#249 Jason Flom with Raphael Rowe

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In December of 1988, 18 year old Londoner Raphael Rowe was living with 5 other men in social housing, when four violent robberies shocked Southeast England, leaving eight victims in their wake. One was killed and another was severely injured. The assailants' MO was to steal the victims' cars, ditch them at the next crime scene, and repeat the process. Twelve people in the area of the first abandoned cars were arrested, including Raphael and his friend Michael Davis. Contrary to the victims' descriptions of two white men with fair hair and blue eyes and one black man, several of those arrested helped police to shape a false narrative that instead pinned the crimes on three black men, Raphael, Michael, and a 3rd man, named Randolph Egbert Johnson. Police also planted evidence and coerced Raphael's main alibi witness to win the conviction. From inside his cell, Raphael enlisted the help of journalists and attorneys to investigate his claims of innocence, finally winning his freedom. Now, Raphael is a successful actor and journalist, but is still fighting to fully clear his name. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://raphaelrowefoundation.org/ https://raphael-rowe.com/ https://raphael-rowe.com/book https://raphael-rowe.com/second-chance https://www.instagram.com/areporter/ https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In the 7th of 1988, four incidents in and outside of South London, two car thefts and two
0:08.2	home invasions left eight victims in their wake.
0:11.6	One man severely injured, another brutally murdered, and a number of cars and other goods
0:16.0	stolen.
0:17.0	The victims in witnesses all described three assailants, two white men and one black man.
0:22.6	The brutality of the crimes garnered national attention, as well as mounting pressure to
0:27.2	bring those responsible to justice.
0:29.4	It is believed that the first car theft was traced to a hostel where 18-year-old Rafael
0:33.9	Rowe lived with five other men.
0:36.1	On December 19th, he and his hostel mates, along with several others, were arrested.
0:41.3	Despite the prior identification of the perpetrators as two white men and one black man, and
0:46.4	solid alibi witnesses, police focused their investigation on Rafael and two other black
0:51.0	men, Michael Davis and Randolph Johnson.
0:53.8	It became clear a trial that the prosecution was relying on information from an incentivized
0:58.7	informant who was involved in the crimes.
1:01.4	Discrepancies between the victims and witnesses, initial reports, and their testimonies of trial
1:05.8	raised suspicion.
1:07.3	Despite all of that, plus Rafael and Michael's alibi witnesses and the description of two
1:12.4	white and one black assailant, the jury convicted all three black men and Rafael was sentenced
1:18.1	to life, plus 50 years.
1:20.6	During his incarceration, Rafael was able to develop evidence with the help of journalists
1:24.4	to shed light on the details of his wrongful conviction, including official misconduct,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lava for Good Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lava for Good Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.