On July 1, 1977, the Welcome Inn bar in New Orleans, LA was robbed by two armed men and a bar patron, Cecil Lloyd, was killed. Weeks after the crime, 19 year old Elvis Brooks became a suspect when he was identified in a photo array by three strangers who had been inside the bar at the time of the robbery. But during the crime, the robbers touched two beer cans inside the bar and left them on the counter after they fled. Investigators from the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) collected fingerprints from these beer cans as evidence. The results excluded Elvis. Yet and still, he was charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://www.mightycause.com/story/Elvisbrooksfreed 

https://ip-no.org/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s1e4-orlean-s-parish-district-attorney-jason-williams-on-criminal-justice-reform/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just past 1am on November 26, 1995, 50 year old Harry Kaufman was working the token booth at a subway station in Brooklyn, NY, when multiple men set the booth on fire, causing explosions, an eruption of flames, and ultimately, Kaufman’s death. Hefty rewards were offered for information, and police received many tips from multiple informants. Ultimately, they honed in on James Irons, Thomas Malik and Vincent Ellerbe. The three were ultimately convicted based on confessions they made to the Detective Louis Scarcella. They were all sentenced to 25 years to life.

As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers.

To learn more about false confessions, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

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 10, 1982, a 22-year-old woman was abducted at gunpoint outside a tavern in Louisville, KY and taken to a nearby park where she was beaten, raped and robbed. The victim described her assailant as about 5’ 11” tall, weighing more than 200 pounds and with blue eyes and curly dark brown hair. Michael VonAllmen, despite having brown eyes, was picked out of a photo lineup and charged with the crime. With no physical or forensic evidence tying him to the crime, and 3 alibi witnesses, VonAllmen was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison on the strength of the victim’s identification.

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://kcadp.org/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/050-jason-flom-with-ronald-cotton/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the summer of 1987, Joyce Watkins received a call from her sister asking for help caring for their 4 year old great niece who lived in Georgia. Joyce agreed to come pick up the little girl and bring her to her home in Nashville, TN. Joyce noticed almost immediately that the girl was acting strangely and suffering from abnormal vaginal bleeding. 

Joyce took her to the hospital and learned that the little girl suffered from a vaginal injury and bleeding on the brain. She received emergency care but died the next day.

After an investigation that relied on an erroneous autopsy report and little else, Joyce was charged with the sexual abuse and death of the child. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Kemba Smith spent 6.5 years of a 24.5 year sentence in federal prison for her boyfriend’s criminal activity, until President Bill Clinton granted her clemency. Now, Kemba is a public speaker, writer, and educator on a variety of criminal justice issues, including mandatory drug sentencing, women and incarceration, and re-entry.

When Kemba read about Joyce’s story, she was reminded of her own, and knew they had to meet. Kemba was taken aback by what a model citizen Joyce was and the horrific injustice that befell her – an entirely innocent woman. Through this interview, Kemba has gained strength from witnessing Joyce’s resilience, and she is motivated to continue to highlight the need for justice. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.tninnocence.org/watkins-dunn-exonerated

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.

On June 1, 1996, Kevin Jackson and Antwaun Cubie accompanied Jeremy Bruder to buy a set of rims for his Jeep. When they arrived, Kevin and Jeremy went to make the purchase while Antwaun waited in the car while on the phone with his girlfriend. Several gunshots rang out and Jeremy was shot multiple times. He died the next day. Kevin and Antwaun were both taken in for questioning at which point Kevin, in exchange for leniency from the state, alleged that Antwaun killed Jeremy. After a series questionable legal maneuvers, Antwaun was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

To hear about the Marcus Wiggins case, go to:

#211 Jason Flom with Marcus Wiggins

To learn more about the junk science of gunshot residue evidence, go to:

#161 Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science - Gunshot Residue Evidence

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://www.change.org/p/judge-help-free-an-innocent-man

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, LLP

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 17, 2007, two men broke into a home in Detroit, MI and fatally shot four people. 14 year old Davontae Sanford, who lived nearby, went outside in his pajamas to see the commotion. Police approached Davontae and brought him back to the station where he was interrogated for two days without a parent or guardian present. The questioning ended when Davontae falsely confessed. Despite someone else taking responsibility for the crimes, Davontae was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison.

As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers.

To learn more about false confessions, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brothers, Dennis and Lee Horton, were having a pleasant Memorial Day in 1993 until they decided to visit their father in North Philadelphia and ran into a childhood friend, Robert Leaf. Unbeknownst to the Hortons, Robert Leaf had committed an armed robbery turned homicide earlier that day. Shortly after Robert joined the brothers in their car, police pulled them over. All three were arrested and tried for second degree murder. Robert Leaf's attorney used confusion among the witnesses about the identity of the shooter to win Leaf a lesser sentence, while the Hortons received life without the possibility of parole. After all appeals were denied on procedural grounds, they applied for commutation with the support of an up and coming politician named John Fetterman who was recently elected to the United States Senate for the state of Pennsylvania.

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://lavaforgood.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.

Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer prize winning host of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng sits down for a Q&A with Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker from the new podcast Bone Valley. Listen in as Gilbert and Kelsey share with Maggie the answers to many questions from their listeners and reveal some of the details that went into creating one of the finest podcasts of the year.

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.

In 1993, Herman Williams, a decorated member of the US Navy, was stationed in Waukegan, IL where he lived with his ex-wife, Penny, and their two children. On September 26, Penny’s deceased body was found in a shallow pond and Herman immediately became the sole suspect. Based on faulty forensic science as well as prosecutorial and questionable police conduct, Herman was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

www.mightycause.com/story/Hermanwilliams

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 29, 2007, six undocumented immigrants from El Salvador were living in a trailer in Slidell, LA when they were robbed at gunpoint. The robbery went awry and Jose Carlos Matinez-Carpio was shot and killed. Two men were arrested for the killing and one of the men, Edric Cooper, implicated Jace Washington in an effort to earn leniency from the state. Jace had no prior criminal record, and no physical or forensic evidence pointed to him. Nevertheless, Jace Washington was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

to learn more and get involved, visit:

https://izzyafriyie.com/jace-washington/

https://www.change.org/p/st-tammany-parish-district-attorney-office-and-louisiana-department-of-justice-please-help-me-bring-my-son-jace-colby-washington-home

https://izzyafriyie.com/petition-to-free-innocent-man-jace-washington/

https://friendsofjustice.blog/2021/07/17/jace-washington-and-the-monsters-of-saint-tammany/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMS-0ynDS14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm3X1GRnxTI

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.