The Innocence Podcast

Nurse Kimberley Long was 27 when she found the body of her boyfriend Ozzy in their living room - he’d been brutally murdered.

She was sent to prison in California for a crime she didn't commit.

When The Innocence Project's Justin Brooks heard about her case, he knew she was innocent. There was no blood splatter on her clothing and the victim's time of death didn't match up to where Kim was.

Although she’s innocent, Kim says she continues to pay the price for her wrongful conviction and is still trying to get back into nursing.

But she is eternally grateful to Justin - the man who proved her innocence.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Tom Hayes says he'll never give up fighting to clear his name.

The former banker was sentenced to 11 years for fixing key interest rates.  Tom claims he was a “scapegoat” - a target for the anger at bankers in the financial crisis. 

He has now been granted permission to appeal against his criminal conviction at the UK’s top court.

Tom talks to Kylie about how he went from living a lavish lifestyle… to losing his marriage and now living in his parents’ flat.

Fighting the case has become his full-time job.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Anna Vasquez was one of the so called 'San Antonio Four' - four women who were wrongly convicted in 1994 of the sexual assault of two young girls.

It came in the wake of more than a decade of hysteria over claims of satanic abuse of children.

After the Innocence Project became involved, and uncovered new information, Anna was finally released in 2012.

In an emotional interview, Anna talks to Kylie about how she has now dedicated her life to helping to free others. 

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

If you’ve seen any of the Post Office Inquiry that’s currently taking place in the UK, you will have heard Edward Henry KC and Flora Page. They are two of the legal team fighting for those wrongly convicted in what’s been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in the UK.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing money, when in fact a faulty computer system was to blame.

On a day when the inquiry was taking a break, Kylie spoke to them, along with journalist Nick Wallis who has doggedly pursued this story for those whose lives have been destroyed.

Learn more at: https://www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk and https://www.postofficescandal.uk/about/

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Seema Misra was two months pregnant when she was sent to prison for a crime she didn't commit.

She was one of hundreds of sub postmasters wrongly accused of stealing money from the Post Office - when, in fact, a faulty computer system was to blame.

She tells Kylie about how things started to go wrong from Day 1 of owning her Post Office.

She also emotionally speaks about the toll it took on her health, her husband and, most importantly, her son.

Learn more at: https://www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk and https://www.postofficescandal.uk/about/

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Lee Castleton was made bankrupt after a two-year legal battle with the Post Office to clear his name.

Twenty years later he’s still looking for answers.

Lee, who bought his Post Office in 2003, was wrongly accused of stealing money. In reality a faulty computer system was to blame.

The ordeal severely affected his family's health. In an emotional interview, Lee explains the toll it has taken - and how his life will never be the same again.

Learn more at: https://www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk and https://www.postofficescandal.uk/about/

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Brian Buckle was sentenced to 15 years for historic child sex abuse - a crime he didn’t commit. It took him five years in prison and hundreds of thousands of pounds to prove his innocence. 

Brian may now be out of jail, but his fight for compensation continues. We hear from Brian and his wife about how a wrongful conviction ruined their lives.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Former detective superintendent Julie MacKay has dedicated her career to putting the right people behind bars.

She solved the murder of Melanie Road, more than three decades after it happened.

Julie knows first-hand how groundbreaking technological developments in policing can help track down criminals - but does that always mean the right people get caught?

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Every week Mark Newby gets letters from people desperate for his help. Those people are behind bars, they say they are innocent and have no way of proving it.

They need a criminal appeal lawyer to take on their case - and that's where Mark comes in. But he must choose who he is going to fight for.

In this episode Mark talks about how he decides what case to pursue. He says he has to be tough - the resources aren't there to help everyone. And then when he starts working on a case, it can take years, even decades, to be freed.

Then when they are lucky enough to be released, the wrongfully convicted get less help than those who are guilty and who have served their time.

Then their chance of getting ANY compensation is minimal. Mark is fighting to change that.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub

Why does it take so long for someone to prove their innocence?  

Criminal defence solicitor and former head of the legal charity, APPEAL, Suzanne Gower explains why there are so many people in prison now who are not guilty.  

Suzanne talks about her own experience of trying to free people who are wrongly behind bars.

She talks about why the justice system fails them and how urgent changes need to be made.

She has helped free numerous high profile people including Andrew Malkinson who was freed from prison after he served 17 years for a wrongful rape conviction.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project - https://bit.ly/34YbLTi

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manchester-innocence-project-justice-hub