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The Case of Leon Benson

📻 Episode #397
🎙️ Hosted by Guest Host Kemba Smith
📅 Oct 12, 2023

⬥ STILL IMPRISONED

About This Episode

On August 8th, 1998, 25-year-old Kasey Schoen was shot and killed while sitting in his car in Indianapolis, IN. A few days later, a man approached officers and told them that he saw 22-year-old Leon Benson shoot the victim. A single eyewitness identified Leon as the shooter out of a photo lineup, despite the fact…

Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.

The Case

On August 8th, 1998, 25-year-old Kasey Schoen was shot and killed while sitting in his car in Indianapolis, IN. A few days later, a man approached officers and told them that he saw 22-year-old Leon Benson shoot the victim. A single eyewitness identified Leon as the shooter out of a photo lineup, despite the fact that he did not match the eyewitness's initial description of the shooter. Leon was ultimately sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and the main witness against him tried to recant their testimony.

Guest host, Kemba Smith, talks to Leon Benson and Lara Bazelon, Leon's attorney.

Organization of Exonerees

The Streets Don't Love You Back

Go to Die Jim Crow Records to support prison impacted musicians, including Leon Benson's (El Bently 448) album "Innocent Born Guilty".

Petition for Demetrius Burks

In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts

Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.

00:05:27
“Speaker 3: Indianapolis, the downtown part of it where this crime took place, Speaker 3: was fairly violent. It was known for a place where Speaker 3: you could buy and sell drugs, and as Leon also indicated, Speaker 3: was this interesting mix where this is the late nineties,”
00:20:57
“Speaker 2: and I got the raff of a that energy. I Speaker 2: felt some nasty energy in there. It was nasty. Speaker 4: But when they came back and said a mistrial, I Speaker 4: wasn't necessarily relieved. I was glad not to hear a Speaker 4: guilty verdict, but I was figuring, like, oh, once we”
00:36:03
“Speaker 4: I heard my brother's voice, and I see my daughters, Speaker 4: and I seen all my people who looked at like Speaker 4: angels to me when they sat right there and they Speaker 4: was looking and I could hear the chant truth never dies, Speaker 4: Truth never dies. And what you would see if you”

Listen to the Episode

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Resources & links from the episode:

🔊 How You Can Help

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← #396 Junk Science - Footwear Comparison Evidence #398 Junk Science - Fingerprint Evidence →

Also on the podcast: #162 False Confessions - Henry McCollum and Leon Brown · #339 Garland Leon “Butch” Martin · #374 False Confessions - Henry McCollum and Leon Brown