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Wrongful Conviction

#257 Jason Flom with Rickey Jackson

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.65.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2022

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On May 19th, 1975, in front of a store in Cleveland, Ohio, two assailants robbed a man, splashed acid in his face, shot and killed him, and then fired into the store injuring the co-owner. 12 year-old Eddie Vernon was riding a bus near the scene and later bragged that he had seen Ricky Jackson, as well as Ronnie and Wiley Bridgeman commit the crime. However, according to all the other occupants of the bus, they were too far away to even see the crime. But police ignored other more compelling leads and focused on Eddie’s story. When he tried to back away from the fib, they threatened to take his parents to prison if he didn’t stick to the story. Eddie’s false testimony at trial helped send all three young men to death row. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law.html https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/ Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom 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

On May 19th, 1975, two men approached 59-year-old Harold Frank's outside of a Cleveland, Ohio grocery

0:08.9

store demanding his briefcase. Frank's resisted and the men clubbed him with a pipe and splashed

0:14.3

acid in his face before shooting him twice in the chest. The shooter fired into the grocery

0:19.5

store as well, hitting co-owner Ann Robinson, who survived. Mr. Frank's, however, did not.

0:26.2

An eye witness wrote down the plate number as the assailant sped off in a green convertible.

0:30.9

Despite the plate number and other compelling leads, police instead focused on the word of

0:35.9

12-year-old Eddie Vernon, who had been bragging about witnessing the crime from a bus, repeating

0:40.9

an alleged rumor, naming Ricky Jackson, as well as Wiley and Ronnie Bridgeman as the

0:45.8

assailant. Vernon's classmates and the bus driver denied even having the vantage point

0:51.4

to see the crime during interviews and the delineate when Eddie Vernon tried to back away from

0:57.2

the light the investigators threatened to lock up his parents if he didn't stick to the

1:01.3

story. By ignoring more compelling suspects and instead coercing a child, the state said

1:07.7

Ricky Jackson, as well as Wiley and Ronnie Bridgeman to death row. When the 1974 re-instabment

1:14.8

of the death penalty in Ohio was struck down as unconstitutional in 1978, those condemned

1:20.3

between those years had their senses commuted to life, including Ronnie, Wiley and Ricky,

1:25.5

assuring the possibility of their innocence, one day being recognized. This is wrongful

1:31.7

conviction.

1:34.1

I'm Munga Shatekler and it turns out astrology is way more widespread than any of us want

1:45.7

to believe. You can find in Major League Baseball, International Banks, K-Pop groups, even

1:50.7

the White House. But just when I thought I had a handle on this subject, something completely

1:55.5

unbelievable happened to me and my whole view on astrology changed. Whether you're a skeptic

2:00.3

or a believer, give me a few minutes because I think your ideas are about to change too.

...

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