What If They’re Wrong? After the Accusation

After charges against Elwood Jones were dismissed, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters—the former prosecutor who originally secured Jones’ conviction—went on talk radio insisting Jones was still guilty. The next day, phone records show Justice Deters had a 10-minute call with his former colleague, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco. Four days later, the coroner announced false forensic evidence about the victim—evidence that collapsed within 24 hours. Through phone logs, text messages, and public records obtained exclusively for this investigation, this episode reveals the coordination between a sitting justice, former prosecutors and county officials after the case was supposed to be closed.What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow What If They're Wrong? on Instagram and Facebook.Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich has dismissed all charges against Elwood Jones, ending a prosecution that sent him to Ohio’s death row for the 1994 murder of Rhoda Nathan. Pillich says a review of the case revealed no physical or forensic evidence tying Jones to the killing—and that modern testing and investigative failures left her office unable to proceed. In this update episode, we break down what the prosecutor said, why the case collapsed, and what it means when the state publicly says a man it once condemned is “excluded” as the killer.What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow What If They're Wrong? on Instagram and Facebook.Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

The Ohio Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited ruling in the Elwood Jones case. Spoiler alert: It didn’t go Jones’ way. But that decision may already be beside the point. In this update episode, we break down why the defense argues that prosecutors are legally barred from continuing the case at all. At the center of it all is the 1994 killing of Rhoda Nathan and a prosecution confronting the consequences of its own words. Jones, who spent decades on Ohio’s death row, is awaiting word on what the Hamilton County prosecutor plans to do next.What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow What If They're Wrong? on Instagram and Facebook.Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

Prosecutors once said a single piece of evidence — a gold pendant worn daily by murder victim Rhoda Nathan — was more damning than a fingerprint in pinning her death on suspect Elwood Jones. But a new appeals court ruling just blew a hole in their case, tossing out testimony from the officer who found that pendant in Jones’ car. The problem? He’s dead now, and Jones never got a fair shot at cross-examining him. We unpack what the ruling means, why it matters and what might happen next.What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow What If They're Wrong? on Instagram and Facebook.Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

An overturned conviction. A fight to reinstate it. The stakes couldn’t be higher.It’s been two years since journalist Amber Hunt updated the podcast world on the status of the case against Elwood Jones, an Ohio man who spent nearly 30 years on death row for a murder conviction that was overturned in late 2022. Judge Wende Cross said prosecutors had a “win at all costs mentality” and withheld nearly 4,000 investigatory documents that could have swayed jurors to acquit Jones.Since then, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office has seen a change in leadership, with a new top prosecutor who campaigned on promises of reform. Yet the office continues to pursue reinstatement of Jones’s conviction and recently argued before the Ohio Supreme Court.Amber and producer Amanda Rossmann originally reported this story in the fourth season of the award-winning podcast Accused, which they created while working for The Cincinnati Enquirer. In this new feed, they pick up where they left off—with new developments, exclusive interviews, and fresh analysis of the high-stakes oral arguments just heard by the state’s highest court.What If They're Wrong? After The Accusation is published early and ad-free for subscribers over at www.grabbagcollab.comFollow What If They're Wrong? on Instagram and Facebook.Follow Grab Bag Collab on Instagram and Facebook.

The creators of Accused are starting anew to bring you fresh investigations into cases authorities insist they’ve figured out. We’ll ask the most burning question. Welcome to What If They’re Wrong? After the AccusationSeason 1 coming in early fall 2025