Exoneration Record

United Kingdom ยท England and Wales, Greater Manchester

Andrew Malkinson: wrongly convicted, exonerated

Convicted of Rape of a woman in Salford in 2003.

Convicted2004
SentenceLife imprisonment with a minimum term of seven years
Years in prison17
Exonerated26 July 2023
How the conviction was overturnedCCRC referral, with the Court of Appeal quashing the conviction after DNA evidence linked another man to the crime, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), on a January 2023 referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission1,2,3

What went wrong

From conviction to exoneration

  1. Sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of seven years. He served about 10 years beyond that minimum because he maintained his innocence.1,3
  2. First application to the CCRC, which was refused, as was a second application in 2018.3
  3. Released from prison.1
  4. The CCRC referred his case to the Court of Appeal after a third application in 2021 and new DNA analysis obtained by the charity APPEAL.3
  5. The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction after DNA linked another man to the crime.1,2
  6. CCRC chair Helen Pitcher apologised, saying the body had failed him. He described the apology as too little too late.1
  7. An independent review by Chris Henley KC found the CCRC had missed several chances to refer the case, and the Justice Secretary began the process to remove the CCRC chair.3

Today

Conviction quashed in July 2023, and he is free.

Sources

  1. Associated Press (via News4Jax), A man who served 17 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit gets an apology from UK review body (18 April 2024)
  2. Grimsby Telegraph, 1m not enough, says Grimsby man wrongly jailed (August 2023)
  3. Civil Service World, Justice secretary seeks removal of agency chief over Malkinson case failures (22 July 2024)