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8 Episodes 2023 - 2023
Episode 1
Thu, Jan 12, 2023
High Point, North Carolina, April 5, 2019: A young man, Dejvi Velia, stabs another man, Mr. Horne, with a screwdriver. Mr. Horne had assaulted Dejvi's brother Engjell Velia and had attempted to steal from their family-run gas station. Dejvi's defense attorney is Georgia Nixon, and Ms. Nixon's paralegal is Rebecca Billings. The case takes 3.5 years to make it to trial. Dejvi had rejected a "no prison" plea deal from the prosecutor and stood trial. On the third day of trial, the jury finds Dejvi "not guilty" on all counts.
Episode 2
Thu, Jan 19, 2023
The Accused: Michelle Ashley, now age 43. The Defense attorney: Robert P. Harris. The Defense attorney's Private Investigator: Marie Olsen. The Prosecuting attorney: Dan Feinberg. The crime: Fort Myers, Florida, June 18, 1997: U.S. Marine Keith Jones is at the Tides Motel with his friend Michelle Ashley. Michelle claims that four men charged into the motel room to rob Keith Jones. The robbery went from bad to worse and Keith Jones was shot and killed. The original two detectives, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Lawson, were not able to solve the crime and let the case go cold for 25 years. The case is now being reopened by the prosecution and Michelle Ashley is being named as the killer. The "new" witness for the prosecution, Emely Bell Sanchez, has a weak story. After the case is heard, the jury deliberates for only two hours and returns a verdict of "not guilty" on September 2, 2022.
Episode 3
Thu, Jan 26, 2023
January 13, 2021, Iron County, Michigan: Jerry Mittelstadt, age 57, is driving his pickup truck on a long, straight stretch of Bates-Amasa Road with his vehicle's cruise control set to approximately 50 to 55 miles per hour. He looses consciousness and runs into the back of a truck, pinning and instantly killing Lawrence Leonarduzzi, age 56. Leonarduzzi had been part of a work crew that was clearing brush and debris on the roadway. Jerry assumes he fell asleep at the wheel and is facing up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted of the death of Leonarduzzi. Jerry hires criminal defense attorney Karl Numinen, who digs into Jerry's medical past to find out that Jerry had been diagnosed with a medical condition called "paralyzed diaphragm" that could restrict oxygen to his lungs, body and brain, and might cause him to lose consciousness through no fault of his own. Due to delays brought about during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jerry had not yet been advised of his serious medical condition. In the end, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" after 90 minutes of deliberation.
Episode 4
Mon, Jan 2, 2023
A traveling nurse assistant, Taiz Cruz, age 23, is an Ohio resident. She is employed as a COVID crisis response worker is pulled over by law enforcement for a traffic violation in New Mexico and is arrested on a warrant for a felony home-invasion burglary that happened on December 25, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. Is she a "thug for hire" or an innocent party in a dispute with a rock-solid alibi? She is charged with helping her girlfriend break into a house and assaulting two female occupants. This alleged crime was brought about due to a custody dispute between the mother and the father of a toddler. Taiz (pronounced Ty-eez) is facing up to 11 years in prison if she is found guilty. Her criminal defense attorney is Adam Gregory Burke. In the end, Taiz decides to accept a plea bargain for a reduced, non-felony, charge which could have a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison. In the end, the judge sentences Taiz to 90 days in prison with 2 years probation.
Episode 5
Thu, Feb 9, 2023
A woman driver, Margaret Ann Culp, faces a felony charge and a possible sentence of life in prison when a passenger in the car she is driving, Veronica Lynn Ott, is killed after Margaret collides with an 18-wheeler truck. Was she an intoxicated reckless driver or was this collision an unavoidable tragic accident? The unfortunate accident happened on Highway 5 on September 5, 2015 in Birmingham, Alabama. Eighteen months after the incident, in 2017, Margaret was charged with felony murder. There was a seven-year wait until her case came to trial. She is being charged with murder due to having the sedative drug Xanax in her system at the time of the accident. When the trial date finally approaches, Margaret is now age 59. Veronica Ott had been Margaret's best friend, and Margaret viewed Veronica as a daughter. Margaret's court-appointed criminal defense attorney is Spencer Hodnett of Centreville, Alabama. He has now been working with Margaret for several years. Before the trial was to begin, the prosecution offered Margaret a plea deal as follows -- the prosecution will take her murder charge off the table if she will plead guilty to "Negligent Homicide," which is a homicide made with no malice. This plea offer would not include any jail time. The plea was also contingent on whether or not Veronica Ott's father would agree to the deal, which he did. Margaret's lawyer Spencer believes that the plea was offered due to the fact that the lead investigator on the case, an important key witness, had died of COVID-19. In the end, Margaret accepted the non-felony, misdemeanor plea with no jail time imposed. Margaret was sentenced to 24 months probation and was required to pay court costs of $1400.00.
Episode 6
Thu, Feb 16, 2023
Las Vegas, Nevada. The Accused: Kristina Kerlus. The Criminal Defense Attorney: Ryan Helmick of Las Vegas, NV. On October 5, 2018, Kristina's 11-week-old son Jocai (pronounced Jo-SY) was rushed to the hospital and unfortunately died. Kristina also has three more children with her partner, Jaevone Davis: Khyree, age 9; twins Kairo and Jalil, ages 7. Nine months after the death of her baby, Kristina is charged with the death of Jocai. The prosecution believes that the baby died due to "Shaken Baby Syndrome". The defense attorney, upon obtaining medical advice, strongly believes that the child died of natural causes due to his inherited disease of sickle cell anemia. At birth, the child was diagnosed with "Sickle Cell Trait". In the end, 3 years after Kristina was indicted, the prosecution dismissed the case against Kristina. The case was "dismissed without prejudice" by the judge, which means that at any time, the prosecution could charge Kristina again with the death. Kristina's family members felt that the chance of Kristina being charged again would be unlikely, and Kristina accepted the judge's decision. If Kristina had rejected the judge's decision of "dismissed without prejudice", Kristina's only option would have been to go to trial, and risk being found guilty and possibly sentenced to life in prison. As the television viewer watches this installment, they, too, will be convinced of Kristina's innocence.
Episode 7
Thu, Mar 2, 2023
Florida, January 3, 2021: An argument erupts in a parking lot outside of a nightclub, the 'Hollywood Live Restaurant and Lounge' located at 2333 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, Florida. The victim, Anthony Sutton, is killed by a gunshot wound. The Accused, Guy Georges, is charged with his murder. Guy claims that he was certain that Anthony Sutton was going to shoot him and therefore feared for his life. Guy claims he shot Sutton in self-defense. In lieu of a jury trial, Guy's lead defense attorney, Andrew Rier, is presiding over a 'Stand Your Ground' motion in front of a judge. If Guy wins the hearing, all charges against him will be excused. In the end, Guy wins the hearing and his murder charges are dropped.
Episode 8
Thu, Feb 23, 2023
'Accused: Guilty or Innocent?' first covered the case of Angel Bumpass on the installment titled 'Cold Case Killer or Innocent Teenage Girl?' which aired on May 12, 2020. In 2020, Angel Bumpass was convicted of the 2009 robbery-gone-bad murder of Franklin Bonner, age 68. The homicide had been unsolved for 10 years. In 2009, when the crime took place, Angel Bumpass was only 13 years old. Prosecutors had matched her fingerprints on duct tape that was used to wrap Franklin Bonner's head, which suffocated him. Angel Bumpass' co-defendant, a person that Angel claims that she does not know, was also indicted but was found 'not guilty' in his trial. Angel, on the other hand, was found 'guilty' and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Now, Angel has new attorneys, specialty defense lawyer William Massey of Memphis, Tennessee, and his assistant defense attorney Seth Segraves. They feel that Angel was wrongfully convicted and they want to prove she had an unfair trial. Their goal is to submit a motion for a new trial. This was accomplished and the judge granted the motion for a new trial. Due to this, Angel Bumpass was allowed to obtain a bond so she could be released from prison, awaiting her new trial. Angel's attorneys kept working on her case, and had Angel take lie detector examinations which bolstered her claim of innocence. With that information, the new Hamilton County District Attorney General, Coty Wamp, dismissed the murder case against Angel Bumpass.