On February 1, 1997, Charles Newsome, a member of the 18th Street Group was murdered while driving through the Mayfair Apartments in West Memphis, AR. The city was caught in a wave of retaliatory violence between two groups: Foxwood and 18th Street. 
Kendrick Gillum, who was loosely affiliated with Foxwood, became a suspect based on inconsistent and coerced witness testimony from a single eyewitness who initially told police that he did not see anyone at the scene of the crime. The State had no evidence Kendrick was ever at the crime scene, never established motive, and had the testimony of Tarsha LeFlore who confirmed he was with her at her apartment the night of the shooting. Nevertheless, Kendrick was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

To learn more and get involved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLX2P0bt49U
https://www.instagram.com/freekendricgillum/?hl=en
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/post/episode-10-demarco-wilson
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/017-jason-flom-and-barry-scheck-with-jason-baldwin/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/073-jason-flom-with-damien-echols-live-from-the-church-of-rock-and-roll/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/095-jason-flom-with-joe-berlinger/

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On August 10th, 1994, a man and a woman were in a van in West Philadelphia, when two males approached. One blocked the passenger door, while the other shot the man before he could get out of the van. The witness identified 16 year old Johnny Berry from a photo, but rescinded the ID at a preliminary hearing. Inexplicably, Johnny was re-arrested and sent back to juvenile detention, where he met Tauheed Lloyd who had admitted to being one of the assailants. When Lloyd refused to clear Johnny's name, they fought. Months later, Lloyd was arrested in an unrelated incident, and his gun matched the murder weapon. Unaware of this evidence, Lloyd thought Johnny had snitched. In turn, he gave false testimony for leniency and out of spite, sending Johnny away for life without parole. Years later, Lloyd's attempted recantation was silenced by threats of perjury and another murder prosecution. It took a slew of Supreme Court rulings on juvenile life sentences and the Philadelphia CIU to right this wrong.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

[email protected]

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On July 12, 1994, 19-year old Steven Smith was killed after being struck by a single bullet to the head in Newport News, VA. Within weeks three individuals, two teenage boys, and one in his twenties, were arrested for the crime. Darryl Hunter, his older brother Nathaniel Pierce, and his friend Reginald Fletcher, were each tried and convicted solely on witness testimony. They were sentenced collectively to over 200 years in prison. Since then, a dozen witnesses have recanted, claiming that the government coerced them to testify against the Virginia 3.

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luexJ3hrGHU

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/319-jason-flom-with-terrence-hobbs/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/523-jason-flom-with-lerico-kearney/

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 8, 1985, dozens gathered on Keeler Avenue in Chicago, IL for a friend's birthday party. In the early morning hours, while walking back to the party after getting cigarettes, 19-year-old Ivan Mena and 21-year-old Bouvier "Bobby" Garcia broke up a fight between 16-year-old Reynaldo “Scooby" Munoz and another partygoer. Munoz walked home after that fight, but Mena and Garcia returned to the party. Shortly after, around 4am, Mena and Garcia were shot. Garcia survived, but Mena did not. Within days, Munoz was arrested for the shooting, and as a result of misconduct from since-disgraced Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara and his partner Ernest Halvorsen, Munoz was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/bonjeanlawgroup/?hl=en

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/423-jason-flom-with-fabian-santiago/

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder.

In Season 2, “JEREMY” Gilbert King brings us a story about her actual killer, Jeremy Scott, fighting to prove his guilt. The State of Florida does not believe either man.

Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY is a new story about a new case. A story that shares many familiar themes with the first two seasons of Bone Valley - an unspeakable crime, a dubious investigation, half-truths that ensnare innocent people, and heartbroken families caught in the middle.

GRAVES COUNTY is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction and is executive produced by Gilbert King.

Maggie is going to take us to a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, where a terrible discovery on the front lawn of a middle school invites a string of amateur and professional investigators to try to solve a murder. Maggie is the latest investigator to get pulled in. And she’ll take all of us along as she teases out this complicated web of rumors and lies, and perhaps even the truth.

Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY will be available every Wednesday beginning July 30 wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, starting July 30, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to be a victim, or a villain? What happens when the line between the two starts to blur? On 7th July 2010, Kelly Harnett says her abusive boyfriend murdered a man right in front of her.  So how did she end up in prison for it? Anna Sinfield - the journalist behind the global number 1 podcast, The Girlfriends, returns with her toughest story yet. This series isn’t a whodunnit. It’s not even really about what happened. It’s about how a woman who was a victim of domestic violence became a villain in the eyes of the law. Found guilty of murder and locked up for over a decade; Kelly Harnett taught herself the law. And as she battled to overturn her conviction, she became a beacon of hope, fighting for the freedom of the abused women locked up alongside her.

Listen here and subscribe to The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the evening of April 14, 1996, Edward Binion was shot in the head during a home invasion in Chicago, IL. After a series of arrests, since-disgraced Cook County Detectives William Moser and James O’Brien were led to 16-year-old Robert Johnson. Johnson was with his grandmother at the time of the shooting and no physical evidence implicated him. Nevertheless, he was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison. 

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-roberts-journey-to-freedom

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/211-jason-flom-with-marcus-wiggins/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/399-jason-flom-with-sean-tyler-and-reginald-henderson/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/421-jason-flom-with-james-gibson/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/360-wrongful-conviction-false-confessions-midnight-crew-update/ 

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we are bringing to you a special episode of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng featuring Selma Butler. Maggie has returned to share this remarkable story with you, and to set the stage for another special announcement next week alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning author and creator of the Bone Valley podcast, Gilbert King. So please make sure and check in next Wednesday, July 16th.

On November 13, 1995, Angela Young was stabbed to death in her apartment which was located in a building that was controlled by the Gangster Disciples in Chicago, IL. Within weeks, teenagers Selma Butler and Gino Wilson were charged with the murder—despite the shaky testimony of a single 14-year-old witness. Gino was acquitted, the witness recanted, yet Selma was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

In this episode, Maggie talks with Selma Butler and Ashley Cohen, Managing Partner at Bonjean Law Group and founder of ABC Reentry, a nonprofit helping people rebuild their lives after incarceration.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.abcreentry.org

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recognition of July 4th we want to highlight Clay Chabot, a Navy veteran who served almost 2 years on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 before he was honorably discharged. Veterans, even those who served their country honorably, are not immune to the shortcomings of our criminal justice system.

On April 19, 1986, the body of a 28 year old woman was found in her bedroom in Garland, Texas. She had been tied, gagged, raped and shot three times. Clay Chabot, a friend of the victim's husband, became the main suspect after voluntarily providing information to the police about his brother-in-law, Gerald Pabst, who had visited the victim's home on the morning of the murder. Initially telling police that he had no involvement in the crime, Pabst later changed his story by claiming that Clay had forced him to tie up the victim before she was shot. Despite no physical evidence linking Clay to the crime, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison solely on the testimony of Gerald Pabst.

To learn more and get involved, visit: 

https://guiltypleaproblem.org/?id=clay_chabot 

https://innocenceproject.org/clay-chabot-veterans-day-2018/ 

https://innocenceproject.org/

https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 15, 1988, there was an argument inside of Philadelphia, PA row house. As one party tried to leave, Everton Meade Johnson followed while making threats and was fatally shot. The victim's brother only knew one man at the row house, Trevor Mattis. But Trevor maintained that he was just a bystander and another eyewitness corroborated Trevor’s story. But when Trevor was charged with murder, that same eyewitness said something different at Trevor's trial and Trevor was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/faniam23/

https://www.tiktok.com/@freeantonf

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

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.