Claire is...

PODCAST: BREAKDOWN SEASON 1

The jury deliberated for 40 minutes before returning a guilty verdict. And at 27 years old, Justin Chapman was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 30 years.

The investigation was also brief, and the trial lasted only a few days. It was swift justice in a quiet little town that is unused to murder: Bremen, Ga., population 6,300, lies about 50 miles west of Atlanta near the Alabama line.

The prosecutor remains certain to this day that he got the right man, and Chapman may well be guilty of the crime that killed Alice Jackson, 79. But his case is also an example of repeated breakdowns at nearly every level of the criminal justice system in Georgia.

MY VERDICT: This podcast was one of the many recommended by those ‘podcast similar to serial’ posts. This podcast is only similar to serial in that it is a serial telling of a single story, in every other way it is seriously lacking. I feel slightly bad in giving this one a bad review as it is clear that everyone involved worked hard on researching the story and trying to find an interesting narrative. Unfortunately, this story is not a particularly compelling one. A man’s house is burnt down and his neighbor dies in the fire and he is found guilty of setting his house alight. It is heartbreaking that he was found guilty with what seems to be absolutely no evidence but it just seems odd to me that someone would feel that this story would keep a listener entertained for more than one episode. This podcast is seven episodes long, and I held out to the end hoping for something to shock or excite, but unfortunately I was disappointed. It’s possible that I was spoilt by listening to some amazing podcasts but I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. That being said it’s possible that the other seasons (there are now six) might be worth listening to, they might have more entertaining stories.