#070 Jason Flom with Susan King

thing should do the right thing. And that's why, even though I was dealing with corrop people, I wasn't going to brave anyone to get me out of prison because I wouldn't live with the fact that I braved my way out of my wife's death. I'm not innocent to proven guilty. I'm guilty until I proved my innocence. And that's absolutely what happened to me. Our system. Since I've been out ten years, it's come a little ways, but it's still broken, a totally little trust in humanity after

what happened to me. This is wrongful conviction. Welcome back to wrongful conviction with Jason Falm that's me. I'm your host, and today I have an absolutely unbelievable story and an incredible person to share that story with you. Susan King is here. Susan, Welcome to wrongful conviction. Thank you, good to be here. And like I always say, I'm glad

you're here, but I'm sorry you're here. So, Susan, Ever since I read your story, which must be a year and a half ago, I was transfixed because even having been in this movement for five years now and having recorded seventy episodes of the podcast, your story sticks out in many ways because it's so absolutely insane that I find myself telling the story to other people and going that can't be true, but I know it is and

you and you actually had to live it well. She served six years behind the bars after a Kentucky State Police investigator said she killed a man. Then someone else confessed to the crime, and now two years later, the case against Susan Gene King is finally dismissed. King spent years in prison for what they call raisen missconduct by

Kentucky State Police. It comes after King served six and a half years in prison for the death of Kyle Deanie Breeden of Shelbyville, The Kentucky Innocence Project told the court. When the Kentucky State Police case went cold after a few years, Trooper Todd Harwood picked it up. Eighteen days later. He said he broke the case, naming King as the killer. He said King threw Breeden's body into the Kentucky River

after a domestic speut. The only problem King has one leg and weighed less than one hundred pounds at the time. So let's go back to the beginning. Um, you grew up in Were you born in Kentucky? Yes, it was back in nine was a long time ago. We're almost the same age. Um. What what part of Kentucky were you born in? I was born in shelby THEO. But all happen from And how was your childhood? Oh? I was rased to go country girls, so I spent my

timetation and playing with chaos all that, STU. So it sounds like this hearing the tone of your voice, you had to you had a happy childhood. Yeah, and um, and then ultimately you where did you grow up? Where did did you go to when you go to school? Where'd you end up? Living before all this insanity came to pass. Well, before all this, I had my own beauty shop. I was a thousantologist. I had my own home, and how the six and High Fakers was barn, and

all my animals and my dogs and horses. Everything was enjoying life. And and suddenly one day Todd Hardwood appeared and ruined it all. Oh, he certainly did. And the way that he did it is beyond I think people are going to be Anyone who's listening now, fasten your seatbelt, because when you hear the level of evil, of pure evil, that this individual was capable of, it is absolutely shocking, even even to people that are loyal listeners of the podcast.

You're going to be Um, you're in for a crazy ride. Um so, But Susan, you had you had a tragedy upon a tragedy because back in your life took a terrible turn. Yeah, that's in a corre accident and that and that, and that turns out to be an important part of the story. And how you're wrong conviction when you only have one leg and you can't go around

listen people to under ponds and stuff like that. Say right, and we're going to get to that, because that's one of the things about the story that is just I mean, even if you had two legs, the story never would have made any sense. But that particular aspect of it makes it go from the ridiculous to the sun to the impossible, right to the surreal, impossible, whatever word you want to whatever word you wouldn't describe, so fast forward

to right. And you had been in a relationship, if I'm not mistaken, right with a guy made Kyle Breeden. And this was was this an on again, off again type of thing? Uh well, yeah, yes, yeah, he lived life and I can handle put nicely. And one day

he disappeared, right and just so it was gone. And then ten days later we know now his body was found by a fisherman in the Kentucky River, right, and he had been shot in the head twice, but twenty two caliber bullets which did not exit the skull, which is important because they were able to be found, very important, right, so that they were non exiting bullets, and his legs were bound with guitar amplifier cord, so he was um

This is obviously a brutal crime. He was shot twice in the head, bound with the guitar ample fire cord like I said, and then lifted up the killer parked on the grats bridge and then hoisted him. And he wasn't a small guy, right pounds, so the killer hoisted him over the railing and threw him down or dropped him down into the Kentucky River where he was doing the Well, oh wow, so he was two h pounds plus the concrete blocks. Okay, wow, this guy went to some trouble to to do it. So we're going to

get all of that. But what what has absolutely transfixed me about this case is the idea, and we don't and we'll get you know, I'm gonna jump ahead and we'll come back. But the idea that anybody on a grand jury or anywhere else in the system could have been made to believe that a woman who barely weighed a hundred pounds um, which is you could have which was this horrible detective theory right, that you would have shot him in the head in your kitchen, dragged him

out down the driveway. Do you have a gravel driveway to read that somewhere? Right? So we are to believe that you a hundred pound woman, if you even weighed that much with one leg. Somehow or other, we're able to shoot this guy twice, dragged him through the kitchen, down the gravel driveway, hoist him into the car, drive to the bridge, tie blocks to him, bind him. Not to interrupt it. But I didn't even have a car. Oh my god, I need a minute. I can't even pross.

I don't know, but I didn't have a car or tractor. Yeah, the tractor, okay, so um wow? And then uh yeah, so you drove the invisible car, the imaginary car to the Grats bridge and then hoisted this after binding him with amphipichord and tying concrete blocks to him, you managed to hoist this entire um crazy like, I mean, this this person, with all these contraptions, there's two something pound object, which is now a dead body up over a railing. How high was the railing? By the way, I don't know.

I had stayed away from that area for obvious reasons, and I really don't know how how that Well, it doesn't much matter because none of it makes any sense. So um so the whole thing is obviously just beyond ridiculous, is disgusting. It's um well, you think that you can trust the cop, and that's that's the round. You can't trust more anymore. You know, there are some good chops. I got a couple of good tops, but the boy, I tell you, look that one. Really it makes the

whole department look bad. Um. I'm glad you said that, Susan, because I say that on the show often that I'm a person who does believe in a system of laws, and I believe that there are a lot of good cops, and there are a lot of good prosecutors, but there's a lot of bad ones too, and the bad ones

do a terrible amount of damage. Um. And in your case, it couldn't be more pronounced the because of the way in which this was done, you know, in this case, going back to the the time in UH, they originally tried to attain the search warrant and to search your premises and stuff like that, but they were unable to because there was no evidence that you it was what was painfully obviously everyone concerned that you could not have done this, so they everyone actually took a common sensical

approach and said, okay, well let's keep looking for who did. And the trail went cold, right, Well, they didn't. They didn't search any farther than just me. I don't think they didn't try very hard anyway. Now, the first a good detective when Danny starting with How's body was first found. Um, they were pretty decent cops. They did their job. They were very thorough. They scared me death. So they did their job right, and they decided that I didn't have

anything to do with it. Say my interview I did on the uh the channel investigation Discovery Town. No, I didn't even know about if I'm going to watch it for sure, will Yeah, they did a show on it, and they did a real good job. And you know, I'm on TV right now. You are that show. You know it's one right now. That's amazing channel. It's all right now we speak, You're all over the place. You're on TV and the radio. Um, yeah, I'm excited to

see that. Um. So you were saying that the the initial investigation you thought they were tell me about that. They came to see you. They intimidated you a little bit or how did that work? And they they agree open me real good. That put me through a lot. So that's what I say. They did their job. But they came to the correct conclusion at first, and they you know, who are somebody came to the right answer and said, you know, we're not going to grant the

search wire. We're not going to indict her. We're gonna have to keep looking because she ain't the one. Um. And you went on with it being a cold case for years, right, And that's where stuff really gets crazy. Right. So now enters the villain in this story. And villain is too kind of a word actually, because we have to clean it up. Uh yeah, And you're allowed to curse on this show if you want to. There's no problem at all with that, um, And I wouldn't blame you,

but it's hard to discuss this without it. You can do as you see fit. Um. So along comes this um sack of ship named Todd Harwood. And he's a real short guy. Was he's real short, Okay. So he comes into town. UM, and he's a state he's a state police officer. He's he's new on the job, right, just rolled into town, decided this this might be good for his seems to me. I don't know this, but it seems to me he might have thought this might be good for his career. Um. If after all, they

had received a grant for cod cases. And that's what he's addicted. Was what he wanted to do it, and that's what he got. And was this sort of a high profile case in the area, very much so, I've been on the front page at the type of many many counts. Right. So his thing was, Okay, I'm gonna go make my name. I'm speculating, but I'm gonna say he was thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea for him and his career if he could go and solve

this case. So when did you first find out that this guy was around and that he was had his had you in the crosshairs. How did that come to? Because we're talking seven years later, you had had moved on and you know, trying to make the best out of your life. It's facing the difficulties that you already faced and having lost you know this. I mean, obviously this must have been pretty traumatic too, um to lose someone that you had in a relationship with in such

a violent manner. But but how did you come to find out that this guy was was coming after you? Well, at first I didn't know he was really coming and I asked you meanting like he did. I just thought he needed some information, you know, because I had understood that he UH was investigating the cold case, and you know, I was ware that they were, and I was willing to help him in anyway I could. But he turned on me like a snake and started running and all.

He scared me so bad, so many times, yelling and screaming and riding me around in his car like a crazy person going to the class and slamming on the brakes. He scared me death that day. I thought he was gonna kill me. Wow, I didn't even know that. Part of the story is gets crazier and crazier. It's not right. And he was wetting efusely and tasting back and forth and talking real fast, and he wasn't normal at all. I don't know what was making him act that way,

but nothing was well. We can't know that, and we I never will. But the fact is that he was. He's obviously off his rocker. But whatever the reasons were for that, again, we don't know. One of the million crazy aspects of this thing is how he was able to convince the grand jury to indict you in the first place, and how he was even able to get a search warrant. And then the sheer volume of lies

that he told is staggering lies that were demonstrably provably false. Right, I mean, he lied about literally everything, but he didn't even tell the grand jury. I had only one leg heft that flora out. Yeah, and I think I don't believe I would have ever indicted me whatever dot search warrant if he had told. Well, of course not, because nobody's that dumb, right, nobody could believe. And this is

why I've told your story many many times. It actually took me a while to find you, um, but I've told your story so many times ever since I first read about it in the Marshall Project. Actually was a wonderful newsletter that I read that focuses on all the most important stories in criminal justice. And you get it uh emailed to you for free every day if you want it. Um. It's called the Marshall Projects. Ever since I read that, I was I have to I have

to interview Susan. I have to get inside of this and try to understand it, because it just doesn't make any damn sense. So somehow or other he manages to convince UH the the you know, the powers that be to grant a search warrant comes and searches your house, finds out there's a couple of old uh, bullet holes in the in the floor, something like that. Right, But none of that, Matt shouldn't have mattered because it didn't match the bullets that they recovered from the dead body. Um,

but that didn't throw them off. Um. And you know, and then and then he and what happened from your perspective, what happened? When did you get the call? How did you find out that you were actually being indicted? And then how did you find this horrible lawyer that you ended up with? And I need to know everything. Well, I didn't know he was coming to arrest me. He threatened to several times at that point. And then then not to believe anything he said. He said he wasn't

make sure I got the electric chair. Now, what's up? What's say that? I knew? If announce this guy just lying, he's crazy, So he's threatening with the electric chair. Um he told the I mean, among the other lies that he told, he said there were four bullet holes in the kitchen floor and drag marks on the linoleum. None of that was true. He told the grand jury that ballistics analysis showed the two bullets recovered from the floor SAT came from the same weapon that fired the bullets

that killed breeding. That wasn't true, right. And he said that blood found on the floor was from breeding, where the DNA analysis proved that in fact it could. They had no idea who it was from. But he lied about all that animal vegetable or mayor and mineral. That's

what they told me, animal vegetable and mental. That wasn't sure which And not only that, but the ballistics analysis actually showed the opposite of what he claimed, right, That the bullets did not match, and that the police knew that the water damage to the floor in your kitchen caused the markings that Hardwood said were drag marks. So Harwood, I had three of all that people that UH did all that retired to my house, set your flood, and

I mean, now this happened to miss game forward. That wasn't And we're not done with the lies because you also claimed that you had used cleaning fluid to clean up the UH to clean up the evidence, when the investigation showed that there was there was no cleaning fluid

or keen cleaning chemicals of any kind. And in fact, at some point, what I do know is that the grand jury investigations, or any grandy investigation, two different jurors asked him how you had been able to shoot, breathing and move his body despite only having one leg and waying as we said, nowty seven pounds, And he just didn't answer those questions. So had he, of course, that would have been the end of that. So okay, So now you end up having your home uh taken over

various times for these uh searches to take place. Um, when did you get a lawyer? You know, I always leave them in and try to answer all the questions and help them in. And you, like a citizen would because you wanted to have this crime song. Nobody wants to have a killer around their neighborhood. And and and also any any person who's got any sort of conscience would want to help. Anybody would want to help the police.

But I think it's important for people to know and listening to you, hopefully they'll they'll they'll understand what I try to drive home all the time, which is that if you're if they're telling you you're a suspect. You need to get a lawyer, and then stop talking and don't talk. Don't speak outside the presence of your lawyer because they'll trick you into all sorts of stuff. Um, but in your case, your lawyer didn't help at all, And let's talk about that. How did you find this lawyer? Um?

Who was it in the phone? Her name is red Ricca Morrell? And where'd you Where did she come from? She is? Uh, he was a court appointed attorney from Shephardsville, Kentucky. Um, I've never heard of it, but that's who they appointed from my lawyer. And they may as well have appointed my dog to be my lawyer. It would have been better. Wow. Yeah, she talked. She came to jail a couple of times to talk to me, and she said, frankly, I don't believe he either. Season So I was danged. I mean,

it's unimaginable. She that's got to be a violation of all sorts of Um. Yeah, I mean it's I mean, I was gonna say, I've never heard of anything like this, but I happen to the judge and told the judge, Hey, don't believe that. You need to get her. Somebody account. She didn't do that. No, she she worked with she worked with the prosecutor, and she worked with the officers.

And yeah, she literally sold you down the river. And and and it's similar to if anyone saw making a murderer, which a lot of people did that our listeners, UM, they've seen a similar situation in the case of Brendan Dacy, where his one of his team was literally just just an extension of the the prosecutors and the police. Was so disgusting and sad to why, um, And your situation is really not much different. So now here you are, you're in jail, everything's closing in on you. You're facing

all this different hardship. Um in every way. UM. I mean I read what the what you said about your dog as well, and it broke my heart on top of everything else. UM, I mean, I don't I don't know if you even want to go back there, but if you want to tell the story you can. Well it's really sad. I had done a dog named Key, big Australian shepherd lad and annex and keeps it a big speckled pub And then I had a little coffer staying puppy to His name was Charlie. And anybody knows

me knows what the animal love I am. And I had ducks and chickens and geese and a horse and all that. And when I went to jail, I didn't have anybody to come take care of them for me. It's kind of a lot to ask ganky body types here of all that. And the home was found from my horse, and the home was found for my Papa Staniel. But nobody tell me get my dog. He's accused. She stayed there on that porch for but three months while I was in jail. She didn't know whether Mama was

and why Mama left or anything. She ate it the next door neighbor's house, but she'd been doing that few years anyway, so she was getting fed. But the rest of the time she was waiting on a porch from me to come home. And ended up a friend and I went and daughter and kept her fruit as long as she could, and then had to have her put down. And she's a very sad situation. Um Todd Hardwood, he didn't just hurt maid. He hurts so many other people too. He hurt not only my animals, but he hurt cops.

He hurt good cops. I mean he's really anything he has anything to do with the steer career. Yeah, I mean, he's just it's just a shame because, like I said, I grew up like you and like I think anyone else, um pretty much, you know, thinking, man, I thought about wanting to become a cop. You know, like it's you. You you look up when you're a child to people in uniform and you want to be able to believe that they're there to do good and to and to

help you. And that's that's where you thought you were sposed to help A copy of a cop. I ask your questions, you stop to answer truthfully and and help them. I know that's how they give was or information, I'm sure, but I'm telling truth. And he just didn't care. He was determined he's gonna put me away, whether I did it or not. And he did, and he got his promotion and he got his pay raise. Yeah that's a that's another plan. It's another horrible aspect of the story.

He ends up getting promoted to lieutenant or something like that, and you know it's it's just I don't understand how people sleep at No, I really don't. Um. But yeah, great, It's really great. Like I said, I don't know how and there's and there's a special no idea, there's a special place and help for people like that. But that's

so um So back to the story. So there you are in jail, going through this literal nightmare that is unimaginable to anybody, including me, even you know, even being so steeped in the knowledge of these things, I don't think anybody could imagine what you went through that had been there. And uh and now you have this lawyer who's working against you. You had no chance, I mean,

you had no help. And so at some point your only option you had these uh, these people telling you you were facing the death penalty or life in prison or whatever it was gonna be. And um hm, at some point you made a decision that's like it's almost like Sophie's choice, right, you had to You decided to take an Alfred plea. And can you explain how that

came down? And what does that mean? Well, an alphad play means that you are the main um you know, remains confident that I didn't do it, and I'm I'm gonna admit to do that because I didn't do it that the alpha play means that there's evidence that you thinks Mike lead a jury to think and you're guilty. And my lawyer told him nothing. She told me nothing about the alpha plea. I learned about the alpha plee from the girls in the sale with me, So you hadn't.

Thank Dennis, I took the alphred play. Yeah, um, thank good is for that, because otherwise you would have ended up going to trial and get and most likely getting convicted in spite of the fact that there was an overwhelming evidence. If you're in the is, if no one was going to present it, you would have had a really tough road to go because you know, you would hope that a jury even still would take one look at you and go away a minute. This is impossible.

But if I don't think anyone would want to take their chances in the situation that you were in. And now the story gets go ahead, go ahead, No, I was gonna saying, and then the story is about to get even weirder. But tell us what you're about to tell us anyway. Uh, sometimes I forget what I'm talking about. The thing too, okay, so so we'll come back to it.

But okay, so now, yeah, we'll cut that out. Okay, So now something really crazy happens, which is where we're not well, yeah, but let me let me start here. Let me just introduce this by saying, so, now we're going to fast forward about four years to May two thousand and twelve, and what happened in May two thousand twelve.

You're not even ready for them, whoever is listening. So in May two thousand and twelve, a Louisville Metro Police narcotics detective named Baron Morrigan was interrogating a serial killer named Richard Darrell Jr. About an attempted murder charge. He had fired a shotgun into the home of a confidential police informant, which is really something that's right out of

a movie. And Darrell offered to provide information on unsolved crimes and return for leniency for his brother, who was facing federal jug charges drug charges in Arkansas and not just continued for a minute and then later invested interrogation, Darrell confessed the murdering Breeding as well as committing to other murders. Darrell said he killed breedon on the day Jarrell turned twenty one October, the same day that Breedon disappeared.

He also told the police that Breedon had sold twenty dollars from him the day before and used it to buy crack cocaine. Darrell said, and I'm reading this part, that he went to Breeden's trailer and found him smoking cocaine, which was consistent with autopsy findings that Breedon had cocaine in his blood. So on the day Breeding disappeared, Darrell said, he picked up Breeding under the guys are driving to his father's to Darrell's father's home to celebrate Jarell's birthday,

and it goes on and on. But he knew everything there was to know about where the body was, how it got there, what he had done during the day. He knew the amount of money he had taken out of the bank. He knew every possible detail. He couldn't have if he had produced a videotape of himself doing this, it wouldn't have been any more solid than what he

provided to this detective. And this detective the detectives where he had thrown some of the murder weapons, some of the guns, and they went to the price that he tells them about, and they got drivers and went in and they found him. Okay, donkey, there you go. What do you know? So this guy, uh, he gave them an actual map and a thing and and all the

information that they needed was right there. So this detective Baron Morgan and you talk about how they're good cops out there, and I talked about how the good cops and this guy's I mean, from everything we know about him as a damn good cop. And he did what he should have done, which is that he called Harwood

and he said something. We don't know exactly what that conversation sounded like, but we know he called them and said, hey, buddy, I think he got the wrong uh answer, the wrong outcome because Susan King had nothing to do with this, because I got your guy right here, right. And at that point, one would think that this Harwood guy would go, ah, ship, the jig is up. Well, all right, I gotta admit it, but I already got my promotion and I'll probably all right.

But that's not what he did. In fact, he decided that he would interview um Darrell himself off and he recorded Jarrell saying, oh this is this is where it gets really weird. Right, So he interviewed Darrell, after which Jarrell changed his story and recant did his confession, which it was too late to we can't because he knew all the details that would have been impossible for him to know. And mysteriously, Hartwood said, the tape of this,

because he did tape record this interview, disappeared. He said, the tape disappeared, mysteriously amazing. Um, yeah, I mean I just got to take a second to process that. You know. It's kind of like a kid, it's kind of like magic. Yeah. So but meanwhile, there were tape recordings of the detailed description of of the confession and everything else, right, so that that must have helped. Um. And so what happens now, Um, you're not even aware of this at the time you're

in prison. Ah. Yeah, that one day they called my name over the intertime and I thought, well, now was I done? You know? And they called me down there and it was the Instance Project projects that the Instance Projects, and they told me about the confession and I'll tell you it's about making somebody's day. You want to hear about that. Well, what was your reaction when they told you that? Oh? I just dropped the head down and cry. I remember I raised my head that best a couple

of minutes. Such a nabe. Now they'll believe me? And who who from the Innocence Project to Kentucky. This is project came And I know people had a lot of different innocence projects, but I want to meet and shake the hands that people have did this for you, um and send them a check. Smith is one of them, Manda Smith one her. And then she had a couple of low students with her that day. Well, they were with her through the whole my whole thing. They were

right there with me. So you got wonderful thing. So I'm picturing you now in that little room in the prison with your head down crying, and then you lift your head back up. And now what now, what happens? Well, I figured i'd be going home pretty soon, but they they looked confession meant nothing. They wouldn't. They didn't let

me out early at all. They made me do my whole sentence and then after that I had to go back through the court system to prove that I was innocent, which I did, but they knew if I was in I did. I lost the year prison after the confession and after that confession. They should have let me out. They obviously should have let you up, but they didn't. They kept you in there. Anyway. I'm not really sure

I even understand how that happened. But um, but and then the day you walked out, you still walked out under this cloud of having a conviction for uh it was a manslaughter murder. Yeah, murders still come out as

a convicted murderer. Um, but you have the Kentucky Innessis Project on your side, and then things started to change, but they took us still a couple of twists and turns that are really worth looking at because after the project, lawyers presented the evidence that during the grand jury investigation, which we know now, two different grand jurors had asked Harwood how you know how he could have how this

could have happened with a one legged woman? Uh? And we know that he evaded all the questions and all this other stuff. Right. But in two thousands and twelve, in October, the motion to vacate the guilty plea was denied by Circuit Court Judge Charles Hickman, and he said, and this is worth quoting, he said that while Darrell had presented knowledge of quote a startling level of details

about Breedon's murderer. The law barred him from granting emotion for a new trial because King you Susan had played guilty, which is really like some double Jeopardy whackiness there too, right, So it's almost like he's saying, Okay, it doesn't matter that you're innocent because we tricked you into pleading guilty. Uh yeah, which is a wacky um. I don't think. I'm sure I'm scratching my head. I'm sure a lot

of other people are too. But you know I always had safe even though the cops was do any wrong, and I have getting trained always. Damn deep in my heart, I thought, well, the judge is not going to do this to me. The judge is going to seek all this. He didn't even look at me much. Let's see through you anything and h court appointed lawyer with Beta Morrell and the prosecutor and officer Hardwood, we're all standing there with their arms around each other, patting each other's back

and life. And you know that wasn't funny. No, I mean, you're you're an incredibly strong woman. I mean, how you can even get out of bed in the morning, and you know, put a smile on your face, like time to time is good to hear you laughing. I mean, it's just, uh, you got all my respect. That's all I could say about that. And it's awesome that you're here.

And then I really appreciate it. So now things take, uh, finally a better turn in two thousand fourteen, because in July two thou fourteen, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals reverse the decision of the judge who wouldn't look at you, Judge Hickman, and they they vacated your guilty play in order to do trial. Um, because they said that based on the evidence of actual innocence, you were

entitled to a new trial. Now that would seem like a third grader would be able to figure that out, But okay, they figured it out, and then in on October seventh, only a few months later, uh, they dismissed all the charges. And now we come to another phase of this, right, because there's two more things that really

need everyone's attention, right, because in two thousand fifteen. A year later, October two fifteen, you file the federal civil rights lawsuit against Harwood and other police officers, which would seem like a no brainer. But it was dismissed in in two thousand and sixteen, and I was really disapp I can't even imagine, I mean, because there's never been in to my knowledge, Um, they may have been, but I don't know about it a clearer cut case of

official misconduct. And that's really a nice way of saying it. I mean, it's just the most like you said, it's the most magically terrible uh frame job that that anyone like, literally somebody put your stories. You realize this is someone put your story in a Hollywood script. Nobody would believe it. Like people would be like, no, no, you can't go back and rewrite that. I can picture somebody say we re write that. NOO's been bla. Don't just believe this.

It's ridiculous, but it's true. So I've got an excellent attorney right now, then it's like I have a excellent team of attorney. I've got the best in Kentucky. Who do you who? Who do you have? Let's give him a shout out? Oh well, I have Thomas Clay and David Ward, and then there's some of their associates and I don't know what their names, they're not dreamed team excellent, excellent, excellent.

My going to be I'll be treated fairly well. And and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals we ought to this point because and in March shut thousand seventeen, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals UM reinstated the lawsuit, which is interesting too because that's a very conservative court. But but even they were able to say, hey, you know what, this is just not okay. And meanwhile, there's another aspect

to this too. And I'm going to be following your case and UM and and rooting you right across the finish line, and I'll be here to help you anyway that I can. And I hope that will get a chance to meet and develop a friendship as I have

with so many other extraordinary people Alex Honoree's over the years. UM. But there's also another aspect to this, which is another really sinister thing that I want to share with the audience, which goes back to the police officer was at Morgan, right, who actually tried to do the right thing, and and what happened with him was that he was demoted. Right, So this story is actually he's not the only one Oh really, I didn't know that, So tell me rich

Rich Pearson he was demoted as well. Uh. And he was an excellent cops. He was a good persons, the Christian nante and shame so Detective Baron Morrigan who came forward. Uh. He didn't didn't have to, I guess right. He could have just gone on with his life. But he came forward and you know, did did what any good officer of law would do and share the information that he had discovered of who actually killed Eden and uh, and he was assigned to I think it was the night

that the graveyard shift desk duty? Right? And why why did they do that, Susan? Well, because he told the trade and it was gonna make them all look like they were wrong, because they were wrong. And what about the other guy that you were just talking about, who also was demotive. What was his involvement because he hasn't come up in the story yet. He was I believe,

if I'm correct, he was Baron Morgan's I think. So he stood by him, um right, un huh, and he talked with the Instance project to himsel okay, so they actually that's the two big tops I was tay about there is in this worm, right, So they weren't willing to to tow the line and just uh you know, hide and obscure the truth and do everything else that

they would, um officers for doing the right thing. They really treating him badly, right, and so um, yeah, what happened that is that you know, I'm actually going back to my research and it says here that in connection with your case, Harwood, Superior UH Commissioner Rodney Brewer complained to the UH Louis Louisville p D Chief and longtime friend Steve Conrad, that Detective Morgan was meddling in a state police case. Police case, he was meddling in a

case by identifying the actual killer. That's an interesting definition of meddling. And so Conrad then transferred Morgan too the graveyard shift as a patrol officer. Now the happy ending to that part of the story, if there could be such a thing, is that more ensued uh under the you know saying that the assignment change was punishment for bringing Gerald's confession to light. And he actually did finally receive a four fifty thousand dollars settlement. Um, so good

for him, you know what, I hope he uh. I hope he is enjoying the money and that he's living a happy life whatever he's doing. I don't know if he's still on the force or not, but I wish him well. I wish there were more people like him out there, and I know there are. That's chief police, all right. What's his name again? The chief was Steve Conrad. Conrad. That's why I could and thank you his name and nothing.

Then I should have known what's my own? He went out of his way and make sure if none's covered us and the chief didn't get out, it's just as guilty. It's it's a it's an unbelievable conspiracy, and it's made to me um, even another layer of evil, the idea that they would do this to you, Um, you know, a woman of humble means who already is facing an uphill battle due to your injury, your your disability, and and that like the fact that they are totally fine with,

you know, perpetrating this horrendous injustice on you. Meanwhile, not, of course, we all know that when you convict the wrong person, which they knew they were doing, you ignore the right person. And this guy you know, went out and killed other people they done. Had they done their job, I don't know if they would have caught him or not. At least they would have had a chance, and maybe they could have saved some other people's lives who didn't

need to die in the first place. Um. So yeah, as you said, there's a lot of victims in this story, are a lot of victims in this story. And there's a lot of villains in this because what happened to make and happen to anybody. And that's I want and

I want everyone to know that. And I also want to give another shout out to the Kentucky Innocence Project, and I hope that people will will donate, uh and get involved and go to the Kentucky Instance Project website and and help um because the great work that they did in Susan's case, I'm sure there are many many other examples, and I want to get to know more about their work. So, UM, So Susan, for you, now,

do you have your lawsuit pending? Um? The courts have said that you can only sue Harwood, right, Um, they're not even letting you sue anybody else. Is that's still the state of affairs that we're in it still is. I don't understand that, but that's lady is. But at least you're shooing him and that will feel good to UH to win that, and I know you will because now you have the dream team on your side, like you said, um and you have overwhelming you have overwhelming evidence.

So I'm very You know what would make me happy. I'd like would to be arrested and take him to the hospital and hand cuff to the bed with his feet in his arms and tortured all night lyle and thrown in county jail for nineteen months and then thrown in UH but stay prison for four more years, which would be a total of six and a half years. That's what I'd like to sit happen to him. He needs to be done just the way he had me done, and nothing less. It's gonna make me happy. Yeah, I

can't um. I don't think anyone can fault you for feeling that way, and I'm certainly not going to um so for murther And you say you didn't do it, they're really hard on you. I mean I had I wasn't a bad looking girl when I got locked up. I had pretty smile on my pretty white teeth, and I was always proud of him, and that Dennis and all that NASA prison. They've run to my teeth. I've got five teeth left, and that's it. And that's just

you have a teeth. It's just one thing. Stuff that happens to your body while you're in there, stuff that happens to your mind, and your emotional steak while you're in there, and your mental steak. It's it's overwhelming to wake up every day and you're still there and you didn't do it, and nobody believes you. And that's a long Six and a half years is a long time. It is a long time. And I have seen pictures of you and you were and you still are a

beautiful woman. So um, they can't take that away from you. Um. So the um the two last points I want to cover. Um. One is what is your life like now? Um? I know this thing is pending. How are you living? How are you getting by? What can people do to help? That's what I'd like to know, including me. Well, you know, I don't like to complain much. I'm thankful I'm alive, and I'm thankful I have everyth over in my head, mind you living at one they drink apartment in the

housing projects. It's not my house and barn and BT shop and bake region, my yard and my animals and everything. It's nothing like that anymore. It's just me and my dog with two cats in the one day room apartment and we're trying to live on forty five dollars with the food stands a month. Have you, um, and and we're going to help you for sure, But have you set up any kind of go fund me or any kind of has anybody help you with that? Because we can do that as well and try to raise raise money.

I don't have the Internet or a computer or one of those fancy telephones or anything like that, so I don't know anything about anything like that. Everything turned into sterized while I was in prison, and I got it out. Everything's going to computers and expensive phones and nobody will pump your gas anymore. Thing's really changed in that six and a half years. So um so susan um what I guess. The only thing I want to know now really is what else? Whatever else you want to say?

I mean, i'd like to say at this point in the show, first of all, thank you, um for being here, I mean your your strength and your courage or just beyond the beyond. And um uh you know we're gonna we're gonna do everything we can to help you get back on your feet, get back to just say better, whatever we can to help you get back some of what you've lost. Um, I get back to normal. Yeah, we can't get we can't get you back your time. But UM, I don't remember what normal like. Well, let's

see what we can figure out. And then UM, on top of that, this is a part of the show where as we wrap up. UM. I always say it's my favorite part of the show because it's part where I stopped talking and I just listen and UM, and I ask you what, um? What? What? What are your final thoughts? Is there anything else that you want to share? And you can talk about anything you want. UM, take the last few minutes and tell the audience it's probably

a hundred thousand people going to hear your voice. What what would you like them to know? Well, whatever you do there, don't make me nervous about it. I'll takes people now, you know. I laugh because I have to. I gotta get through every day. And you know, I feel like all that prison time I did and aren't how badly I was treated in there and everything it's uh, it's it's hard to talk about. I try to forget it.

Uh often said I wish there was a peal I could take it and just make me forget about all that. But uh, I haven't forgot about it, chip, but I'm working on it. I finally put having nightmares about it. My church helps me a lot to say. When my Sunday school ladies pray for something, we get it done. And my church has uh stuck with me through it all, and I'm just so thankful to have that. And uh this a little community on living in even though it's

um my little favorite poorhouse. But there's some few decent people here and I've made a couple of friends or so, and uh life starting to get better. Uh I don't think I'll I'll never be the same. There's things that that get to me that I'll never get over. Us, Tutor, I should get what I'm doing, what I'm saying, because they had me on a lot of uh psycho drugs. I call them with a lot of towards ing and real real strong step to help me get see that and they had me into the influence of that stuff

so bad. I didn't even know who I was half the time, and it took its toe on my brain. Um to this day, you know, I still I eat real fast, like somebody's gonna take it away from me. And uh, watch them on my shoulder. I'm scared to death. Hard was gonna murder them me. But I don't trust

him that all. And he's just that evil that he would sit out here in my apartment complex and wait for me to pass in front of my window, that little red dots on the wall, that light that's been gonna sit out Sometimes it just scares me to death. And uh, in the evenings wester gets dark. Uh turned everything off in my living room and the rest of

my house and I go back to my bedroom. I just feel like I feel like I'm an open target for some reason when I'm in my living room and I don't feel safe until I get back there in my bedroom. And that's not normal either. I shouldn't feel that way. And the things that it bids my looks was horrible. Prisons really hard on on, you say, labeling when we even take care of that anymore. But all the time I missed with my family and my son

and my father and my mom. I just missed so many years to sound and that can't be given back. That can't be replaced. There's just there ain't no getting that back. And I saw it, learned how to forgive Hardwood for doing this. But it ain't happen yet. But I'm not even asking God very hard to make me forgiving him. It's just not in my heart yet. But it's don't have to happen. I ain't getting into heaven. I can still go fishing. He didn't mess that up. Are you good at it? Yes? I am? Yes what

I am? There you go? There you go, Um and you still have a great laugh, and you have a great attitude. Um and uh fishing you laughed too, I guarantee you. I'm from Manhattan. We don't know about fishing here, so I don't know. I wouldn't even know what the hell was going on. But that's beside the point. Um, So susan Um. All I can say is um, I'm I'm almost never at a loss for words, but I'm basically at a loss for words right now. I don't know what to say except to I just like to well,

I can tell you what I'll say. All I can say is I'm gonna apologize to you for on behalf of America and the human race for what was done to you, because um, there's just no excuse for it. And uh and we're gonna do what we can to make it right. UM. And I want to thank Apple

really knows. Um. Well, I want to thank you again for for taking your time and sharing your thoughts with us, and um, you know, I want to wish you well and I want you to know that we'll be here to help you and support you and uh in any way we can. And uh and I just I wish you well and again, thank you, thank you for being here. Well. I hope with me having this topic today, but the people that are here and that maybe it will stop that happen and somebody you it will. You can be

confident of that and UH. And now I want to thank the audience as well. You've been listening to an extra special, extraordinary edition of Wrongful Conviction with today's guest Susan King. Don't forget to give us a fantastic review. Wherever you get your podcasts, it really helps. And I'm a proud donor to the Innocence Project, and I really hope you'll join me in supporting this very important cause

and helping to prevent future wrongful convictions. Go to Innocence Project dot over to learn how to donate and get involved. I'd like to thank our production team, Connor Hall and Kevin Wardis. The music on the show is by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction and on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast. Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flam is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts and association with Signal

Company Number one. The Wrong Time the Wind Was Wrong