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 Rita Curran Part 1 (Vermont)
The Suspicious Death of Denise Scott Ramsey (Maine)
The Murder of Angela Belisle (Vermont)
The Murder of Ronald Rogers Part 2 (Vermont)
The Murder of Ronald Rogers Part 1 (Vermont)
The Murder of Helen Jewett (New York)
The Still Unsolved Murder of Darien Richardson (Maine)
The Murders of Jack & Florence Bettencourt (Maine)
The Suspicious Death of Morgan Patten Part 2 (North Carolina)
The Suspicious Death of Morgan Patten Part 1 (North Carolina)
The Murders of Sandra Valade, Pamela Mason & Rena Paquette (New Hampshire)
The Murders of Carrie Moss & Sonya Moore (New Hampshire)
The Murder of Susan Taraskiewicz (Massachusetts)
The Haunted Lighthouses of Seguin & Boon Island (Maine)
The Murder of Judith Flagg (Maine)
The Disappearances of Tina & Bethany Sinclair (New Hampshire)
The Murder of Tammy Dickson (Maine)
The Disappearance of Robert "Bobby" Desmond (Maine)
UPDATED: The Murder of Leslie Spellman (Maine)
A Conversation with Ashley Flowers, Host of Crime Junkie
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Ghosts of Dallas
20/20
Anatomy of Murder
Going West: True Crime
Crime Junkie
Mortal Musings Podcast