Murderville The Intercept

Charles Raby is tried for the murder of Edna Franklin. No physical evidence ties him to the crime. But the jury sentences him to death.

Charles Raby is tried for the murder of Edna Franklin. The murder weapon is missing, and no physical evidence ties him to the crime. But he’s up against a powerful prosecutor’s office, and his attorneys call no witnesses. The jury sentences him to death.

Transcript

A quick listener note: This podcast contains adult language and descriptions of violence.

[Phone ringing]

Linda McClain: Hello.

Liliana Segura: Hi, is this Linda?

Linda McClain: Uh-huh.

Liliana Segura: Hi, Linda. It’s Liliana Segura. How are you?

Linda McClain: Oh, I’m OK. How are you?

Liliana Segura: I’m OK. Thanks so much for returning my call.

Liliana Segura: Two days after we visited Charles Raby on Texas death row, I was startled to see a tweet about his case, directed at me, from a name that I didn’t immediately recognize. As it turned out, it was Linda McClain, the daughter of Edna Franklin: the woman Charles was accused of killing in 1992. After a brief game of phone tag, I caught up with her two days before Christmas.

Linda McClain: Yeah, I was just surprised to hear from you.

Liliana Segura: I was surprised to hear from you on Twitter! [laughs]

Linda McClain: Well, I couldn’t figure out any other way to do it, so I thought, “Well, Twitter, surely somebody will get a message, or I can reach somebody on this Twitter.” But, yeah. Did you have a question?

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