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.

#436 Maggie Freleng with Evaristo Salas

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and podcast host Lauren Bright Pacheco, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

True crime

Shortly before midnight on February 16, 1984, James Montgomery was shot and killed as he walked with two friends on the eastside of Detroit, MI. Montgomery’s friends told police they recognized the gunman as 20-year-old Darrell Siggers who they had seen earlier in the night at a gathering. Despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Darrell was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/163-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-tool-mark-analysis/https://www.wolfmuellerlaw.com/https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/michigan-innocence-clinic-0
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.

#455 Jason Flom with Darrell Siggers at the 2024 Innocence Conference

When he was just 20 years old, an act of violence changed James “Jimmy” Soto’s life forever. Despite no physical evidence and numerous alibi witnesses, Jimmy and his cousin David were convicted of a 1981 double homicide in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, IL. They would end up serving 42 years in prison, the longest served wrongful conviction sentences in Illinois history.
While incarcerated, Jimmy earned a bachelor’s degree and became a regular in the law library. He helped dozens of his fellow inmates with their legal cases, including his cellmate, Robert Almodovar. Jimmy and Robert formed a lifelong friendship. They helped each other survive prison — and now that they are both exonerated, they’re helping each other adjust to life on the outside.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/life-after-42-yrs-of-wrongful-imprisonment
https://paroleillinois.org/
Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#454 Lauren Bright Pacheco with James Soto

On March 6, 2001, two masked men attempted to rob a small restaurant in McHenry, IL. The owner, wielding a butcher knife, and his employee chased the men out of the restaurant, and in the ensuing chase, the owner was shot and killed. Police began to focus on 19-year-old Jennifer McMullan and some of her friends after finding out that they were in the area at the time of the shooting. A couple of months later, police – believing Jennifer was the getaway driver in the shooting – questioned her for 15 hours resulting in Jennifer falsely confessing to the murder. Despite the only eyewitness not identifying Jennifer’s friend group as the perpetrators, she was sentenced to 27 years in prison for first-degree murder. 
TO GET INVOLVED, PLEASE CALL ILLINOIS GOVERNOR JB PRITZKER AT 217-782-0244 AND SAY:
"Governor Pritzker -
Jennifer McMullan was wrongfully convicted as a party to a 2001 robbery homicide. It appears the prosecution withheld evidence of more compelling suspects who had confessed to multiple witnesses. Further, DNA test results have made the state’s theory in her case completely implausible. Her clemency petition is currently under review, and she rightfully deserves a pardon.
I hope you do what is just.
Thank you."
YOU CAN ALSO WRITE GOVERNOR JB PRITZKER AT:
Office of the Governor
555 W. Monroe St., 16th Floor
Chicago, IL 60661
To learn more, visit:
https://www.uis.edu/illinoisinnocenceproject
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/443-jason-flom-with-mario-casciaro/
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.

#453 Jason Flom with Jennifer McMullan at the 2024 Innocence Conference

In December 1998, 81-year old Mary Bramlett was killed in a drive-by shooting near Whittier, CA. That same night, Miguel Solorio went to the movies with his new girlfriend Silvia Torres then to a party hosted by Miguel’s sister. Despite many alibi witnesses and no physical evidence to tie him to the murder, Miguel was ultimately convicted of the crime.
But Miguel’s wrongful conviction didn’t stop Silvia from loving him — or from pouring everything she had into proving his innocence. When the system failed her, she decided to take the investigation into her own hands and bravely fight for Miguel’s freedom.
Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#452 Lauren Bright Pacheco with Miguel Solorio

In September of 1998, a shooting took place in Cleveland Ohio’s Kinsman neighborhood resulting in one fatality. According to eyewitness testimony, Ricardo Gray was identified as the shooter. The existence of another potential suspect was ignored by the prosecution during trial, and Ricardo was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. It has now been 26 years, and even though the persuading eyewitness testimony from two individuals has now been recanted, Ricardo Gray remains incarcerated.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.change.org/p/ricardo-gray-is-innocenthttps://www.instagram.com/kimlawcrimlaw/?hl=enhttps://lavaforgood.com/podcast/191-jason-flom-with-ru-el-sailor/
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.

#436 Maggie Freleng with Evaristo Salas

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