On May 19, 1975, Harold Franks was confronted by two men as he left a grocery store in Cleveland, OH. The men demanded Franks’ briefcase and, when he resisted, hit him with a pipe and splashed acid in his face. One robber then started shooting – killing Franks and injuring Ann Robinson, co-owner of the store. The perpetrators then fled in a getaway car with Franks’ briefcase. Authorities soon obtained a witness statement from 12-year-old Eddie Vernon, who said that the perpetrators were 18-year-old Ricky Jackson and Ricky’s friends, brothers, 17-year-old Ronnie Bridgeman (now known as Kwame Ajamu) and 20-year-old Wiley Bridgeman. Even though Eddie recanted his statements, authorities forced him to testify. Based solely on this child’s coerced testimony, Kwame was convicted and sentenced to death. Jason talks to Kwame Ajamu and Terry Gilbert, Kwame's attorney.
To learn more and get involved, visit:
https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/7645a58de31e642eee4d46b0027f4b21/lovely-jackson-no-password
https://www.amazon.com/Trying-Times-Terry-Gilbert/dp/1733179526
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/257-jason-flom-with-rickey-jackson/
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
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