December 23rd, 1997. Reading, Pennsylvania. Just two days before Christmas, Melvin Ortiz was out with friends at a child’s birthday party. That same night, a fatal shooting took place at a local business, Effie’s Pizza Villa, causing the death of owner George Clauser. Two witnesses came forward to tell the police that Melvin committed the robbery. Despite having a very solid alibi and strong evidence in his favor, Melvin was sentenced to life in prison at age 19. Many people believe that politics and a poor investigation led to the wrongful conviction of Melvin Ortiz.
Get bonus content from Generation Why at: www.patreon.com/generationwhy
Listen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Taylor Schabusiness - 555
Terra Newell & Collier Landry - Dirty John and Noreen Boyle - 554
Matthew Baker Jr - 553
Amy Mullis - 552
Mathias Bachmeier - 551
2023 Retrospective - 550
Susan King - 549
The Death of Tom Monfils - 548
Lisa Ziegert - 547
Leola Shreves - 546
Terrence Woods Jr. - 545
Dorothy Jane Scott - 544
Demons and Saviors - 543
Halloween Special - 542
Lisa Marie Young - 541
An October Update
The Murder of Tupac Shakur - 540
Aaron's New Podcast Is: Marooned
Grant Solomon - 539
Johnny Clarke & Lisa Straub - 538
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
American Scandal
Crime Junkie
Sword and Scale
Dateline NBC
48 Hours