5: Life After a Death Sentence

Sonia Jacobs and Peter Pringle are a husband and wife with a bond like no other. They both spent years on death row for crimes they didn’t commit - Sonia (aka Sunny) in the USA, and Peter more than 4,000 miles away in Ireland.

You could say it was fate that brought them together after being exonerated. However, Peter says it made perfect sense that they met and fell in love.

In 1976, Sunny was sent to death row for the murder of two police officers. She spent 17 years in confinement, away from her two children. In 1980, Peter was given the same sentence, for the murder of two police officers. After more than a decade each in jail, they both had their convictions overturned. Little did they know at the time, they would soon meet and spend the rest of their lives changing the futures of fellow exonerees.

They live in Galway, Ireland, and run The Sunny Center - a sanctuary for people recently freed from prison.

The Sunny Center on Twitter

Read more about the foundation here: http://www.thesunnycenter.com/

Both Were Once on Death Row, Now They Share a Life Helping Others (article)

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Professor Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project

4: Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

One afternoon in 2016, Liam Allan’s life was turned upside down after a single knock at his door. The criminology student had been falsely accused of rape, and was later charged. It wasn’t for another two years that tens of thousands of text messages proved his innocence. Why did it take so long? And what do you do when an accuser isn’t telling the truth?

Trapped inside the justice system, Liam was forced to come to terms with the prospect of years in prison for something he didn’t do.

He now lives with his partner and their young daughter. The pair dedicate their time to running The Defendant, a charity set up to help other people navigating the criminal justice system.

Liam Allan on Twitter

The Defendant

This episode features discussions around mental health. If you, or someone you know needs support, visit these websites for more information. Samaritans - Mind - Time to Change

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Professor Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project

3: Righting Wrongful Convictions

In 1992, Marilyn Mulero was sentenced to death for a double murder in Chicago. After hours of interrogation with no legal counsel, a false ‘confession’ was coerced by police detectives. She was then encouraged to sign a plea bargain and give up the chance of a trial by jury. Little did she know that the 29-year-old law professor who read her story in a local newspaper would, 25 years later, become the man to win her freedom.

Justin Brooks’ dogged determination to prove Marilyn’s innocence has also seen him exonerate more than 30 wrongfully convicted people from Chicago’s prisons. In 1999 he co-founded the California Innocence Project, from which other innocence groups around the world now take inspiration. He has already been portrayed in a Hollywood film, but filmmakers continue to bid for the chance to tell one of the world’s most inspiring stories.

Kylie speaks to Justin from his home in San Diego. When he’s not working every hour on appeals with his law students, he unwinds by going for walks on the beach or hibernating in his Derbyshire home on the other side of the Atlantic.

“Maybe I’m not the smartest lawyer in the world”, he says, “but I’m one of the most determined.”

Justin Brooks on Twitter

Marilyn Mulero’s story

Read more about the California Innocence Project

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Professor Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project

2: The World’s Most Famous Exoneree (Amanda Knox)

American Amanda Knox was an exchange student living in Italy when she was wrongly convicted of murdering her British room-mate, Meredith Kercher.

Amanda spent four years in prison before her name was cleared.

She’s now a journalist, public speaker, author and podcaster… and giving a voice to others who have been wrongfully convicted

Kylie speaks to her about life after jail - and if it’s ever possible to regain your identity after a world-famous court case.

They also discuss Amanda’s most important role to date - being a mother.

Amanda Knox on Twitter

Amanda’s podcast, Labyrinths

The Truth About True Crime

Amanda Knox - ‘A Surprising Gift from my Wrongful Conviction’

This episode features discussions about mental health. If you, or someone you know needs support, visit these websites for more information:

samaritans.org - mind.org.uk - time-to-change.org.uk

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Professor Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project

1: The Last Resort

Imagine spending years on death row for a crime you didn’t commit.

For people falsely convicted, they face the unfathomable reality of a lifetime behind bars.

The Manchester Innocence Project tries to free such people.

Based at The University of Manchester, it’s a pro bono organisation run by law academics and students. But the cases they take aren’t easy… a letter to the Manchester Innocence Project is the very last resort for most inmates.

In The Innocence Podcast, Kylie Pentelow speaks to the people at the forefront of a rapidly growing movement to overturn false convictions.

The Innocence Podcast is brought to you by The Manchester Innocence Project

Presenter/Researcher: Kylie Pentelow

Producer: Lucy McDaid

Editor: Kris McConnachie

Executive Producer: Professor Claire McGourlay

Donate to the Manchester Innocence Project