THE WEEKLY REVEAL
Saturday, July 6, 2024
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Hello! In this issue:
- An investigation casts major doubts about the guilt of a man on Alabama’s death row.
- In our series 40 Acres and a Lie, we investigate a reparation that wasn’t—and the wealth gap that remains.
- Our latest documentary, The Grab, is No.1 on Apple and available everywhere.
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THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
In Bondage to the Law
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Toforest Johnson (in white shirt) during a 2004 family visit at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., with his mother (from left), Donna; daughter Shanaye Poole; and son Tremaine Perry. Credit: Courtesy of Johnson’s family via Lava for Good
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On a summer night in 1995, a sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed in a hotel parking lot in Birmingham, Alabama. When investigators arrived at the scene, they found no eyewitnesses—and almost no evidence to help them identify the shooter.
That night, Toforest Johnson was with friends at a nightclub miles away. That didn’t stop prosecutors from trying Johnson twice for the murder. He was eventually convicted on the testimony of an “earwitness”—a woman who claimed to have overheard Johnson confessing to the crime. He has spent more than 25 years on Alabama’s death row.
Investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case in 2019—and what she discovered cast major doubts about Johnson’s guilt. This week, in partnership with Lava for Good and the Earwitness podcast, Shelburne brings us the story of Johnson’s case—and we learn what’s happened since this story first aired.
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🎧 Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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OUR LATEST
40 Acres and a Lie
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Illustration by Chris Burnett
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A government program commonly known as “40 Acres and a mule” gave formerly enslaved people land after the Civil War, only to take nearly all of it back a year and a half later. We partnered with the Center for Public Integrity to tell this story about long-forgotten people, places, and stories that had long been misunderstood—then we asked descendants of formerly enslaved people about what’s owed now.
Listen to our three-part series, 40 Acres and a Lie, to understand the reparation that wasn’t—and the wealth gap that remains.
Dig Deeper:
LISTEN: 40 Acres and a Lie Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
READ: 40 Acres and a Lie (A collaboration between Mother Jones, Center for Public Integrity and Reveal)
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Support deep investigations that change lives. Become a member.
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This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Kate Howard and edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend. Have some thoughts? Drop us a line with feedback or ideas!
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