In December of 1988, 18 year old Londoner Raphael Rowe was living with 5 other men in social housing, when four violent robberies shocked Southeast England, leaving eight victims in their wake. One was killed and another was severely injured. The assailants' MO was to steal the victims' cars, ditch them at the next crime scene, and repeat the process. Twelve people in the area of the first abandoned cars were arrested, including Raphael and his friend Michael Davis. Contrary to the victims' descriptions of two white men with fair hair and blue eyes and one black man, several of those arrested helped police to shape a false narrative that instead pinned the crimes on three black men, Raphael, Michael, and a 3rd man, named Randolph Egbert Johnson. Police also planted evidence and coerced Raphael's main alibi witness to win the conviction. From inside his cell, Raphael enlisted the help of journalists and attorneys to investigate his claims of innocence, finally winning his freedom. Now, Raphael is a successful actor and journalist, but is still fighting to fully clear his name.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://raphaelrowefoundation.org/

https://raphael-rowe.com/

https://raphael-rowe.com/book

https://raphael-rowe.com/second-chance

https://www.instagram.com/areporter/

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

On February 12th, 1990, a tragic accident occurred in which it is believed that Kathy Middleton mishandled a gun in her left hand, accidentally shooting herself one time in the head. The state turned this tragedy into a homicide investigation, sending her husband Ken Middleton to prison for life plus 200 years. In 2004, Ken had an opportunity to present to his motion trial court evidence of ineffective assistance of his counsel, as well as ballistics evidence that proved that the state's theory was impossible. Before the judge ruled, the state offered Ken freedom through an Alford plea, and he refused. Eventually, the judge granted him a new trial, but the state simply challenged that ruling on jurisdictional grounds, leaving Ken in prison ever since. A 2021 law now specifically grants that motion trial court the necessary jurisdiction, yet Ken and his family still await justice from prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The altered GSR test document is linked here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca4rRsDLWaC/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://www.free-kenmiddleton.com/

https://www.change.org/p/missouri-missouri-or-misery

https://silvercreekentertainment.net/

https://twitter.com/TheNewsBreaker

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

When 43 year old bowling alley manager Ken Wyniemko ejected an off duty cop from his establishment for drunk and disorderly conduct, he didn't think it would lead to a wrongful conviction. On April 30th, 1994, a woman was blindfolded and raped by a masked man in her home in Clinton Township, Michigan. The  composite sketch was deemed only 60% accurate, but nonetheless, was made available to the media. When Ken's disgruntled ex girlfriend reported that the sketch resembled him, investigators used this opportunity to exact revenge for the bowling alley manager's slight against their brother in blue. They manipulated the line up to produce an identification from the victim who had never clearly seen her attacker's face. With the help of incentivized jailhouse snitch testimony, the jury ignored the biological evidence that excluded Ken, sending him to serve 40-60 years. DNA evidence eventually led to his exoneration in 2003, and now, Ken devotes his time to lobbying for criminal justice reform legislation - some of which led to finding the actual rapist in his case. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://www.deliberateinjusticethebook.com/

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction s a production of Lava fo Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

At 18, Clinton Young was the youngest and newest member of a group of four acquaintances after he was released from juvenile prison in 2001. One of the four men killed two people and went to the police to control the narrative. The other two joined the murderer's story, throwing Clinton under the bus. Despite evidence pointing away from Clinton, the 3 men's false testimony was enough to get Clinton convicted and sentenced to death. In 2017, he was granted a stay just a week ahead of his execution date based on newly discovered exculpatory evidence that implied false testimony was presented at trial. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that an investigation revealed one of the prosecutors on Clinton’s case, Weldon Ralph Petty, was also being paid to act as a judicial clerk, writing recommendations and signing orders on the same cases that he was prosecuting, leading officials to doubt the hundreds of cases Petty had worked on, including Clinton's. In September 2021, Clinton was finally granted a new trial and taken off of death row. He awaits a decision that determines if he will have a new trial or if the charges against him will be dismissed. 

To learn more and get involve, visit:

https://clintonyoungfoundation.com/

https://www.facebook.com/clintonyoungfoundation

https://twitter.com/ClintonLeeYoung

https://www.instagram.com/clintonyoungfoundation/

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Successful businessman and Ecuadorian-American immigrant Nelson Serrano was in Atlanta on December 3rd, 1997, when 4 people were murdered execution stye at his Bartow, Florida factory. It is believed that the intended target was his business partner, Phil Dosso’s son Frank who worked for the business while also involved in drug trafficking. After 3 years of cooperating with an investigation that turned up no evidence linking him to the crime, Nelson retired to Ecuador. Investigators ignored statements implicating a NY druglord, and instead circumvented Ecuadorian sovereignty, kidnapping Nelson to stand trial in Florida. Focusing on a strained business partnership as Nelson’s alleged motive, the prosecution presented an absurd theory in which Nelson made an impossible round trip journey from Atlanta to Bartow supported only by false evidence to fool the jury into sending Nelson to death row where he remains to this day.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.nelsonserrano.org/

https://twitter.com/free_serrano

https://www.instagram.com/freenelsonserrano

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/balanced-justice-project-innocence-and-death-row-the-crimes-of-bartow-tickets-260432489587

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

In 1988, 16 year old Felix Valentin was shot in his car in an alley on the West Side of Chicago. Before slipping into a coma and eventually death, he was able to identify his shooter and the getaway driver, 2 members of the Imperial Gangsters. An 11 year old eyewitness named Orlando Lopez initially identified Jacques Rivera, a member of the Latin Kings. Shortly after, Lopez realized his mistake, but Detective Reynaldo Guevara would not listen. Guevara claimed that the victim had identified Jacques as well, and the juvenile witness went along with it. Jacques went to a bench trial in front of Judge Michael Close who had recently been a focus of Operation Greylord, one of the biggest judicial corruption investigations in US history. Judge Close would not admit the victim's initial ID's as evidence, and Jacques was sentenced to 80 years. 23 years later, the Center on Wrongful Convictions eventually unearthed the reluctant witness, who greeted them with relief, saying that he’d been waiting to tell the truth. Detective Guevara's corruption has cost the citizens of Chicago over 50 million dollars so far, in addition to the freedom of over 20 innocent men and women.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.innocentdemandjustice.com/

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/155-jason-flom-with-marilyn-mulero/

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

On November 27, 2005, Catherine Woods was found viciously stabbed to death in her Upper Eastside apartment. At the time, her ex boyfriend David Haughn stayed on her couch while she was romantically involved with Paul Cortez. When David discovered this other man, he was jealous and upset, yet Haughn did not become the prime suspect despite damning evidence against him. A confluence of racism, a false media narrative, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective counsel sent Paul Cortez away for 25 to life. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://freepaulcortez.com/

https://www.change.org/p/andrew-m-cuomo-help-paul-cortez-fight-for-justice-f8ba4a77-b0c8-4636-8f8a-aea03d5a374a

https://www.facebook.com/Help-Free-Paul-Cortez-38461123952/ 

https://twitter.com/pcdf?lang=en 

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

43 year old Jerome Loach was performing in a play at a church in South Philadelphia, PA on the evening of January 10, 2009. At the same time, police responded to a home invasion, in which three women were confronted at gunpoint by men posing as pizza deliverers. Two men were arrested, but a third man was implicated – Jerome. While the incriminating statement was recanted before trial, it was presented to the jury anyway. This, along with the police’s fabrication of phone records to secure Jerome’s involvement, led to Jerome’s conviction. Jerome served over 10 years of a 25-50 year sentence before the charges were dropped and he was released. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jeromes-exoneration-rebuilding-fund 

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Stephanie Spurgeon was a married mother of two who had been running a daycare facility from her home for 15 years. On August 21, 2008, Stephanie took care of 1 year old Maria Harris for the first time. Maria’s grandmother picked her up that day, but soon noticed Maria was unresponsive. After 8 days in the hospital, Maria passed away. Since Stephanie was the last supervisor of the child, she was accused of murder and convicted of manslaughter based on the prosecution’s dubious argument of soft impact Abusive Head Trauma.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://gofund.me/06c1b747

https://millerforstateattorney.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MillerForStateAttorney

https://www.instagram.com/millerforstateattorney/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/afmiller2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmwdSfek2aM 

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

On August 10th, 1994, a man and a woman were in a van in West Philadelphia, when two males approached. One blocked the passenger door, while the other shot the man before he could get out of the van. The witness identified 16 year old Johnny Berry from a photo, but rescinded the ID at a preliminary hearing. Inexplicably, Johnny was re-arrested and sent back to juvenile detention, where he met Tauheed Lloyd who had admitted to being one of the assailants. When Lloyd refused to clear Johnny's name, they fought. Months later, Lloyd was arrested in an unrelated incident, and his gun matched the murder weapon. Unaware of this evidence, Lloyd thought Johnny had snitched. In turn, he gave false testimony for leniency and out of spite, sending Johnny away for life without parole. Years later, Lloyd's attempted recantation was silenced by threats of perjury and another murder prosecution. It took a slew of Supreme Court rulings on juvenile life sentences and the Philadelphia CIU to right this wrong.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.