Trial & Error

Episode 12: A Mother's Conviction - Cindy Adams Speaks

Recorded on the eve of Mother’s Day 2025, this conversation was never meant to remain unheard. Within weeks of this interview, a sequestration order — requested by the State under the representation that Cindy Adams and Dr. Katie Spirko would be called as witnesses (they were not) — prevented its release. Now, following the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing in Zach Adams’s post-conviction proceedings, we return to that conversation. For years, Cindy Adams has lived inside a narrative shaped by addiction, arrest, confession, and conviction. In this episode, she tells her own story — in her own words — and addresses what she believes the public has misunderstood.   Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of violent crime, including abduction, sexual assault, and homicide, as well as substance abuse and the long-term impact of incarceration on families. The material may be difficult for some listeners, particularly survivors of violence. Please listen with care.

Episode 11: Speak Truth to Power

With Zach Adams's post-conviction relief hearing over, Dr. Spirko is finally off her sequestration order and rejoining the podcast. In this episode, she brings you back to the Hardin County Courthouse in Savannah, TN, for attorney Doug Bates's closing statement before Judge Brent Bradberry.

Testimony of Jerry Gonzalez (08/14/25) in Zach Adams PCR trial - Holly Bobo case updates

Trial attorney and co-host Dana McLendon III provides recent court updates and takes you through the August 14, 2025, testimony of Jerry Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez provided a jaw-dropping account of his experiences as co-counsel for Zach Adams in the 2017 trial of Zach Adams for the 2011 kidnapping, assault, and murder of 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo from Darden, Tennessee.

Episode 10: The Alibi

This episode continues to delve into the heart-wrenching case of 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo, who was abducted from her family home on April 13, 2011. This heinous crime sparked the most expensive and exhaustive investigation in Tennessee’s history, yet justice has never been achieved. Three years after her disappearance, Holly’s skeletal remains were discovered in an area pinpointed by US Marshals Senior Investigator Johnny Walker, a master fugitive hunter. Despite the insights of Walker, TBI lead agent Terry Dicus, and FBI agent Art Viveros, all of whom identified convicted serial rapist Terry Britt as a prime suspect, these agents were removed from the investigation, and Britt was never charged. In a shocking twist, law enforcement named four innocent men as suspects, despite a complete lack of physical evidence linking them to the crime and verified alibis proving their innocence. The repercussions were devastating: one man took his own life after enduring years of harassment, while two others pled guilty to avoid the same fate as Zach Adams, the only man to face trial. Adams is now serving a life sentence without parole, while his brother Dylan is serving 35 years on an Alford plea. In this special video episode on YouTube (also available on all major streaming platforms in audio format), seasoned trial attorney Dana McLendon guides us through raw interview and testimony footage of the innocent brothers. With his professional better half, Dr. Katie Spirko, still under a gag order from state prosecutors, co-host Dana reveals these men's alibis from that fateful day and exposes evidence that has been hidden for over a decade corroborating their accounts. Join us to explore one of the most disturbing examples of false confessions and coerced witness testimony in American history.   Watch here for full video experience:  https://youtu.be/9OZFzr2Sf_I

Episode 9: Suborning Perjury - Victor Dinsmore Is Told What He Remembers

As Dr. Katie Spirko remains under a court-imposed sequestration order, join co-host Dana McLendon on the latest episode of the Trial & Error podcast. This episode peels back the curtain to expose the questionable investigation and interrogation tactics underlying the testimony of another key witness in the 2017 State of Tennessee vs Zach Adams trial: Victor Dinsmore. Join Dana in examining raw audio footage of Victor Dinsmore's multiple conversations with TBI Special Agent Brent Booth and retired Memphis cop Dennis Benjamin, highlighting how Victor's testimony was shaped by suggestive questioning and unfair intimidation efforts.