1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Hi, It's Connor Hall, the producer for Wrongful Conviction. As 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: I mentioned previously, Jason and Kalia ah Lee are on 3 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: their honeymoon, so they're letting me fill in for a 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: few more episodes. And again I promise not to screw 5 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: it up. So here we go. On January sixteenth, two 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, sixty eight year old Franklin Bonner was 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: found suffocated by duct tape with signs of blunt force trauma. 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: His Chattanooga, Tennessee home was ransacked, but no valuables appeared 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: to be missing. The duck tape held eleven fingerprints, but 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: no hits came up in the national database until nine 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: years later when they ran the Prince again and two 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: partial prints appeared to match twenty three year old Angel Bumpus, 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: who was thirteen years old at the time of the crime. 14 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: Despite a plausible explanation for the presence of her fingerprints 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: and an equally implausible theory of her guilt, she was 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: sent away for life in prison. And this is wrongful conviction. 17 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 2: Wrongful conviction has always given voice to innocent people in prison, 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 2: and now we're expanding that voice to you. Call us 19 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 2: at eight three three two o seven four six sixty six, 20 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 2: and tell us how these stories make you feel and 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 2: what you've done to help the cause, even if it's 22 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 2: something as simple as telling a friend or sharing on 23 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 2: social media, and you might just hear yourself in a 24 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 2: future episode call us eight three three two oh seven 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 2: four six sixty six. 26 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction, where we have a story 27 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: that's just so ridiculous for so many reasons. Uh. You know, 28 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: first and foremost, how young the accused was at the 29 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: time of the crime. However, the details of the crime 30 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: make it even less plausible. And to help explain it all, 31 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: we welcome defense attorney Bill Massey, thank you, and of 32 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: course the still relatively young woman who endured this insanity 33 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Angel Bumpus, thank you for joining us. 34 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 3: You're welcome, thanks for having me. 35 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: So can you tell us a little bit about, you know, 36 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 1: growing up in Chattanooga. 37 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 3: When I was in Chattanooga, I lived with my grandparents, 38 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 3: Chryl Bumpus and Bayliss Smith. And I mean, it's not 39 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 3: nothing exciting to tell. At that point in their life 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 3: when I was around, they were already well off into 41 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 3: their forties and fifties. My grandma, she stayed home all day, 42 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 3: could clean. My granddad went to work, came home. I 43 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 3: was a good student. I won a lot of awards 44 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 3: and different things. And like I was in eighth grade, 45 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 3: I believe so long ago even when it happened, Like 46 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 3: I didn't watch the news growing up as a kid, 47 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 3: so I didn't even know anything about it. Like the 48 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 3: knowledge I have is from when I got the discovery. 49 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 3: That's the knowledge that I have. 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: And the crime in question occurred on January sixteenth, two 51 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: thousand and nine. The victim was a sixty eight year 52 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: old man named Franklin Bonner, who was known locally as 53 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: the lottery Man, alluding to the numbers game that he operated. 54 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: He was also alleged to sell some wheed on the side, 55 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: none of which should have gotten him killed, but being 56 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: known to have extra cash on hand may have played 57 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: a role. 58 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 4: January sixteen, two thousand and nine, mister Bonner was in 59 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 4: his home. His wife came home and had lunch with him, 60 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 4: and then left back to work. When she came back 61 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 4: home a little after five in the afternoon, she found 62 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 4: him taped to the chair, duc taped and the chair 63 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 4: turned over. His head was completely encircled in duct tape. 64 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 4: She called the police. The police came, the man had suffocated. 65 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 4: They removed the tape from and they found fingerprints on 66 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 4: the inside the tape around the face, and there was 67 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 4: another on the tape beside the leg to the chair, 68 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 4: and they sent them off for identification, but there were 69 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 4: no hits. 70 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: There were eleven fingerprints, some of them only partial. There 71 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: were also signs of blunt force trauma, but no implements 72 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: were cataloged or found. 73 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 4: And the house had been ransacked, but strangely, very little 74 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 4: was missing. There was jewelry in his pocket and in 75 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 4: the home, as well as money and guns. 76 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: Perhaps something very specific was taken, but we're not sure what, 77 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: if anything. There were also no eyewitnesses to potential intruders, 78 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: so the police looked at the Bonner's landline for recent 79 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: callers and found a number associated with the Bumpuses. 80 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 4: Carl Fields, I believe, was the lead investigator at the time, 81 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 4: and he said that he saw that call number, they 82 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 4: ran it and that it came back to Shirley Bumpus, 83 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 4: which is the grandmother of Angel. So he went over 84 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 4: there the next day to talk to the Bumpuses. And 85 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 4: he says that she told him she had gone over 86 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 4: to the Bonner home to buy some marijuana. 87 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: It was no secret that the Bonners and Bumpuses knew 88 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: each other. According to Angel's grandfather, Bayliss, he had even 89 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: done odd jobs for the Bonners on occasions, so it 90 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: wasn't strange that their number appeared on the Bonners call log. 91 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 3: When we got the discovery the AT and T call log, 92 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 3: it shows that my grandmother hadn't even called that day. 93 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,799 Speaker 3: So that's just something that they just were saying. 94 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 4: But that's what got them on to the Bumpus household. 95 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 3: The previous district attorney, Neil Pinkston, he did not like 96 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 3: my grandmamma, like they had history. Like he was also 97 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 3: on the case of my uncle who was murdered. And 98 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 3: that's how I know, like how victims are getting treated 99 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 3: and how they were treating the victim of this case. 100 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 3: They don't treat my family how they were treating the victim. 101 00:05:57,920 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 3: So it's like my grandmother, she used to just be 102 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 3: very very vocal about stuff, and so her and Pinkson 103 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 3: they have a bad relationship. They was other suspects, but 104 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 3: they didn't pursue them. 105 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 4: They ruled them out. 106 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: I feel like I'm sensing there's a little facetiousness in there. 107 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 4: A man who was doing a federal sentence, Nicholas Cheating, 108 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 4: when he heard about the incident in Chattanooga. He was 109 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 4: trying to get a time cut by cooperating with police 110 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 4: in solving this homicide case and says, hey, I think 111 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 4: I know who's responsible for this, and that's how they 112 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 4: got hooked up with Mallory Vaughn. So the detective were 113 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 4: down I believe they were down there twice and talked 114 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 4: with him maybe three times. Never mentioned a young girl, 115 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 4: and the information that he gave was all on Mallory Vaughn. 116 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: But it appears that investigators didn't find nicholas cheating statement 117 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: about Malory Vaughn credible. So this case went cold for 118 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: nine years, and in that time, Angel grew. 119 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 3: I moved to Kentucky. During my junior year, graduated in 120 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 3: high school. I was deciding if I was going to 121 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 3: go to college or not. I actually was supposed to 122 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 3: go to college in New York. I wanted to be 123 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 3: a fashion designer and I was going to just go 124 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 3: to New York and risk it or whatever. But I 125 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 3: ended up getting pregnant, and I stayed and I ended 126 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 3: up going to University of Louisville. I still didn't know 127 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 3: what I wanted to do with my life now being 128 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 3: a mother, and then eventually I became a single mother. 129 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 5: Of two kids. 130 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 3: So I decided that I was just going to go 131 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 3: and get my nursing degree because my aunt has her 132 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 3: nursing degree. I have a couple of cousins who have 133 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 3: their nursing degree, and it just seemed like the most stable. 134 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 5: Career for me. 135 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 3: And this is all still between like eighteen and twenty three, 136 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 3: and so that was pretty much my life when she. 137 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: Was about eighteen or nineteen years old. In twenty fourteen, 138 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: she got a traffic ticket. 139 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 3: I didn't really know about it, so I didn't pay it, 140 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 3: and I had got a warrant from not showing up 141 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 3: to court. Like I didn't know that I could go 142 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 3: and redocate my case instead of turning myself in. I 143 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 3: didn't know that, but I went down there. I just 144 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 3: had to get built in. Ultimately, everything got dismissed in 145 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 3: tank Care, but my fingerprints were inside of the system 146 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 3: from that. 147 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: So your prints are in the system in twenty fourteen, 148 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: does anyone know why they decided, you know, to run 149 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: the princes again through APHIS in twenty eighteen. 150 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 3: If I remember from discovery that his granddaughter called and 151 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 3: wanted to see if they had any new evidence. 152 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: APHIS, the Automated Fingerprint Identification system marked angels prints as 153 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: a potential match for two partial prints. I'd like to 154 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: direct you to our coverage of fingerprint analysis on Junk Science. 155 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: It'll be linked in the episode description, where we discuss 156 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 1: how fingerprint analysis is subjective in nature, performed by flawed 157 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: human beings on prints that are pulled from non uniform services. 158 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: There is also disagreement among the analyst community as to 159 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: how many points of correlation need to line up between 160 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: two prints in order to be considered a match. Again, 161 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: Angel's prints were flagged as a potential match to two 162 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: partial prints by APHIS, but then it was an analyst 163 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: who said that this print pulled from a material as 164 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: elastic as duct tape, could be called a quote unquote match. 165 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 4: Angel was pulled into this because of that fingerprint. That's 166 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 4: truly the only piece of evidence that they had on her. 167 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: Additionally, her grandfather said that he had done odd jobs 168 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: for the Bonners, and he later testified that the duct 169 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 1: tape likely belonged to him, which is a plausible explanation, 170 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: but coming from a loved one, it's easily explained away. Nevertheless, 171 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: the fingerprint match that the partial print was enough for. 172 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 3: An arrest warrant, and that was Joan of twenty eighteen. 173 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 3: They knocked on a door, opened the door, and I 174 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 3: mean and they were very hostile in their home and 175 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 3: their on their hips and stuff. They were asking me 176 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 3: who's inside of the house, and I'm like, it's just 177 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 3: me and my kids are sleeping. This was a Kentucky officer. 178 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 3: He was like, well, can I search your house? And 179 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 3: I thought maybe they were looking for someone, and so 180 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 3: I allowed them to come in. All of a sudden, 181 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 3: it's like teen officers and some detectives from Tennessee scattered 182 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 3: inside of my apartment. They're not telling me why they're here. 183 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 3: They're just telling me to get my kids somewhere if 184 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 3: somebody can come pick up my kids. And they're like, oh, yeah, 185 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 3: we have a warrant for you. So I just I 186 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 3: get my aunt to come and get my kids, and 187 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 3: I just leave with them. I was very naive about 188 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 3: the legal system, and so I'm thinking this is a mistake, 189 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 3: whatever it is, and I'm just going to bond out 190 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 3: and be out in a couple hours. So I didn't 191 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 3: think that I was going to be locked up for 192 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 3: thirteen days. 193 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: Angels age at the time of the crime thirteen and 194 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: then her age at the time of arrest twenty three, 195 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: presented the state with a challenge. This was technically a 196 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: juvenile case, but she couldn't be booked into juvenile facility 197 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: at twenty three, so Angel had to wait in jail 198 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: until her case was bound over into adult court before 199 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: bonding out in preparation for trial. Meanwhile, it appears that 200 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: after nine years of ignoring Nicholas Cheating as someone who'd 201 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 1: say anything for a time cut, all of a sudden, 202 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: his word is seen as credible enough to arrest Mallory Vaughan. 203 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 3: The co defendant, asked for a speedy trial, and my 204 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 3: attorneys would not get our trials separated, like they would 205 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 3: not fight to get it separated for whatever reason. 206 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: And so now you've got a co defendant. That's how old. 207 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 3: I believe he's older than my mom. 208 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 4: He was forty eight. 209 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 5: Yeah, he's like double my age. 210 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: So he was twenty eight when you were thirteen. 211 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 5: Yeah. 212 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 4: Uh, And he says he didn't know Angel Boppas, and 213 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 4: Angel says she doesn't know him. 214 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, it'd be really fucking weird if he knew her. 215 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 4: Creepy, you know how they connected the two of. 216 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 3: Them Facebook Facebook out on my profile. He was friends 217 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 3: with a family member who was also older than me. 218 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, but it was a friend ten years later and 219 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 4: I'm back when this occurred. 220 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 2: You're listening to Wrongful Conviction. You can listen to this 221 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 2: and all the Lava for Good podcasts one week early 222 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 2: and ad free by subscribing to Lava for Good Plus 223 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts. 224 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 4: Their theory in this case was that Angel came home 225 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:45,559 Speaker 4: from school, she went over to where Melory Vaughn stayed, 226 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,439 Speaker 4: and that there were trails through the woods that led 227 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 4: to mister Botterer's home, and that they went down those 228 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,440 Speaker 4: trails and committed this act. Now, there's no proof of 229 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 4: that whatsoever anywhere from anywhere else other than them saying it. 230 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, this prosecutor is a very active. 231 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 3: Imagination, definitely, because I lived across the highway, so even 232 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 3: if it was I would still have to cross the 233 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 3: busy highway to get there. 234 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: So in addition, to dodging cars to cross a busy highway. 235 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: There was a narrow window in which this could have 236 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: even happened. Angel was at school until three pm, and 237 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 1: Linda Bonner found her husband at five pm. 238 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:28,319 Speaker 5: My attorney. 239 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 3: They hired a private investigator and he actually determined that 240 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 3: I was at school. It shows that I wrote the boss, 241 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 3: I don't have any absence on that day the timeframe, 242 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 3: I will have only had twenty minutes to commit the 243 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:43,959 Speaker 3: crime and get back home. 244 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: The trial began at the end of September twenty nineteen, 245 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: and to support this implausible narrative involving a five foot tall, 246 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 1: eighty pound thirteen year old beating and duct taping an 247 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: adult man to a chair, they had to give her 248 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: an accomplice who was strong enough to do Franklin Bonner 249 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: and maneuver his body around. So Nicholas Cheating took the 250 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: stand to implicate Mallory Vaughan. 251 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, he just was saying the the co defendant, that 252 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 3: he picked him up and he had money and he 253 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 3: usually never has money, and he said that he told 254 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 3: him that he did it, and something about a lottery man. 255 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 4: He should have be going to hit a lick on 256 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 4: the lottery man, and then he showed up the next 257 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 4: day with money, and of. 258 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: Course this twenty eight year old called up his trusted 259 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: thirteen year old partner in crime, who he found on Facebook, 260 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: to hit a lick on the lottery man. Cool story, 261 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: I guess Nicholas Cheating recognized how ridiculous that sounded, so 262 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: he denied ever hearing anything about Angel Bumpis, as in 263 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: her co defendant. He denied knowing her at all, and 264 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: perhaps in an attempt to make it seem more plausible, 265 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: the state alluded to other potential accomplices. 266 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 3: The district attorneys, they just kept insinuating that the case 267 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 3: was in closed and insinuating that more people were going 268 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 3: to get arrested and more people were going to be 269 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 3: punished for the crime. And I don't want to bash anybody, 270 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 3: but the attorneys that I hired, they did not fight 271 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 3: for me. There were no objections. They weren't even paying attention, 272 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 3: Like one of the attorneys were just taxing the entire time. 273 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 3: The other attorneys, she wasn't prepared. She was trying to 274 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 3: write her closing statement, not listening. And then they didn't 275 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 3: get pictures of me when I was thirteen, So like, 276 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 3: it's literally a grown woman on trial, and I looked 277 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 3: very different from when I was thirteen. 278 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: Right, because the judge denied to admit your eighth grade 279 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: graduation picture into evidence. 280 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 3: And that's because those attorneys stay in properly put in 281 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 3: the evidence in a timely manner. 282 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 5: I really think that the jury was just confused. 283 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: Or maybe they weren't. When the charges are aggravated robbery 284 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: and felony murder with the specter of a larger group. 285 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: They just needed to prove that she had some involvement 286 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: in the actions that eventually led to mister Bonner's death. 287 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: So they met that low ball with this partial fingerprint 288 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: and without challenging if it even was her fingerprint. There 289 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: was a plausible explanation offered by Angel's grandfather. Unfortunately, defendant's 290 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: loved ones are typically easy to impeach or explain away. 291 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 3: I knew that the district attorney had made their case, 292 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 3: and like, while we were waiting for deliberation, we went 293 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 3: to this bar. The attorneys they all got drinks and 294 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 3: they're like, oh, Angel, get a drink. And then like 295 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 3: the female she asked me, She's like, do you want 296 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 3: to get in the car, and just go to Mexico, 297 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 3: and like, I don't know if she was joking or not, 298 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 3: but like in that moment, my heart dropped and I. 299 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 5: Just felt like I'll often to be found guilty. 300 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 3: And they also told me that if the co defendant 301 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 3: was found not guilty, then I will be found not guilty. 302 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 5: So they read his verdict first. 303 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 3: And it's not guilty, so I have a little bit 304 00:16:53,160 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 3: of hope. But then I get guilty. So I went 305 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 3: to Silverdale and then I went to Tennessee Prison for Women. 306 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 3: I got written up on my first day because I 307 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 3: refused medical things. And it's just like I guess back then, 308 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 3: I just wanted to hold on to whatever rights that 309 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 3: I did have, and I knew that I didn't have 310 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 3: to do anything medical because they couln't force medical stuff 311 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,680 Speaker 3: on you even if you're a prisoner. 312 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 5: And yeah, so they wrote me up. 313 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 3: I went to segregation for forty days upon arrival, very 314 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 3: tough time. Couldn't use the phone, couldn't write letters, couldn't 315 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 3: do anything. Then I got out and I would just 316 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 3: call home a lot. Because it's also happened during COVID, 317 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 3: so there was no visits or anything like that. 318 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: Now, how old were your two little ones at. 319 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 3: The time, they had just turned five and four. 320 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: Jeezus, that really sucks. 321 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 5: It was. 322 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,679 Speaker 3: It was very traumatic experience going to prison. Like I 323 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,679 Speaker 3: literally don't know how people do that. I mean I 324 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 3: did it, but like I can see how people like 325 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 3: they go insane, they start using drugs and just all 326 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 3: of that, because that's all you see in prison is 327 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 3: drug use and just a lot of stuff. Guards doing stuff, 328 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 3: they shit in and it's sad. But I had a 329 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 3: lot of support, not only for my family, but from 330 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 3: millions of people all over the world. 331 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: Well, Angel was being prosecuted. An e crime docuseries Accused 332 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: Guilty or Innocent picked up on the story, and the 333 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: coverage garnered a great deal of support for Angel. Meanwhile, 334 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,679 Speaker 1: the sentence she was given, considering all the strides that 335 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,920 Speaker 1: had been made over the previous two decades around life 336 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: sentences for juveniles amounting to cruel and unusual punishment, it 337 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: appeared that Angel's situation might have been unconstitutional. 338 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 3: Oh you had sixty years because it was two felony, 339 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 3: so you automatically get a life sentence. 340 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 1: I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, But if they 341 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: believe themselves, this is a crime that was committed when 342 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: she was thirteen, and by twenty eighteen, the Supreme Court 343 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: had already ruled mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. 344 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 4: Well, there's been a case recently that laid out the 345 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,719 Speaker 4: law here for Tennessee. It said, I mean, I know 346 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 4: the Eighth Amendment. You can't sen uce a juvenile to 347 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 4: life and not take into account the maturity that they 348 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 4: had at the time of the offense, or any of 349 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:34,160 Speaker 4: their upbringing or anything like that. You can't foreclose the 350 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 4: future on a juvenile like that. And so they said, 351 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 4: you know, at twenty five years, then you've got to 352 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,679 Speaker 4: be able to look and see if they've engaged in 353 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 4: rehabilitative efforts. But the parole board can make that decision, and. 354 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: We know that parole boards are typically filled with political appointees, 355 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: so it's hard to know if we can count on 356 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: that protocol. Either way, she was re sentenced the first 357 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: in a series of victories that happened, I believe, quicker 358 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:04,919 Speaker 1: than any case we've ever covered. You know, that's not 359 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: to say that four years is somehow nothing. Just take 360 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: a second to think about the length of one month 361 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: or one year. I mean, would you accept being kidnapped 362 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: away from your life, your children, your loved ones for 363 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: any amount of time. So we can only be grateful 364 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: that this injustice was undone with the urgency that all 365 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: innocent people deserve. 366 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 4: So Angela had hired me then to tried to get 367 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 4: her a new trial. The judge allowed me to come 368 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:36,120 Speaker 4: into the case. We ordered transcripts, and prior council got 369 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 4: me their files, and we went to work. 370 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: Bill was able to point out multiple errors in Angel's trial, 371 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: outlining ineffective assistance of council claims and constitutional violations. Judge 372 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: Tom Greenholtz noted that Angel's eighth grade yearbook photos should 373 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: not have been excluded from evidence, that her council failed 374 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: to not only admit it in a timely fashion, but 375 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: also failed to object to the ten years too late 376 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: Facebook between angels relative and Mallory Vaughan, as well as 377 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: to the specter of this larger group alleged to have 378 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 1: been involved with the crime, among so many others. Greenholts 379 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: finally ruled that the evidence was insufficient to establish that 380 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,680 Speaker 1: a robbery had even been committed, and without the robbery, 381 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: there's no felony murder. They'd have to prove that she 382 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: did it, and the theory was literally that this eighty 383 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: pound thirteen year old could not have physically committed this 384 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,440 Speaker 1: crime without extensive help. 385 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 4: After the judge ruled in our favor, the next thing 386 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 4: we did was asked for a bond. The judge was 387 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 4: not going to approve the source of income until the 388 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,160 Speaker 4: entire amount of premium was paid on the bond, which 389 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 4: was going to be the following week, and so we 390 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,959 Speaker 4: had really been anticipating Angel getting out. I know she was, 391 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,359 Speaker 4: and we were very disappointed. But about that time I 392 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 4: felt a tug on my jacket and I turned around 393 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 4: and it was the bonds lady and she said, Bill, 394 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,120 Speaker 4: there is a gentleman in the back there wants to 395 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 4: talk with you. So I said, judge, would you excuse 396 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 4: me just a moment. She said sure. I went back 397 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 4: and he said I want to make her bond. Said, well, great, 398 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 4: why are you doing this? And he said, I'll follow 399 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,679 Speaker 4: this case is that started, and I believe she is 400 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,880 Speaker 4: probably not guilty. So I asked him some other questions 401 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 4: about his source of income and his business and raised 402 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 4: my hand and said, judge will have one more witness, 403 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,199 Speaker 4: and he was kind enough to make that premium. 404 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 5: No, I cried. 405 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 3: I was really wanting to get out and see my kids, 406 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 3: and so I was just very grateful. 407 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 1: That's got to be incredibly emotionally confusing. I mean, you 408 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: got this positive outcome with this generous gesture, but it's 409 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 1: only positive in the undoing of this evil right Anyway, 410 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: You get home and you know, you probably squeeze those 411 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: kids so tight their heads nearly popped off. 412 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:51,399 Speaker 5: Yeah, it was. 413 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 3: That was a little difficult too, with their gay. Even now, 414 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 3: we are still going back and forth in court with 415 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 3: like custody and visits, and it's a lot that has 416 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 3: transpired in my wife. I still just have to deal 417 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 3: with the mass regardless. 418 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,639 Speaker 1: And even though Angel was out, this was not over yet. 419 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 1: But at least with a newly elected district Attorney, Cody Womp, 420 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 1: they were no longer fighting the same folks who had 421 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,880 Speaker 1: followed through with this absurd prosecution. 422 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 4: I talked with the prosecutors and they believed, I think 423 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 4: that Angel was not, in their view, the primary perpetrator 424 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 4: of this offense, and they thought because of the fingerprint 425 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 4: that she may have been present, but they wanted to 426 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 4: know who is responsible and essentially tell them and we'll 427 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 4: move you to go home. And so I go to Angel, 428 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 4: who's always told me I don't know anything about this. 429 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 4: I didn't do this. But I go to her. She 430 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 4: swelled up and said, mister Massey, I do not know 431 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 4: what happened that day. I was not there. And so 432 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 4: at that point we had to explain how those fingerprints 433 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 4: got there, or at least neuter that evidence in some way. 434 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: As I mentioned earlier, fingerprint analysis has come under scrutiny 435 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: on a few fronts, but most importantly, as in this case, 436 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: fingerprint analysts are often dealing with partial prints from non 437 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,479 Speaker 1: uniform or uneven surfaces, and there's a disagreement in that 438 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: community about how many points of correlation between fingerprints constitute 439 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: a match. Is it twelve or twenty? I mean, raise 440 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 1: your hand. If you thought that it had to be 441 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: the whole thing, then you have to consider the surface. 442 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: Was it elastic? Did it ben some aspect of the 443 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: print that you're trying to match. But even under the 444 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: most reliable conditions, you also must prove that the print 445 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: didn't enter the scene innocently, as Angel's grandfather contended a trial. 446 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: And so, with this ongoing discussion around the reliability of fingerprints. 447 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: Bill found additional support for Angel's innocence. 448 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 4: That's when I arranged for her to take this enhanced 449 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 4: polygraph that's available now to cycle physiological detection of deception examination. 450 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,639 Speaker 4: I believe it said between ninety two and ninety seven 451 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 4: percent accurate, and the first one she took she did 452 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 4: great on. I gave it to the prosecutors, but they 453 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 4: wanted a law enforcement examination and I was told there 454 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 4: weren't enough questions asked on this examination. I said, the 455 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 4: polygraph strength is in the brevity of the questions. It's 456 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 4: a single issue polygraph. That's what makes it so reliable. 457 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 4: That's the reason the National Security Agency uses it, dea 458 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 4: Department of Defense uses it. But they wanted a law 459 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 4: enforcement polygraph. So we then went and found a second 460 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 4: polygraph expert who had a background with law enforcement, had 461 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 4: a wonderful resume, and he called me right after it 462 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 4: was over and he said, Bill, you've got to have 463 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 4: four points to show that you're not being deceptive. He said, 464 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 4: she had fourteen. This lady's telling the truth. I said, well, 465 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 4: you put that into your report. He said absolutely. So 466 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 4: we took that down then to Miss Womp and when 467 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 4: she saw that, she had her people look at her 468 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 4: TBI experts look at the examination that was given, and 469 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 4: they verified that it was an accurate test. And that's 470 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,240 Speaker 4: when they agreed to dismiss the charges. 471 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 1: You know, when I was reading initially about this case, 472 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,159 Speaker 1: my first impression was, at this point, it looks like 473 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: they were, you know, looking for some way to save 474 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: face for the office and you know, as well as 475 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: do the right thing. 476 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:38,479 Speaker 4: Well, what did to give them that reason? 477 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: So the district attorney joined you and Judge A Man 478 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: had done agreed. The charges were dismissed in August twenty 479 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: twenty three. 480 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 4: Right, it was wonderful seeing the look on Angel's face 481 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 4: when that dismissal was announced. I hadn't seen that deep 482 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 4: of a smile in quite a while. You practice your 483 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 4: whole life hoping for a moment that good stuff. 484 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,120 Speaker 1: So, Angel, the kids, how old are they now? 485 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,199 Speaker 5: Ten and nine? It's their birthday night? 486 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,120 Speaker 1: Yep, ten and nine years. You've still got some formative 487 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 1: years left. But where are you all living now? 488 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 3: I love back in Louisville, Kentucky. So I'm trying to 489 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 3: co parent with their dad. Like I said earlier, that's 490 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 3: just it's been very difficult, and a lot of stuff 491 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 3: that happened wouldn't have happened if I went to a prison. 492 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,199 Speaker 3: But I am back inside of nursing school. I got 493 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,280 Speaker 3: a year and a half and I'm going straight for 494 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 3: the registered nurse and I have my PSN inside of it. 495 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:35,159 Speaker 3: So I just got a year and a half of 496 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 3: that during that time. Like, I'm also a licensed as 497 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:39,639 Speaker 3: a titian, so I'm kind of going to do something 498 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 3: with like medical spot after I get my degree. 499 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: That's great. Anything else that you're working on, you know, 500 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: something you'd like to bring our attention to. 501 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, I have wrote a book because when I was 502 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 3: locked up, I used to journal like every day. I 503 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 3: got notebooks and notebooks of stuff that happened every single day. 504 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 5: Like I remember, people used to be like she's always writing. 505 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 5: What is she writing? Like is she trying to tell 506 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 5: on us? 507 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 3: Because I would literally document everything that I saw, everything 508 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 3: that happened, like I had. 509 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 5: I got all stacks of it. 510 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 3: And I'm currently going back and forth for different publishers 511 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 3: just to like fully detail get out my story. And 512 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 3: I really hope that inspires people, as people have wrote 513 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 3: me and told me that I have inspired them, and 514 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 3: I just want to get that bit of hope on 515 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 3: paper to people to have forever and I can just 516 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 3: finally close that chapter of my life and just to 517 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:33,919 Speaker 3: move on. 518 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 4: Would you send me an autographed copy? 519 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we've linked her socials in the episode description, 520 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: so if anyone would like to reach out and you know, 521 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: potentially assist in the publishing process, please do so. And 522 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 1: with that we'll go to closing arguments, where I'm just 523 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: gonna thank you both for joining us today, and then 524 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: I'm going to lean back and lock it up as 525 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: they share their closing thoughts. 526 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 4: BILP closing thoughts are while something like this that Angel 527 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 4: got the experience, both the bad and the good. It's 528 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 4: rare to see it, but it happens far more than 529 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 4: we see. It happens far more than we see. Sometimes 530 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 4: it's the wrong person, they weren't there, just like it 531 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 4: wasn't Angel's case. And sometimes it's just simply overcharging. We 532 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 4: applaud the work that the Edocence Project does and the 533 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 4: Wrongful Conviction Group. It's a labor of love, isn't it. 534 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 4: It's a labor of love. 535 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 5: Yeah. 536 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 3: I just hope that one day the Juvenile laws will 537 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,920 Speaker 3: be better, especially for my case, because I personally don't 538 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 3: agree with anybody under eighteen spend it sixty years in prison. 539 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 3: I hope that one day people can like relook into 540 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 3: laws because I do feel like crimes are not black 541 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 3: and white, like it's more stuff that goes into it. 542 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 3: I've been around women who are there because of a boyfriend, 543 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 3: you know, and just because they didn't want to say anything, 544 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 3: then they got twenty thirty years sitting. Can't get out 545 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 3: because I can't afford to get an appeal attorney or 546 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 3: anything like that. And I just hope one day more 547 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 3: district attorneys and police officers get a little more accountability 548 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 3: so mistakes won't happen. Because anytime a mistake this happened, 549 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 3: you know, it was just they were just doing their job, 550 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 3: so nothing can be done about it. 551 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,040 Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Wrong for Conviction. You can 552 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 2: listen to this and all the Lava for Good podcasts 553 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,680 Speaker 2: one week early and ed free by subscribing to Lava 554 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 2: for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I want to thank 555 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 2: our production team, Connor Hall and Kathleen Fink, as well 556 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,360 Speaker 2: as my fellow executive producers Jeff Kempler Kevin Wartis and 557 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 2: Jeff Clibern. The music in this production was supplied by 558 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 2: three time OSCAR nominated composer Ralph Be sure to follow 559 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 2: us across all social media platforms at Lava for Good 560 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 2: and at Wrongful Conviction. You can also follow me on 561 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 2: Instagram at it's Jason Flamm. Wrongful Conviction is a production 562 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 2: of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Company 563 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 2: Number one