Joe Rogan and Josh Dubin dissect Sheldon Johnson’s shocking actions after JRE appearance: "It's so crazy"

Joe Rogan's podcast, Joe Rogan Experience, is arguably the No. 1 podcast in the world for various reasons. Perhaps the one thing that pulls the most audience towards JRE is the myriad of controversial and viral moments it produces. One of the most eyebrow-raising JRE podcast stories is the shocking case of Sheldon Johnson.

In February of 2024, Johnson appeared on the podcast alongside Josh Dubin, a lawyer and advocate for wrongfully and unfairly convicted people in America. Johnson, at the time, was freshly released from prison after serving 25 years for armed robbery. He spoke at length about his troubled childhood and how he decided to turn things around while locked up.

Jackson then promised to "never go back to prison" and help others to not choose a life of crime. Just over a month later, however, Johnson allegedly killed and decapitated his childhood friend, Colin Small. He was later arrested and charged with murder, potentially locking him away for the rest of his life.

Johnson's lawyer and co-JRE guest, Josh Dubin, hasn't made a public appearance since the incident - until six days ago. Returning as a guest in Joe Rogan Experience, the rather somber Dubin admitted that he's still quite shocked by what happened.

Rogan then added:

"It's so crazy because we went out with him [Johnson] that evening. We brought him to the comedy club, he was hanging out with us in the green room. And then the news broke [38 days later], and then the comics were all like, 'Hey man what the f*ck. What the f*ck you doing bringing that guy around?' [Laughs] We'll we didn't know."

Dubin said:

"It's really not funny. I mean, I'm only laughing out of, sort of, nervousness...I called him a miracle on this show. And the media shoved that straight up my *ss...I've had a lot of time to think about this. And you and I have discussed this privately and I kind of went into a hole."

Watch their discussion here (0:08):

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Josh Dubin believes he let Joe Rogan and everybody down

Josh Dubin, who has been on Joe Rogan's podcast multiple times in the past, is a known civil rights attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. He's spent years selflessly helping people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn't commit. Sheldon Johnson, however, is a unique case as he was found guilty of two counts of armed robbery but was unfairly given a 70-year prison sentence.

Due to Johnson's marvelously good behavior in prison and Dubin's help, the 48-year-old New York native was released under a new "timed served" sentence of , which was 25 years.

On Johnson's actions after the Joe Rogan Experience episode, Dubin said (3:54):

"This tore down 50 years of work that a lot of people have fought really hard for. And I felt like I let you down. You've given us an amazing platform to get stories out for people that really need help."

Rogan thoughtfully replied:

"You didn't let me down at all. I appreciate that you felt like that [but] it didn't feel like that to me at all. Listen, there is a reality of prison life. There's a reality of being incarcerated. There's a reality of taking a person who's convicted of a violent crime and putting him in jail with violent people for 30 years. That's just a reality."