00:00:01 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, it's Maggie. If you're a fan of this show, then you know that I've dedicated my life to covering cases where people have been unfairly accused, charged, and convicted for crimes they did not commit. And this next case I'm about to tell you about is one like I've never heard before. In nineteen ninety eight, two men were separately charged for the death of a police officer, even though neither of them matched the single shooter's description. And then they were placed at the scene by two miners whose accounts of the events differed and who faced intimidation by investigators. And then after these men were cleared of charges, the state drummed up new evidence against one of them from a woman he'd never met, who was paid for her testimony, and none of this was disclosed to the jury. This is the case with twenty five year old to Forrest Johnson, who at this very moment sits on death row in an Alabama prison, charged with a crime his alibi say he could not have committed. On my new podcast Up and Vanish Weekly, I've teamed up with Paine Lindsay, the creator and host of the award winning podcast Up and vanished. Every Wednesday, we're covering missing persons, unsolf murders, and wrongful convictions because if the wrong person's in prison, then that case is not solved. Every week, a new case, every week, a fresh look at the details, evidence and theories. We've recently looked into DeForest Johnson's case and I have to tell you it is one that truly shakes me to my core, and I've seen a lot. Here's pain. With a sneak peek.

00:01:51 Speaker 2: In the morning hours of July nineteenth, nineteen ninety five, the streets of Birmingham are still At the Crown Sterling Sweet's Hotel, night manager Barry Rushikov makes his rounds, unaware of the knight's coming chaos. Inside, a security guard steps away from his post, leaving behind a warm coffee and a lit cigarette, signs of a routine night. Two gunshots cut through the silence. Barry rushes outside, his heart pounding. In the dim alley behind the hotel, he spots a figure on the ground. Blood pools beneath the man, and Barry recognizes him. It's the hotel's security guard, William bill Hardy, a twenty three year veteran of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. Hardy is barely clinging to life. Paramedics arrive and rush him to the hospital, their sirens fading into the night. As the city begins to stir, the pieces of a grim puzzle emerge. Witnesses report shadowy figures, speeding cars, in arguing voices in the dark. The questions are immediate, why did Hardy leave his post? And who would attack a police officer.

00:03:05 Speaker 1: This entire episode of Up and Vanish Weekly is available now and you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. So go right now and search Up and Vanish Weekly in your podcast app and follow the show. It would mean the world to me. Thanks y'all.