On May 7, 1993, Margaret Grondin brought her four-year-old daughter to the hospital in Lorain, OH. Grondin claimed her daughter had told her that her school bus driver, Nancy Smith, a 37 year old mother of 4, had not taken her to school that day, but instead took her to the house of a man named Joseph, who tied her up, taped her eyes shut, and sexually molested her. The doctors examined her and did not see any signs of injury to her body. And despite substantial evidence that the allegations were false, Nancy served 15 years in prison. Maggie talks to Nancy Smith, Courtney Smith, Nancy’s daughter and Mark Godsey, Nancy’s attorney.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://foundation.uc.edu/PhoenixInitiative

https://foundation.uc.edu/donate?id=40a16270-e34c-4ee5-971c-7bb9ed8347e8

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.

On October 12, 2003, Mark Fisher was found shot and killed in a driveway in Brooklyn, NY after spending the night hanging out with a group of his peers, including John Giuca and Antonio Russo. Upon interrogation, a few of the people that Mark had been with late the night before led police to believe that John and Antonio were involved in Mark’s murder. Despite no physical evidence and no eyewitnesses linking him to the crime, John was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison solely based on witness testimony. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://freejohngiuca.com/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 12, 2003, Mark Fisher was found shot and killed in a driveway in Brooklyn, NY after spending the night hanging out with a group of his peers, including John Giuca and Antonio Russo. Upon interrogation, a few of the people that Mark had been with late the night before led police to believe that John and Antonio were involved in Mark’s murder. Despite no physical evidence and no eyewitnesses linking him to the crime, John was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison solely based on witness testimony. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://freejohngiuca.com/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leo shares a message for listeners of Bone Valley about the impact of the podcast on his life, and his hopes for freedom.

For photos, images, and full transcripts of each episode visit: https://lavaforgood.com/bone-valley/ 

Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On February 25, 1998, while Garland Leon “Butch” Martin was out on a fencing job, his home burned down. His wife, Marcia, and their two small children, Michael and Kristen, were killed in the fire. Fire investigators and forensic anthropologists quickly decided that the fire was not an accident. Rather, they said it was set intentionally, and that Butch was responsible. Butch’s trial was rife with so-called arson evidence that is now widely understood to be junk science. The result was three concurrent life sentences. Maggie speaks to Garland Leon “Butch” Martin, Butch’s sister, Heather Davis, and Butch’s attorney, Allison Clayton.

To learn more about the junk science of arson evidence, listen to:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/149-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-arson-evidence/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://innocencetexas.org/take-action/advocate/

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.

 On September 3, 2008, in Elkhart, IN, 60-year old Angel Torres was found unconscious and lying face down in a parking lot outside of his apartment complex with a baseball bat beneath him. When authorities arrived, Angel’s neighbor and friend, Dewayne Dunn, immediately rushed over and said that Angel had fallen down the stairs from a second-floor porch at the complex. Angel was taken to the hospital where it was discovered that he had suffered skull fractures and brain bleeding, and his blood-alcohol content was over three times the legal limit. He died two days later. Although the two eyewitnesses to the crime claim Dewayne is innocent, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 58 years in prison based on the testimony of questionable expert witnesses.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/147-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-bloodstain-pattern-evidence/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/289-jason-flom-with-andrew-royer/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/328-jason-flom-with-keith-cooper/

Or reach out to DeWayne directly:

[email protected]

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a child, Amelia’s family members severely abused her. She resorted to drugs and relationships with older men as coping mechanisms. In January of 2006, when Amelia was 16, she confided in an ex, Chad, who was 19, about her suffering. Then, in an effort to win her back, Chad entered Amelia’s family home while they were all asleep, and shot her parents. Amelia’s father survived but her mother was killed. Despite a lack of hard evidence and a questionable investigation, police decided that Amelia told Chad to kill her parents. After being threatened with the death penalty, Amelia accepted a plea deal. Now serving two life sentences, clemency is Amelia’s only hope. Maggie speaks to Amelia Bird, Amelia’s mentor, Nola Ewers, and Amelia’s attorney, Anne Geraghty-Rathert. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://www.willowprojectstl.org/contact.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3851617068279899/

https://www.champdogs.org/get-involved

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.

On November 21, 1997, Gene Artis and his sister Yvonne Giles were shot and killed at their apartment in Suffolk, VA. Six-year-old Travone Artis was the only witness who saw his mother and uncle get murdered, and he unequivocally told authorities that a relative of his was the shooter. Despite this, 18 year old Lerico Kearney became a suspect when police found out he and Gene gambled together.There was no physical evidence linking Lerico to this crime, but with the help of multiple jailhouse snitches, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.change.org/p/governor-glen-youngkin-governor-youngkin-lerico-kearney-does-not-deserve-to-die-in-prison

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On April 7, 1991, Joe Travis was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head in an apartment complex in Cleveland, OH. Witnesses indicated the murder resulted from a drug transaction that had gone awry. Two weeks later, Ronald Lacey was arrested on drug charges and told police that he witnessed the Travis murder and described what he believed to be the shooter’s car: a late 70s Monte Carlo. Cleveland Police recalled stopping a car that fit this description, as they suspected the driver was carrying drugs. The driver, 27 year old Charles Jackson, had no drugs, but was arrested anyway. Officers found the arrest record and charged Charles for the murder. Despite the witness identifying someone else, and despite Charles’s solid alibi, he was convicted and sent to prison. Maggie speaks to Charles Jackson, Charles’s nephew, Houston Foster, and Charles’s attorney, Donald Caster. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://x-freedomstudio.org/ways-you-can-donate/

Charles's Cash App: $1123sweetman 

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an updated episode that originally aired on September 21, 2021.

On May 18th, 1998, Charlie Winbush told her fiancé, Julius Graves, that a man named Li Run Chen, who worked at a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood had touched her inappropriately. Graves replied that he would scare him. Later that day, Julius Graves, his fiancée's cousin, and another younger friend had a few drinks with Graves and his friend Anthony Sims as they listened to music by Sims’ car. 

That same evening, Graves asked Sims to drive him to the restaurant where Chen worked and Sims agreed, unaware of any issue with Chen. They went into the restaurant when it is believed that Graves shot and killed Chen. In shock, Sims fled alone while Graves and the two younger men returned to his apartment, wiped the gun clean, figured out where to stash it, and began to conjure up a story to deflect blame from Graves and onto Sims. Consequently, investigators set their sights on Sims who was eventually sentenced to 25 years to life for the crime. 

Learn more and get involved at:

https://www.freeanthonysims.com/

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.