Wrongful Conviction

In just the first month of 1984, five women from the ages of 18 to 20 were sexually assaulted in East Richmond, Virginia. One victim saw an 18 year old named Thomas Haynesworth while he was walking to his local grocery store and called the police naming him as her attacker. Thomas was eventually convicted for three of the sexual assault incidents and sentenced to a total of 74 years in prison. Even though the assumed perpetrator was in custody, the rapes continued throughout East Richmond. Leon Davis, Thomas’s neighbor, was eventually arrested and convicted for a dozen incidents over the remainder of 1984. DNA testing ultimately confirmed that Leon was responsible for the crimes for which Thomas was convicted, and Thomas was finally exonerated in 2011 after spending 27 years in prison.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

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.

Amanda Brumfield, the estranged daughter of actor Billy Bob Thornton, was blamed for the death of her best friend’s daughter. On October 3, 2008, 1 year old Olivia Garcia had been sleeping in her playpen at Amanda’s house, when she woke up at around midnight and attempted to crawl out of her crib. Olivia fell from the rails and landed head first on the floor. She died a few hours later at the hospital. Oftentimes, when a young child dies, authorities assume neglect or abuse was involved, and they accuse the last person taking care of the child. In this case, it was Amanda, and she was arrested, tried, and convicted of aggravated manslaughter. Nine years later, with the help of the Innocence Project of Florida and the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, Amanda is finally free.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

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 April 5th, 1990, Bernhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, were shot to death in their Atwater, OH home with a .25 caliber gun. Miles away, 18-year-old Tyrone Noling was involved in two non-violent robberies – in one, he stole a .25 caliber gun and in the second, it accidentally discharged, hurting no one. This gun, however, was not the Hartig murder weapon, and despite other, more viable suspects, Portage County investigators targeted Tyrone and convinced his friends to testify against him. All witnesses have since recanted, but after 28 years, Tyrone is still on death row.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://www.tyronenoling.com/

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 December 20, 1987, at about 2 am, two masked men forced their way into a Burger King in Brooklyn, New York, as employees were closing. A third man entered the restaurant at some point, and they blindfolded and raped an 18-year-old female employee and forced a male employee to participate. The three assailants fled with $3,000 in cash. Both employees reported the crime as involving three assailants. But, two weeks later, when the police pulled over Mark Denny with two of the assailants, and the third assailant was identified, detectives convinced the female employee that there were actually four assailants. Despite a lack of physical evidence and the male employee's insistence that there were only 3 attackers, Mark was convicted and sentenced to up to 57 years. The 3 assailants eventually excluded Mark from the crime in sworn statements. But, it took an investigation by Brooklyn's CRU, to expose the corrupt identification process, setting Mark free after almost 30 years.

To learn more and get involved, 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.

Brothers, Dennis and Lee Horton, were having a pleasant Memorial Day in 1993 until they decided to visit their father in North Philadelphia and ran into a childhood friend, Robert Leaf. Unbeknownst to the Hortons, Robert Leaf had committed an armed robbery turned homicide earlier that day. Shortly after Robert joined the brothers in their car, police pulled them over. All three were arrested and tried for second degree murder. Robert Leaf's attorney used confusion among the witnesses about the identity of the shooter to win Leaf a lesser sentence, while the Hortons received life without the possibility of parole. After all appeals were denied on procedural grounds, they applied for commutation with the support of an up and coming politician named John Fetterman who was recently elected to the United States Senate for the state of Pennsylvania.

To learn more and get involved, 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.

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. Years later, according to the alleged victims' family members, the whole story appears to have been a cover for recurring incestuous victimization, yet Vincent remains in Angola penitentiary to this day.

To learn more and get involved:

https://gogetfunding.com/legalfundvincent/

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.

On the morning of December 29th, 1991, the body of a 36 year old woman was found nude in the men’s restroom of the bar where she worked in Phoenix, Arizona. She had been assaulted and fatally stabbed. No semen was left behind. With DNA testing in its infancy, serology could only show that any blood or saliva at the crime scene matched the victim’s blood type. There were, however, what appeared to be human bite marks on the victim’s breast and neck, and after a 34 year old bar regular named Ray Krone was identified as a potential boyfriend, the investigation relied on the junk science of bite mark analysis to send him to death row. Much later, DNA testing identified a convicted child molesterer as the actual killer, winning Ray’s freedom.

Learn more and get involved at:
https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s11e12-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-bite-mark-evidence
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.

On January 6th, 1990, a 21 year old woman was working at a convenience store in Covington, Georgia. At around 4am, this woman, who we'll refer to as "BT," was abducted, forced into a truck, and sexually assaulted until she managed to escape 90 minutes later. Despite BT’s insistence that she hadn’t known the perpetrator, police ultimately persuaded her to believe a story that her ex-boyfriend Ronald Jacobsen was her attacker. There was no physical or forensic evidence pointing to Ron who was out of the state at the time with his pregnant fiancee and her family. Nevertheless, Ronald was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In 2017, the Innocence Project used DNA evidence to exclude him from the possible list of assailants, and it took until 2021 for the state to finally acknowledge it.

Learn more and get involved at:

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

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/ls/1WXCLBD8D0HF8
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.

On March 16, 1989, Lloyd Witter and Jomo Kenyatta sustained several gunshot wounds at a residence in Jamaica, Queens. Witter died from his injuries. Paul Anderson, who also lived at the residence, was found handcuffed near Witter’s body. Under questioning, both Kenyatta and Anderson provided at least a half dozen different versions of the story that finally landed on Carlton Roman as the gunman. Roman claimed he’d been with his girlfriend on the night of Witter’s murder, an alibi that she corroborated. Nevertheless, he was charged with murder. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial, and no forensic, ballistic, fingerprint, or DNA evidence tying him to the shooting, Roman was convicted and served 32 years until his exoneration in August 2021.

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.

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.

​​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.