#176 Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions - Tommy Ward Pt. 1

Explicit content warning

12/14/20 • 24 min

1 Listener

He thought the police would recognize this was just a dream, not reality.
Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin bring us a story from Ada, Oklahoma where a young woman went missing. A few months after her disappearance, a man named Tommy Ward told police that he’d had a bad dream about her murder. Incredibly, the police took that dream and turned it into a false confession... and into a prison sentence that continues to this day, 35 years later.

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

#175 Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions - Ray McCann

These police were willing to sacrifice one of their own just to close a case.

Laura and Steve tell us the story of a Michigan murder case with an unusual suspect: a small-town police officer named Ray McCann. After Ray helped investigate the disappearance of a little girl, he was wrongfully accused of her murder. In pursuit of their only suspect, police turned Ray’s whole life into an interrogation room.

Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions is a production of Lava for GoodTM Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

To donate, learn more, or get involved, go to http://www.centeronwrongfulconvictions.org/

Learn more and get involved at https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/false-confessions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

#177 Jason Flom with Justin Moore and Crystal Trevino on Zephi Trevino

In the spring of 2019, Zephi was a high school sophomore troubled by a bad break up, when an older guy, Philip Baldenegro, swooped in through social media and began grooming her for the sex trade. One exchange between Baldenegro and a john turned deadly, and now, Dallas County is trying to send Zephi to prison for her trafficker’s crimes. Join us in speaking up for Zephi before the unthinkable happens.

https://directlyto.org/projects/zephaniah-trevinos-defense-fund/

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https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrongful Conviction - #176 Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions - Tommy Ward Pt. 1

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:01.560

Welcome to wrungful conviction, false Confessions. I'm Laura and I writer and I'm Steve Dressing. In nineteen eighty four, a woman from Aida, Oklahoma went missing. A few months later, a man named Tommy Ward told police that he'd had a bad dream about her murder. Incredibly, the police took that dream and turned it into a false confession. Tommy Ward's story has fascinated the world. In two thousand and six, the author John Grisham wrote a book a