Pursuing Justice

On this episode of Pursuing Justice, we're joined by Professor Henry, who will talk about the many cases of wrongful conviction where innocent people were convicted of crimes that simply never happened. She exposes a deeply flawed criminal justice system that allows-even encourages-these no-crime wrongful convictions to regularly occur. Jessica Henry is an author, commentator, blogger and social j...

On this episode of Pursuing Justice, we're joined by Professor Henry, who will talk about the many cases of wrongful conviction where innocent people were convicted of crimes that simply never happened. She exposes a deeply flawed criminal justice system that allows-even encourages-these no-crime wrongful convictions to regularly occur. Jessica Henry is an author, commentator, blogger and social j...

Kali Silverman is Senior Project Manager of Mural Arts. She visits the men's maximum prison once a month coordinating the Mural Arts program with the full support of the Department of Corrections. Kali's beliefs stem from "tikkun olam" based on the Jewish philosophy meaning to  repair the world. Growing up near Philadelphia, she always felt public art could give people agency. "It's accessible to...

Jane Golden is the Founder and Executive Director  of Mural Arts Philadelphia. Under her passionate leadership, this organization has expanded its growth to become the nation's largest public art program, collaborating with schools, city agencies, prisons and other nonprofits. Jane has received many awards: The Hepburn Medal (named after Katherine Hepburn), Philadelphia's Trailblazer Award among o...

Bill Dillon was sent to  prison in 1981 to serve a Life sentence for a crime he did not commit. He did 27 years behind bars. With the  help of The Innocence Project of Florida and DNA evidence, he was exonerated in 2008. He and  his wife have written a book called: FRAMED: The Corruption and Coverup Behind the Wrongful Conviction of William Michael Dillon and His 27 Year Fight For Freedom. The son...

Bill Dillon was sent to  prison in 1981 to serve a Life sentence for a crime he did not commit. He did 27 years behind bars. With the  help of The Innocence Project of Florida and DNA evidence, he was exonerated in 2008. He and  his wife have written a book called: FRAMED: The Corruption and Coverup Behind the Wrongful Conviction of William Michael Dillon and His 27 Year Fight For Freedom. The son...

Emily and Rahsaan created this nonprofit organization together. Their mission is to assist talented artists and writers in prison gain access to mainstream outlets so that their work is available to society. Emily is a journalist and Rahsaan was a  producer and co-host of the podcast "Ear Hustle" when  he did time at San Quentin in California. He was paroled from San Quentin about a year ago. To l...

Emily and Rahsaan created this nonprofit organization together. Their mission is to assist talented artists and writers in prison gain access to mainstream outlets so that their work is available to society. Emily is a journalist and Rahsaan was a  producer and co-host of the podcast "Ear Hustle" when  he did time at San Quentin in California. He was paroled from San Quentin about a year ago. To l...

Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee were arrested and sent to Death Row for 2 murders they did not commit in Florida in 1963.  It took 12 years for them to see justice done. Mr. Hubbart had a front row seat for 10 of those years. The men falsely confessed to the crime leading to a long struggle to overturn their conviction. Phillip Hubbart served for 15 years as a  judge on the Third District Court of A...

Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee were arrested and sent to Death Row for 2 murders they did not commit in Florida in 1963.  It took 12 years for them to see justice done. Mr. Hubbart had a front row seat for 10 of those years. The men falsely confessed to the crime leading to a long struggle to overturn their conviction. Phillip Hubbart served for 15 years as a  judge on the Third District Court of A...

Tonie Willis is the founder of "Ardella's House" in Philadelphia, PA which opened in 2010. It is a home for women returning back to society after incarceration. The residence is named after Tonie's mother. She was  just awarded a $150,000 grant from Google. Each day, 200 women are released from prison across our country. They return to their home communities with little more than the clothes on th...

Antoinette Carter is first and foremost a survivor! Her mother was 14 when she became pregnant with Antoinette as a result of an assault. Antoinette was raised by her grandmother as her mother struggled with an addiction to crack and cocaine, spending 16 years cycling in  and out of prison. Antoinette created a stable life for herself working for over 3 decades for AT&T. Now retired, she is Hu...

Susan Burton spent years cycling in and out of prison having become addicted to cocaine and then crack. As a child, she experienced trauma and tried to numb the pain with drugs. Finally she found a path to recovery creating "A New Way of Life", a nonprofit that provides sober housing and other support for formerly incarcerated women. She is a CNN Hero and recipient of many other awards. She is an...

Susan Burton spent years cycling in and out of prison having become addicted to cocaine and then crack. As a child, she experienced trauma and tried to numb the pain with drugs. Finally she found a path to recovery creating "A New Way of Life", a nonprofit that provides sober housing and other support for formerly incarcerated women. She is a CNN Hero and recipient of many other awards. She is an...

Seth will discuss the future of his nonprofit organization, its recent cases of exoneration and the goals for the future.

Wrongly Accused of the Death of A Child: Another Miscarriage of Justice Stephanie Spurgeon was operating a day care in her home. One of the children in her care died and Stephanie was convicted of manslaughter in 2008. Her sentence was 15 years. Thanks to the Innocence Project of Florida, she was released from prison, having served 8 years. The child’s death was caused by a brain hemorrhage linked...

Dean McKee was 16 years old in 1987 when he and his older brother were accused of the beating death of a homeless man in Tampa, Florida. Dean, under duress, falsely confessed to the murder, actually committed by his 18 year old brother, Scott. Dean was sentenced to life in  prison with a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years. He served 30 years for a crime he did not commit.

Marking 20 Years: The Innocence Project of  Florida Seth Miller has been part of The Innocence Project of Florida for 17 years becoming Executive Director in 2007. Looking back, he will tell us about the project’s early years, highlight its accomplishments and talk about some of the first cases IPF took on

Homegrown:Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism

Back in 1990, a crime  took place on a NYC subway platform. A young man from Utah was killed. Johnny Hincapie, age 18 at the time, falsely confessed to the crime. After serving 25 years, he was exonerated with the legal assistance of Ronald Kuby This is his story.

Distinguished Professor Dr. Saul Kassin is  one of the world's leading experts on false confessions. He was part of the team working to free the Central Park Five. His book,  Duped: Why Innocent People Confess and Why We Believe Their Confessions  was published in 2022 by Prometheus Books. He is also Professor Emeritus at Williams College along with Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Ja...

Dr. Saul Kassin is Professor Emeritus at Williams College  and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. He has written  over 200 articles and several textbooks on false confessions. He has studied this topic for over 40 years. We will be discussing his new book: DUPED: WHY INNOCENT PEOPLE CONFESS AND WHY WE BELIEVE THEM. The book was published in...

Part 2: Professor Daniel Medwed is a professor of law at Northeastern University in Boston. He graduated from Harvard Law in 1995 and is a legal analyst for WGBH. His focus is the topic of wrongful conviction. He is a founding member of the Innocence Network, a consortium of Innocence Projects around the US and the world. He will discuss his new book.