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Lava for Good Podcasts

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.

Earwitness

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing - Absolute: Taser Incorporated, Teaser

In 1987, 18-year-old Michelle Schofield was found dead in a phosphate pit in Florida. Two years later, her husband, Leo Schofield, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. Fifteen years after his conviction, previously unidentified fingerprints found in Michelle’s car were matched to Jeremy Scott—a violent teenager who lived nearby. 
 
Host Gilbert King uncovers startling new evidence that Jeremy is responsible for the murder of Michelle Schofield as well as a string of additional murders. But when Gilbert coaxes a confession out of Jeremy, the State of Florida refuses to believe him. 
 
Gilbert King digs deeper, uncovering chilling details of Jeremy’s past crimes and the darkness he’s carried with him. As their unlikely connection grows, Gilbert helps Jeremy confront the painful truths of his violent history while navigating the fractured relationship between Jeremy and the son he never knew. With new revelations and a search for redemption, Bone Valley takes unexpected turns—bringing haunting questions of justice, forgiveness, and the possibility of change.
 
Gilbert King is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Devil in the Grove, which led to the exonerations of four innocent men.
 
Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing: Bone Valley - Season 1 & 2

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 will be available every Tuesday beginning September 19 wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing: Earwitness

Episode 1 of 8
 
Journalist Beth Shelburne meets with former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, who explains why he is deeply disturbed by the wrongful conviction of Toforest Johnson for the murder of Deputy Bill Hardy. Through her reporting on the case, Beth, like Baxley, is convinced that Toforest has no connection to the murder. She sets out to conduct an in-depth investigation into why detectives targeted him in the first place, how he was convicted, and why the State of Alabama is still seeking his execution today. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
 
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 1 | Behind the Crown

Episode 2 of 8
 
Beth trains her focus on the days immediately following the murder, beginning with recordings of police interrogations of key witnesses. Yolanda Chambers, a 15-year-old girl, places Toforest at the scene of the murder. But Beth finds evidence that Chambers was manipulated by law enforcement officers into fabricating her testimony. Beth brings her findings to lead detective Tony Richardson, who defends his tactics while admitting regrets that cast further doubt on his decision to build a case against Toforest based solely on Chambers’ evershifting word. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
 
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Archival audio courtesy of WBRC
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 2 | Don't Know Diddly

Episode 3 of 8
 
After learning that Yolanda Chambers changed her story hundreds of times and admitted to perjury, Beth sets out to understand Chambers’ motivations. Is she a villain or a victim? Beth tracks down her mother, who has never spoken publicly about the case. She learns important details about Chambers’ tragic life, including her role as a paid informant for the FBI, work that may have ultimately led to her murder at age 29.
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Archival audio courtesy of WBRC
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 3 | Police Girl

Episode 4 of 8
 
Beth examines the Hardy murder file in order to fully understand the investigation. She discovers a pattern of tunnel vision, willful disbelief of alibi witnesses, and a reliance on coercive interview tactics that suggest if witnesses don’t say what the police want them to say, they will end up as defendants and charged with crimes themselves. Beth considers other potential investigative leads that were ignored and lost to time while detectives constructed a narrative that suited their fixation on securing a prosecution for this high-profile crime. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
 
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Archival audio courtesy of WBRC
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 4 | Witness or Defendant

Episode 5 of 8
 
Beth combs through the trial transcripts to understand how Toforest was convicted of Deputy Hardy’s murder with no physical evidence. During the trial, the State introduces a new witness - the earwitness. Violet Ellison claims she overheard Toforest talk about the murder on a jailhouse phone call – a theory the State initially rejected but now throws all its weight behind once Yolanda Chambers’s story falls apart. Beth walks listeners through one of the most shocking aspects of this case: in five different court proceedings, prosecutors presented five different, mutually exclusive theories about how Deputy Hardy was killed. Her investigation then leads her to the prosecutor who asked a jury 25 years ago to sentence Toforest to death. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
 
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 5 | Anybody Will Do

Episode 6 of 8
 
Beth unravels disturbing revelations about the State’s handling of Violet Ellison, the earwitness whose testimony forms the backbone of the case against Toforest. She tracks the tenacious investigative work of Toforest’s lawyers to prove Ellison was paid $5000 for her testimony - in secret. After years of denying that a reward was ever paid, prosecutors are finally forced to disclose the truth – almost 20 years after Toforest was convicted and sentenced to death. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit:
 
http://www.ToforestJohnson.com
 
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.
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 6 | Misfiled

Episode 7 of 8
 
The original trial prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, begins to doubt Violet Ellison's credibility several years after Toforest's conviction. Beth embarks on an investigative journey to examine Ellison's credibility, and discovers that Ellison appeared on the State's witness list in at least four other criminal cases. She speaks to the defendants in these other cases – as well as members of Ellison’s own family – and learns that she is not at all the woman prosecutors portrayed at trial, and in fact, has a history of leveraging the legal system for her own gains. 
 
To learn more, including how you can help, visit: http://www.ToforestJohnson.com 
 
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. 
 
Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 4 | Witness or Defendant

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