The Jury's Decision

The Jury's Decision

Author: Framed Podcast, LLC August 10, 2026 Duration: 37:36

On May 15, 1987, twelve jurors were charged with determining the guilt or innocence of Frederick Freeman in the first-degree murder of Scott A. Macklem. The State's theory relied upon the jury believing that Freeman, 23, was a violent, manipulative, self-proclaimed ninja warrior who was consumed by jealousy and rage. With an unrelenting need to control his former girlfriend by any means necessary, the prosecution maintained, Fred deliberately ambushed and executed his unsuspecting victim as he arrived on the campus. The State had presented 30 witnesses – several of them eyewitnesses who placed Freeman near the scene – to support their theory. However, the defense countered that this was pure fantasy, and that Freeman was actually 436 miles away in Escanaba at the time of the murder – and they were able to provide a series of equally credible eyewitnesses to prove it. After nearly three weeks of harrowing, emotional testimony on both sides, it was now up to the jury to reach a conclusion – would Freeman walk out of the courtroom as a truly free man, or would he spend the remainder of his life in prison?

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There’s a story you think you know-the one that made the headlines, the official version, the tidy conclusion. FRAMED: An Investigative Story isn’t about retelling that story. Instead, this series digs into the layers beneath, where context, motive, and perspective reshape everything. Hosted by the team at Framed Podcast, each season is a deep examination of a single case or historical event, approached with the patience of a historian and the scrutiny of a detective. You’ll hear archival tape, original interviews, and painstaking analysis, all aimed at untangling how narratives are constructed. The show operates on a core idea: every side has its facts, but the picture that emerges depends entirely on how those facts are framed. It’s for anyone who senses that the full truth is often hiding in the margins, in the overlooked detail or the contested testimony. By blending true crime’s urgency with history’s broader view, this podcast doesn’t just present a mystery-it interrogates the very process of how we decide what’s true. Tune in for a thoughtful, unsettling, and meticulously researched journey that challenges the first draft of history.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 36

FRAMED: An Investigative Story
Podcast Episodes
The Murder Of Scott Macklem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:11
When a shotgun blast rang out on a frigid November morning on the campus of St. Clair Community College in Port Huron, MI, students within earshot assumed it was a firecracker or a car backfiring, or perhaps even a tire…
12 - Addendum - Missing Pieces [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:50
In season two of Framed, we attempted to piece together exactly what happened in the Buddhist Temple Massacre at Wat Promkunaram. The end result of our research efforts produced, what we hope, is the clearest picture of…
11 - Where There's Smoke – Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:35:08
The Framed Team has assembled the pieces to this jigsaw puzzle in a way that no one ever has, to reveal a picture no one's ever seen. To the question, what exactly happened inside the Wat Promkunaram temple on a warm sum…
10 - Where There's Smoke – Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:01
The Framed Team has assembled the pieces to this jigsaw puzzle in a way that no one ever has, to reveal a picture no one's ever seen. To the question, what exactly happened inside the Wat Promkunaram temple on a warm sum…
9 - Veredictum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:38
The rules that govern what evidence is admissible and what is inadmissible can be complicated. Often times our common sense understanding of what a relevant fact is doesn't line up with what the law allows jurors to hear…
8 - Snitches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:50
The task force interviewed every single person that spent time with their three juvenile suspects. Literally hundreds of inmates were interviewed and, by our count, at least forty of them provided relevant information to…
7 - House on the Hill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:21
On this episode of Framed, we're going to focus on our material fact witnesses. The girlfriends, and ex-girlfriends. The close confidants, the classmates, the acquaintances, and the rivals. See Privacy Policy at https://…
6 - After Midnight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:12
On this episode we're going to focus on those individuals who fall somewhere between witnesses and suspects; a group often referred to by law enforcement as "persons-of-interest." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/…
5 - No Witnesses [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:39
"It's time to give it up. I want you to start telling me what happened on August 9th, what your involvement was, and who all was there at the Temple. Let's just get this out and get it over with." See Privacy Policy at h…
4 - JD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:34
"It wasn't me! It must have been the guy I loaned my rifle to..." A new suspect enters the interrogation room. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do…