True Crime Reality

71-year-old Douglas Carter walked out of prison this week after spending 40 years on death row for a 1985 murder he says he never committed. Carter was finally freed after DNA from the crime scene excluded him as a suspect. Carter was finally granted a new trial last year after the Utah Supreme Court ruled the two witnesses who testified against him recanted their stories, revealing that police and a prosecutor gave them cash and gifts to point the finger at Carter. Prosecutors agreed with the judge to release Carter, despite objections from the victims’ family.
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NBC news has sourced a remarkable story describing what life is like for the billionaire music mogul behind bars. Multiple inmates have described a life Sean “Diddy” Combs has curated in prison, spending thousands of dollars a month for men to make his bed, cook his food, clean his clothes and give him massages. They also have photos and videos showing Diddy on a phone - which is not permitted - and say Diddy has premium alcohol that he sometimes shares with a tight circle of inmates on the weekends. Diddy’s reps have already responded to the allegations, but didn’t necessarily deny them. It’s unclear if these reports will have any impact on his latest release date of January 2028.
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In a shocking development, a federal appeals court has stepped in and stopped the execution of 50-year-old Christa Pike. Pike would’ve been the first woman in more than 200 years executed by the state of Tennessee, and she had already lost her appeal to the Supreme Court. Governor Bill Lee even announced earlier this week that he would not offer Pike clemency. The federal court wants to review whether Pike’s allegations of childhood sexual abuse and rape were fully considered at her sentencing. The mother of Pike’s victim, Colleen Slemmer had raised money to travel to Nashville to attend Pike’s execution, and has been publicly advocating for her execution for the past three decades.
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50-year-old Christa Pike is scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1819. Pike was convicted of the torture and murder of an alleged romantic rival when she was 18-years-old. She committed her crime with her then 17-year-old boyfriend, and because of his age he was given a life sentence, while Pike was sentenced to death. There have been dozens of women’s advocacy groups trying to halt her execution based on her extensive sexual abuse and mental health history. At this point, all of Pike’s appeals have been exhausted, and the Governor of Tennessee has already made his decision not to intervene. The mother of Pike’s victim, Colleen Slemmer, plans to attend, saying she’s been waiting for this day for more than 30 years.
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Elisa Donovan and Jenn Fessler react to the guilty verdict in the American Idol murder case and the stunning evidence that convinced a jury despite no recovered murder weapon, no gunshot-residue test and no blood on Caleb.
Jenn says the more than 100,000 messages between Caleb and his mistress may have essentially become the prosecution’s “murder weapon.”
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