Bone Valley

Messy

39 min
Feb 4, 20262 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Earwitness investigates Violet Ellison, the star witness whose testimony convicted Taforist Johnson to death row for a 1995 deputy murder. Through extensive reporting, the hosts uncover that Ellison testified in at least five criminal cases, received a $5,000 reward she claimed not to know about, and has a documented pattern of dishonesty and selective witnessing to protect her drug-addicted son.

Insights
  • Witness credibility is foundational to criminal convictions; undisclosed financial incentives and patterns of dishonesty can undermine entire cases and lead to wrongful convictions
  • Family members and community sources often provide critical context about witness reliability that may not appear in official court records or be discoverable through standard legal processes
  • Systemic issues in criminal justice can incentivize witnesses to participate in multiple cases, raising questions about whether financial rewards or other benefits create perverse motivations
  • Prosecutors' characterization of witnesses at trial may not reflect their actual reputation or behavior patterns in the broader community, suggesting need for independent credibility verification
  • Procedural gaps exist in how courts handle witness incentives; misfiled documents and lack of transparency about rewards can prevent juries from making fully informed credibility assessments
Trends
Wrongful conviction investigations increasingly focus on witness credibility rather than DNA or forensic evidenceCommunity-based investigative reporting is uncovering systemic patterns in criminal justice that institutional oversight missesFinancial incentives for witness testimony create undisclosed conflicts of interest that may influence testimony reliabilityFamily members and relatives are becoming key sources for assessing witness credibility and identifying patterns of dishonestyDeath row cases are being reopened based on witness credibility challenges rather than new exculpatory evidenceProsecutors are increasingly willing to reconsider convictions they secured when presented with credibility evidence about key witnessesCourt record databases are enabling independent researchers to identify patterns of witness involvement across multiple casesSelective witnessing and differential treatment based on family relationships is emerging as a factor in witness reliability assessments
Topics
Witness Credibility and Reliability in Criminal TrialsWrongful Convictions and Death Row CasesFinancial Incentives for Witness TestimonyProsecutorial Misconduct and Witness MischaracterizationCriminal Justice System AccountabilityInvestigative Journalism and Cold Case ReviewUndisclosed Rewards and Witness BiasFamily Dynamics and Criminal Justice InvolvementCourt Record Transparency and Public AccessDeath Penalty and Conviction ReviewWitness Pattern Analysis Across Multiple CasesCommunity Investigation and Source DevelopmentProtective Orders and Domestic Violence CasesDrug Addiction and Family Criminal PatternsJudicial Discretion in Sentencing and Plea Deals
Companies
iHeartRadio
Podcast distribution platform hosting Earwitness and other true crime shows mentioned in the episode
Apple Podcasts
Podcast platform where Earwitness and related shows are available for listening
Lava for Good Podcasts
Production company that produces Earwitness in association with Signal Company Number One
Signal Company Number One
Production partner with Lava for Good on the Earwitness podcast series
People
Taforist Johnson
Death row inmate convicted based on Violet Ellison's testimony for 1995 deputy murder; maintains innocence
Violet Ellison
Star witness in Taforist Johnson case and at least four other criminal cases; received $5,000 reward
Beth Shelburne
Host and investigative reporter for Earwitness podcast; conducted extensive investigation into Violet Ellison
Mara McNamara
Co-investigator and producer on Earwitness; conducted field reporting and interviews with sources
Marika Wilson
Falsely accused of attempted murder in 1997; testified against by Violet Ellison; acquitted by jury
Deputy Hardy
Police officer murdered in 1995; Taforist Johnson convicted of murder based on Ellison's testimony
Reginald Smith (Red)
Violet Ellison's son; drug user with extensive criminal record; subject of mother's protective behavior
George Holloway
Domestic violence defendant who pleaded guilty; testified against by Violet Ellison; questioned her credibility
Bishop James Johnson
Church pastor accused of inappropriate conduct; charges dropped; claims Violet Ellison fabricated allegations
Thais Davis
Violet Ellison's granddaughter; described grandmother as money-hungry and untrustworthy
Tony Davis
Violet Ellison's grandson; described grandmother as scam artist and characterized her as Bonnie and Clyde with son
Anita Davis
Mother of Thais and Tony; victim of assault by Red; moved family to Georgia to escape chaos
Jeff Wallace
Original prosecutor in Taforist Johnson case; now believes Johnson deserves new trial after 20 years
Ty Alper
Member of Taforist Johnson's legal defense team; received communication from prosecutor Jeff Wallace
Quotes
"She's not a reliable person that you would trust, that you would put your faith in. And I would tell anybody, whatever you have to say, do not say it in front of her because it's going to get turned totally backwards."
George Holloway
"She would do anything possible, anything, and go to any extent to keep her son out of trouble."
George Holloway
"I hate that man going through that. I really hate that. The end and the end is to the point. It's a chance he can lose his life for five thousand dollars."
Tony Davis
"That's a true scam artist. That's a true, I hate to say it, I know that's my grandma, but that's a true scam all the time. Any way she can get a dollar, telling her she ain't that tight that's just gonna help somebody just to help them."
Tony Davis
"Without her, without her credibility, there is no case against Taforist Johnson."
Beth Shelburne
Full Transcript
I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpwright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. faithfuls and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today. I'm Investigator Slater, host of the Psychopedia True Crime Podcast. Spooky season is officially here, and for the entire month of October, we are transforming into Spookopedia. All episodes, including bonus content, will delve into true crime with a dark twist, blending the spooky, creepy, gory, and the haunted. No matter the story we cover by the end of each episode, you are going to feel it. Make sure to follow and listen to Psychopedia everywhere you get your podcasts. Last time on Earwitness. We knew the reward was offered because it was all over the papers. But we didn't know who got it or if Violet Ellison got it. She was a very credible witness. We believed her. Obviously, we believed her because we convicted him, and it was on her testimony. When I showed up at her house, she said, I didn't get a reward. I was like, oh, well, that's funny. I was like, I have some paperwork here that says you got a reward. We got an email that said we found these documents. They had been misfiled, and here they are. does that sound strange to you or do you have any idea how that could have happened? The AG's office, if they said it got misfiled, then I guess it got misfiled. Human error, I guess. I don't know. Do you think that your impression of her would have been different had you known she was being paid $5,000? I definitely believe we would have, as a jury, talked about that. Like, how credible is this testimony? She's being paid for it. Like, I had never been in trouble a day in my life ever before then. I'm going to jail. I've never been in jail a day in my life ever, ever, ever. Never had gotten any trouble, anything. I'm sitting on the couch in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Birmingham. It's warm outside. The door is open to let in a breeze. I'm talking with Marika Wilson, who's telling me and my producer Mara about a defining experience of her life, being charged with attempted murder in 1997 when she was 20 years old, a crime she did not commit. The crime happened late at night when one woman and two men tried to rob a man in Birmingham. They broke into his house and shot him. He almost died. Marika was accused of being the woman who participated in the crime, but she says she wasn't there. It was someone else. I wouldn't take no plea deal. They offered me 22 years of my life for something that I didn't even do. And I said, no, I fought to the bitter end. A jury found Marika not guilty, but the ordeal left lifelong scars. It has still just bothered me all these years about what I went through. You know what I'm saying? Every time I applied for a job, even though I was a quitty, I couldn't get a job, a decent job to take care of my kids. I lost my place. I didn't have a shirt to put on my back then. I lost custody of my kids behind that. I was up against all type of odds in that situation, something that I didn't even do. But she, um, she, yeah, that woman did get up there and say she seen me. The woman Marika is referring to is the witness who testified against her, a neighbor of the victim, who said she'd seen the crime unfold from her living room window at 2 a.m. She told the jury she saw Marika and two other people break down the victim's door and assault him. The woman's name? Violet Ellison. So, do you remember Violet Ellison? Mm-hmm. I remember her getting up there saying she's seeing me through the window. She was wrong. She was wrong. Yes, ma'am. It wasn't me. They discredit her at my trial. They made her look horrible. I remember her. Like she just got up there and pointed at me. Marika's attorneys showed the jury that Violet Ellison's view from her living room window was blocked by a tree. There was no possible way she could have seen Marika or anyone else on her neighbor's porch. So she was a big part of the case against you. And she lied under oath. Literally, literally lied under oath. Violet Ellison testified against Marika less than four months after she served as the star witness against Taforist Johnson. Their trials happened in the same year, in the same courthouse, prosecuted by the same DA's office. In both cases, Violet Ellison knew the victim, spoke to detectives, and became a lead witness. Mara and I find ourselves in Marika Wilson's living room a few weeks after I made a lucky discovery in Alabama's database of online court records. One afternoon, I'm sitting in my office, poking around in the database. It's a clunky website with all these different drop-down menus. I'm running searches on Violet Ellison's name, trying her name in a bunch of different ways, getting the same results. When all of a sudden, I hit enter and, bloop, a new list pops up. Criminal cases all naming Violet Ellison as a state's witness. So in addition to Tafora's case, I discover that Violet Ellison has been a witness for the state in four other criminal cases. Marika Wilson was the first person that we tracked down who Violet Ellison had testified against. When I first called Marika, I told her about the four other cases Violet was involved in as a witness. Right, we know of five different criminal cases. Is these folks convicted because of her? Several of them, yeah. Oh, wow. Wow. Oh, man, y'all need to help them people. Because she's not credible. I said that to my husband about that woman. I said, baby, is that this woman done been involved in several cases? Like, is she on their payroll or something? It just sounded like something crooked going on with me, because how does she keep popping up in all these serious cases and being witnesses? Like, that don't sound right. I'm sorry. It doesn't. Wow. And that boy on death row because of this lady. Oh, wow. There's something going on with that, y'all. In order to believe in Teforist Johnson's conviction, you have to believe that Violet Ellison was truthful when she said that she overheard Teforist talk about killing Deputy Hardy. That she wasn't after the reward money because she didn't know about it. You have to believe that Violet Ellison is credible. So we need to know everything we can about Violet Ellison, because without her, without her credibility, there is no case against Taforist Johnson. Do you hear my madness? Laughter hides my fears Sorrow's depths are endless In this valley of tears I want to see your revelation I want to know who you are I'm reaching out in desperation to the one who's holding the stars. To the one who's holding the stars. I Beth Shelburne This is Earwitness Chapter 7 Messy I Nancy Glass host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun, tells me to lie down on the ground. He identified Jermaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Jermaine was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only two people knew the truth. until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Wells Adams with By Order of the Faithfuls podcast alongside my fellow faithfuls and co-hosts Tamara Judge and Dolores Catania. The three of us have been watching this season of The Traitors, and we've been inside that castle. So we have insight unlike many others. This season of The Traitors may be the best we've ever seen. Listen to by Order of the Faithfuls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Investigator Slater, host of the Psychopedia True Crime Podcast. Spooky season is officially here, and for the entire month of October, we are transforming into Spookopedia. All episodes, including bonus content, will delve into true crime with a dark twist, blending the spooky, creepy, gory, and the haunted. No matter the story we cover by the end of each episode, you are going to feel it. Make sure to follow and listen to Psychopedia everywhere you get your podcasts. In January of 2022, Mara and I start trying to track down the other people Violet Ellison testified against. We spend a lot of time in my car, full days sometimes. I pack mom snacks, healthy stuff like hummus and baby carrots, raw almonds, maybe a diet Dr. Pepper on a hard day. Marika was the first person we were able to find. The second case that listed Violet Ellison as a witness was a second-degree assault between two men who got in a fight. The case ended in a plea deal, so she never actually testified. We weren't able to figure out exactly why she was listed as a witness. We tried very hard to talk to the man charged in the case, but never could reach him. And then there was the third case. It involved a local pastor named Bishop James Johnson, who was accused of inappropriately touching and kissing three teenaged girls at his church-run school in 1993. Violet Ellison was a school employee who testified about the alleged abuse But Bishop Johnson maintained he was falsely accused And that Violet Ellison was lying The charges against him were eventually dropped by the state We talked to Bishop Johnson, who's now in his late 80s At his house in a suburb of Birmingham And he told us Violet Ellison made up the accusations in an effort to get rid of him because she wanted to run the school. Yes, she was a part of my church. She was a liar. We talked to one other school employee who corroborated what Bishop Johnson told us, that Violet Ellison made up the allegations. I tried to find some of the alleged victims in this case, but I wasn't able to track them down. Bishop Johnson said he's forgiven Violet Ellison. That's over. Thank God it's over. I have nothing in my heart against her. I forgave her every lie that was told. I'm free. But, he said, she is not a trustworthy person. I don't trust her. She's not a person I trust. George Holloway is the next person on our list of people that Violet Ellison testified against. What we know from court records is this. Between 2008 and 2016, George Holloway was charged in several domestic violence incidents involving his girlfriend. But unlike Marika Wilson and Bishop James Johnson, George Holloway pleaded guilty to his charges, which included violating a protective order twice. He was sentenced to three years in prison. The documents don't show why Violet Ellison was a witness against George Holloway. So, Mara and I get in the car and drive around for hours, knocking on doors with a list of possible home addresses, with no luck. Finally, we pull up to the last address on our list around sunset, a small brick house in Bessemer. We're here. You know, it's always a gamble, but let's just give it a whirl. At the same time, a truck stops at the top of the house's driveway. Can you, are we blocking you? And out hops a man wearing grass-stained work clothes and a neon green shirt. Are you going to this house? We're looking for Mr. George Holloway. Is that you? I am. I'm not going to go. That's, okay. George, I'm sorry to show up here like this. We are journalists, and we are working on a story about a case. I launch into a spiel about what we're up to, and George Holloway listens quietly as we stand next to his mailbox. And so we're trying to get information on her. Her name's Violet Ellison. Do you know her? Do you have an opinion about her? or have any information that you could give us about her? I know she's very pendictive. She likes to be involved in a lot of stuff that doesn't involve her. She's a very messy lady. Very messy. George Holloway invites us into his living room to talk more about his relationship with Violet Ellison. She's not a reliable person that you would trust, that you would put your faith in. And I would tell anybody, whatever you have to say, do not say it in front of her because it's going to get turned totally backwards. is not going to be said the way that you said. My opinion, stay away from that woman because she's troubled. He tells us that he met Violet Ellison through his ex-girlfriend. It gets a little complicated, but it's like this. George Holloway used to date a woman we'll call Sharon. Before she was with George, Sharon dated Violet Ellison's son, Reginald Smith. who's known as Red. George tells us that when Sharon broke up with Red, she remained friends with Violet Ellison. But, he tells us, Violet Ellison wanted Sharon and her son Red to get back together, and she thought George was in the way. George admits that he and Sharon had a volatile relationship, and because of that, Sharon had a protective order against him. He says that one night, he and Sharon had an argument in person, violating the protective order. George says he left after the argument and Sharon called police, but Violet Ellison later testified that she heard and saw the whole thing firsthand. She had said that, you know, she was there, she witnessed it, but she was not there. She showed up after everything had happened and the police was there on the scene. George tells us he decided to plead guilty to breaking Sharon's protective order to wash his hands of the whole situation. He says he hasn't seen Sharon, Violet Ellison, or her son Red in years. George admits to physical fights with Sharon. But it seems like his descriptions of these fights minimize the violence. We know there is another side to the story, but Sharon doesn't respond to our interview requests. I tell George about Violet Ellison's involvement into Forrest Johnson's conviction and the $5,000 reward she was paid in secret. She'll do anything possible that she can, if money is involved, even go to the extent to lie. But he says Violet Ellison has an even stronger motivation than money. Her son, Red. She would do anything possible, anything, and go to any extent to keep her son out of trouble. Multiple sources tell me that Red is a longtime drug user, and court records show that he's been in and out of jail. George says that Violet Ellison enabled her son. She would cover up for him whether he was right or whether he was wrong. You know, she knew he was doing things out there in the street. But you know if the police come she would lie and say he not there You know she will give police information leading to drug buses people that done dead robberies, in favor for them to drop charges against Reginald, get the charges downgraded, you know, to keep him from going to jail. I leave the interview with George Holloway wondering, could Red's legal issues have motivated Violet Ellison to get involved with police? Was she after leniency for her son? A search of public court records shows that Red has a lengthy list of misdemeanor and felony convictions on his record, going back to 1980. But I checked with the Alabama Department of Corrections, and they have no record of him ever serving time in prison. This tracks with what one of Violet Ellison's neighbors told me, that Red is often in trouble, but he's like Teflon. Nothing sticks. For example, in 1997, Red was charged with robbery and theft when he stole five watches from a department store. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But then the judge amended Red's sentence and granted him probation instead of prison time. But there's no information about why his sentence was downgraded. And this happened less than a month before the start of Teforis' second trial. That timing gets my attention. I wonder if it's possible that Violet Ellison testified in Teforist's case in exchange for preferential treatment for her son. But on further examination, that seems like a long shot. The charges against Red in 1997 were in Bessemer, not Jefferson County, where Teforist was tried, with different prosecutors and judges. But I do know that Violet Ellison was involved in her son's criminal defense. In a 2007 burglary case, records show that Red's attorney met with the defendant and his mother for three hours in two separate meetings. Red pleaded guilty in that case and got probation. Is Red getting preferential treatment because his mother has been a witness for the state in multiple cases? I find no documentation to support this. But then again, are deals like that ever spelled out in court records? I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun, tells me to lie down on the ground. He identified Jermaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Jermaine was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only two people knew the truth. Until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. season of the traders may be the best we've ever seen. Listen to by Order the Faithfuls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. creepy, gory, and the haunted. No matter the story we cover by the end of each episode, you are going to feel it. Make sure to follow and listen to Psychopedia everywhere you get your podcasts. While looking through Red's files, I notice an especially violent assault and battery from 1994. He was sentenced to supervised probation. I was able to dig up a report of the incident in which police say Red spits on a woman, grabs her by the neck and hair, and pulls her around a room. A child is listed as a witness. The victim's name is Anita Davis, and her most likely addresses are all in central Georgia. So Mara and I get back in the car and make the four-hour drive to try to find her. Hi. We're looking for Anita Davis. She passed away. Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you her daughter? Uh-huh. My name is Beth. This is Mara. We are writers, and we're working on a story about the wrongful conviction and reaching out to people that may know the lead witness. Her name is Violet Ellison. Oh, I know who you are. That's my grandma. Oh, okay. So Violet Ellison is your grandmother. Okay. Unexpectedly, we find ourselves talking to Violet Ellison's granddaughter. Thais Davis is in her 50s, but doesn't look a day over 40. When I mention her grandmother, Violet Ellison. Thais comes out from behind the screen door. She keeps her earbuds in while we stand on the porch and talk. What kind of grandmother was she? Was she involved in your life? No. No. She told my dad, your kids ain't gonna never amount to that. But then we're the kids that's been successful. And now she's trying to come back around. Yeah. So there's not like warm feelings. Yeah. So far, most of the people I've contacted about Violet Ellison had good reason to say negative things about her. Those were people who she testified against. But this feels different. We're hearing from a blood relative, a person connected to Violet Ellison through family. Thais tells us she's retired from the Air Force. She moved to Georgia with her mom, Anita Davis, and her two brothers when they were kids. Tyese says it was to get away from the chaos surrounding her father's side of the family. We ask her about Red. What's the deal with Red, her son? So that's my dad. Okay. I really don't have nothing to do with him because he's been on drugs since I was nine, eight or nine. Okay. He stayed with her. So, you know, you had a parent where, you know, you know your child doing stuff, but you uphold it versus letting them know you wrong. Yeah, she upholds everything she does. Thais corroborates the picture already painted by George Holloway and a neighbor of Violet Ellison, telling us that she readily involves herself in other people's criminal issues, but does whatever she can to protect her son, Red, when he gets into trouble. You don't need neighborhood watch for her, but she only noticed what she wanted to notice, because if her son was breaking into somebody's house, mysteriously, she didn't see that, but anything else she would see. So, yeah, that type of stuff. We explain why we're interested in Violet Ellison and her son, and Thais tells us she had recently heard about her grandmother's involvement in TaForest Johnson's case. So, I wasn't surprised when I heard it, because if it involved money, I wouldn't be surprised. Well, and it did. I mean, she was paid $5,000. Yeah, so I wouldn't be surprised. Like, when I heard the story, I was like, yeah, I'm not surprised at all. She's money hungry. So that's the issue. Like I said, we'll say anything to get money. Why is she like that? Any idea? No, even, like I said, growing up, I had nothing to do with them. Like, for instance, I'm going to give you an example. Thais tells us that Violet Ellison was distant when she was a child. But then, right after Thais joined the Air Force, she got a call from her grandmother. Haven't done nothing for me. Her grandchild haven't done nothing for me. When I joined the military, she said, hey, I need your social security number so I can get an insurance policy on you. Just in case, you know, something happened to you and we can bury you. I'm fine with it. The military got me covered and that stuff will go to my mom. So why do you need my social? But you ain't never decided to do that before. So stuff like that. But I'm not surprised with the money thing. And I hate that this man could be innocent for $5,000. He's on death row for $5,000. But she testified under oath that she did not know about the reward. She didn't know that any money was involved. She's... Exactly. My brother said she ain't testifying against nothing unless there's money involved. All of a sudden, we realize that Thais has earbuds in because she's on the phone with someone. It's her brother, Tony. Oh, okay. Is he here? Yeah. Do you think he would talk to us? Would it be possible for us to come see him, too? You fine with that, Tony? He's probably like, I was- Yeah? Okay. You would just have to give us- Violet Ellison's grandson, Tony, lives about 10 minutes away from his sister, Thais. We get to his house and the front yard is filled with cars and various states of repair He waiting for us on the porch Hello Hey. Hi, how are you? All right. Are you Tony? After he finishes extracting an old bird's nest from the rafters, Tony talks to us for 40 minutes. I can tell you one thing about my grandma. She is a, that's a true scam artist. That's a true, I hate to say it, I know that's my grandma, but that's a true scam all the time. Any way she can get a dollar, telling her she ain't that tight that's just gonna help somebody just to help them. It gotta have money, it gotta have money involved. Wow. It just gotta have, if it ain't got money involved, she ain't with it. Tony says his grandmother tried to scam him out of $500 by claiming that he owed her for a loan. Mara tells Tony about how the state presented Violet Ellison to force Johnson's trial, and that she says she didn't know about the reward when she testified. He doesn't believe that. Get in your business, try to act like she's concerned about stuff, but really she ain't concerned. She's just trying to get in your business, trying to see a way she can get some money. Oh, reward for this? I'm fine, I believe more at all. She lied too much. Like my dad had lied too much. Like, she'll lie about anything to get away with anything. He goes on to describe the relationship Violet Ellison has with her son, Red, who is also Tony's father. They like Bonnie and Clyde. She'll ride for them the whole time. She can see with her own eyes what this man did. And she'll be like, no, I ain't see it. I ain't see that. She always been like that. She'll be like, that's a new little. Tony then tells us the story about the assault and battery case that led us here, filling in details that are missing from the court files. He says when he was little, Red was on drugs and would hit Tony's mom. One night, Tony, wanting to protect her, stabbed Red. That was when I was young, a child. I stabbed him. Wow. I really did. I stabbed him. I stabbed him in his cab, most of them and stuff. He would holler. And you know who the first person that pulled up? Vi. The first person pulled up. And they told the police a lie. They tried to put it like somebody, he got in a fight with somebody and all this stuff. But they- Wait, so Violet lied to the police? She always lied to the police to try to get him out of trouble. But she tried to put it like I was gonna get in trouble for stabbing him. I didn't care. I was little, I didn't care. I'm like, what y'all gonna do to a child? Just protecting my mom, you know? According to Tony, even when he was little, he saw Violet Ellison lie to police to protect her son, Red. But Red was arrested for this incident and sentenced to 60 days probation. And it was after this, Thais and Tony's mother, Anita, decided to move the family to Georgia. Like his sister Thais, Tony was also troubled to recently hear about his grandmother's involvement into Forrest Johnson's conviction and death sentence. I hate that man going through that. I really hate that. The end and the end is to the point. It's a chance he can lose his life for five thousand months. Come on. I'm not typically comfortable reporting negative opinions about a private citizen, but Violet Ellison's word is the case against Taforist Johnson. In order to figure out how an innocent person ended up on death row, there was no way around investigating the star witness and whether or not she's credible. I had that conversation with Violet Ellison on her front porch a year before I talked with Thais and Tony. But after hearing from her grandchildren, I went back and knocked on Violet Ellison's door again, multiple times. Hi, we're looking for Miss Violet Ellison. She's out of here. I wanted to learn more about her relationship with her son, Red, and her involvement in other cases. Each time I knocked, the woman inside claimed Violet Ellison wasn't at home. I even left a note in her mailbox along with my business card. But Violet Ellison never responded. Miss Ellison, is that you? Is that you? I wasn't able to find documented proof of all of the allegations that sources made against Violet Ellison. For example, there's no paper trail that shows she lied to protect her son, Red. But there's also no ironclad proof that Violet Ellison heard Taforis Johnson talk about killing Deputy Hardy in 1995. The state presented her testimony with no verification of what she claimed, no recording of the calls she eavesdropped on, nothing outside her word and the notes she turned over to police that connected to Forrest Johnson to a murder he maintains to this day that he did not commit. Prosecutors presented Violet Ellison as a concerned mother troubled by her conscience, and she was adamant that she didn't know about the reward when she testified. But through my reporting, consistent negative descriptions kept coming up about her, even from her own grandchildren. One former co-worker called her sneaky. A relative referred to her as a peacebreaker. Almost every person we talked to said Violet Ellison should not be trusted. We spoke to over a dozen different people about Violet Ellison. The consistent portrait that emerged from these conversations is diametrically opposed to the characterization presented by prosecutors at trial and what judges still believe as Teforist tries to undo his conviction. I also learned that Violet Ellison was in a precarious financial position, burdened by medical debt. She lives in a community plagued by violence and poverty. Her son suffers from addiction. She's estranged from some of her immediate family. She seems to seize opportunities where she can. One of those was created by the state when they offered money for information about a police officer's murder. Fifteen years before I began looking into Violet Ellison, there was someone else who had questions about her credibility. Jeff Wallace. the prosecutor who stood in front of a jury and threw Deputy Hardy's hat onto the courtroom floor. Jeff Wallace spent four years of his life prosecuting this case, trying to put Rodriguez Ford and Teforis Johnson on death row. He successfully put Teforis Johnson on death row. I mean, four years of his professional life. He devoted to this. Jeff Wallace reached out to Ty Alper and the rest of Teforis' legal team to share what was on his mind. And today, he says that TaForest Johnson deserves a new trial. 20 years later, he's saying, I think it should be undone. I mean, that to me takes courage that most lawyers don't have. That's next time. ear witness is a production of lava for good podcasts in association with signal company number one executive producers are jason flom jeff kempler kevin wardus and me beth shelburne the investigative reporting for this series was done by me and mara mcnamara producers are Mara McNamara, Hannah Beal, and Jackie Pauley. Kara Kornhaber is our senior producer. Britt Spangler is our sound designer. Additional story editing from Marie Sutton. Fact check help from Catherine Newhand. And special thanks to Taforist Johnson's legal defense team. You can follow the show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter at Lava For Good. To see behind-the-scenes content from our investigation, visit LavaForGood.com slash EarWitness. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Wells Adams with By Order of the Faithfuls podcast alongside my fellow faithfuls and co-hosts Tamara Judge and Dolores Catania. The three of us have been watching this season of The Traitors and we've been inside that castle. So we have insight unlike many others. This season of The Traitors may be the best we've ever seen. Listen to By Order of the Faithfuls on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow By Order of the Faithfuls and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today. day. The more you listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear? I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me more often and evaluate situations with me and lead me towards success. Listening is a form of love. Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well-being at That's soundedouttogether.org. That's soundedouttogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal.