S6 Ep2: Brief Against Death: After Edgar Smith's Release

About this episode

The episode discusses the aftermath of Edgar Smith's release following his wrongful conviction for a brutal crime in San Diego.

In 1976, a woman survived a brutal kidnapping and stabbing in a San Diego parking lot. The man accused of the attack was Edgar Smith—once a cause célèbre, hailed as a wrongfully convicted intellectual. His release had been celebrated by writers, editors and influential public figures who believed they had corrected a grave injustice. What followed was not redemption but reckoning. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com Have you read the Crimes of the Centuries book? Order today at www.centuriespod.com/book !

People in this episode

Host: Amber Hunt

Topics covered

• wrongful conviction
• true crime
• historical crime
• justice
• redemption
• reckoning

Keywords

• Edgar Smith
• wrongful conviction
• San Diego
• true crime
• Crimes of the Centuries

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crimes of the Centuries, Grab Bag Collab

Books & works: Crimes of the Centuries book

Places: San Diego

More episodes of Crimes of the Centuries

• S6 Ep15: Twilight Zone Part 2: 'We Decided to Break the Law' · June 8, 2026 · 1h 10m
• S6 Ep14: Twilight Zone Part 1: Vic Morrow's Last Role · June 1, 2026 · 51 min
• S6 Ep13: Wesley Elkins: The 11-Year-Old Killer · May 25, 2026 · 55 min
• S6: Murdaugh Country: Future Crimes of the Centuries? · May 22, 2026 · 49 min
• S6 Ep12: Above Suspicion: The FBI Informant Who Disappeared · May 18, 2026 · 1h 6m
• The Case Files History Left Unsolved | Hidden History with Dr. Harini Bhat · May 18, 2026 · 9 min