Raven Rollins sits down with former federal prosecutor, innocence advocate, law professor, and author Valena Beety for a conversation surrounding wrongful convictions, forensic junk science, systemic injustice, and the pursuit of reform within the American legal system.

As the founder of the West Virginia Innocence Project and author of “Manifesting Justice,” Valena discusses the real-world cases and legal failures that inspired her work, including the devastating impact faulty forensic techniques and unreliable expert testimony can have on innocent lives. The conversation explores everything from exonerations and prosecutorial responsibility to bite mark analysis and other forms of debunked forensic science that nevertheless shaped convictions for decades.

Together, Raven and Valena examine the intersection of advocacy, storytelling, and justice — and the responsibility that comes with bringing these deeply human stories to the public forefront.

“Manifesting Justice” is available in audiobook, hardcover, and Kindle formats.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

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In 1998, Dena Dean disappeared from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her vehicle was later found abandoned in the parking lot of Marvin's Food Store, but Dena was nowhere to be found. Weeks later, on June 12, 1998, her decomposed body was discovered in a field near a pond approximately two miles north of Town West, near 51st Street South and 49th West Avenue. The Tulsa Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.

More than two decades later, Dena's murder remains unsolved.

In this episode, Raven is joined by Jen Gragg and Amanda Newland Davis of Oklahoma Cold Cases and The Throwaways Podcast to examine the circumstances surrounding Dena's disappearance, the investigation that followed, and the questions that remain unanswered. Together, they discuss the known facts of the case, the impact Dena's loss had on those who knew her, and why her story deserves to be remembered.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

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*TRIGGER WARNING* In this episode, we get really heavy. We discuss the Oklahoma serial rapist RJ Thompson, as well as Raven's own sexual assault experience.

We talk with attorney Carrie White, who consulted on the RJ Thompson case, and speak with an RN & Forensic Nurse (or SANE nurse), Debra Campbell, who testified in RJ's trial, and who gives a tell-all of what to expect during a sexual assault exam with what to dos and what not to dos after an attack.

*Some names in this case have been changed to protect the identities of victims.*

Find more about this case in Raven's book "Allegedly: True Crime From Pontotoc County, Oklahoma." https://linktr.ee/RavenRollins

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

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Mentioned in this episode:

Get Allegedly Today!

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In this epic crossover, Chi & Shan from You're Doing Fine Oklahoma (another Oklahoma true crime Podcast) stops by the studio to tell Raven about Bobbie Parker, an Okla. warden's wife who was kidnapped by Randolph Dial, an inmate, and went on the longest prison break in the history of OK. Make sure to catch part 1, Randolph Dial, first! Explicit Content.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

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Chi & Shan from You're Doing Fine Oklahoma: A True Crime Podcast stop by the studio to tell Raven about Randolph Dial, a man who turned himself in for murder, even though no one was even on his tail. Part 1. Check out our Bobbie Parker coverage in Part 2.

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Allegedly Today!

Find Allegedly at your favorite online retailer or library app today!

We delve into the mysterious disappearance of a Texas woman, Prisma Peralta Reyes, in which she walks into an elevator and never walks out. We also interviewed Prisma's father, Dan Fuchs, and he sheds light on the case from his perspective at almost 3 years after she went missing. Follow the case.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

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In this final part of the Axe Murders of the South Saga, Rick, Raven, and Simon talk about the New Orleans Axeman of the 1920s. Explicit Content.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

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In this part of the Axe Murders of the South Saga, Raven, Simon, and Rick discuss Clementine Barnabet, an alleged lady axe murderer in the early 1910s Louisiana.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

Follow Sirens on Social Media https://my.link.gallery/thesirenspodcast

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Mentioned in this episode:

Get Allegedly Today!

Find Allegedly at your favorite online retailer or library app today!

In this part of The Axe Murders of the South Saga, Raven talks about the 1880s Austin Axe Murders with Rick Rollins & Simon Vaughn. Explicit Content.

Advocacy. Investigation. Education. Storytelling.

If you appreciate what I do, here are a few ways to support Sirens and help true crime stories reach more ears:

Rate, review, and share my podcast!

Find Raven's books at www.RavenRollins.com

Follow Sirens on Social Media https://my.link.gallery/thesirenspodcast

🎬 Binge your next obsession on Paramount+ — Try it FREE with our link! https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/3437665/2089315/3065

Mentioned in this episode:

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Advocacy. Investigation. Prevention. Storytelling.

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