Wrongful Conviction

On June 19th, 1995, Dusty Turner was out at a bar with some friends in Virginia Beach, VA, including his roommate and training partner, Billy Brown. Dusty Turner and Jennifer Evans were sitting in his car waiting for Evans’s friends to join them when an extremely intoxicated Billy Brown forced his way into the back seat and began insulting Evans and pulling her hair. When she tried to defend herself, Brown suddenly attacked her, wrapped his arms around her neck in a forceful choke hold, and killed her instantly. All the while Dusty Turner had been prying and clawing Brown’s hand off of Evans, pleading with him to stop. Finally realizing that she was dead, Dusty panicked and reacted to his intensive SEAL training that demanded “always protect your swim buddy” regardless of the cost. Dusty’s instinct for survival and misplaced loyalty to Brown took over as he drove out of the parking lot and helped Brown hide the victim’s body in a nearby wooded area. Eight days later, Dusty confessed the entire story to his commanding officer and agreed to take the police to the body after being assured that he would only be used as a witness during the trial. During Billy Brown’s trial in 1996, Brown testified against Dusty to receive a lesser sentence of 72 years in prison. Three months later, with an outraged community and media frenzy surrounding the case, Dusty Turner was convicted of first-degree murder and abduction, and sentenced to 82 years in prison.  https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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 evening of May 22, 2005, Salvador A. Martinez was shot and killed in Camden, NJ. The notorious Camden Police Department eventually set its sights on Lance Alford, and after  coercing three supposed eyewitnesses to identify and testify against Alford as the perpetrator, Alford was convicted of first-degree murder. Based on this testimony alone, Alford was sentenced to life in prison.  To Learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justinbonusesq/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9h5dR6M-P4https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/509-jason-flom-with-manfred-younger/ Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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 7, 2014, 37-year-old Brenda Burns gave birth to a baby girl, Naomi. Two months later, on March 15, 2014, Brenda was running errands, and Naomi was home with her father, Brenda’s husband, 37-year-old Joshua Burns. They had talked on the phone while Brenda was out, and all was well. When Brenda returned, she found Joshua tending to a cut on Naomi’s face. Naomi fell forward while on Joshua’s lap. He caught her, but she consequently cut her face on his hand. Naomi fell ill in the subsequent weeks. Her parents took her to doctors and emergency care multiple times, and the doctors sent her home with medicine each time. The final time, doctors declared that Naomi had retinal hemorrhaging. The doctor determined it was a result of child abuse and Shaken Baby Syndrome. Joshua was charged with second-degree child abuse. After a trial without updated scientific evidence, but with conflicting medical testimony, a jury found Joshua guilty, and sentenced him to one year in prison.   To learn more and get involved, visit:https://unshakentruth.com/https://www.instagram.com/unshakentruth76/https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-robert-roberson/ Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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 Sunday February 13, 2000, 53-year-old Jane Dorotik reported her husband Robert missing after he failed to return home from a jog in Valley Center, CA. An avid runner, Robert’s body was found the next morning. He had been strangled with a rope and his skull was fractured. After investigators found what they purported to be human blood throughout the Dorotik residence, the state developed a theory of Jane’s guilt. She was quickly arrested and tried. The trial, riddled with junk science and faulty forensic testimony, resulted in a jury finding Jane guilty. Despite the defense’s continuous discovery of evidence both during and after jury deliberations, the trial court reinforced the conviction and sentenced Jane to 25 years to life.  To learn more and get involved, visit:https://csw.ucla.edu/research/feminist-anti-carceral-studies/uc-sentencing-project/https://womenprisoners.org/https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/390-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-bloodstain-pattern-evidence-update/ Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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 24, 2001, 25-year-old Jamond McIntre was shot seven times and killed in Detroit, MI. Though there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, three individuals, including 21-year-old Marvin Cotton, were ultimately identified. After a trial that hinged on the testimony of a jailhouse snitch, Cotton was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.betternotbrokenllc.org/https://ooe8689.live-website.com/https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMEd4mjjDK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==https://www.instagram.com/mrbeattheodds/?hl=enhttps://lavaforgood.com/podcast/502-maggie-freleng-with-darrell-ewing/ Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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.

Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize winner, iHeartPodcast 2024 Social Impact Award Honoree and acclaimed host of Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, returns with compelling stories of redemption and justice in the newest season of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng starting March 5, 2026. Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng 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 1979, 28-year-old cab driver Jeffrey S. Boyajian was robbed and murdered when he was shot in the head five times after he picked up three men in a Boston, MA neighborhood. Several eyewitnesses identified Fred Clay as one of the three men who entered Boyajian’s cab. But Clay, who was 16 years old at the time, maintained his innocence. He testified that he’d been at his foster home at the time of the crime, which his foster mother confirmed. Despite his alibi, Clay was charged as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder.  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 July 5, 2000, Ricardo Aguilera was shot and wounded in a gang related drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California. Several witnesses identified 25-year-old Rafael Madrigal Jr. in a photo lineup as either the shooter or driver of the car involved.  Those witnesses testified against Rafael at trial. Rafael, who maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, had been at work at Proactive Packaging, a 50-minute drive away, at the time of the shooting.  A co-worker could have confirmed his alibi, and his boss could have testified that he was certain Madrigal was at work because he was the only one who knew how to operate one of the machines in the production line. But Rafael’s defense attorney only called a single co-worker to the stand at the trial, and did not present a recording of Rafael’s co-defendant admitting that Rafael was not involved. On January 18, 2002, a jury convicted Rafael of attempted murder and he was sentenced to 53 years to life 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.

Rodney Roberts was arrested in 1996 in Newark, NJ, after an altercation with a friend. After several days in custody, he found himself charged with the kidnapping and rape of a 17-year-old girl. His court appointed attorney advised him to plead guilty or spend the rest of his life in prison. Rodney had a good job and had recently moved with his young son into a new apartment. Hoping to get back to his son as soon as possible, Rodney pleaded guilty to the crime in exchange for a seven-year sentence. He would end up spending 18 years in custody before DNA evidence excluded him as a perpetrator and he was exonerated and released in 2014. 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 1998, Vanessa Gathers was wrongfully convicted of robbing and beating 71-year-old Michael Shaw to death. There was no physical evidence linking Vanessa to the crime, and her conviction was based on a false confession extracted from her by notorious New York police detective Louis Scarcella, whose tactics led to the wrongful convictions of more than a dozen people. She is joined by her attorney Lisa Cahill in this episode. 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.

Ryan Ferguson was a 17-year-old high school student when Kent Heitholt, a sportswriter for the Columbia Daily Tribune, was found beaten and strangled in Missouri. Heitholt's murder went unsolved for two years until police received a tip that a man named Charles Erickson could not remember the evening of the murder and had told a friend that he thought he may have been involved. Erickson, who had spent that fateful evening partying with Ryan Ferguson, was interrogated by police and despite initially seeming to have no memory of the night of the murder, eventually confessed and implicated Ryan as well. Police offered Erickson a plea deal in exchange for testimony against Ryan at his trial in 2005. Despite the lack of any physical evidence tying Ryan Ferguson to the crime, he was convicted of second-degree murder and robbery and sentenced to 40 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.

On September 1, 1990, Thomas Peters and James Coleman were shot while shooting craps outside a liquor store on the west side of Chicago, IL at about 1:30 am. The men were taken to a hospital, where Peters died and Coleman was treated and released for a gunshot wound in the back. Day and a codefendant were arrested eight days later after a nephew of Peters and witness to the crime, told police they were the shooters. Despite several other witnesses willing to attest to Day’s innocence, both he and his codefendant were found guilty and sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 60 years for murder and 25 years for attempted murder. In this episode, Antoine Day is joined by Laura Caldwell, a former civil trial attorney who is now the director of Life After Innocence. 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 November 16, 1983, a 28-year-old woman was attacked and sexually assaulted by an unknown male as she was walking home from work in Lowell, MA. The following evening, a 23-year-old woman was attacked less than one hundred yards away from the site of the first assault. Even though no biological evidence could link him to any of the crimes, Dennis Maher, who was a sergeant in the United States Army at the time, was arrested and charged with both attacks, as well as an unsolved rape from the previous summer. He was convicted based on eyewitness misidentifications made by the victims, all of whom identified him in photographic lineups. Dennis Maher is joined by attorney Alex Spiro and New England Innocence Project Director of Communications Hannah Riley. 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 18, 1991, six teenage boys were standing on a curb talking in front of a house in the Los Angeles, CA suburb of Lynwood. Donald Sarpy, the father of one of the boys, stepped onto the driveway to call his son inside when a car drove by and two shots were fired, killing Sarpy. 16-year-old Francisco “Franky” Carrillo Jr. became a suspect in the case after he was mistakenly identified by the police as the shooter in separate case. On the night of the Sarpy shooting, the police showed one of the eyewitnesses a picture of Carrillo. That witness later identified Carrillo as the shooter and told the five other witnesses to identify Carrillo as the shooter. There was no physical evidence linking Carrillo to the crime. However, all the eyewitnesses identified Carrillo as the shooter and testified to the identification. Franky was convicted of murder, attempted murder and sentenced to life 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.

Early on the morning of January 18, 1989, a security guard found the body of Michael Francke lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the North Portico of the Dome Building of Oregon State Hospital in Salem, OR. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a stab wound to the heart. Michael Francke - who had a background as a military man, former prosecutor and judge, and then head of the New Mexico Dept. of Corrections where he rooted out corruption - had been hired by Oregon Governor Mike Goldschmidt to do the same in Salem, OR. Four months later, Police received a tip that Frank Gable, a petty criminal and police informant, was involved. 11 months after that, several other police informants had come forward claiming Frank was involved. Based largely on their questionable testimony, Frank was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. To learn more and get involved: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murder-in-oregon/id1667171131https://www.loevy.com/ To get involved in helping exonerees like Frank Gable rebuild their lives after release: www.after-innocence.org Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco  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 early morning hours of July 14, 2004, 19 year-old Adrian Payan and 18 year-old Emerson Bojorquez were ambushed at a nightclub in Houston, TX. A man named Jason Wooley fired the first shot of the shootout, and a man waited outside in a Cadillac, wearing a blue shirt and firing shots from an assault rifle. Bojorquez was killed, but Payan survived. Witnesses noted the Cadillac’s license plate number and police traced it to Pablo Velez, Jr. Velez had a solid alibi, but an eyewitness apparently identified him in a photo lineup. As a result, Velez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. To learn more and get involved: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforPabloVelezJr/Texas Board of Pardons and ParolesP. O. Box 13401Austin, Texas 78711-3401E-mail: [email protected]://www.lw.com/ To get involved in helping exonerees like Pablo Velez rebuild their lives after release: www.after-innocence.org Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco  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 July 9, 2006, at Club Crystal in Waterloo, IA, an individual later identified as Tonye Jackson was shot multiple times and killed on the property. The shooting occurred during active nightclub hours, with multiple patrons present at the scene. Three gunshots along with Jeff Smith’s nickname were audible on a recorded Black Hawk County Jail phone call contemporaneous with the incident. After a trial lacking physical evidence tying Jeff to the crime and marked by timeline manipulation, unreliable witness statements, and significant nondisclosure of exculpatory evidence, a Black Hawk County jury found Jeff Smith guilty of First-Degree Murder and sentenced him to life in prison without parole. To learn more and get involved: https://www.instagram.com/thereal_atprichie/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVQsUTD9IQF1POBPkLgXTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV4qNY9U5g4 To get involved in helping exonerees like Jeff Smith rebuild their lives after release: www.after-innocence.org Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco  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 August 1987, the body of 44-year-old single mother of two, Sandra Lison, was found in the Machickanee Forest in Green Bay, WI. She went missing from her bar the night prior. An autopsy showed that she was strangled and evidence suggested she was raped. Investigators interviewed the bar’s patrons, including brothers, 32-year-old David Bintz and 31-year-old Robert Bintz. No evidence suggested their, or anyone else’s involvement, and the case went cold for four years. In 1991, Lison’s purse was found 40 miles south of where her body was found. Yet, the case went cold again for the next seven years. Meanwhile, David was incarcerated for an unrelated crime, and a fellow inmate reported hearing David, who is intellectually disabled, sleep-talking about Lison’s death, apparently talking about killing her with his brother. This so-called confession gave investigators the lead they needed to arrest David and Robert. Once in custody, David confessed to the crime while simultaneously stating that he was at home at the time and not involved. What’s more – DNA evidence exonerated David and Robert from the rape before trial. The prosecution just changed their theory though, and David and Robert were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. To learn more and get involved: https://www.greatnorthinnocenceproject.org/ https://law.wisc.edu/fjr/clinicals/ip/ To get involved in helping exonerees like Robert Bintz rebuild their lives after release:  www.after-innocence.org Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco  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.