In May 2001, Talalelei “TJ” Edwards, his wife and son were sharing an Anchorage, AK apartment with a woman named Melissa along with Melissa’s 1 year old son, Derrick. Talalelei often watched the boys on the days when other sitters were not available. On the morning of May 8, Derrick slept for a few hours until Talalelei noticed his odd breathing. Trained in child caregiving, Talalelei responded by blowing air on the child’s face, and performing CPR. When he did not respond, Talalelei took Derrick to the hospital. He passed away later that night. Based on the now discredited science of Shaken Baby Syndrome, Talalelei was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Maggie talks to Talalelei "TJ" Edwards, Salome Inoke, Talalelei's sister, and Bill Oberly, Talalelei's attorney.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=NCZR8QNN6NVLS

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/172-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/
 
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.

From an extremely young age, Amanda Busse endured severe physical and sexual abuse, not only by her father, but also by her father’s friends, who were all feared by much of the community as they were rumoured to control the local drug trade. After her mother passed, Amanda’s father sold her to a 36 year old acquaintance of his, to be his wife. Amanda was 17 at the time. On November 15, 1997, a local woman was found brutally murdered in the Meramec River in MO. Amanda’s father, husband, and 3 others were initially arrested and charged. Her father’s charges were dropped and her husband received a life without parole sentence. It wasn’t until 5 or 6 years later that Amanda’s brother implicated her in the crime, as revenge for Amanda reporting him for molesting their young nieces. Amanda was convicted, and ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison. Maggie talks to Amanda Busse, Mary Payne, Amanda's aunt, and Anne Geraghty-Rathert, Amanda's attorney.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

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

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 June 29, 2009, and into the following morning, James Richardson was out at The Other Place nightclub in Greenville, NC. James and another club goer exchanged words and were escorted out of the club. Shortly thereafter, a white BMW came barreling down the street, as someone in the car opened fire, killing two individuals standing outside of the club. None of the eyewitnesses identified James as the shooter, but police, prosecutors, and the media pursued him as the sole suspect. James was convicted and sentenced to serve two life sentences in prison. Maggie talks to James Richardson, Hibah Elawad, James’s fiancee, and Heather Rattelade and Dawn Blagrove, James’s attorneys. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://linktr.ee/freejamesrichardson

https://change.org/freejamesrichardson

https://FreeJamesRichardson.org

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.

In March 2000, Tami Vance and Leigh Stubbs completed a 60-day drug rehab program. Once discharged, their friend Kim Williams joined them and they went to Kim’s boyfriend’s house. He had been in a car accident and always had an ample supply of Oxycontin to manage his pain. Kim had stolen his pain pills in the past and did so again that night. She and Tami took them while Leigh drove to a motel. Tami woke up the next morning violently ill. Kim remained asleep until Tami and Leigh found her overdosing. While Kim survived, doctors determined that she had suffered a severe sexual assault. Tami and Leigh, who identified as lesbians, were blamed. And with the help of junk bite mark science as well as a homophobic narrative, they were sentenced to 44 years in prison. Maggie talks to Tami Vance, Sandi Rabalais, Tami’s mother, and Valena Beety, Tami’s attorney. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806541518/manifesting-justice/

https://innocenceproject.olemiss.edu/donate/ 

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/145-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-bite-mark-evidence/

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.

In 1999, Brian Neirynck and Roberta Smedley separated and got into a custody battle over their three-year-old son. In June of the following year, Smedley reported to the South Bend, IN police that Neirynck molested their son. The boy failed to implicate his father, and only after many leading and suggestive therapy sessions, did he say the abuse happened. Despite no physical signs of molestation, Neirynck was arrested, tried, and convicted of sexually assaulting his own son. He was sentenced to 30 years 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 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.