Unforbidden Truth

Please note that the live was done on a cell phone, due to Randy being unable to access a laptop/tablet.Ronnie Lee Gardner was a convicted murderer from Utah whose violent criminal history and dramatic courtroom escape attempt made him one of the state’s most infamous prisoners. Born in 1961, Gardner endured a troubled childhood marked by abuse, neglect, and frequent run-ins with the law. By his early twenties, he was already incarcerated for violent crimes. In 1985, while being transported to court for a hearing on a murder charge, Gardner attempted to escape and fatally shot attorney Michael Burdell inside the courthouse. The incident led to his conviction for capital murder and a death sentence.Gardner spent 25 years on Utah’s death row, during which he became a controversial figure in debates over the death penalty. Known for his defiant attitude early in his incarceration, he later expressed remorse for his actions and pursued education and spiritual growth while imprisoned. His 2010 execution by firing squad — the first in Utah in 14 years — drew widespread attention and reignited discussions about humane methods of execution and the purpose of capital punishment in modern America.Randy Gardner, Ronnie’s brother, became an outspoken opponent of the death penalty after witnessing his brother’s execution. Deeply affected by the loss and the trauma of the event, Randy turned his grief into advocacy, speaking publicly about the emotional toll capital punishment inflicts on families of both victims and offenders. He has since worked with human rights and anti-death-penalty organizations, sharing his story to highlight the human cost of executions and the cycle of violence they perpetuate. His activism has made him a well-known voice in the movement to abolish the death penalty in the United States.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.

In April 2015, Amanda Taylor, a 24-year-old woman from Virginia, committed a shocking and highly publicized murder that would earn her the nickname “The Selfie Killer.” Still grieving the suicide of her husband, Rex Taylor, Amanda blamed his father, Charles Taylor, for his death. On April 4, she and her friend Sean Ball went to Charles’s home in Montgomery County under the pretense of a visit. Once inside, Amanda brutally stabbed Charles more than 30 times with a knife, while Ball helped restrain him, killing him in cold blood.After the murder, Amanda displayed a chilling lack of remorse. She posted photos on Instagram holding the bloody knife and wrote captions bragging about the killing, describing it as “revenge.” The pair then stole Charles’s car and fled Virginia, sparking a multi-state manhunt. During their flight, Ball attempted suicide, and the two were eventually captured in North Carolina. Authorities later revealed that Amanda had discussed her plans for revenge before the killing, suggesting the act was premeditated and fueled by obsession and grief.Amanda Taylor was charged with first-degree murder and grand larceny, and in 2016 she pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced her to life in prison without parole, calling the crime “cold and calculated.” Sean Ball, who cooperated with investigators, received 41 years in prison. The case gained national media attention due to Amanda’s disturbing social media posts and emotionless demeanor, symbolizing the dark intersection of grief, revenge, and the performative nature of online notoriety.https://linktr.ee/UnforbiddentruthBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.

Steven Nigg is a former federal inmate best known for his 2016 assault on notorious sex offender Larry Nassar’s fellow high-profile prisoner, former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle. While serving time for a firearms conviction at a low-security prison in Colorado, Nigg became enraged that Fogle was housed with other inmates in relative comfort despite his crimes against children. In January 2016, Nigg attacked Fogle in the prison yard, punching him repeatedly and leaving him with injuries to his face and neck. Prison officials quickly intervened, and Nigg was placed in disciplinary segregation after the assault.The incident drew national attention because Nigg expressed open contempt for sex offenders and frustration at what he described as lenient treatment of such inmates. Although the attack did not lead to new criminal charges, it added to Nigg’s disciplinary record and affected his prison standing. He later served out his original sentence before being released. The case highlighted both inmate resentment toward sex offenders and the broader challenges prison officials face in managing high-profile prisoners.https://linktr.ee/UnforbiddentruthBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.

In April 2006, 23-year-old Christopher Lampkin was murdered in a Salem apartment, shot execution-style, and dismembered by Leonardo Garcia Gonzalez and Victor Gonzalez. His remains were stuffed into a duffel bag and fed to pigs at a Yamhill County farm, where police later recovered partial remains in a feed barrel. The killers were ordered to pay Lampkin’s family $1 million, while charges against the farm owner and apartment complex were ultimately dismissed.https://linktr.ee/UnforbiddentruthBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.

Please note the prisoners were on speaker phone, on a prison tablet, so that's why it is so loud/why the quality is the way it is. This was a live interview I conducted on tik tok, which i occasionally do on Tuesday's. @unforbiddentruthpodcast is my username.Donald Ray MiddlebrooksIn 1987, Donald Ray Middlebrooks, along with his then-teenage wife Tammy Middlebrooks and accomplice Robert Brewington, kidnapped and brutally tortured 14-year-old Kerrick Majors in East Nashville. The attack followed Majors accidentally breaking a vase at a makeshift flea market, and descended into a racially charged and horrific hate crime involving torture, mutilation, and ultimately stabbing — with racial slurs and extreme violence central to the ordeal. Middlebrooks was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, receiving a death sentence in 1989, later affirmed through retrial and appealAfter years of appeals, his execution was scheduled for December 2022 but was stayed amid concerns over the state’s lethal injection protocol; as of early 2025, a new execution date has been set, though it remains on hold pending federal litigation.Steven J. WigginsSteven Wiggins, of Dickson, Tennessee, was convicted in August 2021 for the brutal killing of Sergeant Daniel Baker—shooting him multiple times during a traffic investigation, then dragging his body into the patrol car, impersonating him, and setting the vehicle ablaze with the body inside.The scope of his convictions included premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, theft, impersonation, arson, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. In April 2022, he accepted a federal plea agreement on carjacking and firearms charges which resulted in a life sentence — prompting withdrawal of the federal death penalty notice, though the state-level death sentence remains active.He is currently on death row, and his legal team filed a motion for a new trial citing multiple errors in the original state proceedings.Jonathan Wesley StephensonJonathan Wesley Stephenson was convicted in 1990 in Cocke County for the premeditated, contract killing of his wife — alongside a related conspiracy conviction for hiring an accomplice. Initially sentenced to death plus 25 years, his case went through a complex appellate process. Due to sentencing irregularities, a new sentencing hearing followed, resulting in a life-without-parole term plus 60 years for conspiracy. However, that sentence was later vacated and resentenced to death again, which was affirmed by Tennessee’s Supreme Court in 2006.He continued seeking relief — most recently filing a habeas corpus petition, which was dismissed in 2024 by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, affirming the legality of his death-plus-60‑year sentence.https://linktr.ee/UnforbiddentruthBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.

Christopher “Life” Willars is a renowned motivational speaker, prison‑rights and mental‑health advocate, and successful social‑media content creator who, after spending 17 years incarcerated, emerged to co‑found and lead a cosmetology vocational school outside Atlanta called Lasting Layers of Beauty with his wife. He also founded The Life Unit, providing re‑entry support and coaching to those affected by the criminal justice system, helping countless individuals find resilience, purpose, and transformation.https://linktr.ee/UnforbiddentruthBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.