Andrew Malkinson: independent inquiry announced into wrongful conviction
The government has announced an independent inquiry into the circumstances and handling of the Andrew Malkinson case after he was exonerated last month over a rape for which he wrongly spent 17 years in prison.
The inquiry will investigate the role of Greater Manchester police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in his conviction and in subsequent attempts to overturn it.
Malkinson, 57, was convicted in 2004 of a rape in Greater Manchester despite there being no DNA evidence. Having spent almost two decades trying to convince the authorities he was innocent, he was cleared by the court of appeal last month after fresh DNA testing linked another man to the crime.
The CCRC had previously announced a review of its handling of his case but Malkinson has been calling for a full independent inquiry. It follows revelations in the Guardian that another man’s DNA was discovered on the victim’s clothing in 2007; yet Malkinson remained in prison for another 13 years.
The justice secretary, Alex Chalk, said: “Andrew Malkinson suffered an atrocious miscarriage of justice and he deserves thorough and honest answers as to how and why it took so long to uncover. The core function of our justice system is to convict the guilty and ensure the innocent walk free. Yet a man spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit while a rapist remained on the loose. It is essential that lessons are learned in full.”
Malkinson said he welcomed the inquiry and that he wanted “full answers and accountability from all those who played a role in the injustice I suffered”.
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He added: “I hope the chair of this inquiry will adopt a scientific approach to get to the full truth behind why the justice system was in denial for so long. I spent over 17 years wrongly imprisoned and so I hope that my lawyers and I will be given the opportunity to feed into the inquiry’s terms of reference.”