222: Scott was locked up in a foreign jail

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media

True Crime, Documentary, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As human beings, we are often very protective of our own sense of personal justice – and injustice. When I was a child, I had a teacher who – to me – seemed very unfair. If one of the kids in the class did something like write a bad word on the chalkboard, she would ask the entire class who did it. She really did her best to find the culprit, and carry out punishment. But sometimes she just couldn’t figure it out. No one would admit it, and there wasn’t enough evidence to pin it on any specific student. So her solution was – the whole class loses recess for the whole day. Definitely not fair! It always bugged me when that happened – I was being punished even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. My guest today, Scott, was also a victim of injustice, but on a much larger scale. He was charged with a crime that he didn’t commit, and was held in a foreign jail for far too long. This is one of those stories where you just can’t predict what’s coming next. And if you’re an American, it might just make you think twice before traveling outside the US. If you’d like to contact Scott: [email protected] Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/222 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: Head to http://Lumen.me/WWTL for 20% off your purchase. Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order. Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	As human beings, we are often very protective of our own sense of personal justice and injustice.
0:12.0	When I was a child, I had a teacher who, to me, seemed very unfair.
0:17.0	If one of the kids in the class did something like write a bad word on the chalkboard,
0:22.7	she would ask the entire class who did it. She really did her best to find the culprit and
0:27.7	carry out some kind of punishment, but sometimes she just couldn't figure it out. No one would
0:33.5	admit it and there wasn't enough evidence to pin it on any specific student.
0:39.3	So her solution was, the whole class loses recess for the whole day.
0:45.3	Definitely not fair.
0:47.3	It always bugged me when that happened.
0:49.3	I was being punished even though I hadn't done anything wrong.
0:55.3	Well, my guest today, Scott, was also a victim of injustice, but on a much larger scale.
1:03.6	He was charged with a crime that he didn't commit and he was held in a foreign jail for
1:09.7	far too long.
1:12.4	This is one of those stories where you just can't predict what's coming next.
1:18.0	And if you're an American, it might make you think twice before traveling outside the U.S.
1:29.3	Real people in unreal situations.
1:34.3	The eerie silence when I walked in,
1:37.3	and he's just staring at me.
1:39.3	I was like, hello, like, are you okay?
1:41.3	And then I had to tell him it was me.
1:46.0	There was just blood everywhere.
1:48.0	They're shouting, they're screaming, they're being hit by bullets, they're hitting the ground.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.