Follow the Truth

In September 2022, Daniel Green had a hearing before Judge Winston Gilchrist. That day, Daniel fired his longtime attorney and proceeded to represent himself. At stake was whether the judge would grant an evidentiary hearing (the first step to a new trial).  More than a year later, Judge Gilchrist issues his ruling, all 97 pages of it.

The events that took place in Chester County, Pennsylvania in August 1978 were unthinkable. Family killing family. A father calling for the murder of his own son. For years The Johnston Gang got away with everything—theft, burglary, violence—until the brazen attacks of August 1978 crossed a line, and the family crime empire began to crumble. Host and writer Amanda Lamb shares her own memories of the murders and the trials that followed. Her father was the lead prosecutor who helped bring the killers to justice. A fictional account of The Johnston Gang’s downfall was portrayed in the 1986 movie “At Close Range,” but this is the real story of a violent family crime operation and the long task of bringing its leaders to justice.  You can listen to THE KILLING MONTH AUGUST 1978 ad-free and exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

In September, Daniel Green came to court, fired his attorney of more than six years, and made a 30-minute oral argument on his own behalf for an evidentiary hearing. It’s not the way anyone expected the court proceeding to go down, even Daniel. Finally, we were able to speak with Daniel from prison and get his take on what happened that day and why he chose to argue for his own freedom.     arv3bqmd

After nearly 3 decades in prison for the murder of Michael Jordan's father, Daniel Green finally has the chance to get a hearing that could lead to a new trial and even his freedom. But instead of letting his attorney of more than 6 years argue on his behalf, in the eleventh hour, he fires her and makes his own off-the-cuff argument in front of the judge. Spectators in court are stunned, fearing Green may have thrown away his last chance of coming home.

For Follow the Truth listeners, episode one of What Remains, the newest podcast from WRAL Studios and Amanda Lamb. More than twenty years ago, a newborn baby was found dead inside a garbage bag on the side of the road near a military base in North Carolina. The officers working to solve his murder called him Baby Michael, named for the patron saint of police. With no leads on who the baby was, or who his mother was, the mystery turned into a cold case – another unsolved murder – but investigators never gave up on Baby Michael.  Meet the incredible investigators who made it their mission to identify Baby Michael and find his killer, and learn how they tapped into an innovation in forensic science to crack a 21-year old cold case.  What Remains is the new podcast from WRAL Studios where we explore the science of matching unidentified human remains to the missing and the murdered. You can find it now in this podcast app. Wondery+ listeners can listen to all episodes now, ad-free.