Wrongful Conviction

On July 16, 1949, 17-year-old Norma Padgett and her estranged husband, Willie Padgett, reported to police that they had been attacked by four black men in Lake County, FL, with Norma claiming that the men had raped her. On the same day, police arrested 16-year-old Charles Greenlee, and 22-year-olds Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin. 26-year-old Ernest Thomas was hunted into the woods and gunned down by a mob of men, as he was also blamed for the attack. Despite weak evidence and testimonies tainted by racism, the remaining three were convicted and faced severe sentences, including life imprisonment and death.

Jason is joined by Gilbert King, host of Bone Valley and Pulitzer-prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove which chronicles the story of the Groveland Four, as they came to be known, and future United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s efforts to defend them in court.

To learn more, visit:
http://www.gilbertking.com/devil-in-the-grove/

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.

The notion that tools leave a unique mark on a surface is commonly presented to unsuspecting juries. But, it turns out that it's not necessarily the case at all.

Josh Dubin talks about Tool Mark Analysis with Tim Requarth, a freelance journalist who often writes about the intersection between science and criminal justice and a lecturer in science and writing at New York University.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 
Learn more and get involved.

“Forensic Science Put Jimmy Genrich in Prison for 24 Years. What if It Wasn’t Science” By Meehan Crist and Tim Requarth https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-crisis-of-american-forensics/https://cifsjustice.org/donate/https://opd.ohio.gov/law-library/innocence/wrongful-conviction-projectwww.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science  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 17, 1982, in Hanover County, VA, a white woman was raped by a black man who was a total stranger. During the rape, the man beat her and threatened her with a gun, and also mentioned that she was not the only white woman he had had sexual relations with. Based on this statement alone, police immediately suspected 18-year-old Marvin Anderson to be the perpetrator because Marvin lived with his white girlfriend at the time. Despite a complete lack of evidence linking him to this crime, and evidence pointing to another more viable suspect, Marvin was convicted of rape by an all white jury, and sentenced to 210 years in prison. 

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

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.

Of all the many faulty forensic sciences, Gunshot Residue certainly has some truly startling and scary issues that began almost a century ago.

Josh Dubin explores Gunshot Residue Evidence with Joanna Sanchez, Managing Counsel from the Wrongful Conviction Project at the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. 

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://cifsjustice.org/donate/

https://opd.ohio.gov/law-library/innocence/wrongful-conviction-project

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science  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 March 29, 1994, 10-year-old Rodney Collins was fatally shot while riding his bike after being caught in a crossfire between two street gangs in Chicago, IL. Two brothers, 17-year-old Sean Tyler and 18-year-old Reginald Henderson, came under suspicion after a corrupt police force used extreme physical abuse to force false confessions out of them and others. Despite no evidence linking them to the crime other than their coerced false confessions, the brothers were each sentenced to over 50 years in prison. 

Jason Flom talks to Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson along with Sean's attorney, Karl Leonard from The Exoneration Project.

To learn more and get involved, please visit: 

https://www.instagram.com/nuvisean_/

https://www.instagram.com/tharippleeffect75/

https://www.exonerationproject.org/

To hear more about Chicago's infamous police commander Jon Burge and his 'Midnight Crew': 

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

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

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.

Contrary to what pop culture has ingrained in the American conscience, matching known fingerprints of a suspect to prints left at the scene of a crime is not an exact science. It’s entirely subjective.
So how did fingerprints become so widely accepted and thought of as the gold standard, as fool proof evidence?

Josh Dubin discusses Fingerprint Evidence with Mary Moriarty, former Chief Public Defender of Hennepin County in Minnesota.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://cifsjustice.org/donate/

https://www.maryforhennepin.com/meet-mary

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science  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 8th, 1998, 25-year-old Kasey Schoen was shot and killed while sitting in his car in Indianapolis, IN. A few days later, a man approached officers and told them that he saw 22-year-old Leon Benson shoot the victim. A single eyewitness identified Leon as the shooter out of a photo lineup, despite the fact that he did not match the eyewitness's initial description of the shooter. Leon was ultimately sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and the main witness against him tried to recant their testimony. 

Guest host, Kemba Smith, talks to Leon Benson and Lara Bazelon, Leon's attorney.

To learn more and get involved, please visit: 

Organization of Exonerees 

The Streets Don't Love You Back 

Go to Die Jim Crow Records to support prison impacted musicians, including Leon Benson's (El Bently 448) album "Innocent Born Guilty". 

Petition for Demetrius Burks

www.kembamovie.com

https://www.kembasmith.com

https://kembasmithfoundation.org/

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.

Even when done correctly, impression analysis of evidence, like shoe prints and tire tracks, is purely subjective. Many experts recognize its limitations. But one so-called “expert” in particular pushed the limits of this forensic discipline to produce horrific outcomes.

Josh Dubin speaks with Bill Osinski, journalist and author of “Guilty By Popular Demand.”

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://cifsjustice.org/donate/

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science  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 the night of May 10, 1985, a 35-year-old woman was attacked and sexually assaulted in her home in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans, LA. The victim worked with police to create a composite sketch of her rapist and a month later, 17-year-old Sullivan Walter was arrested for an unrelated burglary charge. A police officer believed that Sullivan resembled the rapist’s composite sketch and the victim later identified him as her rapist in a photo lineup. Sullivan’s trial lasted just one day, but due to to junk science, inadequate legal defense, and a mistaken eyewitness identification, he was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. 

Jason Flom talks to Sullivan Walter and Richard Davis, Legal Director of Innocence Project New Orleans. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/sullivan-walters-freedom-fund

https://ip-no.org/

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.

Even when examined under a microscope, the similarities that can be observed between two hairs are open to wide interpretation, there are no definitive traits that can prove with any scientific certainty that a suspect’s hair matches a hair found at a crime scene. Yet hair comparison analysis was still being used to falsely identify and convict innocent people up until the year 2000 and people are still incarcerated who were convicted based on this false evidence.

So how did this evidence get admitted into courts in the first place?

Josh Dubin speaks with Vanessa Antoun, Senior Resource Counsel at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) to learn about Hair Microscopy Evidence.

Kate Judson, Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, updates Josh Dubin's Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science. 

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://cifsjustice.org/donate/

https://www.nacdl.org/

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/junk-science

Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science  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.