For The Innocent: A Wrongful Conviction Podcast

About For The Innocent: A Wrongful Conviction Podcast

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.

Publisher

Legal Talk Network

Category

society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Mar 2023

Latest episode

2 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 38 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   2 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Exoneree Band – Finding Purpose and Healing After Wrongful Incarceration

   How do you rebuild a life after it was taken from you? A wrongful conviction strips a person of their agency, leaving pain and loss where there once was freedom and purpose. Healing from such a profound injustice is no easy task, and even after exoneration, the ache of what was lost remains. In this episode, Michael Semanchik sits down with Antoine Day, Eddie Lowery, and William Michael Dillon—all members of The Exoneree Band. Together, they share how music became a powerful outlet for processing their experiences, reclaiming their voices, and transforming pain into purpose. Through their performances, The Exoneree Band spreads awareness about wrongful incarceration, tells their personal stories, and educates communities about the human cost of injustice. Their message is clear: freedom is everything. Learn more and book the band at ExonereeBand.com. Listen to William Michael Dillons Story.

2. 

   27 Jan 2026

   Why Being Right Won’t Set You Free — Hard Knox with Amanda Knox

   In this episode of Hard Knox, now airing on For the Innocent, Amanda Knox sits down with Michael Semanchik and exoneree Scott McMahon. Scott is an American who endured more than five years of imprisonment in the Philippines for a crime he did not commit. Together, Amanda, Mike, and Scott confront the deep flaws of the Philippine justice system, examining how delay and corruption turned an unfounded accusation into a years-long, life-altering ordeal for Scott and his family. Listen to more of Amanda’s episodes: Hard Knox with Amanda Knox Learn more about Scott's case: Scott McMahon - The Innocence Center

3. 

   13 Jan 2026

   Presumed Guilty: The Framing of William Michael Dillon

   We trust the justice system to protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty, but what happens when it gets things catastrophically wrong? In 1981, 21-year-old William Michael Dillon became the focus of a murder investigation in Canova Beach, Florida. Though Dillon maintained his innocence, police coercion and unreliable witnesses rapidly steered the case toward what appeared to be a predetermined outcome. Dillon was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. More than 27 years later, DNA testing finally proved his innocence and set him free. In this episode, Dillon explains how he was swept into the murder investigation, how coercive interrogations and untrustworthy testimony shaped the verdict—and how his love of music helped him survive the darkest years of his incarceration. Be sure to read the full account of Dillon’s story in FRAMED, written by his wife, Ellen Moscovitz. And, listen to his album on YouTube: Black Robes and Lawyers.

Inside a recent episode

The Exoneree Band – Finding Purpose and Healing After Wrongful Incarceration

Published 2 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] You know, anytime one of them law persons get a whim in their mind that you're guilty and you may not be, and they'll drive you right into the prison thinking just because they believe in their heart that you're guilty, they will cut every corner to make sure that you get convicted because they believe it. And now that I speak to a lot of police training classes, we do a training where we go in and we talk to all the new recruits. We do it all across the state of Illinois. And they're beginning to pick up across the country. But we go in, who I'm proud of to say my son was in one of the classes. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

52 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

15 ratings

Contact For The Innocent: A Wrongful Conviction Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.