Legend Series: Julie Grant on Prosecution, Victims’ Rights, and Justice
Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.7 • 792 Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week’s episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum welcomes Julie Grant for a special Legend Series conversation about her path from journalism to the courtroom and the commitment to justice that drives her today. As a former prosecutor and Court TV host, Julie discusses her advocacy for domestic violence survivors, explaining how systemic failures, including those seen in the Gabby Petito case, leave victims vulnerable. She also shares her philosophy on justice-centered prosecution, arguing that being a “minister of justice” requires the discernment to hold dangerous predators accountable while offering grace and second chances to those who have simply lost their way.
Highlights:
(0:00) Sheryl McCollum welcomes Julie Grant to Zone 7 and reflects on her impact in true crime media
(2:15) Julie’s background in prosecution, legal journalism, teaching, and victims’ rights advocacy
(9:45) The balance between journalism and law, and the path that took Julie from the newsroom to law school
(13:15) What public service taught Julie about prosecution, law enforcement, and the pursuit of justice
(15:30) The domestic violence cases that stayed with Julie most, her advocacy work, and the realities survivors face after they leave
(22:15) How safety planning can protect victims at the most dangerous point in an abusive relationship
(23:45) The Gabby Petito case, missed warning signs, and the failures that stand out
(25:45) Julie’s philosophy of prosecution, second chances, and why justice is not the same as winning
(29:45) A tragic Georgia case and what it reveals about intent, accountability, and prosecutorial discretion
(32:00) Why future prosecutors need empathy, perspective, and a case-by-case view of justice
Guest Bio:
Julie Grant is a former prosecutor, Court TV host, legal journalist, and law professor at Emory Law School. She has long been an advocate for victims’ rights, including domestic violence prevention, and also serves on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a Metro Atlanta Police Department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than 4 decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.
Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.
Social Links:
Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
Preorder Sheryl’s upcoming book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Lessons in Life,Justice, and Joy from a Forensic Scientist, releasing May 12, 2026.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Swans-Dont-Swim-in-a-Sewer/Sheryl-Mac-McCollum/9798895652824
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:11.9 | Welcome to Zone 7, y'all. |
| 0:13.7 | I'm so excited about this legend series. |
| 0:17.7 | We have one of the best in the business with us tonight. Julie Grant is a doll. I mean, |
| 0:25.7 | she is just smart, interesting, funny, loyal, warm, compassionate. She's beautiful. She's all the things |
| 0:35.6 | that you want in a friend. |
| 0:42.4 | And you feel like, even if you watch her every morning, y'all know what I'm talking about, |
| 0:46.0 | you feel like a friend is talking to you. |
| 0:56.3 | So it wasn't surprising to me on her last episode where she kept saying, my friends, I appreciate you, my friends, this isn't goodbye. |
| 1:03.1 | I thought it was so well done and so her. But I'm going to tell you, being beautiful only get you so far on TV. If you are not kind and you are not genuine and you're not above board, |
| 1:10.0 | you ain't going to last. Well, she has lasted |
| 1:12.5 | and lasted. And the only reason she ain't going to be there in the morning is because court TV |
| 1:16.6 | was sold and they want to go in another direction. We'll talk about that in a minute. And I'm |
| 1:23.0 | sure she's going to be nicer than me. But, you know, that's her. So that's why she's here. |
| 1:28.9 | So, you know, I've had the pleasure of being on with Julie on her show and not once has |
| 1:36.3 | there ever been a gotcha moment. |
| 1:39.3 | Never has she given me some fastball question that I wasn't expecting. |
| 1:43.9 | Never has there been a curveball |
| 1:45.7 | that threw me in any way. She has gone out of her way to make me look good, to produce a show |
| 1:53.6 | that I was proud of, that I wanted to share the link so my friends and family would see it. |
| 1:59.3 | And speaking of friends and family, my sister Charlene |
... |
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