Courtesy Photo-Nate Frazier
Creating a second, maybe a third career with just a cell phone, tripod, heart, and desire is a Nate Frazier specialty. Two-and-a-half years ago, Frazier began with Facebook podcasts. “It was a 15-minute inspiration every Saturday from Noon to 12:15 pm,” said Frazier. Then, in 2021, Frazier was offered a nationally syndicated radio show.
Frazier has accomplished this dream despite having no journalism training. “I have been in Ministry for 35-years,” said Frazier. “Talking to people and real come naturally."
The initial idea to do podcasts came in 2016 while helping young men in his church deal with their reality. “I was helping a young man name Keon Purewright. Purewright asked Frazier to interview his mom. His mom was a recovering heroin addict. “I did the podcasts, and things took off from there,” said Frazier. “Keon hooked me up with my own studio and helped me set up numerous interviews throughout the community.”
“You have always been real with me,” said Keon. “I simply wanted to return the favor.”
“A few weeks after starting his inspirational podcasts, a lady asked Frazier if he would be interested in doing an interview,” explained Frazier. “I responded with a question.”
“What type of interviews,” I queried. “I don’t know anything about doing an interview.”
“Well, can you do this triple homicide for me?”
Frazier was already aware of some of the background history surrounding the case. Two young men had been wrongfully convicted, as the evidence would go on to prove. So the challenge was not only getting the story told but getting someone to listen.
“I did the interview,” said Frazier. He blew up from there. He started getting calls from people around the country concerning wrongful convictions. The interviews started to cover topics to include racism, police misconduct, and wrongful convictions.
As it turns out, evidence of wrongful convictions is far more common than one might think. “One misnomer is that the law and justice have anything to do with one another,” explained Frazier. “For example, if someone complains to the police of an assault and presses charges, the police are duty-bound to arrest the accused. Whether or not this is a just arrest is for the judge to decide. Issues surrounding if the police professionally did their jobs are completely a separate issue."
It is up to the legal system to pass out judgment. Often, emotions run high in stressful situations, and it's sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. Significantly, when someone or several, someone’s turn out to be less than truthful for whatever reason. The prosecution's job is to interpret a set of facts. If those facts are equal to the elements of an offense, the trial moves forward. It's up to the defense to mount a case for the accused. In our current system, everyone is entitled to a vigorous defense. "Unfortunately," said Frazier, "our system sounds good on paper. Studies show the following:
How many people are wrongfully convicted? This estimate can easily be translated to a year. Roughly 195,000 people are convicted and sent to prison each year. Alas, .05% of 195,000 equates to 9,750 wrongful convictions per year. The estimates are horrifying.
Wrongful Convictions: Far More Common than They Should Be A 2018 study out of the University of Pennsylvania found that approximately 6 percent of convictions overall are wrongful convictions. This means that about 6 out of every 100 of those incarcerated should not be, something that is difficult to reckon considering we are supposed to have a sophisticated criminal justice system.
Frazier also branched out to doing political interviews. “I interviewed a lot of politicians and people running for different political positions," said Frazier. “I also interviewed the prosecuting attorney in Washtenaw County. He became a regular. I also did prosecutorial debates. Judicial debates, and school board debates.”
This activity led to Frazier being asked to do a radio show in Highland Park on WHPR. Frazier did the show for six months when he was approached by local attorneys asking if Frazier would like to do a presentation on a bigger platform.
“I’m like, sure,” said Frazier.
The attorneys sponsored the radio show on WMKM 1440 AM Detroit. That show led to another sponsorship from Rick Star Financial. “I am now doing two shows on two different stations,” said Frazier. I am on WCHB, 1340 AM and WMKM. My Thursday night show deals with political topics, and my Friday night show deals with entrepreneurial issues.”
The first week in August 2021, Frazier will be nationally syndicated. Additionally, Frazier’s show will be heard in five different countries as well. The name of the radio show is “Heart to Heart” with Nate Frazier. “I have been blessed by God,” said Frazier.
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