Dr Michael Naughton is an academic and writer specialising in false allegations, miscarriages of justice, and the wrongful conviction and wrongful imprisonment of innocent victims who has received a number of awards and prizes for his work.

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Since September 2019, he has been the Founder and Director of Empowering the innocent (ETI), a project he established to raise awareness of, and give voice to, alleged innocent victims of false allegations and wrongful convictions/imprisonment. To these ends, ETI is an umbrella for the following four platforms: CCRC Watch; False Allegations Watch (FAW); Innocence Art; and, Empowering the Innocent TV (ETI TV).

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Between August 2014-August 2015, Dr Naughton was elected to the Board of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of organisations round the World dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions. Based in the United States, the Innocence Network had 49 members in almost all US States at the time and had members in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, South Africa and the UK. The Innocence Network Board, which oversees the work of the Innocence Network, is composed of 21 members. During his tenure, Dr Naughton held one of only two seats reserved for non-US members.

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​Between September 2005-July 2015, Dr Naughton was Founder and Director of the first innocence project in the UK dedicated to investigating alleged wrongful convictions, the University of Bristol Innocence Project (UoBIP). This saw him spearhead the introduction of a new form of clinical legal education in the UK based on the innocence projects that originated in the United States. Under his supervision, student volunteers investigated alleged wrongful convictions on a pro bono basis, with input from criminal appeal lawyers and forensic experts where appropriate.

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​Between September 2004-July 2015, Dr Naughton was Founder and Director of Innocence Network UK (INUK), which saw him facilitate the setting up, and support the subsequent running, of a national network with a total of 36 Innocence Projects in the UK dedicated to investigating and overturning wrongful convictions. This included an innocence project in a corporate law firm, which was also a global first.

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Between February 2004–May 2013, Dr Naughton was a Founding Steering Group Member of Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI), which lobbied on behalf of prisoners maintaining innocence. Now called Association for Prisoners Maintaining Innocence, Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI) was the title of an invited presentation given by Dr Naughton at the request of Bruce Kent, PPMI's first Chair, on his research on the obstacles and barriers to progression and release for prisoners maintaining innocence, which gave PPMI its name. 

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This website gives information about Michael's background, his work as an academic, and access to his books, publications by year, submissions to public enquiries, and contributions to the media. ​​​

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Click here for information on how to contact Dr Naughton. ​

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