I'm Your Venus

In 1995, Deputy Sheriff William Hardy was shot while moonlighting at a Birmingham hotel. An informant told police the shooter was Toforest Johnson. Even though ten people saw him in a nightclub at the time of the crime, detectives believed they had their man. But after Yolanda Chambers’s statements were discredited, prosecutors turned to Violet Ellison who said she overheard Johnson confess on a three-way phone call. Years later, even the prosecutor has doubts about the so-called “earwitness” and whether Johnson should be on Alabama’s death row.From the producers of “Bone Valley” comes “Earwitness.” Host Beth Shelburne picks apart the original investigation, police conduct, and the credibility of the key witness. What does it say when even the people who put an innocent man on death row can’t get the justice system to right a wrong?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "EARWITNESS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: It's a small turd after all. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

13 Marras 202345min

In 2005, Kevin Jones discovered his girlfriend bludgeoned to death in her Russellville, Arkansas apartment. Police zeroed in on Jones, thinking the murder of former beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer was an open-and-shut case. Despite a strong alibi and critical evidence pointing to an unknown assailant, prosecutors would not alter their theory of the case. And years after a jury would decide Jones’s fate - and DNA from the scene was linked to Nona’s violent neighbor - many would not change their minds about what happened in apartment 12.From Dateline NBC comes their latest podcast, “Murder in Apartment 12.” Host Keith Morrison looks back at his two decades of covering the case. While still employing his famous droll delivery style, this Dateline mystery does not get wrapped up in a bow at the end.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER IN APARTMENT 12" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

9 Marras 202345min

The Navajo Nation is the only tribe that runs its own police academy, training officers for an understaffed force patrolling the largest reservation in the US. The latest class of about two dozen Navajo recruits must go through a rigorous 28 week boot camp to prepare them for the rigors of the job.But Class 57 begins to dwindle, with recruits dropping out or being dismissed for misconduct. Yet those who graduate find themselves unprepared for the emotional reality of patrolling a reservation filled with poverty, addiction, and violence which mirrors their own experiences growing up Navajo.  The HBO Original documentary series “Navajo Police: Class 57” takes us inside the academy of a police force desperately trying to fill its ranks and into the complicated lives of those seeking to wear the uniform. It reveals how the NPD is a microcosm of the Navajo Nation itself…revealing its history, uncertain future, and its resiliency.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "NAVAJO POLICE: CLASS 57" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.Plus, the Crime Writers read a statement regarding toxicity in podcasting.In Crime of the Week: Mamas boys.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

6 Marras 202348min

A serial killer father! Truckers! Bunk beds! Prison letters! BEARS! This podcast seemed to have everything, except maybe a point. In this CWO Classic, we'll revisit our October 22, 2018 review of "Happy Face." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

2 Marras 202319min

Grad students James Monsees and Adam Bowen envisioned a new technology, one that would give smokers like them the hit of nicotine they craved without the carcinogens of a combustible cigarette. After a decade of refining vape products, they finally achieved commercial success with Juul. But instead of reaching smokers wanting to quit, Juul’s biggest customer base were young people attracted by their fruity flavors and extra pack of nicotine. Instead of being an alternative to Big Tobacco, the company had its own problems with regulators, parents, and public health officials.With users, experts, and former employees, Netflix’s “Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul” chronicles the history of the controversial tobacco product. Did Juul’s mission backfire, making the public health crisis it tried to mitigate only worse? Or did its financial success blind its creators to the inevitable outcomes of perfecting smokeless tobacco?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BIG VAPE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: gummin' bears. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

30 Loka 202352min

The 1970 shooting of a Wisconsin man should have been an open-and-shut case - but it led the victim’s niece on a decade’s long search for the truth. On this CWO Classic we’ll revisit our epic April 12, 2021 review of MANslaughter. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

26 Loka 202331min

When Maya Lin Sugarman was cleaning out her grandmother’s home, she discovered some screenplays written by her late uncle. Galen Yuen was in a Chinese street gang before becoming a small-time actor. Maya had no idea the script about his life story was made into the 1997 movie “Crazy Six.” By the time Hollywood was finished with the semi-biographical thriller about an Asian crack addict looking to rip off some Oakland drug dealers, it featured Rob Lowe trying to steal plutonium from Eastern European gangsters. The screenplays send Maya on a quest to uncover her uncle’s true life story, find the real people who inspired the characters, and learn how his movie got whitewashed in the first place.The Apple Original podcast “Magnificent Jerk,” produced by Pineapple Street Studios, is the true story of the fake story of a real life. The host takes a journey into the colorful past of the uncle she thought she knew and finds a tale about identity, ambition, and family.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MAGNIFICENT JERK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Paying your debt to society. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

23 Loka 202347min

While his wife and eight of his children lay sleeping, James Peterson awoke to a stranger at his farmhouse door. Within a matter of minutes, all but one family member would be shot to death in Canada’s worst random murder spree. The scope of the 1967 crime shook Saskatchewan, leaving locals in fear for their lives. Mounties would later interrogate a neighbor who’d been recently released from a hospital and had been hallucinating about the devil.Rawlco Radio presents the six-part podcast “The Shell Lake Massacre.” Host Brittany Caffet recounts one of Canada’s most gruesome slayings. She also introduces us to Kathy Hill, the only surviving member of the Peterson family, as they both return to the scene of the crime.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE SHELL LAKE MASSACRE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

19 Loka 202346min