Introducing: Up and Vanished Weekly, the Wrongful Conviction of Toforest Johnson

When Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy William “Bill” Hardy, a 23 year veteran, was ruthlessly gunned down in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 19, 1995, authorities began to look for the person responsible for killing one of their own. As tips flooded in, two men quickly emerged as lead suspects. Prosecutors individually charged both men, Toforest Johnson and Ardragus Ford, as being a "sole gunman", but their trials led to very different outcomes. For nearly 30 years Toforest has been sitting on death row in Alabama, with an execution date fast approaching. Listen in as Maggie is joined by Tenderfoot TV’s Jaime Albright as they review this controversial case and the bizarre evidence that placed a potentially innocent man behind bars.
Up and Vanished Weekly is available on Wednesdays. Check it out here.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, y'all, it's Maggie. If you're a fan of this show,
then you know that I've dedicated my life to covering
cases where people have been unfairly accused, charged, and convicted
for crimes they did not commit. And this next case
I'm about to tell you about is one like I've
never heard before. In nineteen ninety eight, two men were

(00:23):
separately charged for the death of a police officer, even
though neither of them matched the single shooter's description. And
then they were placed at the scene by two miners
whose accounts of the events differed and who faced intimidation
by investigators. And then after these men were cleared of charges,
the state drummed up new evidence against one of them

(00:45):
from a woman he'd never met, who was paid for
her testimony, and none of this was disclosed to the jury.
This is the case with twenty five year old to
Forrest Johnson, who at this very moment sits on death
row in an Alabama prison, charged with a crime his
alibi say he could not have committed. On my new

(01:07):
podcast Up and Vanish Weekly, I've teamed up with Paine Lindsay,
the creator and host of the award winning podcast Up
and vanished. Every Wednesday, we're covering missing persons, unsolf murders,
and wrongful convictions because if the wrong person's in prison,
then that case is not solved. Every week, a new case,
every week, a fresh look at the details, evidence and theories.

(01:31):
We've recently looked into DeForest Johnson's case and I have
to tell you it is one that truly shakes me
to my core, and I've seen a lot. Here's pain.
With a sneak peek.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
In the morning hours of July nineteenth, nineteen ninety five,
the streets of Birmingham are still At the Crown Sterling
Sweet's Hotel, night manager Barry Rushikov makes his rounds, unaware
of the knight's coming chaos. Inside, a security guard steps
away from his post, leaving behind a warm coffee and
a lit cigarette, signs of a routine night. Two gunshots

(02:16):
cut through the silence. Barry rushes outside, his heart pounding.
In the dim alley behind the hotel, he spots a
figure on the ground. Blood pools beneath the man, and
Barry recognizes him. It's the hotel's security guard, William bill Hardy,
a twenty three year veteran of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

(02:37):
Hardy is barely clinging to life. Paramedics arrive and rush
him to the hospital, their sirens fading into the night.
As the city begins to stir, the pieces of a
grim puzzle emerge. Witnesses report shadowy figures, speeding cars, in
arguing voices in the dark. The questions are immediate, why

(02:59):
did Hardy leave his post? And who would attack a
police officer.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
This entire episode of Up and Vanish Weekly is available
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It would mean the world to me. Thanks y'all.