From an extremely young age, Amanda Busse endured severe physical and sexual abuse, not only by her father, but also by her father’s friends, who were all feared by much of the community as they were rumoured to control the local drug trade. After her mother passed, Amanda’s father sold her to a 36 year old acquaintance of his, to be his wife. Amanda was 17 at the time. On November 15, 1997, a local woman was found brutally murdered in the Meramec River in MO. Amanda’s father, husband, and 3 others were initially arrested and charged. Her father’s charges were dropped and her husband received a life without parole sentence. It wasn’t until 5 or 6 years later that Amanda’s brother implicated her in the crime, as revenge for Amanda reporting him for molesting their young nieces. Amanda was convicted, and ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison. Maggie talks to Amanda Busse, Mary Payne, Amanda's aunt, and Anne Geraghty-Rathert, Amanda's attorney.

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Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts  in association with Signal Co. No1.