Uncover Introduces: Earwitness from Lava for Good

Uncover Introduces: Earwitness from Lava for Good

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 Hardy’s 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 Alabama’s 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 Toforest’s 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, Toforest’s 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 Good’s 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?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the 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 a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

Avsnitt(297)

S30 E5: The Undercover Mother | Bad Results

S30 E5: The Undercover Mother | Bad Results

What’s really going on inside Accu-Metrics? Co-host Rachel Houlihan goes undercover, posing as a mother who needs a paternity test. Once inside, she meets face to face with the company’s owner, Harvey Tenenbaum. She also connects with an ex-employee who reveals what he witnessed in the lab. A legal note: Over the course of this podcast, a number of allegations are made against Viaguard Accu-Metrics and its employees. When asked, company owner Harvey Tenenbaum said he stands by the test, and that any errors were caused by customers during sample collection.

1 Dec 202430min

S30 E6: Travesty | Bad Results

S30 E6: Travesty | Bad Results

In September 2024, a senior employee at Viaguard Accu-Metrics is sentenced for running an unrelated $6 million hair-testing scam. Will this development prompt the police to investigate his former employer as well? Will it finally push Tenenbaum to comment on the record? And what options remain for John, Corale and the other customers living with the long term impact of their bad results? A legal note: Over the course of this podcast, a number of allegations are made against Viaguard Accu-Metrics and its employees. When asked, company owner Harvey Tenenbaum said he stands by the test, and that any errors were caused by customers during sample collection.

30 Nov 202425min

S30 Trailer | Bad Results

S30 Trailer | Bad Results

Who is this baby’s father? It’s a question a DNA lab promised to answer with “99.9% accuracy” — but instead, routinely identified the wrong dads. Investigative journalists Jorge Barrera and Rachel Houlihan track down the families whose lives were torn apart by these bad results and the story behind the Canadian company that stands by its testing and continues to operate today.

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S29 E1: "A Damn Paper" | Capital Gazette

S29 E1: "A Damn Paper" | Capital Gazette

Part 1: Five colleagues are shot dead. Everyone is traumatized. On that day, June 28, 2018, what can the remaining staff of the Capital Gazette do that might make a difference? Publish "a damn paper."

21 Okt 202435min

S29 E2: "It's OK That We're Alive" | Capital Gazette

S29 E2: "It's OK That We're Alive" | Capital Gazette

Part 2: How do you try to return to normal after a mass shooting? The Capital Gazette moves into a tiny, temporary office, and staff members confront the challenges of producing a daily paper while dealing with fear and guilt.

21 Okt 202431min

S29 E3: "I Know He Did It" | Capital Gazette

S29 E3: "I Know He Did It" | Capital Gazette

Part 3: The Capital Gazette takes on a new beat: itself. As the shooter's case works its way towards trial, the staff tries to balance coverage obligations with personal feelings.

21 Okt 202430min

S29 E4: "We Are the Newsroom" | Capital Gazette

S29 E4: "We Are the Newsroom" | Capital Gazette

Part 4: The Capital Gazette is swept up in the troubles of the newspaper industry. Its corporate owners are making painful cuts, and a hedge fund with an ominous reputation seeks control. Staff members, who survived the 2018 shooting and kept the Capital going, wonder if the paper can last.

21 Okt 202429min

S29 E5: "All of a Sudden… It’s Different" | Capital Gazette

S29 E5: "All of a Sudden… It’s Different" | Capital Gazette

Part 5: In our final episode, there's one important part of the newspaper's story we couldn't bring you until now: what it's like to have their attacker stand trial. And the unexpected ways that trial can affect you. Plus a big update about the newspaper itself.

21 Okt 202433min

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