Resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent 
Learn more about criminalized survival https://survivedandpunished.org/  

This series is created with Evoke Media, a woman-founded company devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling to drive social change. https://weareevokemedia.com 
This series is presented by Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.
Follow host Liz Flock on Twitter @lizflock. For more stories of women and self-defense, check out her book “The Furies” from Harper Books, available for pre-order now. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-furies-elizabeth-flock
Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life On The Outside

Episode 10: After five long years behind bars, the day has finally come for Deven to leave prison. But hours before she’s set to go home, a breakdown in the process throws Deven’s release into jeopardy, which leaves her and her family scrambling for answers in the tangled bureaucracy of the Alabama prison system. 
Resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent 
Learn more about criminalized survival https://survivedandpunished.org/  

This series is created with Evoke Media, a woman-founded company devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling to drive social change. https://weareevokemedia.com 
This series is presented by Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.
Follow host Liz Flock on Twitter @lizflock. For more stories of women and self-defense, check out her book “The Furies” from Harper Books, available for pre-order now. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-furies-elizabeth-flock
Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blind Plea (Official Trailer)

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