Unjustly

Mikayla Miller

Mikalya Miller was a 16 year old black girl who was a part of the LGBTQ+ community in Hopkinton, MA. But the morning after she was assaulted by a group of teens in April 2021, Miller's body was found "hanging" from a tree in the forest. The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office immediately called her death a suicide. However, Miller's friends, family, and many activists are adamant this was a homicide and are requesting an independent study. Join us as we explore the details of the case, the the  discrepancies  in the investigation, and the glaring issues with the DA's ruling. Was this a suicide? Or was it in actually a lynching and a murder cover up?

De Anza College R*pe Investigation

 

The 2007 De Anza rape investigation was a police inquiry into allegations of sexual assault of a minor arising from an off-campus party on March 4, 2007. The investigation focused on eight members of the 2007 De Anza College baseball team. The allegations were investigated by the Santa Clara County, California Sheriff's Department, and reviewed by Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr. June 4, 2007, Carr stated that no charges would be filed. This decision was questioned by many, and the Office of the California Attorney General Jerry Brown was invited by the prosecutor to perform an independent investigation of the available evidence. May 2, 2008, the Attorney General's office determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone present with a crime.

 

 

Sources:

• https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7748009&page=1

• https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7757324&page=1

• https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/02/25/de-anza-civil-case-blog-feb-25-woman-pressing-rape- allegations-against-former-baseball-players/

• https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/persky-ruled-favor-college-baseball-players-accused-rape- article-1.2667813 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/03/19/chp-accuses-de-anza-baseball-player-of-felony-hit-and-run/

• https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/03/15/risque-photos-of-plaintiff-revealed-in-de-anza-gang-rape-civil-trial/

 

Lakeith Smith and the Felony Murder Rule

In 2015, in Millbrook, Alabama, 15 year old Lakeith Smith joined up with 4 other friends, all teenagers, who planned to do a couple of break ins. While attempting to rob an empty home, a suspicious neighbor called the police. When officers arrived the teens fled, Smith hid in a closet scared; however, Smith's friend, 16 year old A'Donte Washington, was shot and killed by an officer. The surviving teens were taken into custody and charged with the murder of A'Donte Washington. How did an unarmed 15 year old get charged with the murder of his friend shot by police? Join us as we explore the accomplice law and the felony murder rule used against these boys who are now in prison for the majority of their lives. Hear from Lakeith's mother and the team behind the fight for justice and learn how you can help! 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

• https://www.change.org/p/united-states-supreme-court-justice-for-lakeith-smith
• https://www.gofundme.com/f/justiceforlakeithsmith-campaign
• https://www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/homicide/felony-murder/
• https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/10/17/lakeith-smith-65-years-elmore-accomplice-law-killing-case-sentence-reduced-10-years/3869526002/
• https://www.aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/lakeith-smith-case-demonstrates-systems-brokenness
• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/kidslikeadults.html
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43673331
• https://www.newsweek.com/lakeith-smith-alabama-accomplice-law-murder-police-petition-1510870
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/15/alabama-accomplice-law-lakeith-smith
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/convicted-of-murder-but-a-police-officer-pulled-the-trigger

Justice for Pierre Rushing

In the early hours of April 15, 2011, Dawonye Taylor was murdered in Oakland, California over a stolen iPod. The murderer then got back into a car with 3 other people and took off. Occupants in the car gave the police a description of the murderer and referred to him as "C". Weeks later, Pierre Rushing, an aspiring rapper who went by the nickname "Stank", would find himself arrested and charged with murder, even though he did not fit the description and had an alibi. Now he is fighting for his life claiming he was wrongfully convicted. Join us as we explore the lack of evidence that led to Pierre's conviction and examine the evidence that can prove his innocence. Hear from Pierre himself in an interview from prison and learn how you can help his case. #JusticeForPierre 

 

 

 

Sources:

• https://www.change.org/p/department-of-justice-justice-for-pierre-rushing-wrongfully-convicted?original_footer_petition_id=26358297&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=15&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAPafKQEAAAAAX%2BDrnjTrufdmZGJiY2U4OQ%3D%3D
• https://casetext.com/case/rushing-v-neuschmid-1
• https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/09/29/oakland-rapper-found-guilty-of-murder-in-case-of-stolen-ipod/
• https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Rapper-Convicted-Of-Murder-Loses-Bid-For-New-Trial-11183990.php 

 

Death By Firing Squad

South Carolina's Republican governor signed a bill into law that requires death row inmates to choose whether to be executed by the electric chair or a firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable. Lethal injection is the preferred method of execution in states that have the death penalty. But in recent years, they've had difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs as pharmaceutical companies blocked their drugs from being used in executions causing states to find a way around the block. Enter the firing squad. Join us as we explore what this could mean for death row inmates not only in South Carolina, but all over the U.S. 

Henry McCollum & Leon Brown

Henry McCollum and Leon Brown were intellectually disabled teenagers when they were taken from their home in rural Robeson County, coerced into confessing to a brutal murder they didn’t commit, and sentenced to death. The brothers spent 31 years in prison before DNA testing finally proved them innocent. By the time of their release in 2014, Henry was North Carolina’s longest serving death row prisoner. Join us as we explore the wrongful conviction of these two brothers. 

 

 

 

Sources:

• cnn.com/2021/05/18/us/north-carolina-wrongful-conviction-compensation/index.html

• http://www.cdpl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/SAVED-FROM-EXECUTION-web-final1.pdf  

• https://goodblacknews.org/tag/sabrina-buie/

• https://www.fayobserver.com/article/20140904/news/309049641 

Interview with Jarret Adams: From Exoneree to Attorney

Meet the attorney who has defied the odds after experiencing his own wrongful conviction, and is now dedicating his life to helping other innocent people. Join us for a special interview with Jarret Adams, an exoneree turned attorney. Mr. Adams is the driving force behind the Not Guilty Serving Life campaign to free Terrance Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, two men wrongfully convicted of murder. This is a follow up to episode 30 of our podcast, make sure to listen to it to learn more details about Richardson and Claiborne's case along with Adams' own wrongful conviction. You won't want to miss this motivational and impactful interview. 

 

To learn more visit:

https://www.notguiltyservinglife.org

https://www.lifeafterjustice.org 

http://jarrettadamslaw.com

 

Ronald Greene: A Police Cover Up Story

In 2019, Ronald Greene's family was told that Greene died after crashing his car into a tree during a high speed chase after troopers attempted to pull him over for an unspecified traffic violation. A short report submitted by the Louisiana state troopers described force being used during the encounter, but that Greene succumbed to injuries he received during the car crash. It wouldn't be until almost 2 years later when footage was leaked to the media that would show a different story. Join us as we examine the case and the footage and uncover how the Louisiana state troopers created a cover up on a police brutality case. 

 

 

Sources:

• https://www.jstor.org/stable/26476405?seq=1
• https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/us/ronald-greene-what-we-know/index.html
• https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2015/02/24/ouachita-parishs-bloody-past-appears-lynching-study/23955319/
• https://www.wbrz.com/news/university-of-louisiana-monroe-acts-against-racist-posts-by-faculty
• https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/news/local_state_headlines/ulm-faculty-members-under-fire-for-racist-remarks-on-social-media/article_3d8d2814-ab1b-11ea-bbbb-236aa52a81a6.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/us/ronald-greene-video-louisiana.html
• https://www.10tv.com/article/news/investigations/10-investigates/at-least-107-people-have-died-since-2010-due-to-prone-restraints/530-3363bf95-d125-4960-b714-c6f5d328266e
• https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_afedbfde-ba53-11eb-a135-2f25ba8d8945.html
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/20/ronald-greene-louisiana-police-video/

Charlie Keever & Jonathan Sellers

The murder of Charlie Keever and Jonathan Sellers took place on March 27, 1993 in San Diego County, California. The rape and murders were solved via DNA match eight years after their deaths. Join us in this minisode to find out how a serial killer fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system leading to the deaths of the two boys.

Stop Asian Hate

People of Asian descent have been living in the United States for more than 160 years and have since been a target of bigotry. To understand the surge in Asian American hate we need to look at the violence and racism Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have faced since the Civil War.  Join us as we look at the historical events that have been at the core of anti-Asian sentiment in the United States.

Sources

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/03/18/history-anti-asian-violence-racism/
• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/whites-massacre-chinese-in-wyoming-territory
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots#Ethnic_tensions 
• https://time.com/5938482/asian-american-attacks/ 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/nyregion/asian-hate-crimes.html 
• https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/a-history-of-anti-asian-hate-in-the-united-states 
• https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/coronavirus-fears-show-how-model-minority-asian- americans-become-yellow-ncna1151671