Journalist’s Investigative Reporting Inspires Netflix Episode on Wrongfully Convicted Man
Captivated by the theater since she was a young girl, Emilie Lounsberry’s plans for a theatrical career were upended when she took her first journalism course at Temple University.
Then, as an intern at a local newspaper in Doylestown, Pa., she discovered the parallels between court reporting and a night at the theater. “If it’s a really good trial, with an interesting case and good lawyers, it is kind of like free tickets to Broadway,” says Lounsberry.
The veteran journalist has secured front-row seats to many showstopping assignments, including the Bill Cosby trial, which she covered for Variety, and an exposé on Philadelphia’s broken court system, which she authored for The Philadelphia Inquirer. That series earned her the John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award in 2011.
Lounsberry with journalism students outside of the courtroom during the Bill Cosby trial, which she covered for Variety.
But Lounsberry’s greatest storytelling legacy might be the role she played in freeing Chester Hollman III, a Pennsylvania man wrongfully convicted of murder. Her work is documented in the Netflix series The Innocence Files, episode 7.
When John Martin, assistant managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, invited Lounsberry to write a series of articles about the Hollman case, it only took her a few minutes to say yes. Despite serving as a full-time professor of journalism at The College of New Jersey, Lounsberry eagerly got to work gathering documents and learning as much about the case as possible.
“As a reporter, the Hollman case was a real challenge—and I love real challenges,” she says. “This was an opportunity to look at a really old case and try to make sense of what happened.”
Hollman was just 21 years old when he was accused of murdering 24-year-old Tae Jung Ho, a University of Pennsylvania student. He ended up serving 28 years in federal prison—based solely on a vague car description and witness intimidation tactics used by the Philadelphia police.
“I’ve always been drawn to interesting cases where there’s suspense and high drama and high stakes for all involved,” says Lounsberry, who interviewed Hollman as well as Dierdre Jones and Andre Dawkins, both of whom testified against Hollman.
Though Jones was initially “reticent to talk” to Lounsberry, she ultimately did agree to an interview and helped Lounsberry more fully understand the case.
While there are vigorous debates about the use of anonymous sources in news articles, Lounsberry says she has no problem keeping someone’s name out of a story—especially if the information is vital to the account as a whole. “I would rather have the knowledge needed for the story and build that trust—in terms of investigations, as a lot of people can’t talk on the record [because of their job], or they’re shy,” she says.
Such was the case with Jones, who is blamed by Hollman’s family for being the final straw that landed Hollman in prison because of the false testimony that police coerced her into giving.
Testilying, the 2017 article series written by Lounsberry and co-author Michaelle Bond, brought Hollman’s case to the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the city’s most widely distributed newspaper.
“My hope was that the articles would get people talking about the case,” says Lounsberry.
She got her wish.
In fact, the journalists’ work, together with the efforts of The Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that works to eradicate wrongful convictions, ultimately helped free Hollman in July 2019, with all charges dropped. The case was brought before the Philadelphia County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which led to the release of documents and files that revealed the full extent of the injustices brought against Hollman.
“The day he was released was long and fascinating,” recalls Lounsberry. “Michaelle and I were in the courtroom when the judge ordered his immediate release. It was striking because it was such an unusual thing to happen to a life-prison offender in the Philadelphia court system.”
And the team’s monumental investigative work hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the National Association of Black Journalists presented them with the 2018 Salute to Excellence Award.
“I hope I have contributed to this all-important field by writing in depth about the legal system, about corruption in government and about wrongful convictions,” says Lounsberry.
Lounsberry is interviewed for The Innocence Files, a Netflix series on wrongful convictions.
Sharing the Story on Netflix
After receiving a cold call from an executive producer of the Netflix series The Innocence Files, Lounsberry agreed to be part of the show and to help share Hollman’s story.
“I could tell he knew the case very well, which I liked, and I had seen some of his other work,” she says, noting that she’s extremely pleased with the completed program.
In the episode, Lounsberry and her journalist partner are credited for their instrumental role in convincing those at the top of the Philadelphia court system to review the case.
While the public’s trust in journalism has been eroding, Lounsberry sees the future of journalism—and the type of investigative work she does—as a necessity to speak truth to power.
“There will always be a need for great journalism—I am absolutely convinced of that and I do believe journalism will endure,” she says, though she does acknowledge the significant financial investment required to produce long-form investigative pieces, which can take months to research and compile.
“Great journalism is expensive and the business model, especially at newspapers, just doesn't work so well anymore,” she says. “I think digital journalism is wonderful, because we have so many extra tools to use for great storytelling.”
Ultimately, she believes a new business model must be developed to support long-form journalism.
“Investigative journalism is so important because journalists can really raise critical questions about problems in our society, and often, those questions lead officials to solve those problems.”
Episode 7 of The Innocence Files is now streaming on Netflix.
Hollman, together with Lounsberry and co-author Michaelle Bond, shared their perspectives on the case with students at The College of New Jersey, where Lounsberry is a journalism professor.