Beth Shelburne

It looks like a middle school cafeteria surrounded by plexiglass.

Outside the plexiglass, correctional officers in men in prison uniforms, white slacks, white shirt with Alabama Department of Corrections stamped on the back, are walking by.

Inside, there's no A.C., and the sad attempt of cooling the room is left to metal fans that hang in the corners.

Taforest sits at a table in a plastic chair across from Ty.

Ty tries to talk quietly so he doesn't disturb other lawyers working with their clients on the yard, but loud enough to be heard over the roar of the fans.

But DeForest's days without a lawyer to fight for him are over.

It's now up to Ty and the team of lawyers at the Southern Center to do what no one has done before, thoroughly investigate Taforas' conviction, a conviction that hinged on the word and credibility of a single witness, Violet Ellison.

I'm Beth Shelburne.

This is Ear Witness, Chapter 6, Misfiled.

After Ty leaves Holman Prison, he and the rest of Taforis' new legal team go through the case.

They need to understand how their new client ended up on death row.

They hear about Taforis' alibi, that he was at T's place when Deputy Hardy was shot.

They learn about Yolanda Chambers' changing stories.

They read how the state presented conflicting theories at different trials.

Now it's clear to the legal team.

Taforist Johnson did not kill Deputy Hardy.

The state's case completely revolved around Violet Ellison's testimony.

They need to figure out whether they can challenge Violet Ellison's testimony.

If they can show that it wasn't reliable, they can argue that DeForest deserves a new trial.

So they need to know, why did Violet Ellison come forward in the first place?