Wrongful Conviction

This is an updated episode that originally aired on February 20, 2017.

On July 7th, 1980, three masked robbers robbed the Bank of Ireland at Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. They attempted to flee, but crashed into a police car. A shootout ensued and 2 policemen were killed. Two men were arrested the same day. A third, Peter Pingle was arrested 12 days later. During questioning by detectives, Mr. Pringle allegedly admitted to involvement in the crimes. He was convicted and sentenced to death mainly on the basis of this alleged confession even though it was later discovered that the confession used by the prosecution was written down in a police officer’s notebook prior to his questioning about the killings. 

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 May 30, 1997, Tasha Shelby found her boyfriend's two and half-year-old toddler having a seizure on his bedroom floor. Bryan was pronounced dead at the hospital the following day, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. Tasha, a naturally small woman, was on bed rest at the time, after giving birth and undergoing multiple surgeries, and Bryan was more than half Tasha’s size, standing 3 feet tall and weighing 33 pounds. Tasha’s physical inability to have shaken Bryan to death did not stop the state, who prosecuted and convicted Tasha based on the junk science of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Maggie speaks to Tasha Shelby, Penny Warner, Tasha’s aunt, and Valena Beety, Tasha’s attorney. 

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.change.org/p/free-wrongfully-imprisoned-tasha-shelby

https://freetashashelby.com/clemency/

Call Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Ashley Sulser, Director of the Criminal Appeals Division (601-359-3800 or [email protected]), and Harrison County District Attorney Crosby Parker's office (228-865-4003), and ask them to agree to dismiss the charges against Tasha Shelby. https://www.ago.state.ms.us/contact/ ; http://harrison2.co.harrison.ms.us/directory/?department=District%20Attorney

Call Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves's office (601-359-3150 or [email protected]) asking him to grant Tasha’s clemency petition. https://governorreeves.ms.gov/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/172-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/

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 June of 1979, a 17 year old girl was found brutally murdered near Fort Peck, Montana. 17 year old Barry Beach was a classmate of hers and learned of her death on the news. He was interrogated by police three times, and all three times was told he was cleared and no longer a suspect. Several years later, while living with his father in Louisiana, Barry’s step-mother had him arrested for supposedly helping her 14 year old daughter run away. Police found out Barry had been questioned for the Montana murder, and decided to question him for other Louisiana murders they needed to solve. After threatening him with the death penalty, Barry caved under pressure and confessed to the murder of his classmate back in Montana. Because he had been cleared three times before, Barry expected to go back to Montana and be cleared again. But that did not happen. The prosecution presented his confession and the jury convicted him – sentencing him to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole. 

To learn more about false confessions:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://montanansforjustice.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012873916456

https://centurion.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.

In June of 1979, a 17 year old girl was found brutally murdered near Fort Peck, Montana. 17 year old Barry Beach was a classmate of hers and learned of her death on the news. He was interrogated by police three times, and all three times was told he was cleared and no longer a suspect. Several years later, while living with his father in Louisiana, Barry’s step-mother had him arrested for supposedly helping her 14 year old daughter run away. Police found out Barry had been questioned for the Montana murder, and decided to question him for other Louisiana murders they needed to solve. After threatening him with the death penalty, Barry caved under pressure and confessed to the murder of his classmate back in Montana. Because he had been cleared three times before, Barry expected to go back to Montana and be cleared again. But that did not happen. The prosecution presented his confession and the jury convicted him – sentencing him to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole. 

To learn more about false confessions:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://montanansforjustice.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012873916456

https://centurion.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.

This is an updated episode that originally aired on September 25, 2017.

On the afternoon of April 15th, 1994, two men were sitting in a powder-blue Cadillac in the Quindaro neighborhood of Kansas City, KS. A man dressed in black ran up to the passenger side, raised a shotgun and fired four rounds in what looked like a drug-related hit, killing the two passengers Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing. Lamonte McIntyre, who was 17 at the time, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The prosecution relied primarily on the testimonies of two eyewitnesses who identified Lamonte as the shooter. Both eyewitnesses later recanted. Even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. 

Learn more and get involved at:

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.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.

One month apart in 1996, two crimes occurred in Portsmouth, VA. Terrence Hobbs was arrested and convicted for both of them, but he committed neither. In the first, two individuals were shot and killed, and in the second, a bank robbery occurred that hurt no one. Terrence’s ex-girlfriend was a victim of the double murder, and prosecutors fell back on the convenient assumption that the ex-boyfriend was jealous and must have been responsible. Once a few convicted felons were offered and ultimately given mercy in the form of sentence reductions for their own crimes, prosecutors had what they needed to connect Terrence to and incriminate him for the crimes. Despite solid alibis and an entire lack of physical evidence tying Terrence to either crime, Terrence was convicted, and is currently serving multiple life sentences.

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 2, 1986, a Springfield, MA drug deal turned into an armed robbery, which turned into the death of an innocent bystander named Victoria Seymour. Six men, all of whom were later determined to have been involved in the robbery, identified Mark Schand as the one responsible for Seymour’s death. Despite the lack of physical evidence, and the fact that he was 30 miles away the entire evening that the crime took place, Schand was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

As a three time Emmy award-winner, Lauren has worked as a writer, reporter and producer in various media spaces including radio, newspaper, television and podcasting. Her podcasts Murder in Illinois, Murder in Oregon, Happy Face, and more, investigate and report true crime cases.

Mark’s case and story dovetails seamlessly with many of those which Lauren has tackled in the past. Specifically, and what disturbs Lauren most, Mark was convicted for a crime he did not commit, without any evidence, and with the help of falsified testimony and coerced witnesses. Mark’s story inspires Lauren, as despite the loss and tragedy, his story still ends with a wonderful love story.

For listeners of Murder in Oregon and Murder in Illinois, if you want to hear more Wrongful Conviction, go to:

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 1, 1977, the Welcome Inn bar in New Orleans, LA was robbed by two armed men and a bar patron, Cecil Lloyd, was killed. Weeks after the crime, 19 year old Elvis Brooks became a suspect when he was identified in a photo array by three strangers who had been inside the bar at the time of the robbery. But during the crime, the robbers touched two beer cans inside the bar and left them on the counter after they fled. Investigators from the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) collected fingerprints from these beer cans as evidence. The results excluded Elvis. Yet and still, he was charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://www.mightycause.com/story/Elvisbrooksfreed 

https://ip-no.org/

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s1e4-orlean-s-parish-district-attorney-jason-williams-on-criminal-justice-reform/

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.

Just past 1am on November 26, 1995, 50 year old Harry Kaufman was working the token booth at a subway station in Brooklyn, NY, when multiple men set the booth on fire, causing explosions, an eruption of flames, and ultimately, Kaufman’s death. Hefty rewards were offered for information, and police received many tips from multiple informants. Ultimately, they honed in on James Irons, Thomas Malik and Vincent Ellerbe. The three were ultimately convicted based on confessions they made to the Detective Louis Scarcella. They were all sentenced to 25 years to life.

As Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and co-host and writer of the award-winning Lava For Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, Laura represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted when they were children or teenagers.

To learn more about false confessions, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

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 October 10, 1982, a 22-year-old woman was abducted at gunpoint outside a tavern in Louisville, KY and taken to a nearby park where she was beaten, raped and robbed. The victim described her assailant as about 5’ 11” tall, weighing more than 200 pounds and with blue eyes and curly dark brown hair. Michael VonAllmen, despite having brown eyes, was picked out of a photo lineup and charged with the crime. With no physical or forensic evidence tying him to the crime, and 3 alibi witnesses, VonAllmen was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison on the strength of the victim’s identification.

To learn more and get involved, go to:

https://kcadp.org/

www.kentuckyinnocenceproject.org

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/050-jason-flom-with-ronald-cotton/

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.