Wrongful Conviction

He thought the police would recognize this was just a dream, not reality.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us a story from Ada, Oklahoma where a young woman went missing. A few months after her disappearance, a man named Tommy Ward told police that he’d had a bad dream about her murder. Incredibly, the police took that dream and turned it into a false confession... and into a prison sentence that continues to this day, 35 years later.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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.

These police were willing to sacrifice one of their own just to close a case.

Laura and Steve tell us the story of a Michigan murder case with an unusual suspect: a small-town police officer named Ray McCann. After Ray helped investigate the disappearance of a little girl, he was wrongfully accused of her murder. In pursuit of their only suspect, police turned Ray’s whole life into an interrogation room.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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.

Michael was serving a life sentence until one person came to his rescue: his mom.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us to Culpeper County, Virginia, to tell the story of teenage buddies Eric Weakley and Michael Hash. Local police solved a murder case by coercing Eric into falsely confessing and into falsely implicating his friend Michael as an accomplice. For years, lawyers couldn’t get justice for either of them -- until Michael’s mom found evidence that blew this case wide open.

If you want to support Eric Weakley’s pardon petition, you can write to the governor of Virginia.

Governor Ralph E. Northam

Use the email form at: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/

Write a letter to:

Governor Ralph E. Northam

P.O. Box 1475

Richmond, VA 23218

Call:

804-786-2211

Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson

Email to: [email protected]

Write a letter to:

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Kelly Thomasson

P.O. Bo 2454

Richmond, Virginia 23218

Call:

804-692-2542

A portion of this podcast series’ proceeds will be donated to the Center on Wrongful Convictions. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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 woman was forced to talk. The other was forced to listen. Both were powerless.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us about a California man named Ricky Davis. In 1985, Ricky and his girlfriend, Connie, found their roommate brutally stabbed to death. Without any leads, the case went cold for 14 years until detectives convinced Connie that she had repressed memories of Ricky committing the crime.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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 the final episode of the season, Josh Dubin explores Shaken Baby Syndrome with Kate Judson, Executive Director for the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences.

Shaken Baby Syndrome isn’t a foolproof diagnosis. There are in fact many other causes for the symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome that do not arise from intentionally shaking a baby at all.

Learn more and get involved.

http://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.

To win exoneration, it wasn’t enough for the DA to declare innocence. The judge had to agree, or Walter wasn’t going anywhere.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us to Philadelphia for the story of Walter Ogrod. Walter was sent to death row by an old-school Philly justice system that was better known for injustice. He spent decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit -- until a new wave of reform-minded prosecutors found the truth behind Walter's false confession.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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.

Josh Dubin discusses Eyewitness Testimony with renowned psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. She studies human memory, specifically the malleability of memory, a huge factor in cases where eyewitness testimony is used as evidence.

It turns out that memories, just like other forms of evidence, can be manipulated, contaminated, and planted.

Learn more and get involved.

http://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.

Sometimes when detectives can't get a confession they'll settle for a something else

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin explore the story of Emerson Stevens, a fisherman from Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. When a young mother was found murdered, it seemed all the evidence pointed to Emerson, until the case fell apart. Emerson survived 31 years in prison with the help of an ally from across the bay.

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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.

To support Emerson Stevens’ request for an Absolute Pardon contact the Governor of Virginia's office and the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office investigates the requests while the Governor grants or denies the requests.

Governor Ralph E. Northam

Use the email form at: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/

Write a letter to:

Governor Ralph E. Northam

P.O. Box 1475

Richmond, VA 23218

Call:

804-786-2211

Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson

Email to: [email protected]

Write a letter to:

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Kelly Thomasson

P.O. Bo 2454

Richmond, Virginia 23218

Call:

804-692-2542

A portion of this podcast series’ proceeds will be donated to the Center on Wrongful Convictions. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The thing about torture is that it works, at least if your only goal is to find a scapegoat.

Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin take us to Birmingham, England. In 1972, two pubs were bombed, and six innocent Irish men were tortured into giving false confessions. The Birmingham Six were freed in 1991, but the crime’s never been solved. To this day, the public demands to know who really planted those bombs.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions  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.

Josh Dubin examines Roadside Drug Testing with Greg Glod, Criminal Justice Senior Policy Fellow.

Faulty tests, which cost police departments $2 a piece or less, are widely used across the United States, causing countless people to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit, despite scientific evidence that proves just how ineffective they really are.

Learn more and get involved.

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

https://www.propublica.org/article/common-roadside-drug-test-routinely-produces-false-positives

https://www.propublica.org/article/no-field-test-is-fail-safe-meet-the-chemist-behind-houston-police-drug-kits

https://www.propublica.org/article/unreliable-and-unchallenged

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.