No body, no bones, no motive. Just a decades long nightmare that has not ended.

For the final episode of Season 2 Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin take us back to Ada, Oklahoma, for the second half of the story of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot. When we left off last week, Tommy and Karl were sitting on death row, after police turned Tommy’s bad dream into a murder confession. This week, we hear about some serious twists in the case, from the discovery of the victim’s body to the revelation of hidden evidence that turned this case upside down.

Laura and Steve update us on everything that’s happened since the 2018 Netflix series, The Innocent Man, told Tommy and Karl’s story. There’s been some very good news for one of them….and a breaking story that brings some hope for the other.

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

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the spring of 2019, Zephi was a high school sophomore troubled by a bad break up, when an older guy, Philip Baldenegro, swooped in through social media and began grooming her for the sex trade. One exchange between Baldenegro and a john turned deadly, and now, Dallas County is trying to send Zephi to prison for her trafficker’s crimes. Join us in speaking up for Zephi before the unthinkable happens.

https://directlyto.org/projects/zephaniah-trevinos-defense-fund/

https://www.change.org/p/henry-wade-juvenile-justice-facility-justice-for-zephaniah-trevino

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/release-zephaniah-trevino

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/freezephi/

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He thought the police would recognize this was just a dream, not reality.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us a story from Ada, Oklahoma where a young woman went missing. A few months after her disappearance, a man named Tommy Ward told police that he’d had a bad dream about her murder. Incredibly, the police took that dream and turned it into a false confession... and into a prison sentence that continues to this day, 35 years later.

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

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These police were willing to sacrifice one of their own just to close a case.

Laura and Steve tell us the story of a Michigan murder case with an unusual suspect: a small-town police officer named Ray McCann. After Ray helped investigate the disappearance of a little girl, he was wrongfully accused of her murder. In pursuit of their only suspect, police turned Ray’s whole life into an interrogation room.

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

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael was serving a life sentence until one person came to his rescue: his mom.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us to Culpeper County, Virginia, to tell the story of teenage buddies Eric Weakley and Michael Hash. Local police solved a murder case by coercing Eric into falsely confessing and into falsely implicating his friend Michael as an accomplice. For years, lawyers couldn’t get justice for either of them -- until Michael’s mom found evidence that blew this case wide open.

If you want to support Eric Weakley’s pardon petition, you can write to the governor of Virginia.

Governor Ralph E. Northam

Use the email form at: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/

Write a letter to:

Governor Ralph E. Northam

P.O. Box 1475

Richmond, VA 23218

Call:

804-786-2211

Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson

Email to: [email protected]

Write a letter to:

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Kelly Thomasson

P.O. Bo 2454

Richmond, Virginia 23218

Call:

804-692-2542

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

A portion of this podcast series’ proceeds will be donated to the Center on Wrongful Convictions. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One woman was forced to talk. The other was forced to listen. Both were powerless.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us about a California man named Ricky Davis. In 1985, Ricky and his girlfriend, Connie, found their roommate brutally stabbed to death. Without any leads, the case went cold for 14 years until detectives convinced Connie that she had repressed memories of Ricky committing the crime.

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

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the final episode of the season, Josh Dubin explores Shaken Baby Syndrome with Kate Judson, Executive Director for the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences.

Shaken Baby Syndrome isn’t a fool proof diagnosis. There are in fact many other causes for the symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome that do not arise from intentionally shaking a baby at all.

Learn more and get involved.

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To win exoneration, it wasn’t enough for the DA to declare innocence. The judge had to agree, or Walter wasn’t going anywhere.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us to Philadelphia for the story of Walter Ogrod. Walter was sent to death row by an old-school Philly justice system that was better known for injustice. He spent decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit -- until a new wave of reform-minded prosecutors found the truth behind Walter's false confession.

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

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Dubin discusses Eyewitness Testimony with renowned psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. She studies human memory, specifically the malleability of memory, a huge factor in cases where eyewitness testimony is used as evidence.

It turns out that memories, just like other forms of evidence, can be manipulated, contaminated, and planted.

Learn more and get involved.

http://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes when detectives can't get a confession they'll settle for a something else

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin explore the story of Emerson Stevens, a fisherman from Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. When a young mother was found murdered, it seemed all the evidence pointed to Emerson, until the case fell apart. Emerson survived 31 years in prison with the help of an ally from across the bay.

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

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

To support Emerson Stevens’ request for an Absolute Pardon contact the Governor of Virginia's office and the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office investigates the requests while the Governor grants or denies the requests.

Governor Ralph E. Northam

Use the email form at: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/

Write a letter to:

Governor Ralph E. Northam

P.O. Box 1475

Richmond, VA 23218

Call:

804-786-2211

Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson

Email to: [email protected]

Write a letter to:

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Kelly Thomasson

P.O. Bo 2454

Richmond, Virginia 23218

Call:

804-692-2542

A portion of this podcast series’ proceeds will be donated to the Center on Wrongful Convictions. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.