United States of Crime Austyn Castelli

Wrongful imprisonment is one of the worst things that the American government can do to someone, but even with modern forensic technology and investigative techniques, it still happens. This is one such case, wherein four innocent African American men were charged and convicted for the horrific rape and double homicide of Carol Schmal and Lawrence Lionberg in Ford Heights, Illinois in 1978.

Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597

Our Interludes are from "Light" by Jorge Mendez

You can donate to the show at https://anchor.fm/austyn-castelli/support

Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, Hell and High Horror on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox.

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Sources:

http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx

http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Exonerations_in_2019_Infographic.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ford_Heights_Four

https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/first-witness-testifies-in-schmal-case/article_916c1f97-d9f3-5af8-acdc-60f6700ca790.html

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-04-26-9704260068-story.html

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3433

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3561

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=2982

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3744

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3439

https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/supreme-court/1989/62845-7.html

https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/supreme-court/1995/73274-7.html

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-04-mn-21148-story.html

https://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/search/inms_print.asp?idoc=K56043

“The Psychological and Legal Aftermath of False Arrest and Imprisonment” by Robert I. Simon, M.D.

“Psychological Consequences of Wrongful Conviction and Imprisonment” by Adrian Grounds








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During the summer of 1964, civil rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman set out to register black Mississippians to vote. For this, they were murdered by Ku Klux Klan members. Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman's murders set off a chain of events that called the racist culture of Mississippi, and of the nation as a whole, into question. 

You can support the fight for racial justice by visiting:


NAACP
Black Lives Matter
National Lawyers Guild
National Bail Fund Network
Color of Change
And Many More Organizations...
Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor
Support Change in Breonna Taylor's Name
Check Out How To Contact Louisville Officials
View The Black Lives Matter Master Doc

Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597

Our transition music is "Sad Emotional Piano" by DS Production https://soundcloud.com/user-2026388/sad-emotional-piano

Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, Hell and High Horror on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox.

Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter

Sources:

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/price&bowers/Account.html

https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2004/jun/21/down-a-southern-road/

https://apnews.com/3d82e778b5d643088268c3214ae904f8

https://dickatlee.com/issues/mississippi/mississippi_eyewitness/valley_of_fear.html

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-murder/

https://mscivilrightsproject.org/neshoba/event-neshoba/the-murder-of-chaney-goodman-and-schwerner/

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/7/14456154/dehumanization-psychology-explained

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201801/the-psychology-racism

The Ascent of Man: Theoretical and Empirical Evidence for Blatant Dehumanization by Nour Kteily

The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell

The Psychology of Racism: An Introduction to the Special Issue by Jennifer A. Richeson


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/austyn-castelli/support

America is one of only five first world countries to still actively utilize the death penalty as a form of criminal punishment. Over the last century, certain protections have been put in place to protect underage and intellectually disabled offenders. But what happens when a state refuses to accept evidence of an offender’s mental disability? And what if that same offender may be innocent? In this episode, we examine the prosecution of Pervis Tyrone Payne for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher and Lacie Jo Christopher and the impending execution of Payne, despite doubts about his intellectual abilities and guilt.

If you feel that Pervis Payne’s execution should be stopped, please call the office of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee at (615) 741-2001, you could tweet to him, his twitter username is @GovBillLee, or you can email him through the Tennessee Government website https://www.tn.gov/governor/contact-us.html.

Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597

Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, Hell and High Horror on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox.

Episode Sources:

https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1336&context=vlr

http://tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_v._payne_-_m1998-00096-sc-dpe-dd_-_response.pdf

https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/payne-pervis.htm

https://law.jrank.org/pages/23597/Payne-v-Tennessee-Defendant-s-Rights.html

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/vfluc.txt

https://core.ac.uk/reader/132196862

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence/executed-but-possibly-innocent#larry_swearingen

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/111/20/7230.full.pdf


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/austyn-castelli/support

America is the school shooting capital of the world, but what is it about this country that leads to such crimes? In this episode, we’ll take a look at the Pearl High School shooting of 1977 and the perpetrator, Lucas Woodham.

Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597

Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, Hell and High Horror on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox.

Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/austyn-castelli/support