Mario Koran is an investigative fellow with the New York Times in addition to being on staff at Wisconsin Watch. He was a west coast correspondent for the Guardian US and covered education for Voice of San Diego where he was named 2016 reporter of the year by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. His work can be found in the New York Times, The Appeal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mario holds a B.S. in Spanish Literature and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Wiscons...
Aug 15, 2024•22 min•Ep. 184
Robert Pollock has worked with the justice system and its intersection with the arts for over a decade. He has worked with Road Recovery , Rehabilitation Through the Arts , Musicambia , Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison , and Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections . He managed PEN America 's Prison and Justice Writing Program and published 6 anthologies of the award winning work of incarcerated writers. He has collaborated with the Fortune Society, Osborne Association, and several NYC gras...
Jun 27, 2024•25 min•Ep. 183
Robert Pollock has worked with the justice system and its intersection with the arts for over a decade. He has worked with Road Recovery , Rehabilitation Through the Arts , Musicambia , Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison , and Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections . He managed PEN America 's Prison and Justice Writing Program and published 6 anthologies of the award winning work of incarcerated writers. He has collaborated with the Fortune Society, Osborne Association, and several NYC gras...
Jun 20, 2024•22 min•Ep. 182
Mark Godsey is a former prosecutor who founded The Ohio Innocence Project in 2003. He is Executive Director of O.I.P. He often appears on Dateline, Forensic Files and CNN. His book Blind Injustice was recently made into an opera. He is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. We will discuss his book and talk about the many cases cited in the book. Purchase Blind Injustice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions here. Learn mo...
Jun 13, 2024•26 min•Ep. 181
Mark Godsey is a former prosecutor who founded The Ohio Innocence Project in 2003. He is Executive Director of O.I.P. He often appears on Dateline, Forensic Files and CNN. His book Blind Injustice was recently made into an opera. He is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. We will discuss his book and talk about the many cases cited in the book. Purchase Blind Injustice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions here. Learn mo...
Jun 06, 2024•23 min•Ep. 180
Ray Boyd was released from Cheshire C.F. in Connecticut in November of 2021 after serving 30 years. He is an author, public speaker, juvenile advocate and consultant. He is employed by Yale University. He founded Next Level Emporment , a non-profit where he works tirelessly with "returning citizens" (those coming out of prison back into society) helping them make that challenging transition. Ray went to prison in 1992 as a 7th grade dropout whose reading level was about grade 4, facing a 50 year...
May 30, 2024•22 min•Ep. 179
Ray Boyd was released from Cheshire C.F. in Connecticut in November of 2021 after serving 30 years. He is an author, public speaker, juvenile advocate and consultant. He is employed by Yale University. He founded Next Level Emporment , a non-profit where he works tirelessly with "returning citizens" (those coming out of prison back into society) helping them make that challenging transition. Ray went to prison in 1992 as a 7th grade dropout whose reading level was about grade 4, facing a 50 year...
May 23, 2024•22 min•Ep. 178
Nicholas Dawidoff is a full time writer. Born in NYC, he grew up in New Haven, CT. Author of 5 books, one of which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he is also a contributing writer to the New Yorker, Rolling Stone and the New York Times. A graduate of Harvard, he has been named a Guggenheim Fellow along with other prestigious awards. We will be discussing his newest book, The Other Side of Prospect, which highlights a neighborhood in New Haven and an innocent teen who falsely confesses to ...
May 16, 2024•27 min•Ep. 177
Nicholas Dawidoff is a full time writer. Born in NYC, he grew up in New Haven, CT. Author of 5 books, one of which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he is also a contributing writer to the New Yorker, Rolling Stone and the New York Times. A graduate of Harvard, he has been named a Guggenheim Fellow along with other prestigious awards. We will be discussing his newest book, The Other Side of Prospect, which highlights a neighborhood in New Haven and an innocent teen who falsely confesses to ...
May 09, 2024•26 min•Ep. 176
This week we talk with Dr. Tom Haney of Books Through Bars . Books Through Bars was founded by Barbara Hirshkowitz in 1992. Its mission is to send books to people in prison who are doing time in the Mid-Atlantic States. Dr. Tom Haney specializes in counseling people with violent, repetitive compulsive disorders. He's been active with Books Through Bars for 12 years and is now President of this non-profit. He was one of the first paramedics in Pennsylvania and served 30 years in law enforcement. ...
Mar 28, 2024•25 min•Ep. 175
This week we talk with Dr. Tom Haney of Books Through Bars. Books Through Bars was founded by Barbara Hirshkowitz in 1992. Its mission is to send books to people in prison who are doing time in the Mid-Atlantic States. Dr. Tom Haney specializes in counseling people with violent, repetitive compulsive disorders. He's been active with Books Through Bars for 12 years and is now President of this non-profit. He was one of the first paramedics in Pennsylvania and served 30 years in law enforcement. H...
Mar 21, 2024•24 min•Ep. 174
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 justice advocate. She earned her JD from NYU School of Law and served as a public defender in NYC for...
Mar 14, 2024•24 min•Ep. 173
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 justice advocate. She earned her JD from NYU School of Law and served as a public defender in NYC for...
Mar 07, 2024•23 min•Ep. 172
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 everyone." Mark Strandquist (he/him) has spent over a decade using art to amplify, celebrate, and pow...
Feb 22, 2024•24 min•Ep. 171
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 others. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Click Below To View the Murals ...
Feb 15, 2024•21 min•Ep. 170
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 song played at the end of the episode is Chasing a Dream by William Michael Dillon. Buy The Book Listen to...
Feb 08, 2024•40 min•Ep. 169
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 song played at the end of the episode is Black Robes and Lawyer by William Michael Dillon. Buy The Book Li...
Feb 01, 2024•29 min•Ep. 168
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 learn more about Empowerment Avenue, visit https://www.empowermentave.org/ Click Here to listen to the ...
Jan 25, 2024•26 min•Ep. 167
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 learn more about Empowerment Avenue, visit https://www.empowermentave.org/ Click Here to listen to the ...
Jan 18, 2024•24 min•Ep. 166
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 Appeal of Florida; 12 years as a public defender in Miami and Washington, D.C.; 30 years as an adjunct ...
Jan 11, 2024•29 min•Ep. 165
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 Appeal of Florida; 12 years as a public defender in Miami and Washington, D.C.; 30 years as an adjunct ...
Jan 04, 2024•25 min•Ep. 164
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 their back. They often have no place to go. In Pennsylvania, over 64% of formerly incarcerated people r...
Dec 28, 2023•25 min•Ep. 163
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 Human Resource coordinator for her mother's award winning organization: "A New Way of Life", a nonprofi...
Dec 21, 2023•33 min•Ep. 162
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 outspoken advocate for restoring basic civil and human rights to those that have served time. Get he...
Dec 14, 2023•21 min•Ep. 161
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 outspoken advocate for restoring basic civil and human rights to those that have served time. Get Su...
Dec 07, 2023•25 min•Ep. 160
Seth will discuss the future of his nonprofit organization, its recent cases of exoneration and the goals for the future.
Sep 25, 2023•26 min•Ep. 157
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 to a pre-existing condition of diabetes—not Shaken Baby Syndrome....
Sep 18, 2023•26 min•Ep. 156
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.
Sep 04, 2023•28 min•Ep. 155
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
Aug 28, 2023•26 min•Ep. 154
Homegrown:Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism
Aug 23, 2023•26 min•Ep. 153
