Well it's that time again! Today we catch up with the man they call 'The voice of reason' Michael Leonard is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the US justice system. He has over 30 years of experience as a defense attorney and always brings incredible incites and thoughts to the cases we discuss.

Today we talk about the case of Gerald L Johnson. Charged with felony murder after being involved in a police chase which would end in disaster as an innocent women is killed when Gerald collided with her vehicle.

Gerald was accused of carrying a firearm at the time of the crash and this fact alone would see him charged with Felony Murder. Gerald says he didn't have a gun that day and that the prosecutor fabricated one in order to charge him with a more serious crime.

So what does Mr. Leonard think?

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On January 10, 2000, Raymundo Chagolla, who was 18 years old at the time, was at home recovering from the flu and watching The Simpsons. Around 8:40 p.m. at the Stardust Motel in Riverside, California, a tragic incident occurred. Billy Medlin, a resident of the hotel, was helping someone at the motel’s soda machine when a man approached them. The man yelled at Medlin, referred to him as “white boy homie,” and shot and killed him. The shooter then fled towards the back alley, firing his gun at the building before disappearing from view.

Despite the prosecution being unable to establish a clear motive for the shooting, Raymundo was charged and convicted based on contaminated eyewitness identifications and unrecorded hearsay statements. Raymundo consistently maintained that he was at home during the shooting and cooperated with the police throughout the investigation.

During the trial, it was not disclosed to the defense that there were others who had a clear motive to want Medlin dead.

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On January 10, 2000, Raymundo Chagolla, who was 18 years old at the time, was at home recovering from the flu and watching The Simpsons. Around 8:40 p.m. at the Stardust Motel in Riverside, California, a tragic incident occurred. Billy Medlin, a resident of the hotel, was helping someone at the motel’s soda machine when a man approached them. The man yelled at Medlin, referred to him as “white boy homie,” and shot and killed him. The shooter then fled towards the back alley, firing his gun at the building before disappearing from view.

Despite the prosecution being unable to establish a clear motive for the shooting, Raymundo was charged and convicted based on contaminated eyewitness identifications and unrecorded hearsay statements. Raymundo consistently maintained that he was at home during the shooting and cooperated with the police throughout the investigation.

During the trial, it was not disclosed to the defense that there were others who had a clear motive to want Medlin dead.

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Today I catch up with the man they call, the voice of reason. Michael Leonard is a defense attorney with decades of trial experience and a wealth of knowledge in the US legal system and as always he gives us his professional opinion on our latest case, which today is the story of Dandre Lane.

On the 2nd December of 2011 Dandre Lane says that while driving to his former partners home with their two year old daughter he was carjacked.

A man with a gun not only took his car but also his daughter. After police are alerted to the crime they start the hunt for baby Bianca. Dandre's car would be found shortly after the alarm had been raised, still running with doors open but no Bianca.

Dandre and his former partner both say that police from the very beginning never believed Dandre's story and because of his criminal history they instantly turned their attention to him and believed he had killed his daughter.

Dandre would eventually ne charged with the murder of his daughter but with baby Bianca still missing what would the state bring as evidence? A cadaver dog all the way from the UK.

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Gerald Johnson is not an innocent man, he's a man who had a tough life, a life that would ultimately lead him to join one of the most notorious criminal gangs in America, The Bloods.

Gerald has been called a 'Gun toting thug' and it would be the presence of a weapon during a motor vehicle accident that would see him hit with a felony murder charge. A charge that would get him a life sentence.

Gerald says there's one major issue with his case, he had no weapon. He claims the prosecution fabricated a weapon in order to be able to charge him with felony murder.

This is his story as told by him.

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The Jury system is one that is used all across the globe. A selection of every day men and women like you and I tasked with the job of coming to a decision of innocence or guilt. Lay people who most of the time have little or no knowledge of the law.

As a group they are thrown together, each with their own biases, feelings and personalities, they must work together to find a verdict.

We all see them sitting at their seats in the courtroom, watch as they take notes and listen to the evidence but what we don't see is what goes one behind closed doors, what discussions are being had, how certain personalities control the room, until now!

The Jury Murder Trial is a fantastic show from the UK that has come up with a unique social experiment to not only try and uncover and understand the dynamics inside a jury room but also to see if two separate jury's hearing the same evidence will come to the same conclusion.

One of the shows creators Ed Kelly sat down with me to talk about how this all came about and what reaction they've had since the show has aired.

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Gerald Johnson is not an innocent man, he's a man who had a tough life, a life that would ultimately lead him to join one of the most notorious criminal gangs in America, The Bloods.

Gerald has been called a 'Gun toting thug' and it would be the presence of a weapon during a motor vehicle accident that would see him hit with a felony murder charge. A charge that would get him a life sentence.

Gerald says there's one major issue with his case, he had no weapon. He claims the prosecution fabricated a weapon in order to be able to charge him with felony murder.

This is his story as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is a first for OMR as I sit down with Mark Newell.. Mark is the brother of John Newell the former husband of Karen Newell who is currently incarcerated for her husbands murder..

Since I began this podcast back in September of 2022 I had always stated that this is about giving incarcerated men and women the opportunity to share their stories, their side of what happened during the events which lead to their incarceration.

I have been asked many times in the past what about the victims? and my answer has always been the same, I am not out actively searching for them or contacting the, this is for a multitude of reasons, the biggest one being that, having been through a traumatic event of potentially loosing a loved one or being involved in some form of crime is an undoubtably painful and life changing experience that in most cases will live with them forever. Having some random podcaster from Australia calling you to, not only remind you of it but also ask if you'd like to relive that experience is not something I want to do. If people involved in the cases we discuss hear about or see the show they can choose to ignore it.

However I've always been of the mindset that should someone involved in a case we discuss reach out to me I would very much welcome that and that is exactly what happened a few weeks ago.

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Juan Moreno Haines has come a long way from the man he once was, a Navy bratt who had a troubled upbringing and would take that with him as a young adult trying to find his way in life.

A series of events would see him end up looking down the barrel of over 80 years in prison, he would start that sentence like most, embracing the bad side of prison life, involving himself in every aspect of the prison culture that was only doing him harm. Until one day a transfer to the infamous San Quentin Prison would set him on a new path.

Juan Moreno Haines is these days and award winning journalist and former senior editor at the award-winning San Quentin News; a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, where he was awarded its Silver Heart Award in 2017 for being “a voice for the voiceless.”

Mr. Haines’s is now the for Editor-in-Chief of Solitary Watch. Solitary Watch is a nonprofit watchdog organization that works to uncover the truth about solitary confinement and other harsh prison conditions in the United States by producing high-quality investigative journalism, accurate information, and authentic storytelling from both sides of prison walls.

Mr. Haines work has been published in The Guardian, The Appeal, Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, Above the Law, UCLA Law Review, Life of the Law, The Oakland Post, California Prison Focus, LA Progressive, CalMatters, Witness LA, and Street Spirit.

In 2020, Mr. Haines was awarded the PEN Prison Writing Contest’s Fielding A. Dawson Prize in Fiction.

Check out the podcasts from behind prison walls now https://www.earhustlesq.com/ and https://www.weareuncuffed.org/

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Ok legends! It's been a while since I recommended a podcast I've been loving so here it is for you.

It's called 'Who is the cheese wire killer' - a podcast that follows the 1983 Aberdeen murder dubbed the cheese wire killer.

It's a great podcast from a great independent podcast creator so go give it some love!

HERE

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Jason Vukovich, also known as the "Alaskan Avenger," was a victim of physical and sexual abuse. He endured a childhood of beatings and rape at the hands of the man who was supposed to be his protector, his stepfather, Larry Lee Fulton. Fulton married Jason's mother and adopted him at the tender age of four.

The childhood abuse led Jason down a dark path to becoming the hammer-wielding "Alaskan Avenger" on the hunt for pedophiles. He is now serving 23 years at the Spring Creek Correctional Center for assaulting three pedophiles.

After nine years of incarceration for his crimes Jason is leaving prison. He will be on probation and being monitored via ankle monitor but he will no longer be confined to his cell and will be able to be in the community and an active member of society.

Jason has a PAYPAL @JasonVukovich907 where you can donate if you wish to do so.

Or GoFund me if you prefer that optionhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/the-jason-vukovich-fund?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined

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