Introducing: Up and Vanished Weekly, the Wrongful Conviction of Toforest Johnson

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy William “Bill” Hardy, a 23 year veteran, was ruthlessly gunned down in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 19, 1995, authorities began to look for the person responsible for killing one of their own. As tips flooded in, two men quickly emerged as lead suspects. Prosecutors individually charged both men, Toforest Johnson and Ardragus Ford, as being a "sole gunman", but their trials led to very different outcomes. For nearly 30 years Toforest has been sitting on death row in Alabama, with an execution date fast approaching. Listen in as Maggie is joined by Tenderfoot TV’s Jaime Albright as they review this controversial case and the bizarre evidence that placed a potentially innocent man behind bars.
Up and Vanished Weekly is available on Wednesdays. Check it out here.
https://lavaforgood.com/earwitness/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all, it's Maggie. If you're a fan of this show, then you know that I've dedicated my life to covering cases where people have been unfairly accused, charged, and convicted for crimes they did not commit.
0:14.3	And this next case I'm about to tell you about is one like I've never heard before.
0:38.4	In 1998, two men were separately charged for the death of a police officer, even though neither of them matched the single shooter's description. And then they were placed at the scene by two minors whose accounts of the events differed and who faced intimidation by investigators.
0:45.1	And then, after these men were cleared of charges, the state drummed up new evidence against one of them from a woman he'd never met who was paid for her testimony, and none of this
0:51.0	was disclosed to the jury. This is the case with 25-year-old to Forrest Johnson, who at this very moment sits on death row
0:59.8	in an Alabama prison, charged with a crime his alibi say he could not have committed.
1:06.7	On my new podcast Up and Vanish Weekly, I've teamed up with Payne Lindsay, the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Up and Vanished.
1:14.5	Every Wednesday, we're covering missing persons, unsolved murders, and wrongful convictions.
1:19.7	Because if the wrong person's in prison, then that case is not solved.
1:25.0	Every week, a new case.
1:27.0	Every week, a fresh look at the details, evidence, and theories.
1:31.5	We've recently looked into DeForest Johnson's case, and I have to tell you,
1:35.8	it is one that truly shakes me to my core, and I've seen a lot.
1:42.2	Here's pain with a sneak peek.
1:51.0	Music And I've seen a lot. Here's pain with a sneak peek. In the morning hours of July 19, 1995, the streets of Birmingham are still.
1:57.8	At the Crown-Steirling Suit's hotel, night manager Barry Rushikoff makes his rounds, unaware
2:03.4	of the night's coming chaos.
2:06.0	Inside, a security guard steps away from his post, leaving behind a warm coffee and a lit
2:11.7	cigarette.
2:13.5	Signs of a routine night.
2:16.1	Two gunshots cut through the silence. Barry rushes outside, his heart
2:20.4	pounding. In the dim alley behind the hotel, he spots a figure on the ground. Blood pools beneath
	...

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