#094 Jason Flom with Messiah Johnson
Wrongful Conviction
Lava for Good Podcasts
4.4 • 5.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2019
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On December 5th, 1997, two armed and disguised men robbed a beauty salon and its patrons in Norfolk, VA. On December 19th, Messiah Johnson was misidentified as the culprit and arrested. In the absence of any physical evidence and in spite of his corroborated alibi, Messiah Johnson was convicted on 26 counts of armed robbery, abduction, and related gun charges, and he was sentenced to 132 years in prison. He was pardoned by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2018. Messiah is a graphic designer and still lives in Virginia, as he continues to fight to clear his name. You can find him on Instagram @messiahaladar johnson. If you’d like to show him support, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/rc8d4-welcome-home-messiah-johnson
https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This call is from a correction facility and is subject to monitoring and recording. |
| 0:07.0 | If I didn't hear a phone, I could tell you exactly 11,000, 90, 14, 5 days. |
| 0:12.0 | Okay? The 11, 145 days I've been in here. |
| 0:16.0 | And it hasn't been easy. |
| 0:18.0 | A hundred years. |
| 0:20.0 | I swear, I'm a kid. I didn't do anything. |
| 0:23.0 | You know, you know, that was a real pain for me. |
| 0:28.0 | You know, because my life was discarded, if you know, like I was a piece of trash or something. |
| 0:34.0 | You know, a hundred years, and I had dreams. |
| 0:37.0 | I wanted to do things. |
| 0:38.0 | I wouldn't commit in crimes. You know, that was a very good young man. |
| 0:42.0 | That is what happens in so many cases. The cops have a hunch because they're so smart at the scene. |
| 0:48.0 | They have a hunch. And once they act on that hunch, they sort of develop tunnel vision. |
| 0:54.0 | And they take off marching in the wrong direction. And that happens in so many of these wrongful convictions. |
| 1:00.0 | They open the cell door and I walk downstairs. And I actually walk downstairs to be outside. |
| 1:08.0 | It felt very strange to be like I said, to be walking without no shackles on my feet. |
| 1:13.0 | I thought it was a dream, but then again, it wasn't a dream. |
| 1:17.0 | This is wrongful conviction. |
| 1:25.0 | What do a flirtatious gambling double agent in World War II? |
| 1:30.0 | An opera singer who burned down an honorary to kidnap her lover. |
| 1:33.0 | And a pirate queen who walked free with all of her spoils, haven't come in. |
| 1:39.0 | They're all real women who were left out of your history books. |
... |
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