After spending nearly three decades on Ohio's death row, Elwood Jones finally got a new day in court -- which resulted in his conviction being overturned. Here we explore why prosecutors maintain that Jones is a "murderous bastard" who will kill again, and what will happen next in this politically sensitive murder case. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 8: A new trial

Seven years have passed since DNA evidence led to William Virgil’s release from prison. A lot can change in seven years — and yet, so much can stay maddeningly stagnant at the same time. We examine what one of life’s inevitable developments will mean for the civil lawsuit Virgil had filed alleging he’d been wrongfully convicted in the murder of Retha Welch.Credits from the script: Accused is written by me, Amber Hunt, produced by Amanda Rossmann, edited by Amy Wilson and engineered by Phil Didion. Music is by Andrew Higley. You can support this show directly by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/accused. To see photographs and supplemental documents, www.accusedpodcast.com. The best way to spread word about the cases we cover is to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Homegoing

As adamant as police and prosecutors are that they properly handled the case against murder suspect Elwood Jones, a judge is expected to weigh whether Jones can get a new trial in the 1994 slaying of Rhoda Nathan. Elwood’s lawyers accuse prosecutors of withholding key information that could have changed jurors’ minds 25 years ago. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 7: What Now?

Hamilton County, Ohio, is known nationwide as having one of the highest capital punishment rates per capita – and a recent 25-year study shows that race plays a huge role in determining who’s sent to die. Elwood Jones is Black. His victim was white. If the pandemic had not intervened and last-minute attempts for a new trial put on hold, Jones would already have been dead. If he is innocent, that’s a tragedy. If he is not, did the punishment fit the crime? He is again scheduled to be executed in 2023. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 6: Deserving of Death?

More than a decade after Elwood Jones was convicted of killing Rhoda Nathan, he learned that a woman had stepped forward saying she knew who the real killer was. Tracking down this mysterious figure became something of an obsession for Elwood’s current defense team. And for us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 5: The (Supposed) Confession

While investigators testified at trial that Elwood Jones was always their best and only real suspect in the 1994 slaying of Rhoda Nathan, the police files say otherwise. Three people – two with violent criminal pasts on their records – seem equally as suspicious, so much so they were given lie-detector tests in the days after the murder. Do their alibis hold? And if Elwood as such a good suspect with such good evidence to indicate his guilt, what took the police and prosecutors a year to indict him?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 4: If Not Elwood, Who?

Investigating any crime scene requires finesse, but in the case of Rhoda Nathan’s 1994 beating death, at least some of the detectives arriving at the Embassy Suites hotel, many who had never investigated a murder before, thought they were dealing with a heart-attack victim. As such, they say they didn’t immediately secure the scene, allowing outsiders to tromp through a room that was already teeming with all kinds of hotel-user DNA.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 3: The Investigation

The prosecutor handling the case against Elwood Jones had some choice words to describe the suspect on national television. In this episode, we explore: Who is Elwood Jones? Was he really an a-hole? Is being one now, steadfast as he is in refusing to cop to the 27-year-old crime? And does being an a-hole also mean he was a killer? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 2: The A-Hole

When Elaine Shub opened the door to the hotel room she was sharing with her best friend of 48 years, she saw such a gruesome sight that she collapsed in the suburban hotel hallway. Rhoda Nathan, a kind-hearted New Jersey grandmother who had just stepped out of the shower, lay on the floor, unrecognizable from the vicious beating she’d endured. Who could have done this? What could have been the motive? Who had access? Who had motive? And why did Rhoda have to die?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 1: The Crime

When Rhoda Nathan's lifeless body was discovered in her hotel room, it was assumed she'd had a heart attack. The autopsy proved otherwise: Nathan, 67, had been viciously beaten to death, punched so hard by her assailant that two of her teeth had been knocked out. Days later, a hotel employee went to the hospital to be treated for an infection in his hand, which was teeming with a bacteria most often found in human mouths. That, plus a pendant an officer said was discovered in the trunk of his car, sealed the fate of Elwood Jones, who awaits execution on Ohio's death row. For nearly 30 years, Jones has maintained his innocence -- and accused police of straight-up framing him. The journalists of Accused are reexamining the case to learn if Jones truly belongs on death row, or if a botched investigation let someone else get away with murder.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Introducing Accused Season 4: The Impending Execution of Elwood Jones

Work on Accused was sidelined by the pandemic but is getting back on track. Also, Amber introduces "Crimes of the Centuries." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Quick update & introduction

How did Jack Roland Murphy go from world-champion surfer to notorious jewel thief? How did it all go wrong and end in at least two murders in the murky waterways of southern Florida? Find out this season on The Sneak: Murders at Whiskey Creek.Subscribe today: wondery.fm/thesneak_accusedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Introducing The Sneak: Murders at Whiskey Creek

Though officials with the Fernald uranium plant lied and covered up the danger their workers faced, Fernald is actually held up as a role model for other American communities polluted by the arms race.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BONUS EPISODE: Lessons Learned

Long after David Bocks’ children and grandchildren are dead, the legacy of his employer will remain, encased in concrete and buried deep beneath the earth. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 8: The nuclear wrap-up

Two coworkers tell police that David Bocks seemed depressed on his last day of work. Or is it just one? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 7: A variance in views

David Bocks’ final shift is pieced together through police statements and time cards.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 6: Last day laid bare

In the 1990s, an indie reporter tried to expose Fernald and link managers to David Bocks’ death. His theories sounded outrageous, but some of them proved true.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 5: The king of conspiracies

A look at how the atomic bombs that ended World War II left an imprint on pop culture that lasts to this day. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BONUS EPISODE: Artistic Aftershocks

While managers and government officials outwardly assured Fernald workers that everything was safe at the plant, internal documents show many knew that wasn’t the case.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapter 4: The truth about Fernald

As the world was embroiled in a race to stockpile nuclear weapons, little towns throughout the U.S. became hubs for cancer-linked plants.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Accused

Accused

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