Ben Free Podcast

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021

Merced College professors Jennifer McBride and Dr. Hoyt discuss with Ben the powerful experiences they have had behind the walls with their incarcerated students, and how they have each witnessed new insights and epiphanies springing up behind prison walls. Ben shares how crucial it was for him to have that in-person instruction while in prison and how many lives he saw it change.

    From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021


 Ben invites AJ Mora back and calls out the system over three innocent men—railroaded, convicted, and still rotting in Golden State prisons:

     1:  Derrick Snowden—sentenced to double life without parole PLUS 70, on no physical evidence, for a double murder that his sister had confessed to;

     2: Thomas Martin—at the age of 49, sentenced to 19 YEARS for an imaginary and mechanically impossible burglary,  based on bogus phone records and the testimony of a proven perjurer;

     3: Eseqiel Paul Garcia—no criminal record, investment financier, and one of HP’s youngest executives framed by crooked police and current San Jose DA Rosen, using coerced police informants, and altered cell phone data.

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021




Ben tells how his appeals revealed everything that can go wrong in criminal trials: Trial 1–his judge refused to give self-defense jury instructions (convictions overturned); 2–the same judge knowingly admitted a juror who didn’t understand English, and lied—on the stand—about what he had done  (overturned again);  3–now under review over the DA using an outlawed felony-murder theory to prosecute him.  Though he has been released, only once he’s shed light on these injustices that so many have experienced will Ben feel truly  free.

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021

This week on the Ben Free podcast, Ben interviews Vernon Robinson. author of All Men Are Created: The Painful Odyssey of a Wrongfully Convicted Man. The day of Vernon's arrest was a day like any other, until flash-bang grenades exploded in his living room and the Los Angeles S.W.A.T. officers burst into his home and hauled him off to jail. The nascent AFIS fingerprint registry had. according to LAPD, selected Vernon as the killer in a high-profile murder case. What they didn't mention was that it had also selected 9 other possible suspects, and Vernon was far away, training in the Naval Training Center at the time of the murder. How could this happen? Tune in with Ben and Vernon to find out how, and what needs to be done to stop travesties like this from happening again. 

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021

This week, Ben dives deep with his former colleague and longtime friend, Peter Shiao—financier, activist, financier, global mediator, and Founder/CEO of Immortal Studios.  They delve into prison reform, embracing the possibility of redemption, and how to find the hero in all of us.

From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021.


Today Ben talks with rehabilitative director and drug counselor Jeff Stofle about mass incarceration in the U.S. and some of the misconceptions that add to the problem. As a former "lifer" himself, who has been counseling and working with parolees for the last four years, Jeff talks statistics and why the general public should care: 95% of the people in prison WILL get out. How does society want those people to be when they're paroled- angry and bitter over long prison stays, without any coping skills, or rehabilitated and ready for a second chance? Ben gives his audience a call action to get involved with organizations who are already laboring to drag the darkness of mass incarceration into the light. 

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021.
     Let me introduce all of you to my guest the intelligent, wise, amazing, bright, loving. caring Michael D McCarty.... clap it up everyone!!!!!! Take a listen to this amazing podcast, about the journey that led to our meeting and how we continued to stay in contact and learn from one another.  We talk about so many unique and interesting things from the Black Panther Party to how Michael got started speaking for a living. Again, grab the healthy snacks or any snacks and give this podcast a listen. 

  From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021.


Debuting Season 1, Episode 1 at THE WORLD FAMOUS COIN ACADEMY.  After he appeared as a special guest on The Boy Maca show, there was so much online engagement about his story. Maca decided that the only sensible thing to do was to give his guest his own podcast.  In this inaugural episode, Ben talks with veteran DJ, music producer, and reverend, AJ Mora, about their shared journey.  From the day the FBI escorted Ben to jail and announced that the Feds were SEEKING THE DEATH PENALTY, until Ben's release last month, AJ has been an integral part of the story.  Tune in to hear more!