10: DeMarco Wilson

11/05/20 • 43 min

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On February 1, 1997, Charles Newsome was shot while driving his car in a parking lot in West Memphis, AR. Newsome was a known gang member and according to witnesses there was gunfire between him and people in the parking lot. A passenger in his car, Frederick ‘Tyrone’ Ellis, gave a statement about the shooters. He changed his statement multiple times until he said the three defendants who were there: DeMarco Wilson, Antonio Williams, and Kendric Gillum. Ellis was facing criminal charges at the time and they were dropped with his testimony. Two jailhouse informants also got lesser sentences for their testimony. One has recanted and said the prosecution forced him into it. DeMarco also had a solid alibi. The three were convicted in Judge David Burnett’s courtroom who also presided over the infamous West Memphis 3 case. Jason Baldwin, one of the WM3, is working to help secure DeMarco’s freedom with his organization Proclaim Justice.

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9: Jeffrey Havard

On February 21, 2002 Jeffrey Havard was babysitting his girlfriend’s baby, Chloe Britt. Jeff was bathing her when she accidentally slipped from his hands and hit her head on the toilet. He put her to bed and everything was fine until she was later rushed to the hospital and died. Jeff was arrested, charged and sentenced to death in Mississippi for the sexual assault and murder Chloe. Changes in science behind “Shaken Baby Syndrome” caused an evidentiary hearing for Jeff in 2016. The original medical examiner in the case said that he specifically told prosecutors on more than one occasion prior to trial that he could not support a finding for sexual abuse. This information was withheld from the defense. He has also changed his initial findings and believes that this was indeed an accident, agreeing with many new experts. In September of 2018, Jeff's death penalty sentence was vacated, and he was re-sentenced to life without parole, but is still fighting for his freedom.
Learn more about Jeffrey's case and how to help:
http://www.freejeffreyhavard.org/
For more information and a complete list of sources for this episode, visit:
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/

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11: John Brookins

On December 20th, 1990 26-year-old John Brookins went to his friend Sheila Ginsberg's house to help her clean. Sheila was an older woman, 58, and actually the mother of his on and off again girlfriend Sharon. When John arrived he says he found Sharon standing over her mother's dead body, stomping scissors into her chest. The crime scene was brutal. Sharon fled and then John, a young black man standing over a dead white woman, panicked and also fled the scene. Months later he was convicted for the murder of Sheila Ginsburg, based on Sharon's statements. But multiple people came forward saying Sharon actually confessed to the murder and was known to have a violent history with her. The case is also riddled with police misconduct, ineffective council, and DNA that still needs to be tested.