#099: What If You Were Innocent? Feat Dr Louise Hewitt

Ever wondered how someone is exonerated after 28 years in prison? Innocence Projects are doing an insane amount of work to make that happen. 

Today with Louise, Director of The Innocence Project London, we talk about what they do for the wrongfully convicted.

Dr Louise Hewitt has many accolades but the one that stands out to me is the pro bono work she’s been doing for over 13 years at the Innocence Project London (IPL). 

We go over:

+ Claiming back your innocence and why it’s such a lengthy process?

+ Are the requirements to get your case reviewed fair or not?

+ Various types of wrongful convictions: Joint enterprise liability & mistaken eyewitness identification.

+ How good storytelling from a prosecutor can sway a jury against you.

+ How does she know if her clients are genuinely innocent and not just playing her?

+ Is anyone more vulnerable to be wrongfully convicted?

+ The look of innocence: our misconceptions and ideas. Are there parameters in place to combat bias in the justice system?

+ Different categories of prison.

+ Even when exonerated, can you ever remove the stain - Is that injustice ever made right again?

+ What to do if you’re arrested for a crime you didn’t do. 

+ The lack of legal aid funding and how she keeps going. 

+ The empathy for the individuals in prison as being part of our society. 

+ The ripple effect of the innocence project.

+ Could a world without IPL ever exist?

+ The future of IPL.

+ Being pardoned and wanting your name back.

Mentioned in the episode: Maria Konnikova (journalist) & John Huffington (exonerated) 

This is an episode that is very important to me, what the Innocence Project London does is not easy but very important work that requires tenacity and support. I hope this episode will go some way in giving them support.

Find Louise & Innocence Project: www.iplondon.org 

Twitter & FB: @innocencelondon   

Insta: @innocenceprojectlondon/

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Content note: This episode contains sensitive content, discretion is advised.