A new twist on the true crime genre has arrived, with the Griffith University Innocence Project launching a podcast on wrongful convictions.
Launching on Monday 14 April, the podcast will explore cases where the person convicted and incarcerated did not in fact commit the crime.
While it's impossible to be sure, estimates suggest around 0.05 per cent of people in prisons are innocent, which could equate to a few hundred people across Australia, or potentially tens of thousands in the United States.
The series has weaved together first-hand accounts from exonerees, lawyers and researchers to explore the legal, scientific and human complexities behind wrongful convictions, with topics including coerced juvenile confessions, emerging forensic science, and the systemic injustices faced by First Nations peoples.
With episode one introducing listeners to the Griffith University Innocence Project's own journey and mission, episode two jumps straight into the gripping story of Jane Dorotik, an American woman wrongly imprisoned for 20 years after being convicted of her husband's murder, only to be exonerated by DNA and new evidence.
Listeners will also hear from solicitor Rhanee Rego, who worked tirelessly on proving Kathleen Folbigg's innocence after she was falsely found guilty of murdering her four young children, leading to a successful exoneration in 2024.
Project Director Robyn Blewer said she was hoping to shine a light on the impact of wrongful convictions.
"In Australia, we can't talk publicly about the cases we work on, but this podcast has allowed us to talk openly about historical cases, or overseas cases that closely reflect some of ours," she said.
"For example, Hugh Burton's case resembles a case where one of our applicants confessed to a crime when he was a juvenile.
"Hugh Burton spent 19 years in jail in the USA for murdering his mother, after he was coerced into confessing at just 16 years old.
"While he received about $11 million in compensation after being exonerated, he said even with all that, there is nothing anyone can do to fix him, because of what he's been through.
"It brought me to tears thinking about people we know in similar situations, what they've had to endure, how they've had to live with this stigma, and that they really haven't had a life."
Dr Blewer hopes the podcast will not only help educate people but foster greater public engagement and empathy for people who have lived through the unimaginable.
"Our goal is to spark curiosity and build a community that cares about justice," she said.
The Griffith University Innocence Project podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
