Episodes
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On January 16, 2009, Linda Bonner found her husband Franklin duct-taped to a chair in their Chattanooga, TN home, with tape over his nose and mouth and signs of blunt force trauma. He was dead from suffocation. Police found fingerprints on the duct tape, but no matches were found. Nine years later, in 2019, 23-year-old Angel Bumpass was arrested after failing to appear in Kentucky court for a traffic ticket. Her fingerprints were taken upon her arrest and automatically searched against unidentified crime scene prints. Police said her fingerprints matched two partial prints on the duct tape from Franklin Bonner’s case. Even though she was only 13 years old at the time of the crime, Angel was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/398-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-fingerprint-evidence/
https://www.instagram.com/justiceforangel/?hl=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@thatsangelb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26901702/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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On January 8, 1993, seven employees at a Brown’s Chicken and Pasta in Palatine, IL. were brutally murdered. With no solid physical evidence, police unsuccessfully chased down hundreds of leads. Local officials established a $100,000 reward. Still, the case went cold for nine years. Then, in 2002, two of James Degorski’s ex-girlfriends came forward with a story implicating James, and what they said would land him in prison for life. He continues to claim his innocence.
To learn more about James Degorksi and to contact James, visit:
https://jamesdegorski.com/“The Brown's Chicken Massacre” by Maurice Possley
https://www.amazon.sg/Browns-Chicken-Massacre-Maurice-Possley/dp/0425190854To learn more about Maurice:
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/Staff.aspxBonjean Law Group
https://www.bonjeanlaw.com/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.
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Missing episodes?
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January 18, 2006, 3-year-old Trustin Blue tumbled down his basement stairs in Cincinnati, OH, became unresponsive, and later brain dead. Trustin had been under the supervision of his mother’s boyfriend, Lamont Hunter, at the time of the incident. When Trustin was declared dead, the police began suspecting that Trustin had been raped and abused by Lamont, and had not actually fallen down the stairs as Lamont claimed. The case against Lamont was centered around allegations of prior abuse against Trustin and the manner of Trustin’s injuries. Lamont was convicted and sentenced to death for the incident.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/3k5jem-free-after-wrongful-incarceration-on-death-row
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/473-jason-flom-with-robbie-roberson/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/410-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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On the evening of March 22, 1987 a businessman and father were robbed and killed in Dallas, TX. Just a few days later, 22-year-old Benjamine Spencer, a newlywed with a child on the way, was arrested for the crime. A reward for any information on the killing would lead several eyewitnesses to fabricate a story implicating Ben. Despite the fact that he had an alibi and there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Ben was sentenced to life in prison. He fought for the next 37 years to finally be declared an innocent man.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/677738/bringing-ben-home-by-barbara-bradley-hagerty/https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/no-way-out/
https://centurion.org/
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.
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On the night of July 15, 2008, 22-year-old Moustapha Oumaria was shot and killed while hanging out with three friends outside his Crown Heights, NY home. The three friends described the shooter as a black male wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants. When shown a photographic lineup, they identified Arvell Marshall as the shooter. But police had in their possession video surveillance footage that clearly showed that someone else was responsible for the murder. Nevertheless, Arvell was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-arvel-marshall-rebuild-his-life
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/473-jason-flom-with-robbie-roberson/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/205-jason-flom-with-james-davis-update/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In the winter of 1995, Joyce Dennis was killed during her closing shift at a laundromat in North Philadelphia, PA. Police then rounded up a group of teenagers and, over the course of several months, got them to implicate two of their friends for the crime, including Eddie Ramirez. Despite the fact that no physical evidence tied him to the murder scene, Eddie would spend 27 years in prison for a crime he’s always maintained he did not commit.
Click here to see the entire interview on our YouTube channel.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.wisemanschwartz.com/https://painnocence.org/
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.
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On the morning of December 9th, 1984, 19-year-old Christopher Turner woke up to the police breaking into his bedroom with guns drawn. He was arrested for the murder of Catherine Fuller, who was assaulted, robbed, and killed on the evening of October 1st, 1984. Based on testimonies delivered under coercion, Christopher was convicted of first degree murder, along with 8 other defendants, and sentenced to life in prison. It was later revealed that the prosecution withheld vital information, including several eyewitness testimonies implicating a different suspect, thus violating the Brady Rule. Turner remained hard-working, resilient, and optimistic despite the adversity he endured. He was released on parole in 2011 and continues to engage in prisoner advocacy work.
Send emails of support for the pardon petition to: [email protected]
The Soul Searchers - We The People: https://youtu.be/Ehx2HfA3Dc0?si=pQcRTUnCKQQh6Axc
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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On December 28, 2007, a young man was shot and killed outside an apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ten days later, an eyewitness identified Marty Levingston as the gunman, and eventually, a jailhouse snitch would point to him too. Though the eyewitness expressed doubt at trial, Marty was sentenced to 15 to life for a murder he consistently maintained he did not commit.
Click here to see the entire interview on our YouTube channel.
Thank you to Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly and Ohio Innocence Project attorney, Donald Caster, for participating in this episode.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
The Dark Plea: One of the Most Coercive Abuses of Power Permitted in the Criminal Justice System
Ohio Innocence Project
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/422-maggie-freleng-with-angela-garcia/
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.
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On August 25, 1994, a woman found her boyfriend shot dead in his Louisiana apartment. His stolen car was found across from 16-year-old Eric Brown’s sister’s house. Without any DNA evidence, eyewitnesses, fingerprints, or murder weapon, the state took Eric to trial, and the jury found him guilty. That jury was composed of eleven white members and one black member. Two members of that jury also found him not guilty. Nevertheless, they sent Eric, a child, to prison for life without the possibility of parole.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/391-jason-flom-with-george-toca/
https://www.instagram.com/esolid365/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Shortly after 18-year-old Tonia Miller brought her newborn home in Calhoun County, MI in 2001, she noticed something was off. Her baby wouldn’t eat much and she’d often gasp for air. Tonia asked doctors for help to no avail. “I don't know if it was because I was a young, unwed mother of two children on Medicaid,” Tonia says. “They didn’t take me serious at all.” Despite Tonia’s efforts to get her baby help, she would die at only 11-weeks-old, and Tonia would spend 18 years in prison for her murder.
Click here to see the entire interview on our YouTube channel.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/michigan-innocence-clinic-0
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.
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Shortly before 3 a.m. on November 16, 1992, 16-year-old Shaharain Brandon was shot and killed in Chicago, IL. An eyewitness who was with Shaharain at the time of the shooting talked to police numerous times in hopes of identifying the gunman. Despite not mentioning him numerous times in her initial interviews, the eyewitness ended up identifying Roosevelt Myles in a photo lineup. Despite no physical evidence tying him to the crime, Roosevelt was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
http://www.helpbreakthechain.org/
https://www.bonjeanlaw.com/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In 2004, Marvin Haynes was a pretty average 16-year-old — watching Nickelodeon, chasing trends and girls, just having a good time. “I just couldn't wait for the weekends” Marvin says. Until he was picked up by police for a murder at a Minneapolis, MN flower shop. With no physical evidence tying Marvin to the scene, shaky witness IDs, and even a witness recanting at the stand, teenage Marvin was sentenced to life in prison.
Click here to see the entire interview on our YouTube channel.
Learn more and get involved or donate below.
Help Marvin Haynes start his new life after exoneration:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/exonerated-after-19-years-support-marvin-haynes
Great North Innocence Project:
https://www.greatnorthinnocenceproject.org/donate
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.
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One morning in February of 1975, 17-year-old high school basketball star Leslie Vass was running an errand for his mother at the local pharmacy in Baltimore, MD when he was approached by a police officer. This was Vass’s first encounter with the police, and he was confused and frightened when they placed him under arrest at gunpoint. Four months prior, three men robbed a delivery man at this same pharmacy. The victim of this robbery happened to be there that day, and reported that Vass was one of the armed robbers. Vass was sentenced to 20 years in prison solely on the questionable testimony of this one witness.
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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On August 11, 1991, the body of a young woman was found outside an apartment building in Austin, TX. A bystander reported a black man rubbernecking at the incident, causing the police to question 26-year-old Allen Andre Causey for “suspicious behavior.”
After hours of interrogation police handed Andre a written statement claiming it was his alibi. Andre says only after signing did he learn it was a confession to murder that would land him in prison for three decades. On warm, sunny days, Andre would look outside the prison windows and daydream: “Man, it's just beautiful. I need to be at home.” Home with his family and wife of 23 years, Dellanda. But it would be years before they could reunite.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://innocencetexas.org/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.
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On January 31, 2002, Robert Roberson was awakened at his home in Palestine, TX by a cry and went to find his two year old daughter, Nikki Curtis, on the floor at the foot of the bed with a small amount of blood on her mouth. He cleaned up her mouth and kept her up for a while, then they both fell back to sleep.
A few hours later, Robert awoke up to find Nikki unconscious and turning blue. He tried to revive her but she was unresponsive.
Robert brought his daughter to the emergency room and after extensive triage, including reviving her heart (but not her brain), Nikki was driven to Dallas for further treatment and eventually taken off of life support. She passed away on February 1, 2002.
Robert was eventually indicted and ultimately convicted for capital murder for Nikki’s death and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-robert-roberson/
https://justiceforroberson.com/To write Robert:
Robert Roberson
TDCJ 999442
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, TX 77351
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/410-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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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.
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.
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In June 1986, Kevin Dykes witnessed the attempted murder of 2 people and the actual murder of a 3rd person in his neighborhood in Compton, CA. Kevin decided to go to the police, partly out of fear of reprisals by the killers who knew he witnessed the murder. The prosecutors then used his knowledge of the crimes that he witnessed against him and charged him with all 3 crimes.
Learn more and get involved at:https://www.change.org/free-kevin-dykes
https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom
https://cash.app/$kevindykes0712
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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After a short stint in prison, Stephen Carrington was a newlywed father, training to be an EMT and getting his life back on track. But when the police came looking for his brother at the same Brooklyn, NY address, the police mistakenly zeroed in on Stephen as the primary suspect of a felony murder at a Brooklyn lumber store. Stephen was convicted and sentence to 23 years to life.
Learn more and get involved at:
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=6802
http://www.brooklynda.org/2024/05/16/brooklyn-district-attorney-moves-to-vacate-conviction-of-brooklyn-man-who-served-23-years-for-homicide-in-case-of-mistaken-identity/
https://www.nyls.edu/faculty/adele-bernhard/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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On June 14, 2007, 32-year-old Chris Vaughn was found limping on the side of the road near Joliet, IL, bleeding from two gunshot wounds. When police arrived on scene, they found the bodies of his wife and three children shot in the car. Chris is unable to recount the events of that early morning, and there are no other witnesses to the crime. Chris was subsequently convicted of 4 counts of first-degree murder. Although the state intended on imposing the death penalty, it was abolished four years after Chris’s arrest. His trial hadn’t begun, altering the state’s course of action. He is currently incarcerated and serving 4 consecutive life sentences for the killings.
Chris Vaughn’s case was covered in the hit 2021 podcast series Murder in Illinois. While Chris was interviewed extensively for that podcast, this is the first time we hear Chris Vaughn’s voice as he shares his tragic story with Jason Flom.
Featuring:
Chris Vaughn
Keith Altman (Attorney)
Lauren Bright Pacheco
Jason Flom
Click here to listen to Murder in Illinois:
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-murder-in-illinois-84071522/
Please tell Governor Pritzker about your support for Christopher Vaughn:
https://gov.illinois.gov/contact-us/voice-an-opinion.html
https://www.instagram.com/govpritzker/?hl=en
To write to Christopher, send letters to:
Christopher Vaughn IDOC#MM33173
5835 State Route 154
Pinckneyville, IL 62274
To learn more, visit:
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/250-jason-flom-with-rodney-lincoln/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In the early 1990s, Calvin Buari was a well-known crack cocaine distributor in the Bronx, NY. In 1992, a disgruntled associate who had recently shot Calvin implicated him in the murder of Elijah and Salhaddin Harris. Calvin was charged with the double murder and six rival drug dealers testified against him at his 1995 murder trial. No physical evidence connected him to the crime. A jury took only two hours to convict Calvin of murder, and he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
But he never stopped fighting for his freedom, and the case took a turn with a 2003 affidavit from the key witness against him who confessed to the crime, stating that he “pinned this double murder on Calvin Buari because of a dispute between Calvin and me, and because I wanted complete control of my drug spot.”
Journalist Steve Fishman followed Calvin’s story for seven years and eyewitnesses, first interviewed by Fishman, testified in court in 2015 that Calvin was not the murderer. By May 2017, a judge overturned the conviction and ordered 46-year-old Calvin Buari freed. In this episode, Calvin is joined by Steve Fishman, who chronicles his journey for justice in the hit podcast Empire on Blood.To learn more, click here:
https://link.chtbl.com/KsTvKFl3Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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