Lava for Good Welcomes Lauren Bright Pacheco to Host New Season of ‘Wrongful Conviction’

Lava for Good’s acclaimed podcast series, Wrongful Conviction, welcomes Lauren Bright Pacheco to host a new ten-episode season launching today. Pacheco will present new episodes each Monday, alternating with Lava for Good co-founder Jason Flom, who will host episodes every Thursday.

An Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and host known for her work in true crime podcasting, Pacheco has co-hosted, narrated, and produced acclaimed podcasts such as Happy Face, Murder in Oregon, Murder in Illinois, Murder in Miami, as well as Symptomatic: A Medical Mystery Podcast, which recently took home the iHeart Podcast Award for Best Branded Podcast.

Pacheco’s Wrongful Conviction episodes showcase the unsung heroes behind the wrongful conviction stories: the friends and family members who show up every day in any way possible — sending letters, getting signatures on petitions, traveling for hours and sometimes days just for a brief visit with their loved ones, and putting their cases on the radars of innocence projects, the media, and anyone who can help.

This season features inspiring stories of tragedy and perseverance like the Georgia case of Michelle Morrison, who, in a tragic turn of events that put her in the wrong place at the wrong time, was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Pacheco highlights the journey of Michelle’s biggest hero — her mother, Cynthia, who turned the nightmare of her daughter’s wrongful incarceration into purpose and her purpose into passion, fighting for greater oversight of sentencing. In August 2022, Michelle was the first woman to be released following an investigation of the case by the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit — a division launched in 2019 following Cynthia’s tireless advocacy.

This season also reveals the aftermath that often follows exonerations, even in the rare instances where the exoneree wins compensation for their wrongful conviction. In a stunning two-part interview, Pacheco explores the harrowing story of Alan Beaman — a wrongfully convicted Illinois man who spent 13 years in prison before he was exonerated and awarded $5.4 million in compensation. In his interview with Pacheco, Beaman reveals the crushing stigma and fear that follows him, impacting his family and his daily life even after his name has been cleared.

“When the system decides that someone is guilty, then they’re on a fast track to conviction. But when the system gets called out for making mistakes, it reverses like a frozen slug; the process takes years and even decades,” says Pacheco. “The lawyers and innocence projects are so helpful in reversing the stuck wheels of justice, but what I’m really leaning heavily into this season is that emotional connection between the wrongfully convicted person and their personal hero — that personal champion who is able to turn their anger and their frustration and pain into purpose on behalf of the wrongfully convicted person.”

Flom, whose decades of reform work and innocence advocacy were recently celebrated by iHeart’s Social Impact Icon Award, adds, “Lauren’s passion for justice and her extraordinary ability to captivate audiences with her unique brand of storytelling make her an invaluable addition to the Lava team. Her dedication to justice reform is commendable and essential in our ongoing efforts to challenge and change a criminal legal system that is sorely lacking in justice."

Listeners can tune into the new episodes of Wrongful Conviction at www.lavaforgood.com and on all major podcast streaming platforms. For early access to episodes and an ad-free experience, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.