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A local journalist’s point of view on convictions in Brevard County

April 19, 2020 / 02:14

This episode discusses Crosley Greene's case, wrongful convictions, and the culture of corruption in Brevard County, Florida. John Torres, a columnist and podcast creator, highlights issues with evidence and investigations.

Torres explains that Greene's case reflects a pattern of questionable arrests and convictions in Brevard County, where individuals like William Dylan were targeted despite weak evidence. He mentions the use of unreliable dog handlers and jailhouse informants.

The conversation touches on the broader implications of these cases, including the overturning of wrongful convictions based on DNA evidence and the flawed reliance on dog evidence, which was deemed junk science.

Torres provides context about the late 1980s in Brevard County, emphasizing the initial trust in law enforcement and the gradual realization of systemic issues as more cases emerged.

The episode highlights the importance of scrutinizing past convictions and the need for justice in cases like Greene's.

TLDR

John Torres discusses Crosley Greene's wrongful conviction and systemic issues in Brevard County's criminal justice system.

Episode

2:14
00:00:02
I'm John Torres I'm a columnist for Florida State newspaper and the creator of the podcast Murder on the Space Coast
00:00:08
you're right now working on Crosley Greene's case why why this case it has all the elements that we have been
00:00:16
talking about on the podcast for years and years about Brevard County and troublesome incarceration arrests and
00:00:25
convictions where people like Crosley Greene were arrested and tried with seemingly very little evidence in these
00:00:34
cases your own paper called this period of time in Brevard County culture of corruption what do you mean by that well
00:00:44
it just seemed like investigations weren't really followed through I mean a perfect example is the William Dylan
00:00:49
case he was a high school dropout he had a previous arrest just an easy target he
00:00:56
was going nowhere and you know he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and so it was just pinned on him and
00:01:02
what they used was a dog handler who was proven to be a fraud later on and jailhouse informants who were given
00:01:09
deals to say that he confessed to me seems like the same formula and all these it's the same exact formula but
00:01:17
how unusual is that how many have these cases real questionable cases from that period of time I think it's highly
00:01:24
unusual with the podcast we have done the cases of will and edge William Dylan Juan Ramos you have three overturns to
00:01:32
by DNA won by a second jury trial when the dog evidence could not be introduced that was Juan Ramos who was also
00:01:38
sentenced to die the Florida Supreme Court overturned it because it called the dog junk science and unproven
00:01:44
I mean describe Brevard County Mims Titusville in the late 1980s is their way of putting this in context I think
00:01:57
that back then especially we want to believe police officers we want to believe prosecutors we want to believe
00:02:02
the victims of crimes it wasn't until years later when all these other cases began to come out of Brevard County that
00:02:09
we saw well gee I mean this happens a lot

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Episode Highlights

  • Crosley Greene's Case
    John Torres discusses the troubling elements of Crosley Greene's case and its implications.
    “This case has all the elements we've been talking about for years.”
    @ 00m 11s
    April 19, 2020
  • Culture of Corruption
    The period in Brevard County was marked by questionable investigations and wrongful convictions.
    “Your own paper called this period a culture of corruption.”
    @ 00m 38s
    April 19, 2020
  • Wrongful Convictions
    John Torres highlights the pattern of wrongful convictions in Brevard County during the 1980s.
    “It was just pinned on him.”
    @ 01m 00s
    April 19, 2020

Episode Quotes

  • This case has all the elements we've been talking about for years.
    A local journalist’s point of view on convictions in Brevard County
  • It was just pinned on him.
    A local journalist’s point of view on convictions in Brevard County
  • We want to believe police officers and prosecutors.
    A local journalist’s point of view on convictions in Brevard County

Key Moments

  • Crosley Greene00:11
  • Culture of Corruption00:38
  • Wrongful Convictions01:00
  • Trust in Law Enforcement01:57

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