Wrongful Conviction

4.4 (5.6K)
True Crime

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.

See All (610)

Behind every Bone Valley season is a conviction: the right story, told with purpose, humanity, and craft, can have an enormous impact. Award-winning investigative documentaries from the fault lines of America's justice system. Bone Valley Season 5 | The Devil’s Quarry is the latest podcast from Lava for Good. It is hosted by Paul Solotaroff, award-winning investigative journalist and longtime contributing editor at Rolling Stone. For Paul, who has been digging at this story for 5 years, the devil has always been a myth, until now. The bones of a twelve-year-old girl are found by a hunter in the woods. A young woman lives inside a real-life horror movie, ignored by everyone she turns to for help. Corrupt cops turn a blind eye to the evil lurking in their midst. The wrong people are convicted of a crime. A drug dealer works tirelessly for justice from jail. Records are hidden. Fingers are pointed. Lives are at stake. In Carmel, NY, the heroes are humble, the power is corrupt, and the devil is real. Bone Valley Season 4 | Earwitness chronicles the case of Toforest Jonhson. In 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was murdered behind a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Toforest Johnson was four miles away at the time and no physical evidence linked him to the crime. But he has been on Death Row for 25 years. Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County is a new story about a new case. Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, 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. In Season 2, Jeremy Gilbert King brings us a story about her actual killer, Jeremy Scott, fighting to prove his guilt. The State of Florida does not believe either man. In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder. Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

4.8 (5045)

True Crime
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 available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

4.8 (440)

True Crime
Twenty-two-year-old Elma Sands is found murdered in a Manhattan well on January 2nd, 1800. Her lover, wealthy and well-connected Levi Weeks, is accused of the barbaric offense. Weeks brings in the nation’s best legal defense team – none other than Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr – to clear his name while a pandemic-stricken New York City buzzes with scandal. This six-episode true story unfolds over the unbelievable two-day trial that laid the sexist roots of today’s justice system. Through flashbacks & testimony recreated in modernized language and narrated by Allison Flom, Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands investigates history’s chronic erasure of women and highlights the toils of Catherine Ring, a 27-year-old Quaker woman who took on the nation’s best legal team to preserve her cousin Elma’s name. Starring & Executive Produced by Allison Williams ("Get Out", "Girls") as Catherine Ring, Tony Goldwyn ("Scandal," "Ghost") as Alexander Hamilton, Barry Scheck (Innocence Project Founder) as Aaron Burr, and Jason Flom (Wrongful Conviction) as Judge John Lansing. Created & Narrated by Allison Flom. Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

4.0 (214)

History
Welcome to season two of The War on Drugs podcast, co-hosted by comedian Clayton English and Greg Glod, advisor to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform. This season, we’re bringing you real stories from real people—artists, athletes, and influencers like B-Real, Marcus King, Ricky Williams, John Osborne, and many others who lived the impacts of the War on Drugs firsthand. We’ll explore how drug policy isn’t just a political issue—it’s personal. We’ll talk about pain management, mental health, overcoming addiction, entrepreneurship, and the fight for personal freedom. The War on Drugs isn’t over. And the stories we share this season prove it.

4.6 (132)

Society & Culture
Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated is at once a tale as old as time - a true believer learns the hard way that the costs of lofty ambition and hubris just might outweigh even the most optimistic upside - and a thoroughly modern story of technology overtaking the very people it is meant to serve. In this case: the ubiquitous electric gun carried by cops everywhere and inspiring comedic shenanigans in movies like The Hangover. Host and documentarian Nick Berardini has been obsessed with this story for his entire adult life. With Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated , he left no stone unturned. Taser, Inc., now known as Axon, the 800-pound gorilla in the paramilitary police equipment industry, is led by its charismatic CEO and co-founder, Rick Smith. Fueled by a self-described religious dedication, Smith’s Star Trek obsession, and an ambitious vision of a world without gun violence, Rick leads Taser, Inc. to be the key tech supplier to virtually every police force in America. But as stories of alleged misuse, deaths, and serious injuries from Tasers begin to emerge, Taser, Inc. and Rick arrive at a crossroads between Rick’s vision and reality, with cops and the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect paying the price. Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1

4.6 (70)

Society & Culture
Righteous Convictions features music executive, philanthropist, and activist Jason Flom in conversation with a diverse who's-who of advocates at the forefront of critical issues that will impact our future. Guests include Sir Richard Branson, Ashley Judd, Senator Dick Durbin, Sister Helen Prejean, Seth Godin, Congressman James Clyburn, and many more. His discussions with these thought leaders and change-makers uncover and inspire the most powerful actions we can take for reform, equal justice, and a better world for all.

3.9 (48)

Society & Culture

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Jason Flom

Host
Lauren Bright Pacheco

Host
Maggie Freleng

Host

4.4

out of 5

5,559 Ratings

Speechless!!!

Jun 8

True Crime Savant

I did not expect to like this podcast, because I just do not deal with injustice very well. The thought of having to listen to these innocent people go through DECADES OF HELL ON EARTH just made me so angry. Even though they are exonerated in the end, I didn’t think I could handle it. Let me tell you, I WAS WRONG! As angry as I get for these wrongfully accused, convicted, imprisoned (usually) men…I REJOICE in the tables turning and JUSTICE, TRUE JUSTICE FINALLY BEING SERVED!!! Listening to episode 009 now, and I just heard that the judge presiding over his case got sent to prison himself!!! Now THAT is a comeuppance I can get behind. This show is SO well put together, Mr. Flom is an EXCELLENT host & interviewer. The guests really all tell amazing stories about how they PROVED they were INNOCENT. Against all odds. Kudos! I will be listening to this podcast (binging. Let’s just say binging) for a long time. Amazing job, all!
There’s so much good here

Apr 12

Jill-Grad

Thank you for making us aware of the innocent that are convicted. I’m so sorry this could be done from our legal system.
Blown away

Mar 21

Crimejunkie52

This podcast has blown me away, I never knew so many people could spend so much time in prison for something they didnt do. So unfair.
Big fan

Feb 21

Dmattes49

Big fan of the show, the interviews, the heartbreaking but inspiring stories, the work done by all of the Innocence Networks around the country - everyone must be informed and speak up for real Justice for the wrongfully convicted.

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.

Channel

Lava for Good+
Creator

Lava for Good Podcasts
Years Active

2016 - 2026
Episodes

610
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

2026 Lava Productions, LLC © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Lava.
Show Website

Wrongful Conviction
Provider

Lava Productions, LLC