Toby Jones is a well known British actor. One of his more recent roles was playing Alan Bates - the lead campaigner for victims of the Post Office Scandal - where thousands of sub-postmasters were wrongly blamed for financial losses on the computer system.

In this episode you'll hear from Toby about why he took the role - and why he thinks the programme, Alan Bates Vs The Post Office, had such an impact.  

Toby was born in London to a family of actors. He grew up in Oxford but went on to study drama at The Victoria University of Manchester, graduating in 1989.

He received a University Outstanding Alumni Award from Manchester in 2012 and became an Honorary Professor of Drama at Manchester in 2017.

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 Banks was a high school football star on track to make the NFL - until he was falsely accused of rape.

He spent over five years in prison and served five years on parole - until his accuser was secretly recorded admitting the truth.

Brian’s comeback story - including finally playing in the NFL - was turned into a Hollywood movie.

He is interviewed by Brady Haran in this episode.

Brian Banks website - https://brianbanksfree.com/

Brian Banks (movie) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Banks_(film)

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

Barry Scheck might be best known for being part of OJ Simpson's winning defence team.

But his work as the godfather of The Innocence Project has had worldwide impact for thousands of people who have been wrongly convicted.

He changed the way that DNA was used to prosecute and prove innocence.

Now he’s devoting much of this time to looking at the ways AI can be a force for good, and bad, in the courtroom.

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

Would you ever have thought that the music you listen to could be used to convict you of a crime?

The organisation Art Not Evidence wants to stop the use of creative and artistic expression as evidence in criminal trials.

In this podcast we hear from two people involved in that campaign - Kier Monteith KC and Elli Brazill.

Both Keir and Elli believe there has been an alarming increase in rap music being used to convict people. They say police and prosecutors even use listening to rap music, posting videos, or writing lyrics to suggest a motive for carrying out crime.

Art Not Evidence: https://artnotevidence.org

This episode of The Innocence Podcast was supported by Fieldfisher - a European law firm with market-leading practices in technology, financial services, energy & natural resources, and life sciences - https://www.fieldfisher.com/

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

Dean Gillispie served 20 years in prison for rape and kidnap - crimes he didn't commit.

It was Mark Godsey at the Ohio Innocence Project who helped free him.

Dean and Mark talk to Kylie about the case, the hurdles they encountered, and the impact 20 years behind bars.

Dean was recently awarded $45m in compensation - but has he seen that money?

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

Dr Felicity Gerry is a star of the legal profession. She saved a woman in the Philippines moments before she was due to be executed and helped free a man wrongly convicted of murder in Australia.

Dr Gerry’s main passion is challenging the law around joint enterprise - where someone can be jointly convicted of the crime of another.

She persuaded the UK Supreme Court this can only be if someone intends to join in - not if they merely foresaw that the other person might commit a crime. 

Dr Gerry says thousands are still in prison for murders they were not involved in.

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

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