Wrongful Conviction

#236 Jason Flom with Thomas Haynesworth

In just the first month of 1984, five women from the ages of 18 to 20 were sexually assaulted in East Richmond, Virginia. One victim saw an 18 year old named Thomas Haynesworth while he was walking to his local grocery store and called the police naming him as her attacker. Thomas was eventually convicted for three of the sexual assault incidents and sentenced to a total of 74 years in prison. Even though the assumed perpetrator was in custody, the rapes continued throughout East Richmond. Leon Davis, Thomas’s neighbor, was eventually arrested and convicted for a dozen incidents over the remainder of 1984. DNA testing ultimately confirmed that Leon was responsible for the crimes for which Thomas was convicted, and Thomas was finally exonerated in 2011 after spending 27 years in prison.
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Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row.

Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights  from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews . This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.