Advocacy: A Force for Accountability

For the first time ever, the Kansas City, Kansas police corruption scandal was examined on stage at the 2025 United Justice Coalition Summit on May 30th. In this powerful bonus episode, hear legal experts, advocates, and law enforcement voices unpack how decades of abuse were allowed to persist—and what accountability could look like. Recorded live during the UJC Summit's Corruption Uncovered panel, the discussion tackles sealed disciplinary records, weak oversight, and the systemic failures that kept survivors in silence. The conversation also explores concrete paths to justice—for the women who have come forward, and those still too afraid to speak. Moderated by James Blue, Executive Producer & Co-Founder of Storyboard Studios, the panel features Rich Rivera, Police Expert Witness; Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Executive Director of the Midwest Innocence Project; Barry Scheck, Co-Founder of the Innocence Project; and Quentin Templeton, Attorney at Fagan & Emert, L.L.C. Together, they shed light on the urgent need for transparency, reform, and accountability.

For the first time ever, the survivors of Roger Golubski's KCK police corruption scandal took the stage together at the 2025 United Justice Coalition Summit on May 30th. In this powerful bonus episode, hear the unfiltered voices of mothers, sisters, and daughters who have spent decades fighting for answers—and for justice. Recorded live during the UJC Summit's Corruption Uncovered panel, these women share heartbreaking stories of loss, resilience, and a relentless quest for the truth in a system built to keep them silent. Moderated by podcast host Josie Duffy-Rice, the panel features Michelle Houcks, Saundra Newsom, Niko L. Quinn, and Ophelia Williams. Their testimonies reveal the human cost of unchecked power—and the hope that comes from solidarity. Editor's Note: Ophelia Williams has four children, a girl and three boys. In 1999, her 14-year-old twins, Ronell and Donell, were charged with murder. Their 12-year-old brother was also brought in for questioning. The twins were convicted in 2000, and have been incarcerated since. They confessed to the killing without an attorney present, and Williams has since sought review of their conviction from the Wyandotte County DA's Conviction Integrity Unit.

The United Justice Coalition and Roc Nation are returning to New York City for the third UJC Summit, featuring Panel Discussions, Spotlight Conversations, Networking Opportunities, Local and National Charitable Organizations, and more! Convening leaders, advocates, and experts, the 2025 Summit will focus on identifying viable solutions to challenges within our criminal legal system and provide opportunities for attendees to take action. Join us on Friday, May 30, 2025, at The Shed in Hudson Yards (NYC) and stay tuned for more information!

Barry Scheck is no stranger to long fights for justice. As the co-founder and Special Counsel at the Innocence Project, he played a key role in exposing police corruption in KCK and bringing Roc Nation and the United Justice Coalition into the fight. In this bonus episode, he reflects on the progress made and the battles ahead. Plus, major updates from KCK: new revelations about Roger Golubski's death and a big shift in the civil case filed by five survivors of KCK police violence against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS.

Roger Golubski will never face trial. But accountability and systemic change in KCK are still possible. In episode 8, we examine what justice might look like, and what you can do to help make it a reality. We hear from Tamika Mallory, and Mysonne Linen, two of the founding members of Until Freedom. We also hear from Carmen Perez Jordan, who runs The Gathering for Justice, an organization founded by Harry Belafonte; Peggy Lowe, a journalist at KCUR, Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Executive Director of the Midwest Innocence Project, and Managing Director of Roc Nation's Team Roc, Dania Diaz.

Davilyn Dobbs, a mother of three sons, reveals how her life took a dark turn after working at the Sheriff's Department and hearing whispers of police corruption. Initially dismissing the rumors, everything changed when Detective Roger Golubski made an unthinkable proposition: sleep with him to protect her children. What followed was a chilling pattern of retaliation after Davilyn rejected his advances. In 2008, her son, Donnell Dobbs, was convicted of murder— a crime he insists he didn't commit. Davilyn believes her refusal to comply with Golubski led to Donnell being framed for a crime he had no part in. Nearly two decades later, she's still fighting for justice, sharing her painful story, and demanding accountability from those in power in Kansas City, Kansas. This episode also includes powerful insights from Dr. Nikia Smith Robert, Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Social Justice at the University of Kansas, and Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Executive Director of the Midwest Innocence Project, as they delve into the systemic issues of police misconduct, wrongful convictions, and the fight for justice.

For decades, the KCKPD has been mired in allegations of corruption—spanning drug dealing, burglary, and more. In the 1990s, a police chaplain bravely spoke out but was ignored. When silence became complicity, he walked away and joined MORE2, choosing integrity over acceptance. Decades later, his fight for justice remains unwavering. In episode 6 of Corruption Uncovered, we explore the courage of one man who refused to look the other way and the ongoing battle for transparency led by Team Roc as we confront the department's refusal to release critical documents. What's being hidden—and why? This episode features conversations with Rick Behrens, current Pastor at Grandview Park Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Former KCKPD Chaplain and Managing Director of Roc Nation's, Team Roc Dania Diaz.

Doniel Quinn was funny, and kind, and turning his life around. Until his gruesome 1994 murder, one that Roger Golubski allegedly pinned on the wrong man. His true killer was never charged, and the tragic impacts of Doniel's death have extended for generations.  In this episode, Doniel's mother Saundra Newsom remembers her son, and shares her quest for justice. And we talk to attorney Cheryl Pilate about the Blue Code of the KCKPD, and what, if anything, can happen to rebuild trust in a flawed system.

Dorothy Cooper's daughter Starr was only one when her mother went missing. Now, Starr is searching for answers from a police department that's known for dismissing the cases of missing and murdered Black women, and treating their families with indifference. This episode features conversations with Starr Cooper, Michelle McCormick, the Executive Director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence and attorney Cheryl Pilate.

Violet Martin is still rebuilding from the things that happened to her family in 1997, when her brother and cousin were sentenced to 25 years to life for a crime they did not commit. They say KCKPD Detective Roger Golubski set them up for murder. In this episode, we sit with Violet Martin, and hear from Lora McDonald, Executive Director of MORE2, about how the harm from Roger Golubski's actions is still being felt today.