Episodes

How can one man save the life of a perfect stranger? The case of Daniel Villegas shows how ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference in the fight against wrongful convictions. Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell the story of an unexpected hero who fought for years to turn tragedy into triumph, ending in one of the most dramatic courtroom exonerations ever seen. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to https://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/ Wrongful Conviction: False Confe...

Laura Nirider talks with Daniel Villegas about what it was like waiting for the jury to announce its verdict, how he prepared his children for the possibility he might not be coming home, and how it feels to finally focus on the future. If you haven't heard his full story, it's right here in the podcast Feed. Just under this bonus episode. And if you've yet to watch Daniel's exoneration video, check it out on Instagram @wrongfulconviction. It's an incredible opportunity for all of us to bear wi...

How could anyone believe a confession about 1,000 pole-vaulting terrorists all dressed like Ninja Turtles? This week, Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us a story with some of the most outlandish false confessions ever heard. And yet, California native, Hamid Hayat, was wrongfully convicted of terrorism in the years following the horrific 9/11 attacks. Investigators thought Hamid was part of a terrorist sleeper cell, though eventually they learned no such terrorist cell ever existed. To dona...

COVID 19 has derailed our normal lives into that of isolation, restricted movement, anxiety, despair, and even the threat of death. Jason Flom knows a lot of people that have an intimate knowledge of all of these things and how to cope with them. In the first interview of a new mini series from Wrongful Conviction Podcasts Jason Flom speaks with Damien Echols, a man who spent 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Damien tells us how he used exercise, art, structure, mental focus...

Could I have somehow done this and not remembered it? Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us the story of Billy Wayne Cope- a father and husband, a man of faith, and one of many railroaded into a false confession. The interrogation techniques were so potent that Billy even started questioning his own memory. Though DNA evidence pointed to the real killer, prosecutors refused to acknowledge Billy's innocence. This case will stay with you. It certainly left a mark on Steve. To donate, learn mor...

As we move into our 2nd month since COVID 19 was declared a global pandemic, many of us have been isolating for just as long, if not longer. Jason Flom has been reaching out to some experts - our wrongfully convicted community - for advice on how to cope with the dark side of isolation. In the second interview of a new mini series from Wrongful Conviction Podcasts, Jason Flom speaks with Amanda Knox, a woman who was sentenced to 26 years in an Italian prison for a crime she did not commit. Her ...

What could make someone confess to the murder of their own mother? Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin take us to The Bronx in 1989. Huwe Burton was sixteen years old and charged with the murder of his own mother. Even as Huwe was bulldozed into a false confession, the real killer was living in the apartment just one floor below. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/ Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions is a production of L...

Social distancing orders have had us on lockdown for well over a month, leaving many of us struggling with not only isolation and restricted movement, but also the looming economic implications. Jason Flom has been reaching out to our wrongfully convicted community for the kind of advice that only they can give. In the third interview of our mini series from Wrongful Conviction Podcasts, Nick Yarris draws upon his harrowing experiences on death row to show us how to leave the existential threat...

How could a layperson see all the problems with this interrogation when the police couldn’t? Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us about Chris Tapp, just 20 when he endured a mind-bending, 25-hour interrogation that transformed him from an innocent man into a confessed murderer. Fortunately for Chris, he found an indomitable champion... in the victim’s mother, Carol Dodge. Carol convinced police to use a revolutionary new method of DNA identification to exonerate Chris and find her own daughte...

Conflicting survival instincts and an internet full of misinformation has left many of us in disagreement over what is the best path forward. Once again, Jason Flom taps the wisdom of our wrongfully convicted community, while so many struggle. In the 4th and final interview of our mini series from Wrongful Conviction Podcasts, one of the Central Park. 5, now the Exonerated 5, Dr Yusef Salaam, pulls from a deep reservoir of philosophical and spiritual learning to guide us all in making lemonade ...

Am I telling the story the way the story needs to be told? Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us the story of David McCallum, one of two New York teens wrongfully convicted of murder in 1986. Luckily for David, he had incredible allies in his corner - the famous boxer, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, and a district attorney, Ken Thompson, who was dedicated to real justice. Here comes the story of the DA and the Hurricane, and one of the men they saved. To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to:...

Why do we tell these stories? Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin tell us the last story of season one. It’s about Peter Reilly, one of the first modern-day false confessors. In 1973, police continued to interrogate 18-year-old Peter until he started to believe he was actually guilty of murdering his own mother. But Peter’s friends and neighbors believed in his innocence. Their small-town campaign for Peter’s freedom was eventually joined by a host of big name celebrities. Laura Nirider and Steve ...

In the fall of 1998, Julius Jones had the whole world ahead of him. He was a freshman who planned to study engineering and was attending the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship. The following summer, just three days after his 19th birthday, Julius was awakened and dragged out of bed, barefoot and shirtless, and taken into police custody as a murder suspect. In 2002, he was convicted of killing a prominent local businessman – this after eyewitness testimony that should have excluded...

In July of 1996, Damon Thibodeaux was visiting family, when his 14 year-old step cousin, Crystal, walked to the grocery store and never came back. When Crystal’s mother Dawn began to worry, Damon went looking for her daughter. Soon, neighbors and emergency workers would join the search that ended under the Huey P Long Bridge with a partially nude Crystal strangled to death. However, even before the body was found, the police already had their sights on Damon for what they thought was a rape and...

This is an updated episode that originally aired on September 25, 2017. On the afternoon of April 15th, 1994, two men were sitting in a powder-blue Cadillac in the Quindaro neighborhood of Kansas City, KS. A man dressed in black ran up to the passenger side, raised a shotgun and fired four rounds in what looked like a drug-related hit, killing the two passengers Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing. Lamonte McIntyre, who was 17 at the time, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murd...

After a short stint in prison, Stephen Carrington was a newlywed father, training to be an EMT and getting his life back on track. However, his past would pique interest when the police came looking for his brother at the same address, and a detective would flippantly interchange the fates of two young black men. Learn more and get involved at: https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association...

On Thursday June 11, 2020, justice advocate and philanthropist Jason Flom moderated a forum on Facebook Live with four extraordinary leaders in civil rights, justice, and advocacy: Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors; prison industry expert Bianca Tylek; Drug Policy Alliance executive director Kassandra Frederique; and civil rights lawyer and author Alec Karakatsanis. The goal of this event was to empower people to take action, find resources, and learn how to use their unique talents...

Tim Howard and Brian Day were best friends with drug habits to match. Brian did some deals to support his habit, ending up in debt to some nasty characters. When Brian and Shannon Day are murdered, and their 7 month old boy, Trevor, is left for dead in a duffel bag, authorities get a case of tunnel vision for the Day’s only black friend. Learn more and get involved at: http://www.proclaimjustice.org https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom i...

Terrel Barros, Stephen Bodden, and their friends thought they were just going out clubbing until a tragic encounter changed all that. Then, authorities compounded that tragedy by sending an innocent man to prison and setting the confessed killer free. Learn more and get involved at: http://www.change.org/freeterrelbarros https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LQPNFwumJQ https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom is a production of Lava for Good™ Pod...

This is an updated episode that originally aired on August 13, 2018. Since his release in April 2018 and the ultimate end to his legal troubles in August 2019, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill is using his voice to fight on behalf of those entangled in the many trappings of the criminal legal system. He is joined by his friend, e-commerce billionaire, and co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, Michael Rubin, to discuss their shared hopes for reform. Learn more and get involved at: https://reformall...

On April 15th, 2011, an Oakland, CA drug dealer lost his iPod, and an addict lost his life. 5 weeks later, the questionable word of another addict derailed the promising musical career of a young man whom he had never met. Learn more and get involved at: https://www.change.org/p/department-of-justice-justice-for-pierre-rushing-wrongfully-convicted/u/25484884 https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts ...

On May 5th, 1985, a group of friends were bar hopping around Clearwater, Florida, when they ran into their drug dealer’s 14 year old daughter, Shelly Boggio. She tagged along for a night of fun that tragically ended in her death and an innocent man spending over 3 decades on Florida’s death row. We are joined by James Dailey’s attorney, Josh Dubin, who has had a hand in freeing many of our previous guests, including Barry Gibbs (S1E2); Robert Jones (S3E6); Jeffrey Deskovic (S4E8); Clemente Agui...

In 1996, Hulon Howard was allowing competing crack dealers to operate out of the front porch and basement of his home in West Philadelphia. He and his girlfriend, Lena Laws, enjoyed the fringe benefits until the usual trappings of the drug trade claimed Mr Howard’s life along with the freedom of a man with an unfortunate nickname. Learn more and get involved at: https://tlewisfoundation.com/ https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom is a prod...

On the night of April 25th, 1976, a wealthy, 54 year old widow was burglarized and raped in Concord, North Carolina. What happened next paints a stark picture of American policing and race relations that arguably remains unchanged to this day. Learn more and get involved at: https://www.change.org/p/demand-nc-governor-to-commute-ronnie-long-s-sentence-immediately https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom is a production of Lava for Good™ Podc...