This amazing story is going to give you chills.

It sure did for me when backstory listener Robert Rous Sr.

suggested it.

Robert Smalls was a young slave at the height of the Civil War.

He was brave and brilliant. He managed to steal a

Confederate supply ship, deliver it to the north, then fought on board that same ship

for the Union, eventually becoming its captain.

And that was all before the age of 25.

Later, he was a five-term congressman.

I'm Patty Steele.

A lifetime of accomplishment, courage, and remarkable compassion next on the backstory.

I'm Jason Flom and you're Maggie Freeling.

Hey Jason.

Every day we learn about another person who shouldn't be in prison.

58 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

So glad you're home.

If you want to be part of this work,

listen to wrongful conviction. the podcast where we hand the

mic to innocent people to hear their stories how do you send someone innocent

to prison listen to new episodes of wrongful conviction with Maggie Freling and Jason Flom on the I Heart

Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

I am the Fairyman.

...