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Lava for Good Podcasts

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and podcast host Lauren Bright Pacheco, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

Wrongful Conviction

On March 14, 1998, 16-year-old Benjamin Urias was shot in the Pico-Union neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. The shot was not fatal, but Urias was hospitalized for two days. Urius was member of the 18th Street Gang, and told investigators that the shooter walked with a limp and shouted “Burlington Locos,” the name of another Los Angeles gang. Four days before the shooting, Oscar Eagle turned 18 years old. And two days before that, Eagle was shot in the leg. He was walking with a limp, and the since disgraced CRASH Unit targeted Eagle. A corrupted photo lineup and identification, coupled with egregiously ineffective counsel resulted in Eagle’s conviction for attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. 
 
To learn more and get involved:
 
https://www.calinnocence.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.

#550 Lauren Bright Pacheco with Oscar Eagle

Six new, inspiring episodes of Wrongful Conviction, hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco, that celebrate the potential of human connection to empower ordinary people to overcome extraordinary odds and injustices. Real individuals who unexpectedly became one another’s personal heroes by turning tragedy into triumph.
 
Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco will be available every Thursday beginning November 13 wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.
 
Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing - Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco | Season 2

Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is back November 13th with all new episodes. So today, we’re revisiting one of the most memorable episode from her last season, episode #454, James Soto:
James “Jimmy” Soto was wrongfully convicted at age 20 for a 1981 double homicide in Chicago’s Little Village despite no physical evidence and multiple alibi witnesses. Jimmy and his cousin David spent 42 years in prison — the longest wrongful conviction sentences in Illinois history. While incarcerated, Jimmy earned a college degree and became a jailhouse lawyer, helping others, including his former cellmate Robert Almodovar. The two formed a lifelong bond — and now, both exonerated, they’re rebuilding their lives together on the outside.
 
To learn more and get involved, visit:
 
https://www.gofundme.com/f/life-after-42-yrs-of-wrongful-imprisonment
https://paroleillinois.org/
 
Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#549 Lauren Bright Pacheco with James Soto

On September 19, 1988, drug dealer Richard Valdez and his pregnant girlfriend Sharon Condon were shot in their house near Scottsbluff, NE. Police quickly focused on Jeff Boppre based on a purported “dying declaration” that Valdez, after being shot multiple times, wrote parts of Boppre’s name in engine grease on the ground next to him. The investigation was built against Boppre and he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to two life sentences. 
 
To learn more and get involved:
 
https://www.change.org/p/state-of-nebraska-free-jeff-boppre-ec9e405b-9502-47e7-a4c3-36b47a0d5e01
 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/326510333156/
 
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.

#458 Jason Flom with Jeff Boppre

On December 5th, 1984, the naked body of Theresa Fusco was pulled out of a wooded area in Lynbrook, NY - the 3rd in a string of recent disappearances, putting pressure on police to find the monster among them. The medical examiner determined that a rape lkely occurred and the cause of death was ligature strangulation. Dennis Halstead had been linked to one of the victims, and in a police interview about Halstead, John Restivo inadvertently mentioned an occasional employee John Kogut. 
 
When police interrogated Kogut for 12 hours, during which interrogators lied to him about his failing a polygraph, Kogut signed a confession that was hand-written by one of the detectives. With the false confession, the trio were convicted and sentenced to 33 and a half years in prison. 
 
John Restivo and Innocence Project Senior Staff Attorney Nina Morrison joined Jason at the Atlanta Innocence Network Conference to tell this amazing and terrifying tale.
 
To learn more and get involved:
 
https://www.kimlawcrimlaw.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kimlawcrimlaw/?hl=en
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/377-jason-flom-with-tyrone-noling-update/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/335-maggie-freleng-with-charles-jackson/
 
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.

#547 Jason Flom with John Restivo

On October 15, 2015, Quortney Tolliver was attacked with a hammer in her home in Ravenna Township, OH. She woke up from a medically induced coma weeks later with absolutely no recollection of the incident. Nevertheless, Portage County detectives pressed her to identify the person they “found out who did this” – 47 year old David Smith. Ms. Tolliver refused to identify Mr. Smith until she faced her own charges and had a dream with Mr. Smith in it, apparently indicating that he was the perpetrator. Based on Ms. Tolliver’s fraught identification alone, a jury convicted Mr. Smith of attempted murder and sentenced him to 22 years in prison.
 
To learn more and get involved:
 
https://www.kimlawcrimlaw.com/
 
https://www.instagram.com/kimlawcrimlaw/?hl=en
 
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/377-jason-flom-with-tyrone-noling-update/
 
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/335-maggie-freleng-with-charles-jackson/
 
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.

#546 Jason Flom with David Smith

On May 21, 1988, about 5:00 a.m., the victim, after an argument with her boyfriend, left his parked car and walked alone toward her home in St. Louis, MO. Shortly thereafter, three males pulled their car alongside her, jumped out of the car, grabbed the victim by the hair, pulled her into an alley, pushed her to the ground, and tore her dress. Two of the men held her down, while the third man sodomized and raped her. The victim identified the rapist as Fredrico Lowe-Bey. 
 
Fredrico Lowe-Bey was charged and convicted for kidnapping, rape, and sodomy of the woman and received consecutive sentences of 35 years for each sex-offense count and 15 years for tampering.
 
Years later DNA testing has "affirmatively excluded Lowe-Bey", though he remains behind bars today.
 
To learn more and get involved:
 
https://centurion.org/donatenow/
 
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.

#545 Jason Flom with Fredrico Lowe-Bey

Jason Flom sits down for an interview with Maggie Freleng, the Pulitzer prize-winning producer, journalist and host of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County. In this special episode, Maggie talks with Jason about her experiences reporting this show from a small town in Kentucky for over 2 years, and how truth and justice can get lost in the pursuit of retribution.
 
Graves County is out now in the Bone Valley feed. New episodes are available every Wednesday. Subscribers to Lava For Good+ on Apple Podcasts can listen to the entire series today.
 
To learn more and get involved, please visit: 
 
http://apple.co/BoneValley
 
https://governor.ky.gov/contact
 
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/541-guest-host-maggie-freleng-with-quincy-cross/
 
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.

#544 Jason Flom with Maggie Freleng on Quincy Cross and Graves County

On April 9, 1997, shortly after midnight in Buffalo, NY, Officers Charles “Skip” McDougald and Michael Martinez were patrolling near Northampton and East Parade in Buffalo’s East Side when they observed what they described as a “suspicious person.” According to police accounts, when they approached, the individual produced a handgun and fired. Officer McDougald was struck in the chest and fatally wounded, and Officer Martinez was shot and seriously injured but survived. Nineteen-year-old Jonathan Parker was convicted for the shooting death of Officer McDougald and the attempted murder of Officer Martinez, and was sentenced to life without parole plus consecutive terms. The prosecution’s case rested heavily on eyewitness testimony and seized items, while Parker has consistently maintained his innocence. 
 
To learn more and get involved, please visit: 
 
https://www.instagram.com/metcalflawnyc/
 
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/159-jason-flom-with-keyontay-ricks/
 
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s1e1-us-senator-dick-durbin-on-ending-mass-incarceration/
 
Or call: 
 
Steven Metcalf: 631.521.1499
 
StevenAlan@metcalflawnyc.com
 
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.

#543 Jason Flom with Jonathan Parker

Maggie Freleng, along with Executive Producers Gilbert King and Jason Flom bring you the first episode of Maggie’s new documentary series, years in the making: Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY. 
 
In it Maggie takes us to a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, where a terrible discovery on the front lawn of a middle school invites a string of amateur and professional investigators to try to solve a murder. Maggie is the latest investigator to get pulled in. And she’ll take all of us along as she teases out this complicated web of rumors and lies, and perhaps even the truth.
 
In this special preview of Chapter 1, we hear from Victoria Caldwell. Her account of the killing of Jessica Currin would become the driving force in the conviction of Quincy Cross and others for the murder of Jessica Currin. 
 
You can hear Chapter 2 right now in the Bone Valley feed. New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.
 
Tomorrow we’ll bring you the next, new episode of Wrongful Conviction.
 
Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County - Preview

In 1999, Luis Vargas was convicted and sentenced to fifty-five years to life in prison for three sexual assaults. He was accused of being the notorious “teardrop rapist,” a methodical serial rapist that terrorized women in Los Angeles. The real “teardrop rapist” would attack over 30 victims. Luis Vargas is joined by his lawyer, Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project.
 
https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom
 
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava For Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#067 Jason Flom with Luis Vargas

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