Earwitness

About Earwitness

One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforest’s guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years. From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, “How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself— illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok. Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Publisher

Lava for Good Podcasts

Category

society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Sept 2023

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

11 of 36 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Introducing - The Devil's Quarry II: Preview

   Investigative journalist Paul Solotaroff previews "The Devil's Quarry II," exploring the disappearance of teenager Robin Murphy and the subsequent search efforts.

2. 

   23 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Introducing - The Devil's Quarry II

   Investigative journalist Paul Solotaroff and reporter Kathleen Horan revisit Robin Murphy's cold case, uncovering new witnesses and evidence in this interview episode.

3. 

   11 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Introducing - The Burden: Bad Cops

   Host Jessica Lussenhop investigates "The Burden: Bad Cops," uncovering how a decorated Baltimore sergeant's double life as a predator led to an FBI investigation and an insider's confession.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

742,161

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

443 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

238 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

39

Social presence

94

YouTube

86

Engagement

91

Contact Earwitness

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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