Hi, Earwitness listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Crying Wolf! Crying Wolf: Crying Wolf is a gripping true crime podcast that follows the story of Lee Harris, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison after a coerced confession. In prison, he formed a deep bond with fellow inmate Robert, who vowed to clear Lee's name. After two decades of relentless effort, exposing corrupt detectives, prison informants, and with the help of a determined pro bono defense attorney, Robert succeeded. In 2023, Lee walked free—only to die suddenly a few months later. This podcast delves into the chilling legacy of Detective Richard Zuley, notorious for extracting false confessions, and the deep-seated corruption that plagues Chicago’s justice system. With Lee gone, Robert is determined to continue the fight, exposing the city’s dark history and pursuing justice for the wrongfully convicted. Join us as we unravel a story of friendship, betrayal, and the quest for redemption. Listen to Crying Wolf on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Hi, Earwitness listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Crying Wolf! Crying Wolf: Crying Wolf is a gripping true crime podcast that follows the story of Lee Harris, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison after a coerced confession. In prison, he formed a deep bond with fellow inmate Robert, who vowed to clear Lee's name. After two decades of relentless effort, exposing corrupt detectives, prison informants, and with the help of a determined pro bono defense attorney, Robert succeeded. In 2023, Lee walked free—only to die suddenly a few months later. This podcast delves into the chilling legacy of Detective Richard Zuley, notorious for extracting false confessions, and the deep-seated corruption that plagues Chicago’s justice system. With Lee gone, Robert is determined to continue the fight, exposing the city’s dark history and pursuing justice for the wrongfully convicted. Join us as we unravel a story of friendship, betrayal, and the quest for redemption. Listen to Crying Wolf on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Earwitness listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Crying Wolf! Crying Wolf: Crying Wolf is a gripping true crime podcast that follows the story of Lee Harris, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison after a coerced confession. In prison, he formed a deep bond with fellow inmate Robert, who vowed to clear Lee's name. After two decades of relentless effort, exposing corrupt detectives, prison informants, and with the help of a determined pro bono defense attorney, Robert succeeded. In 2023, Lee walked free—only to die suddenly a few months later. This podcast delves into the chilling legacy of Detective Richard Zuley, notorious for extracting false confessions, and the deep-seated corruption that plagues Chicago’s justice system. With Lee gone, Robert is determined to continue the fight, exposing the city’s dark history and pursuing justice for the wrongfully convicted. Join us as we unravel a story of friendship, betrayal, and the quest for redemption. Listen to Crying Wolf on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts!See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="noopener noreferrer">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Introducing: Crying Wolf

One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row.
In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforest’s guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years.
From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, “How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself— illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok.
Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Society & Culture

Documentary

True Crime

One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforest’s guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years. From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, “How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself— illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok. Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Share Introducing: Crying Wolf

Sign up to save your podcasts

Introducing: Crying Wolf

Introducing: Crying Wolf

More shows like Earwitness

In The Dark

Wrongful Conviction

Felonious Florida

Happy Face

Hell and Gone

The Binge Cases: U R NEXT

Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders

Righteous Convictions with Jason Flom

Truer Crime

The Binge Crimes: The Poet

What Happened in Nashville

Bone Valley

The War on Drugs

Unrestorable

Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands

What Happened to Holly Bobo?

Absolute

The Hunter

Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska