On June 29, 2009, and into the following morning, James Richardson was out at The Other Place nightclub in Greenville, NC. James and another club goer exchanged words and were escorted out of the club. Shortly thereafter, a white BMW came barreling down the street, as someone in the car opened fire, killing two individuals standing outside of the club. None of the eyewitnesses identified James as the shooter, but police, prosecutors, and the media pursued him as the sole suspect. James was convicted and sentenced to serve two life sentences in prison. Maggie talks to James Richardson, Hibah Elawad, James’s fiancee, and Heather Rattelade and Dawn Blagrove, James’s attorneys.
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The Wrongful Conviction podcast, hosted by Jason Flom and Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali), has featured over 500 cases of men and women who spent years — sometimes decades — in prison for crimes they did not commit. The podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times and has directly influenced exonerations, clemencies, and criminal justice reform legislation across the country.