Report Shows Man Wrongfully Jailed for 17 Years Could Have Been Freed Years Earlier
Key Highlights :
For 17 years, Andrew Malkinson was wrongfully imprisoned for a rape he did not commit. A recent report reveals that he could have been freed years earlier, had certain steps been taken.
In 2003, Andrew Malkinson was accused of raping a woman from Kearsley in Little Hulton. Despite his innocence, he was wrongfully convicted and not freed until 2020. Last month, his conviction was quashed and he was declared an innocent man.
Case files obtained by the Guardian newspaper show that police and prosecutors knew as early as 2007 that another man’s DNA was found on the woman’s clothes. Mr. Malkinson said, “If the CCRC had investigated properly, it would have spared me years in prison for a crime I did not commit. I feel an apology is the least I am owed, but it seems like the very body set up to address the system’s fallibility is labouring under the delusion that it is itself infallible. How many more people has it failed?”
According to the report, officers and prosecutors opted to take no further action in 2007 when they discovered the new DNA evidence. There is no record that they told the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body responsible for investigating possible miscarriages of justice.
The CPS said Mr. Malkinson’s lawyers were told of the new DNA evidence. The CCRC refused to order further forensic testing or refer the case for appeal in 2012 and the case files reportedly suggest it was worried about costs.
Mr. Malkinson’s solicitor Emily Bolton said, “The documents are a shocking chronicle of how Andy was utterly failed by the body which should have put an end to his wrongful conviction nightmare, but instead acted as a barrier to justice. An overhaul of the CCRC is needed to prevent it failing other innocent prisoners.”
The case files obtained by Mr. Malkinson show that notes of a meeting between the Forensic Science Service, the CPS and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in December 2009 suggest the CPS understood the possible importance of the 2007 DNA find.
CPS guidance states it “must write to the CCRC at the earliest opportunity about any case in which there is doubt about the safety of the conviction”. An internal log of Mr. Malkinson’s first application to the CCRC in 2009 reportedly reveals CCRC highlighted the cost of further testing and said it would be unlikely to lead to his conviction being quashed.
James Burley, investigator at Appeal, said, “These records prove that the CCRC’s handling of Andy’s case was deeply flawed and a complete mess. By not bothering to obtain the police files, the CCRC failed to uncover evidence which could have got Andy’s name cleared a decade earlier.”
He added, “The CCRC’s internal comments show that in deciding not to commission any DNA testing, cost was at the forefront of their considerations. That decision may have saved the CCRC some money, but it came at a brutal cost for both Andy and the victim.”
A CPS spokesperson told The Guardian, “It is clear Mr Malkinson was wrongly convicted of this crime and we share the deep regret that this happened. Evidence of a new DNA profile found on the victim’s clothing in 2007 was not ignored. It was disclosed to the defence team representing Mr Malkinson for their consideration.”
The CCRC told the newspaper, “As we have said before, it is plainly wrong that a man spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.”
Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. The recent report shows that he could have been freed years earlier, had the police and prosecutors taken the appropriate steps. His case serves as a reminder of the need for proper investigation and due diligence in criminal cases to ensure that justice is served.
