In April 1979, the lives of two teenagers from two very different parts of the country were inextricably linked by murder. In Brewer, Maine, 17-year old Amy Banks awoke one night to learn that her father, Dr. Ronald Banks, had been murdered in New Orleans, Louisiana.
One month later, authorities in New Orleans arrested 16-year old Isaac Knapper and charged him with the killing of Amy’s father. But Isaac didn’t commit the murder.
This is the story of a wrongful conviction, a young Black man railroaded by the justice system, and evidence withheld at trial that would’ve saved him from a life sentence behind bars in the nation’s bloodiest prison.
This is the case of Dr. Ronald Banks, told by his daughter Amy Banks, and Isaac Knapper, the man once charged and convicted of his murder.
View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/wrongfulconviction
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
The Murder of Sophie Sergie Part 2 (Alaska)
The Murder of Sophie Sergie, Part 1 (Alaska)
The Murder of Douglas J. Parent (Maine)
The Murder of Sean Conway (Maine)
The Murder of Jason Bass & Disappearance of Adam Emery (Rhode Island)
The Murder of Katherine Murphy (Maine)
The Murder of Michael T. Connolly (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of Alexie Adams (Maine)
The Murder of Jack Bevins, Part 2 (Maine)
The Murder of Jack Bevins Part 1 (Maine)
The Murder of Thomas Napier (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of William Costello (Massachusetts)
The Ghost Town Beneath Flagstaff Lake (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of Sally Maynard Moran (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of Wanda Mitchell (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of Marcia Moore (Washington)
The Suspicious Death of Christopher Roof, the Stacyville John Doe (Maine)
The Disappearance of Angel Torres, Part 2 (Maine)
The Disappearance of Angel Torres Part 1 (Maine)
The Disappearance of Grace and Gracie Reapp (Vermont)
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