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
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Booking probability
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Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchOne 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.
Recent episodes include "Introducing - The Devil's Quarry II" (23 September 2026, 3 minutes), "Introducing - Bone Valley Season 5 | The Devil's Quarry: Preview" (10 June 2026, 8 minutes), and "Introducing: Bone Valley Season 5 | The Devil's Quarry" (10 June 2026, 3 minutes).
Earwitness publishes roughly monthly, with episodes averaging 4 minutes across 13 episodes.
Booking probability for Earwitness is 29%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Earwitness requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Earwitness's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Earwitness are Courts, Police & Public Safety. Earwitness has a society audience.
Earwitness is a society podcast with 13 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Earwitness
If Season 1 of The Devil’s Quarry was a horror story, Season 2 is a ghost story. More than 30 years after 17-year-old Robin Murphy vanished from Carmel, New York, investigative journalist Paul Solotaroff and...
<p>In the woods outside Carmel, New York, a hunter finds the bones of a twelve-year-old girl. She had been missing. The people meant to protect her had looked the other way. Police set their sights on two teenage drug...
<p>A decades-long true crime nightmare set in the shadowy woods of Putnam County, New York. Two wrongful convictions, a brutal predator hiding in plain sight, and a system that protected him for years—until a dogged...
<p>In the woods outside Carmel, New York, a hunter finds the bones of a twelve-year-old girl. She had been missing. The people meant to protect her had looked the other way. Police set their sights on two teenage drug...
<p>When a group of women from all over the country realize they all dated the same prolific romance scammer they vow to bring him to justice. In this brand new season of global number 1 hit podcast, The Girlfriends...
<p>A shocking public shooting at New York City Hall leaves the ambitious, charismatic City Councilman James E. Davis dead, before his assailant is gunned down by a New York City cop. It turns out that Davis had been...
Earwitness
<p>In 1999, an 18-year-old bartender named Bobby Gumpright told a lie that sent an innocent man, Jermaine Hudson, to prison for 22 years. Burden of Guilt explores the harsh realities of Jim Crow-era Louisiana in 1898...
<p>Six new, inspiring episodes of Wrongful Conviction, hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco, that celebrate the potential of human connection to empower ordinary people to overcome extraordinary odds and injustices. Real...
Earwitness
<p>Hi, Earwitness listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Crying Wolf!</p> <p>Crying Wolf: Crying Wolf is a gripping true crime podcast that follows the story of Lee...
<p>In Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY, Maggie Freleng takes us to a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, where a terrible discovery on the front lawn of a middle school invites a string of amateur and...
<p>In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder.</p> <p>In Season 2, “JEREMY”...
<p>Law & Order: Criminal Justice System is back with Season Two, turning its focus to a threat that hides in plain sight, harder to predict and even harder to stop: terrorism. Hear the real stories from those who lived...
<p>What does it mean to be a victim, or a villain? What happens when the line between the two starts to blur? On 7th July 2010, Kelly Harnett says her abusive boyfriend murdered a man right in front of her. So how did...
<p>In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder.</p> <p>In Season 2, “JEREMY”...
Earwitness
<p>In 1987, 18-year-old Michelle Schofield was found dead in a phosphate pit in Florida. Two years later, her husband, Leo Schofield, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. Fifteen years after his...
<p>Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated is at once a tale as old as time - a true believer learns the hard way that the costs of lofty ambition and hubris just might outweigh even the most optimistic upside - and a...
<p>Hello, Earwitness listeners! We want to share a new podcast that we think you'll love - Murder on the Towpath with Soledad O’Brien</p> <p>About the show: One of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries, and the two...
<p>When Jeremy Scott confessed to the murder of Michelle Schofield, the State of Florida refused to believe him. In Bone Valley, Season 2, author Gilbert King digs deeper, uncovering chilling details of Jeremy’s past...
Earwitness
<p>Welcome to season two of The War on Drugs podcast, co-hosted by comedian Clayton English and Greg Glod, advisor to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform. This season, we’re bringing you real stories from...
<p>Pulitzer Prize winner and iHeartPodcast 2024 Social Impact Award Honoree Maggie Freleng brings compelling stories of redemption and justice with new episodes of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng starting...
Recent guests on Earwitness. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
PitchCentric classifies Earwitness under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
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Wickedly Judged
2 Dorrs Down
The Evidence Room: True Crime, Investigations & Justice
Death Row Stories
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