What went wrong

The factors courts and exoneration bodies identified in each case.

Mistaken witness identification (2)

New DNA profiling showed biological material from the crime did not come from him (1)

His application also raised concerns about police interviews, bite mark evidence and the alleged weapon, which the court did not rule on (1)

False confession by a woman with serious mental illness (1)

Prosecution failure to disclose evidence pointing to a police officer (1)

Inadequate legal defense (1)

Fabricated evidence, with the court ruling the blood stained clothing was planted long after the murders (1)

A confession he retracted, which he said followed 20 days of interrogation during which he alleged police beat him (1)

Reliance on data from the Horizon IT system as evidence of shortfalls (1)

Medical and scientific evidence later showed possible natural causes, including a rare CALM2 genetic variant carried by two of the children (1)

The court found reasonable doubt as to her guilt (1)

Mistaken witness identification from flawed photo lineups (1)

No fingerprints, DNA or video linked him to the crime (1)

Mistaken witness identification from a police lineup (1)

Non disclosure of evidence, with Malkinson saying the court found Greater Manchester Police unlawfully withheld evidence (1)

The CCRC refused two earlier applications, which an independent review found were missed chances to refer the case (1)

Official misconduct alleged, with a witness statement describing the attacker withheld from the defence and an altered version presented (1)

Evidence omitted from earlier appeals (1)

Mistaken or false identification by the sole eyewitness, who later said police pressured her (1)

No physical evidence linked him to the crime (1)

Two men who pleaded guilty later said he was not involved (1)

Reliance on out of court statements by co accused that the court held were inadmissible (1)

Uncorroborated oral testimony of co accused (1)

Unreliable firearms evidence linking crime bullets to his gun (1)

Inadequate legal defense, including a defence expert the lawyer knew was inadequate (1)

Mistaken witness identification from a photo lineup (1)

False confession, with new evidence that he had foetal alcohol spectrum disorder that was not identified at his trials (1)

False testimony from a witness who was 12 years old and later said police fed him the information (1)

Official misconduct, including withheld evidence that pointed to another man (1)

False testimony, with a witness later saying police helped shape her testimony (1)

Inadequate legal defense by a lawyer who had never tried a jury case (1)

Unreliable eyewitness testimony, with new evidence of collusion between witnesses (1)

An incorrect alibi that the court considered may have been a mistake rather than deception (1)

Phone evidence placing him elsewhere on the day (1)

False confession, which the retrial verdict found was pressured by flawed DNA tests and a questionable investigation (1)

Flawed early DNA testing (1)

Evidence the Crown did not disclose at trial (1)

Fresh evidence showing the verdict could not safely stand (1)

Non disclosure by the prosecution pathologist of a microbiology report suggesting one baby probably died of a bacterial infection (1)

Misleading statistical evidence, as the court said the one in 73 million figure grossly overstated the chance of two sudden deaths in the same family (1)

Official misconduct, with the court finding that two gardaí consciously and deliberately invented evidence and concealed that fact (1)

Suppression of material by gardaí (1)

False confessions given by the teenagers during police questioning (1)

Evidence later connected another man to the attack (1)

Fresh evidence pointed to another man, who was convicted of the murder in 1999 after DNA testing (1)

Unvalidated or improper forensic science (1)

Tunnel vision in the investigation and prosecution, as found by the Kaufman inquiry (1)

Official misconduct, including prosecution failure to disclose a police report pointing to another suspect (1)

Perjury or false accusation by witnesses who were pressured by police (1)

Official misconduct, including suppression of exculpatory evidence by prosecutors (1)

Alibi witnesses disregarded (1)

False confession after three days of questioning without a lawyer, by a man described as having a mental age of seven (1)

False accusations by four teenage girls, who later admitted they had made them up (1)

Scientific evidence showing he was not the source of material on the victim (1)

Confessions that the men said police beat out of them (1)

Police fabrication of evidence (1)

Forensic evidence later shown to be unreliable (1)

False confessions signed under heavy police pressure (1)

Official misconduct, with police interview notes extensively edited and police guidelines breached (1)

Forensic evidence that a judicial inquiry later found insubstantial (1)

A coroner in 2012 said a witch hunt had led to her conviction (1)