In this podcast you'll hear an emotional interview with Tom Hayes - a city trader who was fighting to clear his name for a decade.

He was jailed in 2015 for manipulating so-called Libor interest rates, used for loans between banks. He spent five-and-a-half years behind bars.

In July 2025 the Supreme Court quashed his conviction and now he is free to restart his life.

This episode was sponsored by Fieldfisher - an international law firm, with a strong Global Investigations team. Their team boasts experienced specialist criminal investigations lawyers, who handle serious and complex economic crime cases. They have represented both companies and individuals facing some of the most significant criminal enforcement actions of the past decade, with a proven track record of successfully and fearlessly defending their client’s interests, and achieving justice.

https://www.fieldfisher.com/en

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

Oliver Campbell spent 30 years trying to clear his name after being wrongly convicted of murder.

He spent more than a decade in seven different prisons for a crime he didn't commit.

In this podcast you'll hear how Oliver suffered a brain injury when he was a baby - which affected his memory and meant he was vulnerable to manipulation.

His legal team said a confession at the time was made amid the immense stress of 14 interviews by police… and the evidence against him didn't add up.

Hear from Oliver himself and the people who helped clear his name.

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

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