How do you prove someone is innocent of a crime after they’ve been convicted? How does an innocent person even end up in prison in the first place? The Innocence Files, an original documentary series, delves into these questions, focusing on the cases of eight wrongfully convicted people — Kennedy Brewer, Levon Brooks, Keith Harward, Franky Carrillo, Thomas Haynesworth, Chester Hollman II, Kenneth Wyniemko and Alfred Dewayne Brown — across the U.S. 

In nine episodes, the series pulls back the curtain on the work of the Innocence Project, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Northern California Innocence Project and The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project at the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, and the uphill battle their clients face in pursuit of the truth and justice.

The Innocence Files dives deep into three major causes of wrongful conviction: the use of flawed forensic science, in this case the debunked “science” of bite mark evidence; the misuse of eyewitness identification; and prosecutorial misconduct. The series’ three parts — The Evidence, The Witness and The Prosecution — devotes three episodes to each topic. The series also explores the roles that race and racism play within the criminal justice system.