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Breakdown

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's award-winning podcast "Breakdown," tells deeply human stories about the Georgia justice system. Season 11 explores how a young military couple found themselves at the center of something neither expected. Something terrible. Something… criminal.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

AJC Flagship is your front-row seat to the Substance and Soul of the South. Each week, this show brings you a mix of what makes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution special. Here, the stories have a flavor all their own, and you never know where the conversation’s gonna go. 

In our first episode, we’re talking risky medical procedures, Honey pie, and TI’s rockstar son.  

 If you love this podcast ... there’s more where that came from. Go to AJC Flagship and follow the show!
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Introducing: AJC Flagship

The team uncovers glaring red flags unknown to the GBI. The deeper they go, the harder it becomes to understand how they were ever missed.  

If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 7: Down the Rabbit Hole

The AJC locates the long‑hidden remains of the Guidestones. The culture war around the monument erupts, and the team identifies people the GBI should have talked to. The question now is whether they ever did?  

If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 6: Revelations

The AJC uncovers evidence the GBI overlooked. The swatting of Kandiss Taylor reveals blind spots, missteps, and a shocking lack of urgency from the GBI. 

Can the team solve this crime on their own? Has too much time passed?  A wild hunt of car records leads to a surprising discovery. What we choose to ignore has bigger ripple effects than we understand. 

If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 5: Jesus, Guns and Babies

When sources go quiet, the data starts talking. AJC data journalist Charles Minshew follows a hidden trail through records and digital clues—pushing the investigation further than anyone has before.  

 If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 4: We Bring the Boom

How did a roadside oddity become a culture-war flashpoint? During the 2022 governor’s race, the Guidestones move from roadside curiosity to political target—and conspiracy theories start becoming marching orders.  

 If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 

 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 3:  Prophets and Fanatics

The mythology of the Georgia Guidestones begins to crack. As journalists pursue the mysterious man known only as “R.C. Christian,” a hidden past starts to emerge—raising unsettling questions about the ideas that shaped the monument.  

If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 2: Monuments Men

A man with a fake name shows up in Elberton, Georgia and commissions six massive granite slabs inscribed with 10 “commandments” for society. Deals are made, The Guidestones appear, and the conspiracies begin… 

If you like this series, you’re only scratching the surface. Go to ajc.com, become a subscriber, and find out for yourself. 
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Who Blew Up The Guidestones? Ep 1: The Granite Capital of the World

For decades, the Georgia Guidestones were nothing more than kitschy roadside Americana…a curiosity people visited for fun, intrigue…and the occasional pagan ritual. But something changed in 2022. The Guidestones became a flashpoint. How did a kitschy southern oddity become the site of an act of domestic terrorism? 
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Introducing: Who Blew Up The Guidestones?

Looking back on seasons past with Bill Rankin and what's next for Albert and Ashley. 
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Breakdown Season 11 Bonus

Ashley and Albert's attorneys have fought all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court. The stakes couldn't be higher. Ultimately, the justices find fault with what happened at the couple's trial and vacate their sentences. But they aren't free  hanging over their heads is the chance the district attorney will try them again. But an unexpected turn once again changes the couple's lives forever.  And they each must adapt to a new life, one haunted by loss.
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Ep 6: A Very Dangerous Argument

Wisconsin Innocence Project attorney Carrie Sperling has a specialty: freeing people wrongly convicted of child abuse. When she receives a letter from Ashley Debelbot and reads the case file, she decides to take the case. A team of skilled Georgia attorneys and medical experts join her to find out what really happened to baby McKenzy. What they discover lands them in court, arguing their clients' innocence.
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Ep 5: The Dream Team

A jailhouse snitch says Albert told him a shocking story. Ashley and Albert take the stand in their own defense but they're no match for a hard-charging prosecutor. They're convicted and sentenced to life in prison. But the couple makes a vow: they will fight. They will prove their innocence.
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Ep 4: Hitting the Floor

Charged with murder, Ashley and Albert find themselves with few resources. Ashley's lower-middle class family hires a local attorney while Albert gets a public defender. The couple maintains their innocence, but they're up against tough odds: their attorneys are at loggerheads and the judge in the case has a concerning past.
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Ep 3: Speedy Trial

In a matter of a few days, Ashley and Albert have gone from excited new parents to a couple utterly devastated. Their infant has died. And as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and local police close in on them, the couple makes a critical decision to remain united.
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Ep 2: Isolated

In their 20s and in love, Georgia military couple Ashley and Albert Debelbot are overjoyed to welcome their baby girl, McKenzy. After a 15-hour labor, she arrives. The couple take her home and settle in for the night only to be awakened by a disturbing sound. Ashley and Albert then make a startling discovery…kicking off a series of events that will turn into a living nightmare.
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Ep 1: Mack

Jury selection isn’t fast, but it is fascinating. Prospective jurors in the Harris case speak of magical powers, preconceived notions and their favorite TV shows.
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S0 2, Ep 8: The jury panel is assembled

Neither the prosecution nor the defense is ready. The prosecution asks for a continuance, saying it would be unfair to proceed because the defense is unprepared. The defense calls the move "transparently disingenuous," saying it's really the prosecution that wants more time. Meanwhile, prosecutors get slammed for continuing to search for a motive long after they indicted Tex McIver for murder.
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Season 5, Episode 2.5

The state opens the Claud "Tex" McIver murder trial by detonating some new bombshells. McIver, the prosecution says, provided six different versions of what happened to his wife on the night she was shot. Or did he? Among the first prosecution witnesses was Emory University Hospital ER physician Suzanne Hardy, who treated Diane McIver the night she died. Yes, Hardy testified, Diane told her the shooting was an accident. And no, Hardy testified, Diane did not want to see her husband before she was intubated and rendered unable to speak. Diane McIver died shortly afterward.
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SO5, Ep6: McIver goes to trial

After a long winter’s delay, the murder trial of The State v. Claud “Tex” McIver is to begin on March 5. Tex says his wife Diane’s death was a tragic accident; the district attorney says he intentionally shot her in the back. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bill Rankin returns to bring you Season 5 of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
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Coming soon: Back to the Tex McIver murder case

Anthony Hill was a loving son, talented musician and an Afghanistan War veteran. In 2015, Hill was shot and killed by DeKalb County Police officer Chip Olsen, who was responding to a 911 call of a naked man wandering an apartment complex. Hill was unarmed and off of his medications. Olsen claims he acted in self-defense. In our new season of Breakdown, hosts Bill Rankin and Christian Boone tell the story of Hill's life and death, and will follow the trial of Officer Olsen, who is charged with murder.
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Coming soon: The 7th season of Breakdown

On July 17, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will launch Murder Below the Gnat Line, season four of our award-winning Breakdown podcast. Bill Rankin returns to explore a murder case with many unresolved questions.  
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Coming Soon: A New Season of Breakdown

Reginald "Reggie" Coicou was 24. Quincy "Fat" Wytche was 22. Both were killed in a sudden outburst of gunfire in the parking lot of an Atlanta Burger King in the spring of 2016. Kevin Riley, editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, gives you an extraordinary inside view of this horrific double homicide, the investigation by the Atlanta police and the prosecution of the man accused of pulling the trigger.
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Coming soon: The next season of Breakdown

Coming soon: Season 5 of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Breakdown podcast. This season, the AJC's Bill Rankin and Craig Schneider take you deep inside the case against Atlanta lawyer Tex McIver. He says his wife's death was a tragic accident; the district attorney says it was murder.
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During a hearing, the attorneys for the men accused in the death of Ahmaud Arbery formally asked a judge to allow evidence about the slain man's past before a jury. But that's not the only major update in the case. We have a federal hate crimes indictment, a change to Georgia's Citizen's Arrest Law, and a trial date.
Join host Bill Rankin as he recounts the latest on the case.
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SO8, Ep.10: The defense makes its case

Join host Bill Rankin on the one-year anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery's death as he explores who the man was in life.
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SO8, Ep.8: He ran. And ran. And ran.

Since Ahmaud Arbery's death, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael have been condemned by many as racist vigilantes who targeted a Black man running down their street. Attorneys for the men claim that is far from true. Join host Bill Rankin as he explores the McMichaels' history prior to their fateful meeting with Ahmaud Arbery.

Nothing could be further from the truth, lawyers for both Travis and Greg McMichael recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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SO8, Ep.4: Father and Son

The trial for the three men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery will begin Oct. 18, almost 20 months to the day after he was shot and killed. Join host Bill Rankin ahead of what is expected to be one of the most closely followed trials in Georgia history.
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SO8, Ep. 12, The Ahmaud Arbery murder trial begins

Prosecutors building a case against the three men accused in the death of Ahmaud Arbery have passed several motions regarding what evidence can be submitted in court.
Meanwhile, the contention that gunman Travis McMichael uttered a racial epithet while standing over Arbery's body remains the most explosive element of the case. However, jurors may never hear about it.
Join host Bill Rankin as he explores how issues raised now could shape the outcome of a trial.
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SO8, Ep5: The Elephant in the Room

A grand jury has indicted a former Glynn County district attorney, saying she violated her oath of office while responding to Ahmaud Arbery's death. Join host Bill Rankin as he takes a closer look at the indictment and explores the events of a pre-trial hearing in the case.
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SO8, Ep. 11, A fourth defendant is indicted

The second week of jury selection ended with the end in sight. It is expected that 64 Glynn County residents will be qualified into a pool from which 12 jurors and four alternates will soon be chosen.
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SO8, Ep. 14, We’re almost there

Jury selection for the murder trial of the three men charged in Ahmaud Arbery's death is underway in Brunswick and many prospective jurors have expressed very strong opinions. Join host Bill Rankin as he unpacks the first week of jury selection and what it could mean for the upcoming trial.
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SO8, Ep. 13, Jurors express some strong opinions

This is the murder case against Justin Ross Harris, who left his 22-month-old son Cooper to die in a hot car on June 18, 2014.
Harris, a Home Depot web developer, took Cooper that morning to Little Apron Academy, the in-house daycare center at work. They stopped at a Chick-fil-A for breakfast. But when they leave, Harris doesn’t make the turn to the daycare. Instead, he drives to work, parks his car and walks in to the office. Within hours, Cooper is dead of hypothermia.
The intense publicity of the case went worldwide when it was disclosed at a preliminary hearing that Harris was sending sexually explicit texts to other women shortly before and after he left Cooper in the parking lot. It would be disclosed he was having extramarital affairs, sleeping with prostitutes and exchanging graphic texts with underage girls.
Harris would be indicted for Cooper’s murder and other crimes. Because of intense pretrial publicity, the trial was moved from Cobb County to Glynn County in coastal Georgia. The jury in Brunswick would convict Harris of Cooper’s murder and he would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Before and during the trial, Harris’ defense lawyers said what Harris did was a tragic mistake because he loved his son. They also tried to keep evidence of Harris’ deviant sexual behavior from being presented to the jury, arguing it was unfairly prejudicial. Prosecutors contended it showed Harris’ motive — to life a child-free life so he pursue sexual relations.
Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark sided with prosecutors and let it all in. The jury heard days of testimony about the affairs, the graphic texts and the prostitutes.
This became a major thrust of Harris’ appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court in his bid for a new trial. The case was argued this past January and the court released its decision on June 22.
Breakdown’s Episode 18 of “Death in a Hot Car; Mistake or Murder?” covers the court’s momentous ruling and the aftermath.
You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform. You can also stream it on your computer from ajc.com.
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S2 Ep. 18: A Momentous Decision

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Breakdown podcast drops a special episode on Friday for Season 5: “The Tex McIver Case.”
McIver, an Atlanta lawyer, was convicted of murder during a trial in Fulton County for killing his wife on Sept. 25, 2016.
The killing happened when Tex and Diane McIver returned home to Atlanta from their 84-acre ranch in Putnam County. Diane McIver’s best friend, Dani Jo Carter, was driving the Ford Expedition. Diane McIver was sitting in the front passenger seat, her husband sitting behind her in the back seat.
After they exited the downtown connector on Edgewood Avenue, Tex McIver asks for his .38-caliber handgun that’s in the center console. He later says he thought they had come upon a Black Lives Matter protest.
They leave the area without incident and drive along Piedmont Avenue toward Buckhead, with McIver still holding the revolver in his lap. When they get to an intersection, McIver fires a bullet through the backseat. It hits his wife in the back and she later dies during surgery at Emory University Hospital.
McIver tells police that it was a tragic accident, that the gun went off after he had fallen asleep and was suddenly awakened. But he is eventually indicted for murder and convicted of it during a 2018 trial.
Returning to Breakdown’s fifth season, Episode 12 follows the McIver case through its appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court which issued its opinion on June 30. Just eight days before, the state high court had reversed another high-profile murder case against Justin Ross Harris who had left his 22-month-old son Cooper in his hot car to die.
This time, the court overturns McIver’s conviction in another momentous decision.
You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform. You can also stream it on your computer from ajc.com.
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S5, Ep. 12 The Tex McIver Case: Georgia Supreme Court strikes again

Justin Chapman awaits the all-important decision from the state's prosecutors: will they put him back on trial for murder and arson or end the long-running legal drama that put him in state prison for eight years? This concluding episode has all the answers. 
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S01, Episode 8 - After a year’s wait, a concluding decision

The case goes back to the Georgia Supreme Court – and this time there would be a much different outcome.
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S01 Episode 7: A New Trial or a New Life?

A state prosecutor is now deciding whether to put Justin Chapman back on trial for murder. His first trial ended in a guilty verdict after the jury deliberated about 40 minutes.
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S01 Episode 0:  Before You Listen

Justin Chapman tells his side of the story.
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S01 Episode 6: Could Justin Chapman Be Guilty?

Meet Jan Hankins, the public defender who lost Justin Chapman’s case and embarked on a personal crusade to free him.
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S01 Episode 2: She Lost, but She Never Gave Up

Justin Chapman’s new defense team sifts through the evidence and uncovers critical breakdowns in the prosecution of Chapman, including several pieces of evidence that Chapman's public defender Jan Hankins says she never received, and the testimony of witnesses that Hankins never had time to visit.
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S01 Episode 5: Young Lawyers and Old Hands

Bill Rankin goes to Bremen in the dark of night, and with the help of an Army veteran, tests what you can see from "Stroupe's stoop." Could Gary Allen Stroupe have seen Justin Chapman from his front porch? Plus, Chapman experiences the appeal from hell.
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S01 Episode 3: Let’s Test the Evidence

The Justin Chapman murder case attracts a new defense team full of heavy hitters and colorful characters. In this episode, we take a detour from the case in order to introduce you to some of the players who came to Chapman's aid, and learn why they took on the case for free.
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S01 Episode 4: The New Team Goes to Work

Follow the twists and turns of a case in rural Georgia that some say landed an innocent man in prison.
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S01 Episode 1: Railroad Justice in a Railroad Town

Justin Ross Harris returns to Cobb County and is sentenced for the murder of his 22-month-old son Cooper. We delve into the contradictions in the jury's verdict. We also hear from some Breakdown listeners who seem to know as much about the case as anyone -- and have completely divergent views on the outcome.
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S02, Episode 17: Postscript

Ross Harris’ ex-wife, Leanna Taylor, took the witness stand on Monday and repeated her long-held belief that Harris never meant to leave their 22-month-old son Cooper to die in his overheated SUV. Taylor spent an emotional two days on the stand, ending her testimony with a dramatic flourish. Some of Harris’ relatives and closest friends then followed her and testified Harris loved his little boy. But in the end, Harris chose not to testify in his own defense, and both the defense and the state rest their cases. 
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S02, Episode 14: Leanna Taylor takes the stand

After four days of deliberations, the jury in Brunswick returns with a verdict in The State of Georgia v. Justin Ross Harris. Cobb County's district attorney says this is no time for a celebration. Harris's lawyers, in an emotional interview, say they are stunned by the outcome. 
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S02, Episode 16: We have a verdict

The prosecution and the defense give impassioned, powerful closing arguments, wrapping up the trial. Prosecutor Chuck Boring insists Ross Harris lived a double life and intentionally killed his little boy. Defense attorney Maddox Kilgore contends Cooper’s death was a horrible accident and that police rushed to judgment without looking at evidence contrary to their theory. The six-man, six-woman jury then gets the case and, over the next three days, sends a number of questions to Judge Mary Staley Clark.
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S02, Episode 15: The jury gets the case

We’re just a few steps from the starting gate. In a matter of days, the 12 jurors will be seated, the lawyers will make their opening statements, and the murder trial of Justin Ross Harris will begin. Will he testify? 
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S02, Episode 9: It’s time to go to trial: Will Harris testify?

The murder trial against Justin Ross Harris is finally underway. The prosecution opened with a
blistering opening statement, while Harris’ defense attorney countered with an
emotional and powerful opening of his own. After that, the first prosecution
witnesses took the stand, and some of them gave testimony prosecutors wanted to
hear, while some of them said things the defense wanted to hear. Then, three
days into the trial, Hurricane Matthew started its destructive path through
Florida and toward Georgia. That meant the trial of stops and starts stopped
once again.
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S02, Episode 10: Game on

The judge, lawyers and jurors return to Brunswick after Hurricane Matthew. The
trial starts back up with the initial focus on little Cooper Harris. Prosecutors
introduce testimony about the “smell of death,” and the jury hears from a
hooker who said she had sex with Harris weeks before Cooper’s death.
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S02, Episode 11: Shelter from the storm

Prosecutors open a new week of testimony by calling one woman after another to the witness
stand. Harris pursued all of them – including two teenagers – over sexually
explicit online chats. Finally, lead detective Phil Stoddard takes the stand
and prosecutors play the detective’s interview of Harris at the police station
the day of Cooper’s death. They also play the recording of Harris’ emotionally
charged meeting with his wife when she comes to see him at police headquarters.
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S02, Episode 12: From the gutter to the homicide file

Lead Detective Phil Stoddard ended his testimony after four days on the witness stand. Under cross-examination, Stoddard took some punches, but also delivered some blows. On Friday, the state rested its case after calling 51 witnesses to the stand over the course of 16 days of testimony. They presented no eyewitnesses, no DNA on a murder weapon, no irrefutable video. Instead, prosecutors put into evidence a mountain of circumstantial evidence and a pile of filth – being Harris’ deviant sex life. The defense then started presenting its case, trying to show the jury that Ross Harris was thinking of a life with his son Cooper long after the day he was left in his father’s SUV to die. 
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S02, Episode 13: The State Rests

The most important moments of the Justin Ross Harris trial may be unfolding right now - even before testimony begins or the lawyers ever state their cases. Welcome to jury selection, where cases are often won or lost. 
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S02 Episode 4 - Deciding the case before it begins?

The Harris trial was just days away from opening statements and testimony, when the proceedings ground to a sudden and unexpected halt. 
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S02, Episode6: A sudden change of venue

Jury selection, which may be close to conclusion, has taken an interesting turn. Nearly a third of the jurors qualified for the final panel – the one from which the 12 jurors and a number of alternates will be chosen – say they believe Justin Ross Harris is guilty. 
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S02, Episode 5: A jury of his peers, with preconceived notions

The defense in the hot-car murder trial of Justin Ross Harris surprises everyone by filing for a change of venue almost at the of jury selection. But the judge has her own surprise: she grants it. 
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S02, Episode 5.5: A change of venue

The Ross Harris trial heads to Brunswick after a four-month hiatus. What sort of jury will Judge Mary Staley Clark find on Georgia’s coast? Here’s why the trial’s new venue could be called a prosecutor’s dream.
To learn more about this case, visit AJCBreakdown.com.
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S02, Episode 7 - Harris trial moves to Georgia's Golden Isles

The state’s murder case against Harris is formidable. The lead police investigator has already testified at length in pretrial hearings: some key testimony seems utterly damning, but some seems totally wrong.
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S02 Episode 2: An air-tight case against Justin Ross Harris?

The evidence against Justin Ross Harris, accused of murder in the hot-car death of his son, and how it just seems to keep piling up. 
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S02 Episode 1 - Death in a Hot Car: Mistake or Murder?

Cobb police insinuated a number of times that Leanna (now Leanna Taylor, since her divorce came through in March) might have helped her husband plan the murder of their son. But those claims faded and then all but disappeared. Taylor was never charged with any crime and is expected to be a witness for the defense in Ross Harris’s murder trial.
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S02 Episode 3 - Leanna Harris: Once implicated, never charged

A judge in Georgia signs off on a plea deal for Dr. Narendra K. Gupta, who admits to three counts of sexual battery against patients. No jail time, but he agrees to leave the country, surrender his license and never practice medicine again. Well, two out of three . . . 
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S03, Episode 6: Banishment

Dr. Narendra K. Gupta had a history of allegations of attacking and harassing nurses. Instead of reporting him to police, the medical community shielded him.
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S03, Episode 2: Prey

Why would a doctor jeopardize his career by subjecting patients, nurses, even office staff, to repeated sexual abuse? In many cases, the physician doesn’t recognize boundaries because he doesn’t believe they apply to him.  
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S03, Episode 3: Compulsion

An Ohio doctor has left his practice in the small city of Lima and moved to Atlanta. Also left behind in Ohio: the lawsuits and complaints that piled up against him, many of which were related to sexual abuse.
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S03, Episode 4: Arrested

In late 2011, Dr. Narendra K. Gupta stood before a Fulton County judge and pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. The conditions of his sentence were unusual: He didn’t have to go to jail. He did have to leave the country.
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S03, Episode 5: Punishment

After 23 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction, Devonia Inman is finally free. Here are the improbable events that led to his release, and what Inman has to say about his experience. Plus, the new Cook County district attorney doesn't mince words about how the case went to trial two decades ago.
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S04, Ep 7: Devonia Inman is a free man

Breakdown: Predator, M.D., follows the fortunes of Dr. Gupta and many of the 18 women who claim the doctor abused them.
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S03 Episode 1: Predator, M.D.

Before she was killed that night at the Taco Bell in Adel, Donna Brown was a hardworking restaurant manager. a beloved sister and a completely devoted mother. And if we are to seek justice for Devonia Inman, we must also seek it for Donna Brown.
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S04, Ep6: The murdered woman

Did somebody else commit the murder of which Devonia Inman was convicted? He has always said so, Bill Rankin talks to witnesses who saw completely different things and zeroes in on a mask that police said was used in the crime. It wasn't a ski mask, says Rankin, it was an up-to-no-good mask.
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S04, Ep3: The mask

If Hercules Brown committed the murder of Taco Bell's night manager in 1998, then the authorities have put the wrong man, Devonia Inman, behind bars. But it gets worse than that. Much worse.
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S04, Ep4: Burying the lede?

The jury that hears the case against Devonia Inman must go through the peculiar process of becoming "death qualified." Meanwhile, some key witnesses take the stand and say they really didn't see what they told police they saw. 
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S04, Ep2: The prosecution

In the hearing on Devonia Inman's "extraordinary motion" for a new trial, another giant piece of the case against Inman seems to crumble and fall away. Did Inman commit the murder of which he was convicted? Was he even there when it happened? 
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S04, Ep5: Yet another bombshell

The jury in the Tex McIver murder case gets the case and deliberates, and deliberates, and deliberates. One of the last things the jury asked for was permission to see, for a second time, the SUV in which Diane McIver was shot, AND they ask to take the .38 revolver with them to the car. So some of them sat where Tex sat and pulled the trigger that Tex pulled. 
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S05, Ep10.5 The jury is out

The jury in the McIver murder case finally comes back -- after four days -- and delivers a confusing verdict that appears to say McIver intended to shoot his wife, Diane, but didn't intend to kill her. The closing arguments, four separate addresses by some of the best lawyers in Georgia, were every bit the spectacle that you'd imagine. 
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S05, Ep11; The verdict on Tex McIver

A vicious murder on a hot South Georgia night outside the local Taco Bell. The police build  an impressive case against young Devonia Inman. Now it's 20 years later, and a law professor in Atlanta is determined to take that case apart and win Inman's freedom. 
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S04, Ep1: The crime

The state calls Dani Jo Carter -- the only witness to the shooting of Diane McIver. She is on the stand for more than two full days. She tells the prosecution that Tex McIver asked her to lie about being in the SUV that night. But she tells the defense that she stands by her earlier statements to police that Tex was asleep before the gun went off.
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S05. Ep7: Dani Jo testifies

The prosecution in Tex McIver's murder trial completes its third week -- a sometimes grueling slog in which the state seemed to be throwing just about everything it can find at McIver. Some if it may not be provable, but none of it looks good. And that seems to be the point. If prosecutors can't prove McIver is a cold-blooded killer, can they sway the jury by suggesting that McIver is a man you can neither trust nor like? And, of course, Tex is helping the state build its case by doing the things he did after Diane McIver died.
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S05, Ep8: Killer, or just not a nice guy?

The state rests after putting up more 70 witnesses. The defense case-in-chief takes only 2 1/2 days. The mysterious masseuse, Annie Anderson, takes the stand. And the executor for Diane McIver's estate has a surprise in store for the prosecution. Then the defense rests, and we're down to couple of rebuttal witnesses from the prosecution. 
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S05, Ep10: Surprises from the defense

The prosecution puts up the chief homicide investigator in the Tex McIver murder case and then tries its best to show how deficient the police investigation was. Normally, the district attorney and the police are on the same side. But not this time. The police charged McIver with involuntary manslaughter, but the DA went with malice murder -- convinced that the Atlanta Police Department was letting McIver off too easy. 
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S05, Ep9 The cops vs. the DA

Tex McIver couldn't get the new resident of the luxury condo complex out of his mind. She ignored all his entreaties to meet him, and he finally contrived to "bump into" her at the complex's gym early one morning. Diane was a powerful and successful businesswoman who eventually would marry Tex. But on a sultry September night a year ago, he killed her. 
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S05, Ep2: The courtship of Tex and Diane McIver

A hard-charging prosecutor goes up against a famed duo of defense attorneys as Claud "Tex" McIver's murder trial begins in one week. Chief Assistant DA Clint Rucker can dominate the courtroom by sheer force of his personality. Bruce Harvey and Don Samuel have a long history of (successfully) defending high-profile clients, from NFL stars to rappers to strippers.  
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S05, Ep3: Muddy Waters

Both the prosecution and the defense have enormous challenges facing them as the trial begins. For the prosecutors, it's a question of motive. For the defense, it's the defendant himself.
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S05, Ep4: Legal strategy

One prospective juror after another is dismissed for cause because he or she believes Tex McIver intended to kill his wife. At the end of a long week of jury selection, the parties are finally able to qualify a pool of sufficient size that they can select 12 jurors and four alternates from it. But the defense must be troubled by the sheer number of people who had already made up their minds.
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S05, Ep5: Prospective jurors: He did it

Insisting it was an accident, Claud "Tex" McIVer will soon stand trial for the murder of his wife, Diane. Although Diane told ER surgeons it was an accident just before she died, the state has indicted Tex with malice murder. The year since Diane died has seen some extraordinary and often bizarre turns. This first episode of the new season of Breakdown will set the stage for the upcoming trial.
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S05, Ep1: The McIver Murder Case

The jury in the double-murder case of Nicholas Benton could not hang the verdict on any single piece of evidence or testimony. That is, nothing that came up in court was so compelling that it enabled the jury to declare "guilty" or "not guilty." But what about something that came up outside of court? AJC Editor Kevin Riley wraps up his insider's account of being foreman on the jury in a murder trial.
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S06_Ep5: The Verdict

Nicholas Benton's murder trial gets underway. The state puts on a formidable case -- albeit with some big holes in it -- and then rests. Here comes the defense, and the jury can't wait to hear what Nick Benton will say when he gets to the stand. Meanwhile, if you'd like to talk with us about this case, join the AJC Breakdown Facebook group.
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S06_Ep3: A trial by jury

The jury elects a foreman and begins its deliberations. The cellphone evidence is strong, but jurors are concerned about the lack of physical evidence: no murder weapon, no getaway car, no fingerprints, no DNA. And the state's star witness may or may not be believable.
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S06_Ep4: Deliberation

First contact: An Atlanta homicide investigator goes to the home of the man who has emerged as his suspect. The man lives with his mother, and the detective winds up interviewing both. A year later, AJC Editor-in-Chief Kevin Riley gets his first indication that he will become deeply engaged in the outcome of this double homicide investigation.
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S06_Ep2: Voice of a Killer?

Chip Olsen's fate is now in the hands of the jury. Will the ex-cop end up behind bars? We take you through the murder trial's dramatic conclusion and its aftermath.
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S07, Ep9: The verdict

After a rocky start, prosecutors come out swinging in the murder trial of Chip Olsen. One of their star witnesses: Olsen's own police academy instructor.
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S07, Ep8: The State Strikes Back

Kevin Riley, editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, goes deep inside a double-murder in Atlanta. With extraordinary access to key players in the case, Riley and longtime Breakdown host Bill Rankin explore the sudden and vicious killings of Reggie Coicou and Quincy "Fat" Wytche.
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S06, Ep1: A Jury of His Peers

Chip Olsen's legal team turns to a mock jury to road test their defense strategy. Jurors had a lot of questions and some strong opinions. And what will the lawyers be looking for when they select a real jury? This murder case could turn conventional wisdom on its head.
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S07, Ep5: A trial run

A jury is seated and Chip Olsen's murder trial is finally underway. The ex-cop's defense lawyer said he fired at Anthony Hill because he was terrified as the naked man ran at him. But the prosecution offers a surprising new theory.
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S07, Ep6: Unarmed. Unclothed. Unable to Harm?

Testimony begins in the murder trial of Robert "Chip" Olsen and a trio of witnesses who saw Anthony Hill's final moments take the stand for the state. But do they help or hurt the prosecution's case?
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S07, Ep7: Three eyewitnesses

Former Police Officer Chip Olsen takes the stand in a risky gamble to try to get the murder charges against him dismissed. Does it pay off? And his lawyers push a controversial defense used by cops to justify the use of force.
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S07, Ep3: 'Impervious to pain, superhuman strength'

Who is Chip Olsen? The cop who shot and killed Anthony Hill followed an unusual path to the force. We’ll tell you why it’s so rare to indict police officers who kill in the line of duty. And we’ll take you inside the surprising revelation that convinced the DeKalb DA to not only charge Olsen, but to charge him with murder.
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S07, Ep2: The road to indictment

When Anthony Hill was killed by DeKalb County Police Officer Robert “Chip” Olsen in 2015 he became the latest casualty in a growing crisis: One in every four people shot and killed by police is suffering from mental illness. Why do police encounters with the mentally ill turn deadly so often? And would Hill be alive today if DeKalb had done more to train its officers?
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S07, Ep4: Policing a mental health crisis

On March 9, 2015, the manager of the Heights at Chamblee apartment complex called 911 to report that a man was wandering the grounds naked in the middle of the afternoon. Soon afterward, he was dead, shot and killed by the DeKalb County police officer who arrived at the scene. Who was Anthony Hill, the 26-year-old Afghanistan war veteran whose life ended that day? And how did he end up dead at the hands of police? We introduce you to Hill's life — his music and his family — as well his struggles with mental illness.
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S07, Ep1: 'They're here to help me'

In an emotional hearing, Judge Timothy Walmsley has the last word as he sentences Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and Roddie Bryan for killing Ahmaud Arbery.
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