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The Case of Sylvia Boykin
📻 Episode #279
🎙️ Hosted by Maggie Freleng
📅 Jul 25, 2022
About This Episode
In May of 1992, Sylvia Boykin and Bernetta Pope were struggling with substance addiction. Pope owed Boykin money who, in turn, owed money to two younger men. So Boykin and the men went to the house where Pope stayed in Philadelphia, PA to collect the drug debt. Boykin went inside alone but when she returned…
The Case
In May of 1992, Sylvia Boykin and Bernetta Pope were struggling with substance addiction. Pope owed Boykin money who, in turn, owed money to two younger men. So Boykin and the men went to the house where Pope stayed in Philadelphia, PA to collect the drug debt. Boykin went inside alone but when she returned empty handed, the men went in with guns. An argument ensued, shots were fired, and Pope was killed. Since Boykin was unarmed, she should have been considered a witness. Nevertheless, she was arrested, convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison for life. Maggie speaks to Sylvia Boykin, Jill McCorkel, Boykin's advocate, and Boykin's daughter Pennie Oliver.
https://freesylviaboykin.com/Contact.html
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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.
00:04:20“Speaker 1: Sylvia's inner trauma and suffering it started when she was Speaker 1: a child and her grandfather sexually assaulted her. Speaker 4: He didn't actually like have sex with me, to penetrate Speaker 4: me anything, but he touched me in my private area. Speaker 4: But that was just like the beginning, you know, of”
00:16:38“Speaker 4: Paperbag phone book to wake me up. He's like, sign Speaker 4: this and we will let you go. I signed the Speaker 4: paper and I never left. Speaker 1: Prison after that interaction, Sylvia ended up being charged with Speaker 1: first degree murder on top of robbery, conspiracy, and possession”
00:27:57“Speaker 8: gun to blackmen. Speaker 1: Sylvia was left with a life without parole sentence, and Speaker 1: now with her appeals exhausted. Speaker 8: Where we're really left here is commutation. And I think Speaker 8: she deserves commutation on her merits, you know, without even Speaker 8: looking into the kind of specifics of all, right, well,”
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