Wrongful Conviction

UPDATE- Gary Benloss walked out of prison on November 20th, 2024, after 22.5 years. Jason was there to greet him.

On April 10, 2002, Victor Vulcain was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of 201 Linden Blvd. Brooklyn, NY. There were several witnesses, each of whom provided a version of events to police that stood in conflict with the other witnesses; not even their descriptions of the shooter matched. No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no DNA evidence connected Gary to the murder. Yet, Gary was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-gary-benloss https://www.freegarybenloss.com/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the evening of October 13, 1992, in the small town of West Liberty, Iowa, Corey Wieneke’s body was found in his bedroom by his fiancee. Annette Cahill, formerly Annette Hazen, was having an affair with him at the time and fully cooperated with the police investigation. But the case went cold for decades until 2017, when investigators got a tip from a woman saying that when she was nine years old, she’d overheard Annette confess to killing Corey while at a sleepover. Based mostly on this testimony, Annette was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

If you’re interested in contacting public officials about Annette’s case, you can reach out to the Muscatine County prosecutor’s office: https://www.muscatinecountyiowa.gov/Directory.aspx?did=6

To learn more, visit:
The Drake Wrongful Convictions Clinic
https://www.drake.edu/law/clinics-centers/clinic/wrongfulconvictionsclinic/

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.

Ronald Miller and Lori Johnson of Rockford, IL had a daughter, G.M., in 2010. In 2015, several days after an argument between Johnson and Miller in which Miller threatened to sue Johnson for full custody, Johnson reported Miller to DCFS. Shortly after, she obtained an order of protection which ended all contact between Miller and his daughter. Johnson claimed G.M. had told her that Miller touched her inappropriately and proceeded to bring her daughter to Carrie Lynn Children's Center to record a video accusing her father of sexual abuse. Before the trial, G.M. took back her accusation, telling her mother, her therapist, and the trial prosecutors that the abuse never happened. The trial proceeded anyway, and this information was not shared with the jury.  The prosecutors presented the testimony of a pediatric nurse admitted as an “expert in the field of child abuse.” Trial counsel called no experts for the defense, and Miller testified in his own defense. He was convicted by the jury on all three counts and sentenced to twenty years. 

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

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 January 24th, 2007, Keith Washington, a police officer and former Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, was home with his wife and 6 year old daughter while they awaited a delivery from Marlo Furniture store. Two men, Robert White and Brandon Clark, arrived with the furniture, and while showing them to the master bedroom, Keith realized that White had broken away and was snooping in his daughter’s bedroom. Keith asked them to leave which started a fight. Overpowered by the two men, Keith shot them in self defense, killing Clarke. Meanwhile, 12 time convicted felon, Robert White, who wasn’t even a Marlo employee, became the state’s main witness. Keith was convicted and sentenced to 45 years, while Robert White continued his life of crime.

Learn more and get involved at:
https://oneinnocentman.org/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/free-keith-washington
https://www.makinganexoneree.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9d5w10I_kI&t=1s
https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.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.

On October 27, 1997, a man was robbed and killed in Philadelphia, PA. Due to mistaken eyewitness identification, 19-year-old Tyree Wallace was implicated in the crime. Tyree was convicted of second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy, and possession of an instrument of crime and sentenced to life in prison.

To Learn more and get involved, visit:

https://givebutter.com/tyree

https://www.blankrome.com/

https://www.instagram.com/keirforpa/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday, June 4, 1983, three members of the Ryen family, as well as their neighbor’s son, Christopher Hughes, were brutally murdered in the Ryen home. 8 year old Joshua Ryen survived horrifying injuries, including a hatchet wound to the head and a slashed throat. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office immediately targeted Kevin Cooper because he had recently fled from the California Institution for Men (CIM), a medium security facility just a few miles from the Ryen home. A botched crime scene left little to go on, so many believe they fixed evidence to make the charges stick while ignoring compelling alternative suspects. Kevin has been defending his innocence from death row for almost 40 years. California Governor Newsom recently ordered a full Innocence Investigation into the case. Kevin and his team are confident that this investigation will finally clear his name.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://freekevincooper.com/

https://kevincooper.org/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-cooper-case-death-row-inmate-san-quentin-murder-new-developments-48-hours/

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.

On the night of August 2, 1996, Tom Rhodes and his wife Jane were on a boat ride on Green Lake, in Minnesota, when Jane fell overboard. Tom failed to find Jane, and her body was discovered the next day. Police suspected Tom from the get-go, focusing on previous marriage and financial troubles. This led the medical examiner to give his initial finding of undetermined cause of death a second look – working backwards from police suspicions, and eventually changing the cause of death to homicide. Tom was eventually sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.

Click here to see the entire interview on our YouTube channel.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

Tom’s art gallery as mentioned in credits
https://www.thomasdgalleries.com/

Great North Innocence Project
https://www.greatnorthinnocenceproject.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.

Evelyn Malin was the 84-year-old owner of the Dollar Lake Store in tiny Shamrock Township, 130 miles north of Minneapolis. On the morning of February 24, 1998, she was found beaten and strangled to death in the living quarters that were connected to her convenience store. Over a year later, Brian Pippitt was charged with premeditated murder based primarily on the incentivized testimony of two witnesses who later admitted to fabricating their statements. Brian was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-gov-walz-stand-up-for-justice?nowrapper=true&referrer=group-drop-site-news&source=group-drop-site-news

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the morning of June 12, 1994, Belynda Goff woke up to find her husband Stephen bludgeoned to death in their Green Forest, AR, apartment. From the jump, investigators pegged Belynda’s reaction to the tragedy as suspicious. That initial hunch would set the course of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, leading law enforcement to ignore far more plausible leads and key witnesses, and imprison Belynda for 23 years.

To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://innocenceproject.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™ Podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On January 16, 2009, Linda Bonner found her husband Franklin duct-taped to a chair in their Chattanooga, TN home, with tape over his nose and mouth and signs of blunt force trauma. He was dead from suffocation. Police found fingerprints on the duct tape, but no matches were found. Nine years later, in 2019, 23-year-old Angel Bumpass was arrested after failing to appear in Kentucky court for a traffic ticket. Her fingerprints were taken upon her arrest and automatically searched against unidentified crime scene prints. Police said her fingerprints matched two partial prints on the duct tape from Franklin Bonner’s case. Even though she was only 13 years old at the time of the crime, Angel was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/398-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-fingerprint-evidence/

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

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

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26901702/

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™ Podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.