Megan Crane

Michael Politte was a teenager when he was convicted of murdering his mother, Rita. He has long insisted he did not do it.

Linda Dickerson-Bell said she believes Michael Politte is innocent of the murder of his mother, Rita Politte.

Michael Politte is serving a life sentence after a jury found he murdered his mother, Rita Politte, as a 14-year-old in Washington County, Missouri. On this special edition of "St. Louis on the Air," attorneys for the Midwest Innocence Project and the MacArthur Justice Center explain why he’s not guilty — and what investigators got wrong.

A class-action lawsuit changing how Missouri handles parole hearings has meant new hope for 98 Missouri men sentenced to life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. "St. Louis on the Air" talked to several men who have been released after decades behind bars.