Everything They Missed

Season 1, Episode 6: "The Years"

Host: Stephanie Tinsley
Date: October 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this emotionally charged episode, host Stephanie Tinsley takes listeners deep inside the family at the center of the Danny Harris murder case and the struggle to exonerate Andrew “Wayne” Hayes—convicted, despite strong doubts about his guilt. The episode blends legal updates, powerful family testimony, and a riveting search for crucial witnesses, with Stephanie and her team pushing for answers that could change everything.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Humanizing the miscarriage of justice: By introducing Flora Hayes (Andrew's mother), Andrew’s son Tamarion, and the rest of the family, Stephanie seeks to show the lasting, generational pain left by a wrongful conviction.
• Legal dead ends and hope: The episode details the latest failed legal appeal and the high barriers to proving innocence post-conviction.
• Relentless investigation: Stephanie and a private investigator pursue new witnesses, especially the elusive Sarah Lucas, whose confession could be a game-changer.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Appeal Denied – The Legal Wall

• Recap of Andrew's Legal Hurdles

  • Jason Gishner, Andrew's defense attorney, recounts submitting the PCECN packet to court—with all the “new” evidence—only to have Judge Poliskane deny a hearing outright on November 15, 2024.
    • “She never even let us come to court and talk about it.” (Jason Gishner, 02:11)
    • “This is the first time in Shelby County a judge has ever not let us have a hearing.” (Jason Gishner, 02:30)

• Why Was It Denied?

  • Legal analyst Noah Pines explains: despite new affidavits and family claims, the court found the “new” evidence simply cumulative—not enough to meet the strict standard for post-conviction relief.
    • “The Innocence Project would have to show clear and convincing evidence that Andrew's innocent. And that's a hard burden. Not just that he could be innocent...” (Noah Pines, 22:03)

2. Flora Hayes & Family: Bearing the Weight

• A Family’s Story

  • Stephanie visits Flora’s home in Frazier, Memphis. The house is full, the air heavy—Flora commands the family’s attention as she recounts Andrew’s early life and the moment he was arrested.

• Flora’s Perspective

  • Flora describes Andrew’s struggles with a learning disability and how he was pressured into confessing:
    • “He just said some stuff to satisfy them.” (Flora Hayes, 09:16)
  • The pain of hearing the guilty verdict:
    • “That knocked soul out of me. My whole world just dropped.” (Flora Hayes, 10:21)
  • Desperation for the real killer to come forward:
    • “Just turn yourself in. Cuz I miss. I miss my son. I just turned 59. My son been gone. Took 18 years.” (Flora Hayes, 11:03)

• Generational Pain: Tamarion’s Voice

  • Andrew’s son, Tamarion, now almost 19, breaks down:
    • “I haven't had a real father figure... My mom, she tried, but she can't do it all. I never seen him. I don't know him. I never seen him.” (Tamarion Hayes, 14:27)
    • On the domino effect: “If my dad was here, I wouldn't be doing just the stuff I'm doing now… It'd be different.” (Tamarion Hayes, 16:36)

3. Back to Court—A Final Shot at Appeal

• Inside the Tennessee State Court of Appeals
  • Jason Gishner pleads to the panel for a hearing, citing multiple new witnesses who heard Sarah Lucas confess.
    • “We are not asking you to turn him loose or overturn this conviction. All we're saying is that there is a mountain of evidence in this case that the wrong person is in prison and he can't even get a day in court.” (Jason Gishner, 27:11)
  • Judges appear unswayed, repeatedly questioning what is truly new.
    • “This is all basically cumulative of what mother testified to at trial.” (Judge, 26:15)
  • Afterward, the Hayes family and Stephanie are left devastated, feeling the system's inertia.
    • “Unfortunately, no one said it outright, but I could feel it. We might have just seen the moment that decides everything.” (Stephanie Tinsley, 29:38)

4. Relentless Investigation – Private Eye Q Joins the Case

• Digging Up New Leads

  • PI “Q” is hired to find and possibly coax a confession from Sarah Lucas, believed to be the real killer.
    • “If Sarah's the interest in missing peace...I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna get her.” (Q, 35:46)
  • The PI scours addresses, interviews Gary Rydell’s sister, and navigates a tangled web of family and friends in Duncan, Oklahoma.

• Sarah Lucas: A Fading Chance

  • Reports emerge that Sarah is ill and hospitalized—possibly near death and potentially ready for a confession.
    • “What if Sarah is so bad off she wants to make a deathbed confession? The window is closing.” (Stephanie Tinsley, 38:08)

5. Cliffhanger Ending & Teasers for What’s Next

• A Pause, But Not the End

  • The episode concludes with the search for Sarah coming to a critical point. Stephanie teases upcoming major developments:
    • “What I can say for certain is that what's coming next might just change everything.” (Stephanie Tinsley, 39:17)

• A Shocking Message

  • Just as hope seems lost, Stephanie hints at a message that shakes the case:
    • “This message flips the entire case on its head. I can't even believe this is happening.” (Stephanie Tinsley, 41:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You really hurt this family… Just turn yourself in. Cuz I miss my son.... My son’s been gone 18 years.”
  — Flora Hayes, 11:03

• “I don't know what my father look like... I haven't seen him. I don't know him.”
  — Tamarion Hayes, 14:27

• “We are not asking you to turn him loose or overturn this conviction. All we're saying is that there is a mountain of evidence in this case that the wrong person is in prison and he can't even get a day in court. That shouldn't be where we are.”
  — Jason Gishner, 27:11

• “It’s almost impossible. I mean, that's the reality, is this is almost impossible.”
  — Noah Pines (defense attorney), 23:14

• “If Sarah’s the missing piece, I’m gonna find her. I’m gonna get her.”
  — Q, 35:46

• “What if Sarah is so bad off she wants to make a deathbed confession? The window is closing.”
  — Stephanie Tinsley, 38:08

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Content Summary | |----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:00 | Stephanie’s disclaimer on presumption of innocence | | 02:11 | Jason Gishner discusses the unprecedented denial | | 05:58 | Flora Hayes shares early memories and Andrew’s learning difficulties | | 09:16 | Flora on Andrew’s coerced confession | | 10:21 | Flora describes the impact of the guilty verdict | | 14:27 | Tamarion Hayes describes impact of losing his father | | 22:03 | Noah Pines explains legal technicalities and near-impossible burden | | 24:19 | Court of Appeals hearing begins | | 27:11 | Jason Gishner’s passionate closing argument to the judges | | 33:19 | PI Q is introduced; the plan to find Sarah Lucas | | 36:14 | Q hunts for Sarah in Oklahoma | | 38:08 | Revelation about Sarah's health and urgency of a possible confession | | 41:09 | Cliffhanger hint at game-changing information |

Tone and Language

Stephanie maintains an urgent, empathetic, and candid tone, blending investigative grit with genuine compassion for the Hayes family. The language is direct and personal, amplifying the voices of those most affected.

Flow & Structure

• Begins with an update on the failed legal path, setting up why new evidence is needed.
• Humanizes the case through the Hayes family’s testimony, especially Flora and Tamarion’s raw pain.
• Brings tension and momentum as the investigation shifts towards the search for Sarah.
• Leaves off on a suspenseful, unresolved note, setting the stage for explosive revelations in future episodes.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode moves beyond true crime procedural or legal minutiae into a riveting, emotional exploration of the personal cost of injustice and the slow, resistant machinery of the courts. It’s about family, pain, and hope clinging to life under impossible odds—with the promise that, despite everything missed, the truth may yet come out.