For the Innocent: A Podcast About Wrongful Convictions, Legal Failures, Prison, True Crime, Forensic Science, and Criminal Justice
Hosted by Michael Semanchik, For the Innocent exposes the shocking reality of wrongful convictions through raw, first-person stories from the exonerated. Season 3 returns September 9th featuring powerful accounts from Amanda Knox, JJ Velasquez, Bruce Lisker— three exonerees whose names have become synonymous with injustice— and more.
Through their voices, uncover how the justice system failed them, what it took to win back their freedom, and the lifelong impact of being branded guilty while innocent. Plus, hear legal and criminal experts break down the systemic flaws from false confessions and eyewitness misidentifications to flawed forensic science and corrupt police officers. This season uncovers the truth behind America’s most haunting wrongful convictions.
Season One and Two are now available.
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 29 minutes
- Episodes
- 28
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
The Amanda Knox Story: Her Fight for Justice on the Global Stage
Suffering is part of the human experience, but most of us are granted the dignity of processing our pain and healing in private. For Amanda Knox, that has never been an option. As she herself puts it…
00:45:48 |
Tue 09 Sep 2025
Amanda Knox, JJ Velasquez, and More | For The Innocent Season 3 Trailer
Hosted by Michael Semanchik, For the Innocent exposes the shocking reality of wrongful convictions through raw, first-person stories from the exonerated. Season 3 returns September 9th featuring powe…
00:04:05 |
Tue 02 Sep 2025
Evidence Preservation: Who’s Responsible and What Happens When It’s Lost or Destroyed
At the moment of conviction, the incentive to safeguard evidence diminishes in the eyes of the Criminal Justice System. That’s why it is critically important to act quickly to ensure evidence remains…
00:40:03 |
Thu 26 Sep 2024
The Luis Vargas Story: Misidentified as the “Teardrop Rapist”
Luis Vargas was wrongfully convicted after three separate witnesses misidentified him as the “Teardrop Rapist.” Sixteen years later, DNA linked to the uncaught serial sex offender was found in one of…
00:32:16 |
Thu 12 Sep 2024
Eyewitness Misidentifications
In the first 325 DNA exonerations, false identification accounted for 72% of the wrongful convictions. But how is that possible? The simplest explanation is that we are not as good at identifying eac…
00:39:34 |
Thu 29 Aug 2024
The Guy Miles Story: How Flawed Eyewitness Identification Led to 18 Years in Prison
Guy Miles was wrongfully convicted after being misidentified by an eyewitness during a robbery investigation in Orange County, California. Although he had once been involved in gangs during his youth…
00:30:47 |
Thu 15 Aug 2024
Dark Pleas: Trading Innocence for Freedom in Post Conviction Deals
Imagine being in prison for decades. You’ve been fighting your appeal for many years. Your lawyer believes you’ll get a new trial but there is no guarantee that you’ll win your freedom. Suddenly, the…
00:30:56 |
Thu 01 Aug 2024
Angela’s Story: A Dark Plea in Exchange for Freedom
On November 20th 1999, Angela Garcia’s home caught on fire. Surprised and crawling in the dark, she was not able to find her children before the blaze forced her to jump out of a 2nd floor window. Sh…
00:29:01 |
Thu 18 Jul 2024
Plea Deals: Why Innocent People Give Up and Go to Prison
Believe it or not, there are many reasons to plead guilty when you’re not.
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Plea deals are necessary to fight crime. Without them, our criminal justice system would grind to a halt, and the bad …
00:48:13 |
Thu 20 Jun 2024
Marilyn’s Story: A Plea Deal Turned Deadly
Marilyn Mulero was wrongfully suspected of a Chicago gang murder in 1992. Naive to the criminal justice system, she was frightened into signing a statement by threats of the death penalty from law en…
00:29:48 |
Thu 06 Jun 2024
Junk Science - Undoing the Damage
When forensic evidence gets it wrong, how do we free the innocent?
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In our history of criminal prosecutions, some types of evidence ended up being unreliable. Forensic sciences like bite-mark id…
00:19:08 |
Thu 23 May 2024
Junk Science - Shaken Baby Syndrome
In the 1980s and 1990s, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) was a popular medical theory used to arrest and convict innocent parents of fatally abusing their children. Unknown at the time, this theory was sev…
00:46:53 |
Thu 09 May 2024
Junk Science - Bloodstains & Bite Marks
What happens when forensic science is later found to be false?
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Forensic science is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, not all sciences used to prosecute people are rel…
00:24:59 |
Thu 25 Apr 2024
Zavion’s Story
A Minor Accident Turns Fatal
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Zavion Johnson was bathing his four month old daughter when she slipped from his grasp and hit her head on the tub. He immediately checked her for injuries but foun…
00:34:46 |
Thu 11 Apr 2024
Season 2 Begins
The Lives and Stories of the Wrongfully Convicted
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Welcome back listeners. There is so much left to cover. In upcoming episodes, we will explore topics like Junk Science, Plea deals, Eyewitness …
00:02:29 |
Mon 08 Apr 2024
False Confessions (Part 2)
Despite best intentions, parents can be their child’s worst enemy during an investigation. And innocent people can know the same facts that only guilty criminals do. But how are these things possible…
00:31:13 |
Wed 24 May 2023
False Confessions (Part 1)
It’s the most intriguing question about our criminal justice system. Why do innocent people confess to crimes they didn’t commit? As strange as it seems, it happens regularly and for a variety of rea…
00:21:24 |
Wed 24 May 2023
Marty’s Story (Part 2)
Marty Tankleff was wrongfully convicted of murdering his parents in 1990. Innocent and very young, he would learn the legal system well enough to win his freedom. In the process, Marty would uncover …
00:38:31 |
Wed 24 May 2023
Marty’s Story (Part 1)
Marty Tankleff was only 17 when his parents were murdered in their Belle Terre home in Long Island, New York. When he needed help from adults the most, he was subjected to a frightening interrogation…
00:39:46 |
Wed 24 May 2023
More Episodes Dropping Soon!
So far, we’ve heard from Brian Banks and Uriah Courtney about false accusations and DNA evidence. Coming up in mid-May, we’re going to talk with Marty Tankleff about his false confession and why he a…
00:06:18 |
Wed 26 Apr 2023
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