Wrongful Conviction

On January 10, 1998, a 60-year-old woman was robbed and sexually assaulted in her home in Violet, LA. Upon his arrest, Ulysses Pierre implicated his cousin, Jarvis Ballard, in the crime. After severe abuse from detectives, Ballard produced a confession and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for aggravated rape.

Patrick was wrongfully convicted for a 1993 murder in Rockford, IL, for which he spent nearly 24 years in prison. Remarkably, he ended up writing the law that set him free. Patrick and Jarvis met for the first time in person at the 2022 Innocence Network Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Their shared experience of mistreatment by the criminal justice system gave them a lot to talk about.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://ip-no.org/what-we-do/free-innocent-prisoners/client-profiles/jarvis-ballard/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jarvis-ballard-freedom-fund

This episode is part of a special series in our Wrongful Conviction podcast feed of 15 episodes focused on individual cases of wrongful incarceration, guest hosted by formerly incarcerated returning citizens and leading criminal justice advocates, award-winning journalists and progressive influencers.

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 April 25, 1990, a 10 year old girl was allegedly abducted from her backyard in Columbus, OH. She said that a man grabbed her, pulled her over a fence, tied a sock around her eyes and put her in his car. He then drove to a nearby abandoned house, took her inside and sexually assaulted her on a couch. Afterward, the man took the girl in his car to a convenience store and went inside. While he was inside, the girl jumped from the car and ran home. She told her mother about the attack the next day when her mother noticed that she was acting strangely. According to the mother, the girl said at this time that her biological father, 34 year old Robert McClendon, had abducted and assaulted her the previous day. Based largely on the testimony of the 10 year old girl, McClendon was convicted of kidnapping and rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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.

Author Gilbert King receives a message from a Florida judge who claims that there is an innocent man in prison, wrongly convicted of murdering his wife back in 1987. King and researcher Kelsey Decker meet Leo Schofield in prison and learn about the disappearance of 18 year-old Michelle Schofield. 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On July 4, 2002, two men shot and killed 36-year-old Tony Cox outside a restaurant in Chicago, IL. Suspecting the murder was gang-related, police arrested Eric Blackmon. After claiming Blackmon was selected from a lineup by eyewitnesses, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Guest Host Patrick Pursley was wrongfully convicted for a 1993 murder in Rockford, IL, for which he spent nearly 24 years in prison. Remarkably, he ended up writing the law that set him free.

Patrick and Eric spent over a decade together in Stateville Correctional Center in Cook County, Illinois. They both learned the law and represented themselves before being granted their freedom.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/eric-blackmon.html

https://www.macarthurjustice.org/team_member/eric-blackmon/

https://www.thejri.org/bod

https://www.chicagotorturejustice.org/board-of-directors

This episode is part of a special series in our Wrongful Conviction podcast feed of 15 episodes focused on individual cases of wrongful incarceration, guest hosted by formerly incarcerated returning citizens and leading criminal justice advocates, award-winning journalists and progressive influencers.

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 25 1986, a 25 year old woman was attacked as she walked to a bus stop in Decatur, GA. The assailant approached her, hit her in the face, and sexually assaulted her. He stole her wristwatch, money, and broke two of her front teeth. 

Police were led to Clarence Harrison because he lived near the site of the assault and neighbors told police that they heard someone at his house had a watch they were trying to sell. But Clarence had an alibi. He was at a neighbor’s house playing poker all night. And when police searched Clarence’s home, they didn’t find the victim’s watch. 

But once the victim identified Clarence as her attacker, he was charged and ultimately convicted of rape and robbery, and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-clarence-harrison?qid=f27b687752463c4887b50165f7b66c35

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 1987, 21-year-old guitarist Leo Schofield was pursuing his rockstar dreams when his teenage wife Michelle was found dead in a phosphate mining pit in Lakeland, Florida. Two years later, Leo was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder he has always denied.

Fifteen years after Leo’s conviction, previously unidentified fingerprints from Michelle’s car matched Jeremy Scott—a troubled teen with an extensive history of violence who lived near the young couple at the time. Jeremy has now confessed to Michelle’s murder. Yet Leo Schofield remains behind bars.

Bone Valley is a chilling story of murder and the miscarriage of justice. In his three-year investigation, host Gilbert King peels open the layers of this case and uncovers startling new evidence that Jeremy is responsible for yet another murder – his fourth – and one that has remained unsolved...until now.

With heartrending clarity and suspense, Bone Valley exposes the catastrophic flaws in the American criminal justice system, documenting the story of these two men in their desperate search for truth and redemption.

This groundbreaking true crime podcast series returns King to central Florida, where his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Devil in the Grove led to the exonerations of the Groveland Four.

https://lavaforgood.com/bone-valley/

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On January 13, 1994, two men hijacked the car of three travelers at a gas station in Chicago, IL, killing Reginald Wilson and Felicia Lewis. Carl Williams was implicated in the crime by the two hijackers and eventually produced a confession after hours of abuse and coercion from detectives. Williams was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Patrick speaks with Carl Williams, and Attorney Karl Leonard, from the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School.

To learn about and support Carl Williams, visit:

https://www.royalmensolutions.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 November 28, 2002, 94-year-old Helen Sailor spent Thanksgiving with her family before returning to her apartment at a high rise building for the elderly and disabled in Elkhart, Indiana. The next day, a health care provider found her strangled to death in her apartment. One of the detectives assigned to the case had a theory about another high rise resident, Lana Canen, and a string of previous burglaries at the building. Investigators coerced a friend of Lana Canen's to give a false statement, implicating Lana and another high rise resident, Andy Royer. After subjecting Royer to a lengthy and intense interrogation, investigators cobbled together a confession. Then, an untrained deputy fabricated a fingerprint match to corroborate both false statements. Lana and Andy were both sentenced to 55 years in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/156-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-fingerprint-evidence/

http://www.elkhartcountyprosecutor.com/about-us/prosecuting-attorney

https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/courts/2018/07/03/elkhart-county-prosecutor-asks-judge-to-silence-attorney/46341713/

https://twitter.com/elkhartpros?s=20&t=L4eZhRAZxf3eGOSG-036pg

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 February 12th, 1990, a tragic accident occurred in which it is believed that Kathy Middleton mishandled a gun in her left hand, accidentally shooting herself one time in the head. The state turned this tragedy into a homicide investigation, sending her husband Ken Middleton to prison for life plus 200 years. In 2004, Ken had an opportunity to present to his motion trial court evidence of ineffective assistance of his counsel, as well as ballistics evidence that proved that the state's theory was impossible. Before the judge ruled, the state offered Ken freedom through an Alford plea, and he refused. Eventually, the judge granted him a new trial, but the state simply challenged that ruling on jurisdictional grounds, leaving Ken in prison ever since. A 2021 law now specifically grants that motion trial court the necessary jurisdiction, yet Ken and his family still await justice from prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. 

The altered GSR test document is linked here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca4rRsDLWaC/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://www.free-kenmiddleton.com/

https://www.change.org/p/missouri-missouri-or-misery

https://silvercreekentertainment.net/

https://twitter.com/TheNewsBreaker

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.

In early May of 1977, Keith Laborde and his 14 year old twin cousins, Karen and Sharon Sanders, allegedly picked up a hitchhiking black man at a gas station in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. About 2 weeks later, when asked about a scratch on his neck, Keith Laborde and the twins told a story about this armed hitchhiker who allegedly forced Laborde into the trunk and raped both girls. Despite not matching the description, a man with a few petty priors, Vincent Simmons, was arrested, put into a suggestive line up, and ultimately selected. When he refused to confess, police officer Robert Laborde shot him in the chest. Vincent survived, but only to have ALL discovery withheld by the state including the medical examination that proved that Sharon Sander's could not have been raped.  Simmons was convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated rape of the twin teenage sisters and given a 100-year prison sentence. 

To learn more and get involved:

https://www.change.org/p/vincent-simmons-is-innocent-and-has-been-imprisoned-in-louisiana-since-1977

https://wrongfullyconvicted.info/vincent-simmons/

The Farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odx9NEHc17M

Shadows of Doubt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98lCNnEnxno

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.