Episode 4 of 8 Beth examines the Hardy murder file in order to fully understand the investigation. She discovers a pattern of tunnel vision, willful disbelief of alibi witnesses, and a reliance on coercive interview tactics that suggest if witnesses don’t say what the police want them to say, they will end up as defendants and charged with crimes themselves. Beth considers other potential investigative leads that were ignored and lost to time while detectives constructed a narrative that suited their fixation on securing a prosecution for this high-profile crime. 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. Archival audio courtesy of WBRC Earwitness is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row.
In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a distur...