It's an issue that continues to be at the forefront of people's thoughts, and criminal justice has been a hot topic in the Pacific Northwest, just as it has been all over the country.
Oregon Public Broadcasting examines criminal justice in the region and other overlooked stories with a new podcast series, "Hush."
Available now on all podcast platforms:
Season one of “Hush” examines the case of Jesse Lee Johnson, a Black man who lived for 17 years on Oregon’s death row, convicted of a crime in which he claimed his innocence. On March 20,1998, police in Salem discovered the body of Harriet Thompson inside her apartment. Within a week, they arrested Johnson for murder. Johnson — who lived in Salem as a homeless drug user and who had a random encounter with Thompson — quickly became Salem police’s only suspect.
"Hush” investigates why the state of Oregon, for 25 years, perpetuated a narrative about Johnson and pursued a death sentence, despite evidence strongly pointing to his innocence. The podcast also connects Oregon’s anti-Black founding to how the state’s criminal justice system operates today.
"Hush” features interviews with Johnson, his legal team, retired Salem police detectives and people who tried to tell the police they had information that pointed away from Johnson.
The series is reported and hosted by Leah Sottile, a freelance journalist, author and podcast host. Sottile, in partnership with OPB and Longreads, previously co-produced two seasons of the National Magazine Award-nominated podcast “Bundyville” in 2018 and 2019.
The "Hush" episodes of the case (released weekly):
Episode 1: “Jesse”
On March 20, 1998, police in Salem, Oregon, discovered the body of a 28-year-old Harriet Thompson inside her apartment. Within a week, Jesse Johnson was arrested for the murder. Johnson drifted west after a troubled childhood in Arkansas and a stint in prison there. In Salem, he was known around town as a homeless drug user. A random encounter with Thompson the week before she was killed changed Johnson’s life forever.
Episode 2: “Shorty”
After spending six years awaiting trial, a jury in Salem convicted Jesse Johnson in 2004. Prosecutors relied on an alleged confession to the murder of Harriet Thompson that Johnson made to a fellow drug user named Donald “Shorty” Blocker. But the jury did not hear the full story.
Episode 3: “The SAINTS of Salem”
Salem police in the 1990s began to crack down on drug users. At times, their efforts turned deadly, targeting people of color in the mostly white city. Fatal police shootings led to the formation of a police oversight board that the head of the police union, Det. Craig Stoelk, opposed. Stoelk and Detective Mike Quakenbush would become the lead detectives in Harriet Thompson’s murder.
Episode 4: “Patti”
Patricia Hubbard lived across the street from Harriet Thompson in 1998, and was the kind of neighbor who doesn’t miss much. She said the white house on 12th and Shamrock was known as a “party house.” The night of Thompson’s killing, Hubbard was smoking on her porch after a long shift at a local fruit cannery. When she heard screaming and saw a man come running from the home, she tried to tell the police what she saw. But Hubbard said officers rejected her help twice, including a shocking conversation that changed the course of the Jesse Johnson case.
Episode 5: “One Little Drop”
The late 1990s and early 2000s were a time of rapidly evolving forensic science. Jurors at Jesse Johnson’s trial heard a lot about how forensic scientists at the Salem Police and Oregon State Police developed fingerprints of Johnson’s inside Harriet Thompson’s apartment. But newly revealed documents and DNA testing show those scientists may have been more interested in convicting Johnson than finding a murderer.
Episode 6: “Two Strangers”
Police and prosecutors have always insisted they thoroughly investigated Harriet Thompson’s murder, but some people who did not appear at Jesse Johnson’s trial have insisted for 25 years that they have information critical to the investigation.
Episode 7: “The Nature of Certain Lies”
To this day, Det. Mike Quakenbush believes Jesse Johnson is guilty of murder. Even when confronted with significant evidence pointing away from Johnson, Quakenbush said there is no doubt. But what starts as a cordial discussion of DNA evidence and witness interviews at a Salem diner quickly turns into something much more revealing.
Episode 8: “A History of Violence”
If Jesse Johnson did not kill Harriet Thompson, then who did? It’s a question police and prosecutors rarely — if ever — took up. We take a deep look at three violent men who all had connections to Thompson and consider the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Episode 9: “State of Denial”
Understanding the Johnson case requires an understanding of Oregon’s history. Experts who have closely examined the state’s racist past say very little has changed. A close look at a murder on a train in the 1940s, a lynching in Southern Oregon, and the state’s last executions in the late-90s reveals a straight line to Johnson’s plight. An insider from Oregon’s corrections system says it’s time for the state to chart a new path.
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