On January 14, 2009, sixteen-month-old Benjamin Kingan died after being in daycare at a suburb outside of Chicago, IL. Despite no physical signs of abuse or injury, police took 22-year-old Melissa Calusinski, an employee at the daycare, in for extensive questioning. Melissa repeatedly told officers she had nothing to do with the baby’s death, but after nine hours of interrogation, she falsely confessed to throwing the baby on the ground. The state relied on the later disproven theory that Benjamin died from a skull fracture, junk science testimony from medical professionals, and Melissa’s false confession to sentence her to 31 years in prison for first-degree murder.

Write your letters of support for Melissa’s clemency petition to IL Governor Pritzker and send to:

attorneys@zellnerlawoffices.com

Letters are due by 7/8/2024

https://www.kathleentzellner.com/melissa-calusinski

https://www.facebook.com/groups/740709216037007/

We started the Wrongful Conviction podcast to provide a voice to innocent people in prison. 
We want to hear your voices, too.
So call us at 833-207-4666 and leave us a message.
Tell us how these powerful, often tragic and sometimes triumphant, stories make you feel.  
Shocked?
Inspired?  
Motivated?
We want to know! 
We may even include your story in a future episode.
And hey, the more of you that join in, the more power our collective voices will have.
So tell a friend to listen and to call us too at 833-207-4666

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

On January 14, 2009, sixteen-month-old Benjamin Kingan died after being in daycare at a suburb outside of Chicago, IL. Despite no physical signs of abuse or injury, police took 22-year-old Melissa Calusinski, an employee at the daycare, in for extensive questioning. Melissa repeatedly told officers she had nothing to do with the baby’s death, but after nine hours of interrogation, she falsely confessed to throwing the baby on the ground. The state relied on the later disproven theory that Benjamin died from a skull fracture, junk science testimony from medical professionals, and Melissa’s false confession to sentence her to 31 years in prison for first-degree murder.
Write your letters of support for Melissa’s clemency petition to IL Governor Pritzker and send to:
attorneys@zellnerlawoffices.com
Letters are due by 7/8/2024
<a href="https://www.kathleentzellner.com/melissa-calusinski">https://www.kathleentzellner.com/melissa-calusinski</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/740709216037007/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/740709216037007/</a>
We started the Wrongful Conviction podcast to provide a voice to innocent people in prison. We want to hear your voices, too. So call us at 833-207-4666 and leave us a message. Tell us how these powerful, often tragic and sometimes triumphant, stories make you feel.  Shocked? Inspired?  Motivated? We want to know! We may even include your story in a future episode. And hey, the more of you that join in, the more power our collective voices will have. So tell a friend to listen and to call us too at 833-207-4666
Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and podcast host Lauren Bright Pacheco, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and podcast host Lauren Bright Pacheco, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

Wrongful Conviction

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, and Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, and Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

#459 Jason Flom with Melissa Calusinski

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/784dc83e-32e3-4748-b53f-b19c00412b72/transcript

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