array(6) { [0]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(83) "S8E2: John Grisham & Jason Flom Join Forces to Advocate for Criminal Justice Reform" ["datetime"]=> string(17) "February 11, 2019" ["description"]=> string(1237) "

In this special edition of Wrongful Conviction, Jason Flom is joined by John Grisham to discuss his work with the Innocence Project, his commitment to criminal justice reform, and his Netflix series, The Innocent Man, the documentary adaptation of his only nonfiction book about two murders in Ada, Oklahoma. 

----------

For ten years John Grisham practiced law in a small town in Mississippi, much like Jake Brigance in A Time To Kill. He also served two terms in the State House of Representatives. In 1990, he gave up both the law and politics to write full-time, and since then has published at least one book a year.  

He has written one collection of short stories, one work of non-fiction, three books about sports, one comic novel, seven editions of his Theodore Boone series for children, a childhood memoir, and, at last count, more than twenty legal thrillers. Nine of his books have been adapted to film. 

He serves on the Board of Directors of the Innocence Project in New York, and the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia.  

John and his wife, Renee, live on a farm in rural Albemarle County, Virginia.

" ["episode_id"]=> string(36) "b96e6b1a-ab5a-42dd-b824-085877918b59" ["show_id"]=> NULL ["episode_audio"]=> string(71) "https://rss.art19.com/episodes/b96e6b1a-ab5a-42dd-b824-085877918b59.mp3" } [1]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(85) "S8E1: Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction? The Story of Jens Soering" ["datetime"]=> string(17) "February 04, 2019" ["description"]=> string(1766) "

Jens Soering is serving two consecutive life terms for a case of double homicide, the murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom in 1985–a crime he says he did not commit. On June 8, 1986, Jens Soering, the son of a former German diplomat Jens Soering falsely confessed to killing Haysoms. He also told police he cut his hand in the process. Soering "took the rap" for his girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom, to save her from the death penalty for killing her parents.

At Soering's trial, prosecutor Jim Updike told the jury that Soering's confession was corroborated by several drops of type O blood at the crime scene. Soering had type O, none of the other people involved in the crime did, so the blood had to be his. Updike repeated this claim 26 times. A comparison of lab reports showed that DNA tests had eliminated Jens Soering as a possible source of the type O blood at the scene. The same blood that in 1990 suggested his guilt now proved his innocence. He could not have cut his hand while killing the Haysoms, as he had "confessed" in 1986, because the type O blood had a different genetic profile than his. Another (unknown) man had cut himself and bled at the scene. In 2017 two independent DNA scientists confirmed these findings: Dr. Moses Schanfield of George Washington University and Dr. Thomas McClintock of Liberty University. They also found DNA evidence showing the presence of a second unknown man with type AB blood.

The crime remains unsolved and Jens Soering has remained behind bars for over 32 years.

In this gripping interview with Jens Soering, Jason Flom is joined by novelist John Grisham and Sheriff J.E. "Chip” Harding of Albemarle County, Va, both of whom have advocated on Soering’s behalf. 

" ["episode_id"]=> string(36) "7291b7f6-4155-4c44-85d4-5ca764004f22" ["show_id"]=> NULL ["episode_audio"]=> string(71) "https://rss.art19.com/episodes/7291b7f6-4155-4c44-85d4-5ca764004f22.mp3" } [2]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(61) "S8E1: Trailer: Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom - Season 8" ["datetime"]=> string(17) "February 02, 2019" ["description"]=> string(261) "

Season 8 Premieres, Monday. Feb. 4 2019. Tune in for an interview with Jens Soering. Soering was only 18 years old when he went to prison for murder. He is still behind bars–32 years later–for a crime he says he didn’t commit. 

" ["episode_id"]=> string(36) "72b21012-86b6-42ee-834f-e4a1c095ef57" ["show_id"]=> NULL ["episode_audio"]=> string(71) "https://rss.art19.com/episodes/72b21012-86b6-42ee-834f-e4a1c095ef57.mp3" } [3]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(48) "S7E17: The Wrongful Conviction of Marty Tankleff" ["datetime"]=> string(16) "January 28, 2019" ["description"]=> string(887) "

Marty Tankleff had just turned 17 when he was arrested for murdering his parents, Seymour and Arlene Tankleff in September 1988. Based on an unsigned “confession" extracted from him following many long hours of interrogation by notorious Suffolk County detective K. James McCready, Marty was convicted and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. After serving 17 years, Marty's conviction was vacated by the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department, in December of 2007. On July 22, 2008, a judge signed off on a motion by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to dismiss all charges against Marty. Marty graduated from law school and he now works to help free other people who have been wrongfully convicted. Along with students at Georgetown University, Marty recently helped exonerate Valentino Dixon, who was a guest earlier this season. 

" ["episode_id"]=> string(36) "d7b13dc7-97c2-4910-a9d8-dd60c3a3dd95" ["show_id"]=> NULL ["episode_audio"]=> string(71) "https://rss.art19.com/episodes/d7b13dc7-97c2-4910-a9d8-dd60c3a3dd95.mp3" } [4]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(134) "S7E16: Jeffrey Deskovic: A 10th Grade Student Forced By Detectives To Make A False Confession And Freed By DNA Evidence 16 Years Later" ["datetime"]=> string(16) "January 22, 2019" ["description"]=> string(2456) "

In 1990, Jeffrey Deskovic was wrongfully convicted of the brutal rape and murder of his 15-year-old classmate, Angela Correa. Mr. Deskovic was only 16 at the time of the crime with no prior record. Police claimed that Mr. Deskovic was overly upset at the victim’s funeral and were certain they had their man. They interrogated him for over seven and a half hours, without his mother or legal counsel present. After browbeating and intimidating him, they ultimately extracted a false confession after promising that he could go home after he confessed. He had also been told that if his DNA did not match the semen in the rape kit, he would be cleared as a suspect. In January 1991, Jeffrey Deskovic was convicted by jury of 1st degree rape and 2nd degree murder, despite DNA results showing that he was not the source of semen in the victim’s rape kit. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. In 2006, post-conviction DNA testing done by the Innocence Project both proved Mr. Deskovic's innocence and identified the real perpetrator, convicted murderer Steven Cunningham, who subsequently confessed to the crime. On November 2nd, 2006, Jeffrey Deskovic’s indictment was dismissed on grounds of actual innocence and he was released after serving 16 years in prison. Since his release, he has started The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, which investigates wrongful conviction cases and provides support for exonerees once they are released.

For additional information:

http://www.thejeffreydeskovicfoundationforjustice.org

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/deskovicfoundation 

Jeffrey Deskovic: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.deskovic 

The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/thejeffreydeskovicfoundation/

Twitter: https://www.youtube.com/user/deskovicfoundation 

Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/jeffreydeskovic

" ["episode_id"]=> string(36) "e1dd9499-fcd6-4ec3-8a02-3d610117b4b1" ["show_id"]=> NULL ["episode_audio"]=> string(71) "https://rss.art19.com/episodes/e1dd9499-fcd6-4ec3-8a02-3d610117b4b1.mp3" } [5]=> array(6) { ["title"]=> string(110) "S7E15: Dusty Turner: A Navy Seal Behind Bars For 22 Years For A Murder Even Though The Actual Killer Confessed" ["datetime"]=> string(16) "January 14, 2019" ["description"]=> string(4298) "

Dusty Turner was a 20-year-old Navy SEAL trainee when he was arrested for the murder and abduction of Jennifer Evans. On June 19th, 1995, Dusty Turner was out at a bar with some friends in Virginia Beach, VA including his roommate and training partner, Billy Brown. Dusty Turner and Jennifer Evans were sitting in his car waiting for Evans’s friends to join them when an extremely intoxicated Billy Brown forced his way into the back seat and began insulting Evans and pulling her hair. When she tried to defend herself, Brown suddenly attacked her, wrapped his arms around her neck in a forceful choke hold, and killed her instantly. All the while Dusty Turner had been prying and clawing Brown’s hand off of Evans, pleading with him to stop. Finally realizing that she was dead, Dusty Turner panicked and reacted to his intensive SEAL training that demanded“alwaysprotect your swim buddy” regardless of the cost. Mr. Turner’s instinct for survival and misplaced loyalty to Brown took over as he drove out of the parking lot and helped Brown hide the victim’s body in a nearby wooded area. Eight days later, Mr. Turner confessed the entire story to his commanding officer and agreed to take the police to the body after being assured that he would only be used as a witness during the trial. During Billy Brown’s trial in 1996, Brown testified against Mr. Turner to receive a lesser sentence of 72 years in prison. Three months later, with an outraged community and media frenzy surrounding the case, Dusty Turner was convicted of first degree murder and abduction, and sentenced to 82 years in prison. In 2002, Billy Brown confessed to Jennifer Evans’ murder and said that Dusty Turner played no part in it. The testimony he gave matches the story Mr. Turner told his commanding officer and also matches the physical evidence that the police had at the time of the crime. Dusty Turner petitioned for a“writof actual innocence” and his conviction was overturned by a three-judge panel of the Virginia State Court of Appeals. However, the State Attorney General’s Office quickly appealed this decision and the original Court of Appeals ruling was overturned. Since he first told his story to his commanding officer, Mr. Turner has steadfastly maintained his innocence, acknowledging that he was guilty only of being an accessory-after-the-fact, which is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 12 months in jail. To date, Dusty Turner has served nearly 22 years in prison, over half of his life.

Link to watch the documentary for free online: https://vimeo.com/143034674/21eed7bd0f 

Amazon Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Navy-SEAL-Murderer-Framed-Opportunity/dp/B01LZHH8D5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485566809&sr=8-1&keywords=Target+of+opportunity 

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/navy-seal-murderer-framed/id937936629

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/targetofopportunity2 

Link to the Change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/tell-virginia-governor-terry-mcauliffe-it-is-time-to-free-dusty-turner 

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FreeDustyTurner 

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/FreeDustyTurner 

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VAForJustice & www.Facebook.com/FreeDustyTurner 

Website: www.FreeDusty.org

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