Episode 6 | Misfiled

Explicit content warning

10/17/23 • 45 min

Episode 6 of 8

Beth unravels disturbing revelations about the State’s handling of Violet Ellison, the earwitness whose testimony forms the backbone of the case against Toforest. She tracks the tenacious investigative work of Toforest’s lawyers to prove Ellison was paid $5000 for her testimony - in secret. After years of denying that a reward was ever paid, prosecutors are finally forced to disclose the truth – almost 20 years after Toforest was convicted and sentenced to death.

To learn more, including how you can help, visit:

http://www.ToforestJohnson.com

Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Earwitness is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 6 of 8

To learn more, including how you can help, visit:

http://www.ToforestJohnson.com

Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Earwitness is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

Episode 5 | Anybody Will Do

Episode 5 of 8

Beth combs through the trial transcripts to understand how Toforest was convicted of Deputy Hardy’s murder with no physical evidence. During the trial, the State introduces a new witness - the earwitness. Violet Ellison claims she overheard Toforest talk about the murder on a jailhouse phone call – a theory the State initially rejected but now throws all its weight behind once Yolanda Chambers’s story falls apart. Beth walks listeners through one of the most shocking aspects of this case: in five different court proceedings, prosecutors presented five different, mutually exclusive theories about how Deputy Hardy was killed. Her investigation then leads her to the prosecutor who asked a jury 25 years ago to sentence Toforest to death.

To learn more, including how you can help, visit:

http://www.ToforestJohnson.com

Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Earwitness is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

Episode 7 | Messy

Episode 7 of 8

The original trial prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, begins to doubt Violet Ellison's credibility several years after Toforest's conviction. Beth embarks on an investigative journey to examine Ellison's credibility, and discovers that Ellison appeared on the State's witness list in at least four other criminal cases. She speaks to the defendants in these other cases – as well as members of Ellison’s own family – and learns that she is not at all the woman prosecutors portrayed at trial, and in fact, has a history of leveraging the legal system for her own gains.

To learn more, including how you can help, visit: http://www.ToforestJohnson.com

Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Earwitness is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earwitness - Episode 6 | Misfiled

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:12.640

Last time on ear witness Bally that was walking that door, scanting up on this table and say what she said. We got a full table. Now we got all the evidence we need this Alison, would you tell us about the information that you have for us. Yes, my daughter to use her three way to call for his homeboy, and he named the old name is to Barge Johnson.

Speaker 100:00:41.359

We had a weak case. It's based on testimony in