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The Case of Ben Bowlin with Robert Johnson
📻 Episode #534
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Jul 17, 2025
About This Episode
In the evening of April 14, 1996, Edward Binion was shot in the head during a home invasion in Chicago, IL. After a series of arrests, since-disgraced Cook County Detectives William Moser and James O’Brien were led to 16-year-old Robert Johnson. Johnson was with his grandmother at the time of the shooting and no physical…
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
In the evening of April 14, 1996, Edward Binion was shot in the head during a home invasion in Chicago, IL. After a series of arrests, since-disgraced Cook County Detectives William Moser and James O’Brien were led to 16-year-old Robert Johnson. Johnson was with his grandmother at the time of the shooting and no physical evidence implicated him. Nevertheless, he was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-roberts-journey-to-freedom
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/211-jason-flom-with-marcus-wiggins/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/399-jason-flom-with-sean-tyler-and-reginald-henderson/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/421-jason-flom-with-james-gibson/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/360-wrongful-conviction-false-confessions-midnight-crew-update/
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.
00:04:13“Speaker 3: law above the law. Speaker 1: Did you ever hear about police torturing people around this time? Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a known fact, like already, like if Speaker 3: the police grabbed you, you getn't beat. Speaker 4: It was known maybe in the neighborhoods. But judges were”
00:16:28“Speaker 1: of the state's only eye witnesses, Shawanna Wilkins, the victim's girlfriend. Speaker 1: We mentioned earlier. She had an obvious interest in getting Speaker 1: the right person, and she testified to Robert's innocence. Speaker 4: The girlfriend who witnessed everything testified she did not see Speaker 4: Robert there. She knew Robert because, as Robert said, he”
00:28:43“Speaker 3: walk back out and walk back in, and everybody took Speaker 3: pictures of me and walking in, and we talked for Speaker 3: a brief moment and I say, well, look, Grandma, the Speaker 3: first thing I need to do is I need to Speaker 3: jump in the tub. That's the first thing I want”
Listen to the Episode
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← #533 Selma Butler #535 Ben Bowlin with Reynaldo Munoz →
Also on the podcast: #1 Jason Flom and Barry Scheck with Barry Gibbs · #10 Jason Flom on Christmas Behind Bars: A Special Episode with Amanda Knox, Jarrett Adams, and Jeffrey Deskovic · #17 Jason Flom and Barry Scheck with Jason Baldwin