True Crime

For the Innocent

by Legal Talk Network

True CrimeSociety & Culture

About the show

Innocence lawyer Michael Semanchik talks with exonerees about how they ended up wrongly convicted and what it took to finally get out.

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.

Latest episodes

The Exoneree Band – Finding Purpose and Healing After Wrongful Incarceration

April 2, 2026 · 40 min

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

January 27, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

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…
Presumed Guilty: The Framing of William Michael Dillon

January 13, 2026 · 58 min

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…
Survivors Guide to Prison: Examining a Broken System with Matthew Cooke

December 17, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

The failure rate of our prison systems is staggering, with recidivism exceeding 70% in nearly every state. What should this tell us about the success—or lack thereof—of our criminal justice system? And, how can those who are incarcerated…
From Prison to the Oscars: The True Story Behind Sing Sing and Rehabilitation Through the Arts

November 18, 2025 · 59 min

A maximum-security prison may not seem like the natural setting for a homegrown theater program. But at Sing Sing Prison in New York, just such a project has inspired scores of incarcerated men to learn and grow through the stories they…
A Murdered Cop and a Mishandled Mugshot – JJ Velazquez’s Wrongful Conviction

November 4, 2025 · 50 min

In 1998, a retired NYPD officer was shot and killed inside an illegal gambling parlor. Angry cops wanted speedy justice for one of their own, and an overzealous, incautious investigation ensued. A witness to the shooting with a criminal…
The Collapse of a Conviction: How an LAPD Cop and Two Journalists Unraveled the Case Against Bruce Lisker

October 21, 2025 · 1 hr 0 min

At just 17 years old, Bruce Lisker was branded a murderer after being accused and convicted of the violent killing of his mother. He would go on to spend the next 26 years of his life in prison, until a federal judge finally overturned his…
A Deceitful Detective & Manipulated Evidence – The Wrongful Conviction of Bruce Lisker

October 7, 2025 · 53 min

In 1983, Bruce Lisker’s mother was violently attacked in their family home. After responding to his frantic 911 call, police quickly drew assumptions from the chaotic crime scene. Dorka Lisker was bludgeoned, stabbed several times, and…