United States of Crime

Wrongful imprisonment is one of the worst things that the American government can do to someone, but even with modern forensic technology and investigative techniques, it still happens. This is one such case, wherein four innocent African American men were charged and convicted for the horrific rape and double homicide of Carol Schmal and Lawrence Lionberg in Ford Heights, Illinois in 1978. Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at...

During the summer of 1964, civil rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman set out to register black Mississippians to vote. For this, they were murdered by Ku Klux Klan members. Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman's murders set off a chain of events that called the racist culture of Mississippi, and of the nation as a whole, into question. You can support the fight for racial justice by visiting: NAACPBlack Lives MatterNational Lawyers GuildNational Bail Fund...

America is one of only five first world countries to still actively utilize the death penalty as a form of criminal punishment. Over the last century, certain protections have been put in place to protect underage and intellectually disabled offenders. But what happens when a state refuses to accept evidence of an offender’s mental disability? And what if that same offender may be innocent? In this episode, we examine the prosecution of Pervis Tyrone Payne for the 1987 murders of Charisse...

America is the school shooting capital of the world, but what is it about this country that leads to such crimes? In this episode, we’ll take a look at the Pearl High School shooting of 1977 and the perpetrator, Lucas Woodham. Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597 Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, Hell and High Horror on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox. Follow the show on Instagram...