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Earwitness

Lava for Good Podcasts

One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee"s Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on

true crime documentary

All Episodes

2:17

Introducing: Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng...

Earwitness ·

2024/09/01

Pulitzer Prize winner and iHeartPodcast 2024 Social Impact Award Honoree Maggie Freleng brings compelling stories of redemption and justice with new episodes of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng starting September 9, 2024. Click HERE to follow Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

1:34

Wrongful Conviction 2024 - Trailer

Earwitness ·

2024/01/01

Lava for Good’s critically acclaimed Wrongful Conviction podcast, co-hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, and Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, returns with gripping new episodes that delve into harrowing stories highlighting pervasive issues in the criminal justice system. Flom and Freleng speak with individuals who were wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Some have been

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44:19

Episode 8 | Bondage to the Law

Earwitness ·

2023/10/31

Episode 8 of 8In a rare and remarkable move, the current Jefferson County District Attorney, Danny Carr, has asked the court to throw out Toforest’s conviction and order a new trial. The original prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, joined Carr’s call to right this terrible wrong, yet Toforest remains on death row, and the State continues to seek his execution. Beth unpacks the journey these powerful men have taken to reach their conclusions while also exploring why the system itself refuses to self-correct

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37:40

Episode 7 | Messy

Earwitness ·

2023/10/24

Episode 7 of 8 The original trial prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, begins to doubt Violet Ellison's credibility several years after Toforest's conviction. Beth embarks on an investigative journey to examine Ellison's credibility, and discovers that Ellison appeared on the State's witness list in at least four other criminal cases. She speaks to the defendants in these other cases – as well as members of Ellison’s own family – and learns that she is not at all the woman prosecutors portrayed at trial, and

en-US

45:32

Episode 6 | Misfiled

Earwitness ·

2023/10/17

Episode 6 of 8 Beth unravels disturbing revelations about the State’s handling of Violet Ellison, the earwitness whose testimony forms the backbone of the case against Toforest. She tracks the tenacious investigative work of Toforest’s lawyers to prove Ellison was paid $5000 for her testimony - in secret. After years of denying that a reward was ever paid, prosecutors are finally forced to disclose the truth – almost 20 years after Toforest was convicted and sentenced to death. To learn more,

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56:02

Episode 5 | Anybody Will Do

Earwitness ·

2023/10/10

Episode 5 of 8 Beth combs through the trial transcripts to understand how Toforest was convicted of Deputy Hardy’s murder with no physical evidence. During the trial, the State introduces a new witness - the earwitness. Violet Ellison claims she overheard Toforest talk about the murder on a jailhouse phone call – a theory the State initially rejected but now throws all its weight behind once Yolanda Chambers’s story falls apart. Beth walks listeners through one of the most shocking aspects of this

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46:02

Episode 4 | Witness or Defendant

Earwitness ·

2023/10/03

Episode 4 of 8 Beth examines the Hardy murder file in order to fully understand the investigation. She discovers a pattern of tunnel vision, willful disbelief of alibi witnesses, and a reliance on coercive interview tactics that suggest if witnesses don’t say what the police want them to say, they will end up as defendants and charged with crimes themselves. Beth considers other potential investigative leads that were ignored and lost to time while detectives constructed a narrative that suited

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42:33

Episode 3 | Police Girl

Earwitness ·

2023/09/26

Episode 3 of 8 After learning that Yolanda Chambers changed her story hundreds of times and admitted to perjury, Beth sets out to understand Chambers’ motivations. Is she a villain or a victim? Beth tracks down her mother, who has never spoken publicly about the case. She learns important details about Chambers’ tragic life, including her role as a paid informant for the FBI, work that may have ultimately led to her murder at age 29. To learn more, including how you can help,

en-US

42:01

Episode 1 | Behind the Crown

Earwitness ·

2023/09/19

Episode 1 of 8 Journalist Beth Shelburne meets with former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, who explains why he is deeply disturbed by the wrongful conviction of Toforest Johnson for the murder of Deputy Bill Hardy. Through her reporting on the case, Beth, like Baxley, is convinced that Toforest has no connection to the murder. She sets out to conduct an in-depth investigation into why detectives targeted him in the first place, how he was convicted, and why the State of Alabama is still

en-US

46:30

Episode 2 | Don't Know Diddly

Earwitness ·

2023/09/19

Episode 2 of 8 Beth trains her focus on the days immediately following the murder, beginning with recordings of police interrogations of key witnesses. Yolanda Chambers, a 15-year-old girl, places Toforest at the scene of the murder. But Beth finds evidence that Chambers was manipulated by law enforcement officers into fabricating her testimony. Beth brings her findings to lead detective Tony Richardson, who defends his tactics while admitting regrets that cast further doubt on his decision to build

en-US

30 results

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