Wrongful Conviction

This week’s episode is a look back at the story of Greg Bright, as originally told to Lauren Bright Pacheco. Greg spent 27 and a half years in Angola for a murder he didn’t commit. He was a young man when he went in, and nearly 50 when he finally walked free in 2003. But Greg’s story is also a reminder that exoneration doesn’t give you those years back. And right now in Louisiana, Greg is at the center of a fight over what the state owes innocent people after taking decades of their lives.Louisiana caps compensation for wrongful imprisonment at $400,000. Greg has now hit that cap, and his payments have stopped — even though he spent nearly three decades wrongfully incarcerated and lost some of the most important earning years of his life. Earlier this year, Louisiana lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that would have raised the cap to $600,000 and extended compensation from 10 years to 15. Governor Jeff Landry vetoed it. Think about that. The state takes 27 and a half years from an innocent man, acknowledges that he was wrongfully convicted, and then decides there’s a limit on how much of that lost time it’s willing to compensate him for. Greg is now 70 years old and has said he may have to sell the home he bought after his release just to cover his living expenses.Greg’s story matters just as much today as it did when we first told it, because getting out of prison is not the end of a wrongful conviction. For people like Greg, rebuilding a life after decades taken away can be another fight entirely. Wrongful Conviction  is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.Never Fight a Shark in WaterThe Jaguar Man by Lara NaughtonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeffrey Deskovic’s first Wrongful Conviction episode was originally published in 2017, and his story is one we’ve returned to many times over the years — not only because of the 16 years he lost in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, but because of what he chose to do with his life after he was finally exonerated.Jeffrey’s story also has an extraordinary connection to two cases we’ve recently revisited on this show: Andrew Krivak and Anthony DiPippo. The same polygraph operator who helped extract a false confession from Jeffrey when he was just 16 years old was later involved in the interrogation that produced Andy Krivak’s false confession. And years later, Jeffrey and the Deskovic Foundation helped fight to free Andy — Jeffrey even put up his own home as collateral for Andy’s bail.If you’ve been listening to Bone Valley: The Devil’s Quarry, Jeffrey’s story provides important context for the cases of Anthony DiPippo and Andy Krivak — and for how wrongful convictions like these happen in the first place.Also, be sure to check out 16 Years, a film by Jia Rizvi about Jeffrey’s wrongful conviction and the work he’s done since. Wrongful Conviction  is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. ​​We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When teenager Robin Murphy goes missing, her friends and co-workers organize a search. Award-winning investigative journalist and longtime Rolling Stone Magazine contributor Paul Solotaroff hosts the next entry in the acclaimed Bone Valley anthology. To hear this episode in its entirety, search for Bone Valley Season 6 | The Devil's Quarry II wherever you listen to podcasts.  New episodes are available every Wednesday. Listeners can hear new episodes ad-free by subscribing to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. The Devil’s Quarry II is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with  Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode was recorded in 2017 with Anthony DiPippo, 6 months after his release from prison.Anthony’s case concerns the murder of Josette Wright, a 12-year-old girl whose body was found in November 1995 in a wooded area of Putnam County, NY with her hands and feet tied behind her back and her underwear shoved down her throat. A few weeks later, detectives from the sheriff’s office picked up an unsuspecting teenager on drug charges, and managed to coerce him into pointing the finger at a group of his friends, including Anthony DiPippo and Andrew Krivak. That same sheriff’s office used a since-discredited polygraph expert to get a false confession out of Andy, which ultimately led to both Andy and Anthony being sentenced to 25 to life for the rape and murder of Josette Wright.Since the release of this episode, Anthony settled his civil suits against the sheriff’s department and was awarded $12 million by Putnam County. To hear a lot more about Anthony’s story and where he is now, check out Bone Valley Season 5, "The Devil's Quarry." Host Paul Solotaroff deeply investigates Anthony’s case and the person who may have been implicated instead.And a second installment of The Devil’s Quarry is coming soon. Paul is back in the same small New York town, reporting on a crime with eerie similarities to the one Anthony was originally convicted of. Look out for the first episode on September 30th, you won’t want to miss it. Wrongful Conviction  is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. ​​We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If Season 1 of The Devil’s Quarry was a horror story, Season 2 is a ghost story. More than 30 years after 17-year-old Robin Murphy vanished from Carmel, New York, investigative journalist Paul Solotaroff and reporter Kathleen Horan plunge into the cold case that has haunted the community for decades. Robin was last seen with a convicted violent predator who was never charged in her disappearance. Now, as the original case file is reopened, new witnesses emerge, old evidence is reconsidered, and the search for Robin enters its most critical chapter. Can the truth finally be uncovered before time runs out? Or will one of New York’s most haunting mysteries remain a ghost story forever? Award-winning investigative journalist and longtime Rolling Stone Magazine contributor Paul Solotaroff hosts the latest entry in the acclaimed Bone Valley anthology: The Devil's Quarry II starting September 30. Listeners can listen ad-free by subscribing to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Bone Valley Season 6: The Devil’s Quarry II is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.