After a long absence, I am back with a brand new episode for my listeners. I was joined by journalists John Duffy and Ray Nowosielski. We discussed their new podcast series “After the Uprising: The Death of Danyé Dion Jones,” which takes on the mysterious death of Danyé, a young black activist, who was found hanging from a tree outside of his home in St Louis, Missouri. Danyé’s death was ruled a suicide by St Louis county. However, his mother Melissa McKinnies, a prominent activist in Missouri, believed that this was a lynching connected to her activist work. We discussed the circumstances surrounding the death, touching on many suspicious aspects that were overlooked by the police and the coroner’s office. We discussed key evidence that was overlooked, such as two DNA samples found on the noose. We also explored the circumstances leading up to Danyé’s death. We talked about the targeting of other black activists by the local police. We also touched on the lead detective on the case and issues of internalized racism within the police. We finished off the conversation by discussing the true crime genre and its serious blind spots when it comes to the murder of non-white individuals.
Filmmaker Brian Heiss and legendary private investigator Pat McKenna joined me for one final on the OJ Simpson case and trial. We talked mainly about the scientific side of the investigation. We talked about the LAPD’s Scientific Investigation Division which was in charge of all of the DNA evidence. Brian touched on the SID’s incredibly unprofessional and sloppy techniques. We talked about the incredibly high crime rate at the time in LA and the intense pressure the SID was under to deliver results. Pat and Brian focused on criminalists Dennis Fung, Collin Yamauchi, Andrea Mazzola, and Michelle Kessler. We talked about how they routinely contaminated and degraded key pieces of DNA evidence from the beginning of the investigation on June 13, 1994. We also talked about the larger impact that the SID had on the thousands of people sent to jail based on their erroneous tests. Later we talked about the the state of the criminal justice system and the long road ahead towards real reform.
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