The Arc Towards Justice

In the finale of the Arc Towards Justice series, Episode 6 brings the podcast into the present, with the 2017 attempt to get Alexander’s name cleared through an expungement trial. Titled “You’ll Do,” we end the series with what Alexander’s story means for today, especially given the closure of Glen Mills last year after decades and decades of chronic violence and abuse towards young boys in this community.

Episode five, titled The Verdict, deals with Alexander’s sentencing. In it, we also hear startling new information from Teresa Smithers, a descendant of Fred Robare. And the episode ends with Susy Carter, Alexander’s sister, reflecting on life without her brother and what the state took away from her family.

Episode four, The Confessions, begins with Alexander’s great great nephew reading the most damning of his confessions to the murder. These confessions were the most compelling evidence that Alexander was responsible for the murder.

Episode Three, The Trial, embarks on Alexander’s trial, including the voire dire or preliminary questioning of the jurors and the court testimony of Fred Robare, the slain woman’s husband.

Episode Two, titled “A Pleasure to Burn” tells how Alexander was first caught up in the Delaware County legal system as a twelve year old. The title evokes both Alexander’s youthful impulse to burn down old barns and serves as a nod to Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451, in which the characters, defiled by constant government supervision, war, and oppression, express their sorrow physically by burning down houses.

Episode One, Mystery in a Murder, introduces the listener to Alexander’s story and positions the case in Dr. King’s saying “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” In it, we also meet Dr. Sam Lemon, the great grandson of Alexander's defense attorney, for the first time.