Mike Semanchik is the executive director of the Innocence Center, and Scott McMahon is an American who spent more than five years imprisoned in the Philippines for a crime he did not commit. In this episode, Amanda, Mike, and Scott unpack how a justice system built on delay, corruption, and extortion can turn a single accusation into a life sentence without a verdict, how patience and tenacity become survival skills when truth is systematically ignored, and why refusing to pay for freedom can cost everything and still be worth it.

Michael Semanchik is also the host of the podcast For The Innocent, where he tells the stories of those who have been unjustly imprisoned and the tireless efforts to bring them home.

Read more about Scott's case here https://theinnocencecenter.org/case/scott-mcmahon/

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