American Scandal — West Memphis Three | When Justice Gets It Wrong | Episode 5
Host: Lindsey Graham
Guest: David Moran, retired University of Michigan Law School professor and co-founder of the Michigan Innocence Clinic
Date: December 23, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode centers on the case of the West Memphis Three, exploring the broader issues of wrongful convictions in the American justice system. Host Lindsey Graham interviews David Moran, a leader in innocence advocacy, to unpack how such grave miscarriages of justice happen, what perpetuates them, and what it takes to challenge them, focusing both on the infamous West Memphis Three case and Moran’s own work exonerating the innocent.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The West Memphis Three: A Template for Wrongful Conviction
- Background: In 1993, three teenagers (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jesse Misskelley) were convicted of murdering three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, largely based on a coerced confession and widespread moral panic, with no physical evidence linking them to the crime.
- Significance: The case has become an emblem of how panic, pressure, and tunnel vision can send innocent people to prison.
“Thirty years later, the story of the West Memphis Three has become a haunting example of how moral panic, media pressure, and tunnel vision can conspire to put innocent people behind bars.”
— Lindsey Graham (00:46)
How Wrongful Convictions Happen
Tunnel Vision and Human Nature
- Moran details that police and prosecutors often fixate early on a suspect, interpreting all evidence through that lens and explaining away contradictions.
“The typical wrongful conviction case involves the police coming to a conclusion very early because they want to solve the case as quickly as they can. And then once they reach that conclusion, they become incapable of considering fairly other evidence that points in the other direction.”
— David Moran (09:39)
Case Examples from Moran’s Practice (03:32–09:14)
- Curtis Showers case: Convicted despite mismatched physical descriptions and clear contradictory evidence, due to witness misidentification and police fixating on one suspect.
- Temujin Kinsu case: Nine alibi witnesses supported the defendant, yet prosecution promoted implausible theories (such as chartering a private plane) to maintain the conviction.
The Role of False Confessions
- About 20% of exonerations involve false confessions, which occur under intense or manipulative police questioning—even among seemingly “unlikely” false confessors.
“They don’t have much experience with the criminal justice system and panic under a relentless assault...eventually they cave because they come to believe that the only way out is to tell the officer what they want to believe.”
— David Moran (12:10)
- Moran explains that many falsely believe they couldn’t be compelled to confess, though coercion tactics are powerful.
Impact of Public Hysteria and Media Pressure (13:14–15:41)
- High-profile cases (like West Memphis Three) often have more wrongful convictions due to intense pressure to provide answers and “restore order,” leading to shortcuts and coercion.
“You’re actually more likely to have wrongful conviction in a high-profile case because of the pressure...”
— David Moran (13:26)
Detroit Example:
- Police coerced confessions and implicated random people simply to close cases, sometimes arresting and detaining witnesses under threat.
Resistance to New Forensic Testing (17:26–20:47)
- Prosecutors and law enforcement often oppose new DNA or fingerprint testing, even when it could exonerate their original suspect.
“They don’t want to know...They just did not want to have this conviction overturned.”
— David Moran (17:26)
Jamie Peterson Case:
- Exoneration resisted for years despite DNA evidence exculpating the convicted and pointing to the actual perpetrator, who ultimately was then charged.
“The prosecutor in that case would rather leave a person who at least participated in the murder and rape of an elderly woman out on the streets, than admit they may be wrong about Jamie Peterson.”
— Lindsey Graham (19:55)
Aftermath for the Wrongfully Convicted (26:48–28:08)
- Moran provides insight into life after exoneration: Some flourish (Richard Phillips, now artist), others face tremendous hardships—social, psychological, and economic.
- Highlights legislative efforts for compensation: Michigan now awards $50,000/year of wrongful incarceration.
Case Selection at the Michigan Innocence Clinic (28:08–30:33)
- Rigorous, multi-step vetting process—only about 1% of applications become cases.
- Many plausible innocence cases cannot proceed due to lack of new, admissible evidence.
“Many, many of the further investigation cases we’ve closed...we think the person is probably innocent. We just can’t prove it.”
— David Moran (30:33)
Limits and Transformative Power of DNA Evidence (22:02–24:07)
- DNA evidence transformed innocence work—but DNA is present in only a fraction of cases, and most wrongful convictions (about 10:1) are exonerated without DNA.
- Highlights the need for continued focus on non-DNA cases, as the same systemic flaws exist.
What to Do if You’re Falsely Accused (32:24–33:38)
- Clearly and repeatedly ask for a lawyer—never try to explain or defend yourself to police without counsel present.
“Say, I want a lawyer. I want a lawyer. I want a lawyer… Don’t try and do it yourself is my advice.”
— David Moran (32:41)
The Ongoing Need for Innocence Work (33:45–35:14)
- Despite advancements in forensic science and legal oversight, human error and systemic flaws ensure that wrongful convictions continue to occur.
- Innocence organizations are now a permanent and necessary fixture in addressing these miscarriages of justice.
“Unfortunately, this work will never end...there will always be a need for projects, clinics, organizations to do this kind of innocence work.”
— David Moran (33:45)
Notable Quotes
- On False Confessions:
“Just about anybody’s vulnerable to it... They panic under a relentless assault...eventually they cave.”
— David Moran (12:10) - On Systemic Inertia:
“The last thing that the police want to do after ‘solving’...a murder case is reopen and start over again.”
— David Moran (11:16) - On Public Pressure and Hysteria:
“You’re actually more likely to have wrongful conviction in a high profile case because of the pressure.”
— David Moran (13:26) - On Prosecutorial Resistance:
“They don’t want to know...They just did not want to have this conviction overturned.”
— David Moran (17:26) - On Moving Forward After Exoneration:
“Everyone is different... Many of them come out, they’ve lost contact with their families, they’ve lost contact with their communities. They don’t know what to do.”
— David Moran (26:48)
Memorable Moments & Timestamps
- Moran’s detailed case example paralleling West Memphis (Curtis Showers): 04:01–07:03
- Explosive story on coerced false confessions in Detroit: 13:26–15:41
- Discussion of legislative compensation for exonerees: 26:48–28:08
- Practical advice for innocent suspects about confessions: 32:41–33:38
Takeaways
- Wrongful convictions happen regularly due to tunnel vision, systemic inertia, external pressures, and flawed investigative tactics—not outright “evil.”
- False confessions are alarmingly common and can happen to anyone.
- DNA has been revolutionary but is not always available, and many problems exist in non-DNA cases.
- Justice system actors—prosecutors, police, judges—often resist revisiting old cases, even when compelling evidence emerges.
- The human and social cost of wrongful convictions is immense, making innocence work indispensable.
- Anyone entangled in the justice system must immediately request legal counsel to avoid devastating missteps.
For anyone who hasn’t listened, this episode is a revealing, at times infuriating look behind the scenes of wrongful convictions—what leads to them, how difficult they are to undo, and why persistent, evidence-driven advocacy still represents hope for the innocent.