Based in Fact

This episode is dedicated to Robb Chadwick, who passed away in mid-December. Robb was a great friend, a supporter of this podcast and a true Southern gentleman. His insight and knowledge of the facts of many cases, along with his kind and calm debate strategy will be missed by many. RIP, Robb.

In Episode 14, State of Maryland v. Adnan Masud Syed, Lisa was joined by Robb Chadwick, a former journalist with a life-long interest in the truth of true crime and fairness for victims. Since his retirement, Robb has researched and written about a number of cases — but none more than the case of the day: the murder of Hae Min Lee by Adnan Masud Syed.  On January 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee disappeared after leaving Woodlawn High School, where she was a popular athlete and scholar.   Police looking for her questioned several people, including her current boyfriend and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed.  On February 9, 1999, Hae’s body was found partially buried in a shallow grave in Leakin Park, in Baltimore City, Maryland.  Three days later, on February 12, an anonymous tip led police to put Adnan Syed at the top of their suspect list.  On February 27, 1999, Jay Wilds, an acquaintance of Syed, was interviewed by police and, early on the morning of February 28, 1999, led police to Hae’s missing vehicle.  Syed was convicted and sentenced to Life, plus 30 years in 2000.   The case has been the topic of multiple podcasts over the years and in 2022, his conviction was vacated by a pro-defendant judge in a fixed hearing at which no one represented the interests of Hae Min Lee, or her family.  On August 30, 2024, the Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed the Appellate Court of Maryland’s reinstatement of Syed’s conviction and held that Hae’s brother, Young Lee, had the right to be heard at any future hearing seeking to vacate Syed’s conviction.

In Episode 13, State of Texas v. Linda Anita Carty.  In Part 3, Lisa and Kyle concluded their look  at the case against Linda Carty, who remains on Texas Death Row after multiple unsuccessful efforts to win a new trial in state and federal court.  They talked about the alternate suspects Carty has blamed for the 2001 kidnapping and murder of new mother Joana Rodriguez, whose body was found in the trunk of a car rented for Carty by her daughter and whose newborn son, Ray, was found, thankfully unharmed, in the back seat of Carty’s daughter’s car.  Both cars were  at the same time and in the same place.  We’ll also talk about Carty’s multiple self-serving letters professing her innocence and complaining about her persecution by prison officials.  Then  they talked about her second successive state post-conviction writ, request to file a successive federal habeas claim and her request for appointment of new counsel, allegedly to assist with presentation of a petition for clemency.

In Episode 12, State of Texas v. Linda Anita Carty, Part 2, Lisa and Kyle continued their look at the case against Carty, who was convicted of capital murder in 2002 for the May, 2001, kidnapping and murder of 20-year old Joana Rodriguez so that Carty could steal Joana’s 4-day old baby.  Carty recruited drug dealers/thugs to commit a home invasion, promising them a large cache of drugs and money.  Joana’s body was found in the trunk of a car rented for Carty by her daughter and Joana’s newborn son, Ray, was found in the daughter’s car, thankfully unharmed.  They talked about Carty’s initial federal habeas claim and her first successive state post-conviction claims, which involved wild accusations of prosecutors’ threats and coercion by her co-defendants.

In Episode 11, State of Texas v. Linda Anita Carty, Part 1, Lisa and Kyle looked at the May, 2001, plot hatched by Linda Carty to save her guez so that Carty could steal Joana’s 4-day old baby.  Carty recruited drug dealers/thugs to commit a home invasion, promising them a large cache of drugs and money.  Joana’s body was found in the trunk of a car rented for Carty by her daughter and Joana’s newborn son, Ray, was found in the daughter’s car, thankfully unharmed.  They talked about Carty’s initial federal habeas claim and her first successive state post-conviction claims, which involved wild accusations of prosecutors’ threats and coercion by her co-defendants.

In Episode 11, State of Texas v. Linda Anita Carty, Part 1, Lisa and Kyle looked at the May, 2001, plot hatched by Linda Carty to save her common-law marriage by stealing her neighbor, Joana Rodriguez’s baby. She recruited drug dealers/thugs to commit a home invasion, promising them a large cache of drugs and money. She also made preparations to take the baby from Joana’s womb, or to steal him from a hospital. Carty, a compulsive liar, couldn’t keep her mouth shut and, after Joana and her newborn son were kidnapped, a neighbor who saw Carty at the complex the night of the kidnapping pointed police in her direction. Joana’s body was found in the trunk of a car rented for Carty by her daughter and Joana’s newborn son, Ray, was found in the daughter’s car, thankfully unharmed. We’ll talk about the evidence against Carty, her 2002 conviction for capital murder and death sentence, her direct appeal and her initial state post-conviction claims.

In Episode 10, State of California v. Phillip Spector, Lisa and Kyle talked about the murder of actress/model Lana Clarkson by music producer Phil Spector. On February 3, 2003, Lana accompanied Spector to his mansion in Alhambra, CA. Spector, who had a history of violence against women, shot and killed Lana at around 5:00 a.m. Later, he claimed that Lana killed herself. When that didn't work, he claimed she accidentally shot herself. They talked about the scandal that was the beginning of the end for Dr. Henry C. Lee, Spector's first trial, his second trial and conviction in April, 2009 and his sentencing in May, 2009. Spector, who would've become eligible for parole this year, died of COVID-19 in January, 2021.

In Episode 9, The Failure of Bail Reform. Ken W. Good, a member of the Board of Directors, Professional Bondsmen of Texas joined Lisa and Kyle to discuss the failure of Bail Reform and Zero Bail Policies. Mr. Good holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hardin Simmons University, a Master of Education from Tarleton State University (part of the Texas A&M System). Mr. Good earned his J.D. from Texas Tech School of Law in 1989. He was also a member of the Texas Tech Law Review. Mr. Good has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and numerous courts of appeal, including the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in my hometown of New Orleans, LA. Mr. Good is married and has two daughters. In addition to hosting The Bail Post podcast, he is the author of "Good’s on Bail," a practice guide for bail industry professionals and numerous articles on the subject of bail reform, including, “What Successful Bail Reform Looks Like.” We’ll talk with Mr. Good about the failure of bail reform and zero bail policies, including the impact zero bail has had on domestic violence cases.

More about Mr. Good:

http://www.goodsonbail.com/Goods_on_B...

https://www.thebailpost.com/

https://www.thegoodlawfirm.net/

In Episode 8, State of Florida v. Danny Harold Rolling, Lisa and Kyle looked at the 1989 and 1990 murders committed by serial killer and Shreveport native Danny Harold Rolling. Over 4 days in August, 1990, Rolling terrorized the college town of Gainesville, Florida, when he murdered Tracy Inez Paules, Sonja Larson, Manuel Taboada, Christa Hoyt and Christina Powell. Rolling was convicted and sentenced to death in 1994 and was executed in 2006. We’ll talk about the evidence linking Rolling to the Gainesville murders, his trial, appeals and execution. First, we’ll look at the murders of the Tom, Julie and Sean Grissom in Shreveport, Louisiana. Rolling's involvement in the Grissom murders was confirmed when Rolling confessed shortly before his 2006 execution.

In Episode 7, State of Florida v. Dalia Dippolito, Part 2, Lisa and Kyle concluded their look at this long-running case and talked about Dippolito’s two re-trials, one of which ended in a mistrial and the other, which concluded in June of 2017, ended with a conviction for Solicitation to Commit First Degree Murder with a Firearm. Then they talked about her direct appeal and state post-conviction claims and events since Dippolito began serving her 16-year sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections.

In Episode 6, State of Florida v. Dalia Dippolito, Part 1, Lisa and Kyle looked at the murder-for-hire case against former escort, Dalia Dippolito. On August 5, 2009, the producers and camera crew for the COPS television show got more than they bargained for when they were invited along to film the resolution of a five day investigation, which started when a convenience store owner reported that his “girlfriend” was trying to hire someone to kill her husband. They looked at the evidence against Dippolito, her first trial and successful direct appeal and her attorneys’ attempt to have the charges dismissed using the presence of COPS cameras to undermine the evidence against their client.