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EarwitnessAuthor: 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 Hardys 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 Alabamas death row. In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforests guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforests conviction relied on an earwitness a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years. From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Goods Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, How did an innocent man end up on death row and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there? Shelburnes unprecedented access to key playersthe lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok. Earwitness is available eve Language: en-us Genres: Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Introducing - Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco | Season 2
Thursday, 13 November, 2025
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.
