THE TRAGEDY OF A WRONGFUL CONVICTION – CHARLIE GRAHAM’S STORY

On our show for January 3, 2022, we will replay our 4/19/21 show when host Jeff Humfeld spoke with Ricky Kidd of, I am Resilience, about the tragedy of a wrongful conviction – Charlie Graham’s story.

There is a growing realization amongst the ranks of law enforcement and the public as well that the war on drugs has been a failure. This edition of Jaws of Jaws Radio highlights a case that is so outlandish as to be almost unbelievable and very much a product of the excesses of the war on drugs and the distribution of confiscated drug money to law enforcement. The destruction of Charlie Graham and his family is in many ways more impactful than the high-profile cases we see on the nightly news to fuel distrust of government and the police.

Charlie Graham is one of those blue-collar type guys who started working at a young age and found success through hard work. He grew up in a family business and grew that business all the while he was starting new enterprises. Everything started to unravel when one of his rental properties was used by David Alexander, an employee/renter who joined up with Michael Duncan, a drug dealer, to manufacture Meth on a property Charlie owned. The manufacturing process went wrong and the resulting explosion killed David Alexander and injured Michael Duncan. Michael Duncan insisted in his trial for manufacturing Meth that David Alexander was the only other person involved and that Charlie was not involved.

It was almost a year later that DEA/Police detective James Wingo started his pursuit of Charlie Graham trying to recover the money from Michael Duncan’s drug enterprise. The harassment of Charlie’s family included attempts to turn his wife, Robin, against him, trying to get her to plant drugs in Charlie’s truck, numerous break ins to her home, numerous car chases and confiscations of vehicles, and even an incident where Charlie and Robin were shot at while sitting in his truck outside her house. Never once was a search warrant presented to Charlie or Robin. These officers also harassed Charlie’s mother in much the same way as they did his wife.

When Charlie was finally charged, he had difficulty finding counsel that would take the case, even being told by one lawyer that if he took the case, he would never practice law in MO again. Once Charlie did obtain counsel not only was a continuance denied but the trial was begun immediately even though it was not on that day’s docket. Charlie continued to profess his innocence and work on his case while incarcerated. After twenty-three years he finally was scheduled to come before a judge to have his petition heard, a judge that insisted he be present in court for the hearing. This is where the story ends.

Guest Host Ricky Kidd is a motivational speaker that has made it his mission to educate the public, students, and those in the judicial system of the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions and start dialogues about how to fix the problem. You can find him at the website below as well as where to find more of the interviews from Freedom Lap 2020.

I Am Resilience

Website – https://www.resiliencemode.com/

FB page – https://www.facebook.com/ResilienceMode

Freedom Lap 2020 interviews can be found by entering Freedom Lap 2020 into the Face Book search box.

Tune in to hear her story of tragedy, healing & advocacy. We hope you can listen.  TUNE IN TO KKFI 90.1 FM https://kkfi.org/listen/

On Jaws of Justice, we investigate how to achieve justice in America.

Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.

Calendar for the week of January 3rd:

If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, you can find a vaccine. See the FAQS at https://www.kcmo.gov

• Legal Aid of Western Missouri can provide free legal assistance to low-income and vulnerable Jackson County homeowners who fall behind on their payments and face foreclosure. Interested individuals can call 816-474-6750 to apply.
• You can find Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense events at org. Open to all, Mothers and others!
• MON, Jan. 3rd, noon, No More Excuses Coalition Meeting at the Mohart Center Auditorium, 3200 Wayne, KCMO.
• MON, Jan. 3rd, 3 PM, Online event. Monday Meets, get to know the Willow Domestic Violence Center. Facebook Live
• MON, Jan. 3rd, 6:45 PM KCCJTF has been meeting via conference call if you would like to join in, you can call 605-313-5573 and when asked for code then enter 454777
• TUES, Jan. 4th, 6:30 PM Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) KC Chapter is holding their monthly meeting on Zoom. Contact Bob at mailto:[email protected] for more info.
• FRI, Jan. 7th, 11 AM, Empower Missouri’s Criminal Justice Coalition Committee is an online call. More info at https://empowermissouri.org/events/
• A list of services, meals, and hot lines are available at lawrenceprogressivecalendar.blogspot.com. It is updated daily.

Please take care of yourselves and others. Thanks to all our listeners, stay close to your dial and stay well!

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