Send us a text

Explore the harrowing case of Johnny Paul Penry, a man with intellectual disabilities sentenced to death. From the chilling details of his crime to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, this episode examines justice, morality, and the complexities of the death penalty in America.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In the shadows of Victorian England, Daniel McNaghten’s mind unraveled, leading to a crime that would haunt the legal world and redefine sanity. Explore the origins of the insanity defense in the chilling tale of madness and murder.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In a cold, silent yard, a man stands between life and death—faced with a choice no one should ever have to make, Wallace Wilkerson, convicted of murder, is offered two methods of execution: the noose or the bullet. But as his final hours draw near, a deeper question lingers—was the real cruelty in how he would die, or in the choice itself?

Join us for a haunting journey into one of America’s most chilling court cases, where the line between justice and punishment begins to blur.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In this episode of Hidden Verdicts, we explore the chilling case of Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen who was mistakingly abducted, tortured in a CIA black site, and denied justice by the courts. His story reveals the terrifying consequences of state secrecy and the limits of justice in the name of national security.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In this episode of Hidden Verdicts, we explore the bizarre 1893 Supreme Court case Nix v. Hedden, where a tomato’s identity was put on trial. Was it a fruit or a vegetable? The case went beyond tariffs to touch on the deeper issue of how labels define us. Join us as we dive into this legal battle and reflect on what it means to be recognized for who—or what—you truly are.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In this chilling episode of Hidden Verdicts, we examine the disturbing legal foundation that connects the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Buck v. Bell to Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution. Discover how the legal sanction of forced sterilization in America provided a model for Hitler’s policies of racial extermination and the far-reaching implications of that ruling. This episode is dedicated to the women who endured these brutal procedures and the hundreds of thousands who were never born as a result — lives erased before they could begin. Thought-provoking, unsettling, and rooted in legal history, this episode sheds light on a chapter many have never heard—but one that represents a tragic failure of justice.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In 1890, William Kemmler made a fateful decision—he chose the electric chair over the hangman’s noose, becoming the first man in history to die by electricity. But what he thought would be a quick and painless death turned into a gruesome spectacle. Behind it all was Thomas Edison, eager to showcase his latest invention in a way no one had expected. As the current surged through Kemmler’s body, the world watched in horror—and the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional.

Join us as we unravel the chilling story of the electric chair’s dark origins, Kemmler’s ill-fated gamble, and how Edison’s “gift” became a tool for death. In this episode, we delve into the court’s controversial decision, the terrifying spectacle of Kemmler’s execution, and the legacy of a ruling that haunted the nation for decades. This isn’t just a tale of crime and punishment—it’s the story of how progress turned deadly, and how the Supreme Court’s darkest ruling paved the way for a century of electric justice.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.

Send us a text

In this episode of Hidden Verdicts, we dive deep into the legal gymnastics that dictated who was considered black and who wasn’t, with monumental cases like Plessy v. Ferguson setting the groundwork. How did the Supreme Court decide what fraction of someone’s blood made them a different race? And why do these outdated ideals still linger today? We explore the bizarre and often contradictory ways American law has tried to define identity. Prepare to rethink what you know about race in America. Make America Think Again.

Interested in reading Plessy v. Ferguson use this link: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/163/537/

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Hidden Verdicts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who love uncovering the lesser known cases that shaped American Law. Don’t miss our next episode as we continue, revealing the hidden stories behind America’s most impactful legal decisions.