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Earwitness, Chapter 1 | Behind the Crown Beth Shelburne dives into the shocking conviction of Toforest Johnson for the murder of Deputy William Hardy, following a case that never stopped bleeding questions. With former Attorney General Bill Baxley as her guide, she moves through a justice system wired for punishment over truth, uncovering a story built on fear, assumption, and a man who may not belong at its center. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 2 | Don't Know Diddly In the raw hours after Deputy Hardy’s murder, Beth Shelburne digs through a story that pulled 15-year-old Yolanda Chambers into its orbit and put Toforest Johnson in the frame. A confrontation with lead detective Tony Richardson exposes a case built on pressure, doubt, and truths that won’t stay still—where justice isn’t blind, just selective. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 3 | Police Girl When Yolanda Chambers admits to perjury, Beth Shelburne sets out to understand Chambers’ motivations. Tracing a life shaped by trauma and hidden alliances, her story slips between villain and victim—leaving behind questions that linger far longer than answers. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 4 | Witness or Defendant Digging into the Hardy murder investigation, Beth Shelburne follows a trail narrowed by tunnel vision and vanishing alternatives. As detectives chase certainty over truth, witnesses falter, leads evaporate, and a case emerges driven more by obsession than evidence. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 5 | Anybody Will Do Beth Shelburne digs into how Toforest Johnson was convicted without a shred of physical evidence, as prosecutors leap between ever-shifting theories of Deputy Hardy’s murder. Confronting the prosecutor who once sought a death sentence, she uncovers a case where the law bends into something dangerously personal. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 6 | Misfiled Beth Shelburne uncovers the murky story behind Violet Ellison, the ‘earwitness’ whose $5,000 payoff shaped Toforest Johnson’s fate. Decades of denial give way to uneasy facts, revealing a conviction propped up by money, influence, and half-truths. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 7 | Messy Years after the conviction, the original prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, begins questioning Violet Ellison’s story, while Beth Shelburne uncovers a troubling pattern. Ellison’s moves through the legal system blur the lines between cunning and deceit, revealing a figure far from the innocence prosecutors once claimed. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness, Chapter 8 | Bondage to the Law In an unusual turn, District Attorney Danny Carr and original prosecutor Jeff Wallace push against Toforest Johnson’s conviction, even as he remains on death row. Beth Shelburne traces a system reluctant to admit its failures, while Toforest’s children reveal the human toll of a life caught between injustice and hope. To learn more and get involved, visit: www.toforestjohnson.com Toforest on Instagram Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we're bringing you something unexpected: Lava for Good’s investigative series Earwitness will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You'll see it here as Bone Valley Season 4: Earwitness. The entire season will be available to Lava For Good+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts on January 28th, and everywhere you listen to podcasts on February 4th. As an introduction, Gilbert King, Pulitzer prize-winning author and host of Bone Valley, sits down for a Q&A with Earwitness host and producer, journalist Beth Shelburne, as well as Emmy award-winning filmmaker Andrew Jarecki and film producer Charlotte Kaufman to discuss Earwitness, Toforest Johnson - the man at the center of the story -  as well as their recent, critically acclaimed HBO documentary The Alabama Solution. Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're introducing you to Earwitness. Earwitness is one of Lava for Good’s most important investigative series and will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You’ll see it shown here as Bone Valley Season 4 but it is a completely different show told by a different host - noted Alabama-based journalist and podcaster Beth Shelburne. We hope you enjoy. One hot July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot dead behind a Birmingham, AL hotel. At the same time, four miles away at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson at a packed nightclub called Tee’s Place. It didn’t matter. The cops zeroed in on Toforest as the culprit anyway. What followed was a familiar American ritual: arrest, trial, conviction, death sentence. No eyewitnesses. No physical evidence. Just unjustifiable confidence. For more than 25 years, Toforest has lived in a five-by-eight cell on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, journalist Beth Shelburne reopened the case and found something far worse than incompetence. The state once tried to pin the murder on another man. Its case hinged on an “earwitness,” a woman secretly paid by prosecutors to testify about an overheard phone call. The jury never knew. Neither did the defense. They found out 17 years later. Earwitness, an eight-part docuseries from the team behind Bone Valley, pulls back the curtain on a justice system that refuses to admit it got it wrong. With rare access to detectives, prosecutors, jurors, and witnesses, Shelburne asks the only question that matters: how did an innocent man end up on death row, and why is the state still trying to kill him? On February 4, we'll be releasing all eight episodes right here in the Bone Valley feed as Bone Valley Season 4 | Earwitness. For those who want to hear Earwitness early and ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 1 | Something Stinks On August 1, 2000, the body of 18-year-old Jessica Currin was found outside of the middle school in Mayfield, KY. Jessica was a new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. Her case would go unsolved for years, until a local homemaker, a British journalist, and a few local girls came forward with a story that law enforcement would use to convict six people – including one man for life. It’s a good story: an ordinary woman helps solve a crime and bring justice to a small town. Maybe too good to be true. Key figures in this chapter: Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): 18-year-old from Mayfield, KY. A new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department.  Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): Mayfield, KY homemaker originally from Chicago, IL. Received an “outstanding citizen” award from the Kentucky Attorney General’s office for her help in solving Jessica Currin’s murder.   Tom Mangold: British investigative reporter who covered Jessica’s murder and helped Susan Galbreath with her citizen investigation. She helped find Victoria Caldwell.  Victoria Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local who was 15 at the time of Jessica’s death and would end up being the state’s key witness in the trial of her accused killer. She was also convicted as an accomplice to the crime.  Quincy Cross: A Tennessee man convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Jessica Currin in a 2008 capital murder trial. Currently serving life in prison without parole. He dated Tamara Caldwell.   Tamara Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local convicted of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse. She took a plea after Quincy Cross’s 2008 trial. Served almost six years. She is Victoria Caldwell’s cousin.    Darra Woolman: She leads the "Department of Collaborators" – a group of folks from all walks of life committed to helping people in prison and connecting them with resources.  For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.  New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 2 | Jessica Joe Currin did right by Mayfield. He played defense for the beloved high school football team, went to church every Sunday, ran his own business, and became a lieutenant for the fire department. So when his daughter Jessica was brutally killed, Joe thought Mayfield would do right by him. Instead, her case went unsolved for years. Key figures in this chapter: Joe Currin: Jessica’s father. A lieutenant with the Mayfield Fire Department, bailiff, business owner, and churchgoer – Joe had to fight for years to get law enforcement to solve his daughter’s murder case.   Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): In the summer of 2000, Jessica had a seven-month-old baby named Zion. She had just moved out on her own and was dating a boy she really liked.   Vinisha Stubblefield: A friend of Jessica and the last known person to see her alive. She was 16 at the time. Citizen investigator Susan Galbreath became convinced that Vinisha knew more than she was letting on about Jessica’s death.   Quincy Cross: He was 23 at the time and lived across the border in Tennessee. He went to Mayfield for a party the same Saturday night Jessica was last seen alive. He was arrested early Sunday morning for drug possession along with many other partygoers from ta house at Chris Drive.  Jessica Lindsey: Jessica Currin’s best friend. They went to Graves County High together. She recalls Jessica as a sweet girl who stood up for herself and for others.  Tim Fortner: The lead detective in Jessica Currin’s murder investigation. He was a patrolman with the Mayfield Police Department who had just been promoted to detective. This was his first homicide investigation, and he ran it from August 2000 until the case was transferred to the Kentucky State Police in 2003.  Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): After watching police bungle Jessica's murder case, Susan began her own citizen investigation in 2004 with the blessing of the Kentucky State Police.  Victoria Caldwell: She moved to California as a teen after Jessica’s death and made contact with Susan Galbearth on Myspace seven years after the murder, saying she knew things but was afraid for her life.  Tom Mangold: He traveled to Mayfield to report with Susan Galbreath in the spring of 2004 and then wrote two articles that year  – one for The Age and one for The Independent – pointing at Quincy Cross as the main suspect.   Darra Woolman: Our source. For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.  New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1 We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 3 | Persons of Interest Six years after Jessica’s death, agents with the Kentucky Attorney General’s office took over her murder investigation. After pinpointing their main suspects with the help of citizen investigator Susan Galbreath, the agents conducted a series of unorthodox interrogations that elicited key confessions and led to the trial and conviction of Quincy Cross.  Key figures in this chapter: Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): Citizen investigator. Greg Stumbo: Attorney General of Kentucky from 2004 - 2008. He promised Joe Currin that he would solve his daughter’s murder. He revamped the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI).  Lee Wise and Bob O’Neil: Agents with the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI). They ran the interrogations that elicited key confessions later used in the 2008 trial and conviction of Quincy Cross.  Rosie Crice: Victoria Caldwell’s sister. Served as a corroborating witness for the prosecution.   Quincy Cross: Convicted of murder and currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.  Tamara Caldwell: Served almost six years in prison for manslaughter in the second degree. Victoria and Rosie’s cousin.   Jeff Burton: Served almost eight years in prison for manslaughter in the second degree. Victoria Caldwell: The state’s key witness in the trial of Quincy Cross. Served less than three months in jail for being an accomplice to the crime.   Vinisha Stubblefield: The other main witness in the trial of Quincy Cross and the last known person to see Jessica Currin alive. Served six months in jail for being an accomplice to the crime.   Barbara Maines Whaley: The lead prosecutor in the trial of Quincy Cross. Assistant Attorney General at the Kentucky AG’s office.  David Cross: Quincy Cross’s father. He was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee.  Darra Woolman: Fighting alongside David Cross’s family to get Quincy Cross out of prison.   For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.  New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 4 | My Girl Susan Soon after Jessica Currin’s death, Victoria Caldwell came forward with a story different from the one she told at trial and implicated two completely different people. But the investigation into those suspects ended after Mayfield Police bungled the investigation and Susan Galbreath – with the help of Tom Mangold –  homed in on Quincy Cross. Key figures in this chapter: Jeremy Adams: The purported father of Zion, Jessica Currin’s son. He was first charged with her murder.  Carlos “Lolo” Saxton: Jessica Currin’s last known boyfriend. He was first charged with complicity to commit murder.   Donna Adams (1958-2019): Jeremy Adams’ mom and alleged friend of Susan Galbreath.  Nette Todd: Jeremy Adams' girlfriend during the early 2000s. She joined Susan Galbreath for parts of her investigation.   Miranda Hellman: Attorney with the Kentucky Innocence Project who worked in the post-conviction case for Quincy Cross. John Poole: Private investigator, three-time Mayfield councilmember, and the uncle of Jeff Burton. Jeff Burton was convicted of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse.   Lacey Gates (1971-2022): A friend of Susan Galbreath. She helped her with the investigation.  Rosie Crice: Victoria Caldwell’s sister and a prosecution witness. She later recanted her testimony in the trial of Quincy Cross.  Others: Citizen investigator Susan Galbreath; British journalist Tom Mangold; former Mayfield Police detective Tim Fortner; Jessica’s dad Joe Currin; Victoria Caldwell, the state’s key witness; and source Darra Woolman.    For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.  New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 5 | The Receipts Prosecution witness Rosie Crice was the first person to publicly say that law enforcement made her lie on Quincy Cross and his co-defendants – but she wouldn’t be the last.   Key figures in this chapter: Vinisha Stubblefield: the last known person to see Jessica Currin alive and one of the prosecution’s main witnesses. Rosie Crice: Victoria Caldwell’s sister. She was a prosecution witness.  Miranda Hellman: Attorney with the Kentucky Innocence Project working on Quincy Cross’ post-conviction case.  Ken Nixon: Exoneree and volunteer with the Kentucky Innocence Project.  Victoria Caldwell: the prosecution's key witness.  Bob O’Neil: Agent with the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI).  Tamara Caldwell: Victoria and Rosie’s cousin. She was convicted of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse.   Brenda Jackson: Tamara Caldwell’s mom Noble Faulkner: Private investigator, Brenda Jackson’s common-law husband.   Others: Victoria and Rosie’s mom, Wanda; KBI agent Lee Wise; Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Barbara Maines Whaley; Citizen investigator Susan Galbreath; British journalist Tom Mangold; and Susan’s friend, Lacey Gates.    For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.  New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts. Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.