---
title: 'Earwitness Podcast Creator Beth Shelburne on Toforest Johnson’s Case'
description: 'In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPI, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Beth Shelburne, a journalist who has reported on the…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources/podcasts/discussions-with-dpic/earwitness-podcast-creator-beth-shelburne-on-toforest-johnsons-case'
section: podcasts
date: '2024-11-25T13:18:00-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T13:39:13-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

In this month’s episode of *Discussions with DPI*, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Beth Shelburne, a journalist who has reported on the criminal legal system for over 25 years and creator of the podcast *Earwitness*. Released in 2023 to critical acclaim, *Earwitness* tells the story of Toforest Johnson, a death-sentenced man who is facing execution in Alabama despite strong evidence of his innocence. On November 14, 2024, Mr. Johnson filed a petition with the Jefferson County Circuit Court requesting a new hearing, the latest in a series of appeals.

“I realized that this is such a protracted injustice with so many twists and turns over a quarter of a century. So many people have been exploited in the process that it really is a case that's emblematic of many terrible issues in our criminal justice system, and I felt like in order to capture all of that in its totality, I wanted to slow down and really unpack this case in a meaningful way,” explains Ms. Shelburne on why she decided to create the *Earwitness* podcast. She shares the challenges she and her team faced, including the “fading memories of people … \[who\] just couldn't remember the finite details that we felt were so crucial ... to pin down. Luckily, we were able to get our hands on quite a bit of source material through.”