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.

On January 7, 2002, Heidi Fero was taking care of 15 month old Brynn and her 4.5 year old brother, Kaed, along with her own two similarly aged children. That evening, Heidi called the children’s father, reporting that Kaed physically hurt Brynn by pushing her head against the wall. Within hours, Brynn was unresponsive and Heidi called 911. Brynn survived, but she will forever require a caregiver from the injuries she endured. Heidi was ultimately prosecuted and convicted for first degree assault of a child, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In 2007, as an American college student abroad in Italy, Amanda was accused of murdering her roommate. After an 8-year trial and 4 years in an Italian prison, Italy’s highest court ultimately exonerated Amanda. She has since become an advocate for criminal justice reform and media ethics. Amanda is also a journalist, public speaker, author, and co-host, with her partner Christopher Robinson, of the podcast Labyrinths. 

Amanda’s personal experience has led her to become a fierce advocate for wrongfully convicted women – and the same goes for Heidi. Heidi and Amanda met at an Innocence Network Conference years ago, and they have remained friends since. Separately and together, their advocacy work is largely driven by the importance of highlighting female wrongful convictions, and, as in Heidi’s case, the fact that the majority of wrongfully convicted women were – and are – incarcerated for crimes that never even happened.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://wainnocenceproject.org/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early on the morning of August 11, 1979, an intruder broke into a Manchester, GA home to find a 74-year-old woman asleep on her couch. The man beat and sexually assaulted the woman and then demanded all her money. She gave the attacker cash from her purse and then he left through the back door. 

The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but no rape kit was collected due to the extent of her injuries. At the victim’s house, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) crime scene investigators collected pubic hairs from a bed sheet that had been on the couch at the time of the rape. Police then created a composite sketch of the attacker from the victim’s description, and a GBI agent who was investigating John Jerome White on another charge thought he resembled the sketch. White was convicted on May 30, 1980 of rape, assault, burglary, and robbery. 

To learn more about the junk science of hair microscopy evidence:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/152-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-hair-microscopy-evidence/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/from-2007-snapshot-eyewitness-mistake/TxDolwbHy82ba4w1eefq8H/

https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.