EXONERATED: RAPE CONVICTION OF A LITTLE HULTON MAN WHO SPENT 17 YEARS IN PRISON OVERTURNED

Little Hulton man Andrew Malkinson was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years after being found guilty of the rape of a woman back in 2003. His maintenance of his innocence lead him to remain behind bars for a further ten years.

Despite no DNA evidence linking him to the crime, and the case of the prosecution being based solely on witness testimony, he was found guilty.

Malkinson's case was referred to the Court of Appeal earlier this year by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), citing new DNA evidence had identified another suspect, who has since been arrested.

His appeal was quashed by three senior judges with no contest from either Greater Manchester Police (GMP) or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Lord Justice Holroyde said that he could "leave the court free and no longer be subject to the conditions of licence".

Upon leaving the court Mr Malkinson, said:

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"Today I told this court I was innocent and finally they listened.

"The police, prison officers, probation, prisoners, journalists, judges... As a minority of one you are forced to live their false fantasy.

"On 2 August 2003 I was kidnapped by the state. It has taken nearly 20 years to persuade my kidnappers to let me go."

 

57-year-old Malkinson, despite being released from prison in December 2020, said he was "not free" having had his name placed on the sex offenders register and forced to live under "tight supervision" by police and probation officers.

He, added:

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"Now I have finally been exonerated, I am left outside this court... jobless, homeless, expected to simply slip back into the world with no acknowledgement of the gaping black hole that they opened up in my life; a black hole that looms so large behind me, even here today, that I fear it will swallow me up." 

Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson made the following statement: 

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"We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson that he is the victim of such a grave miscarriage of justice, in being convicted of a crime he did not commit and serving a 17-year custodial sentence. Whilst we hope this outcome gives him a long overdue sense of justice, we acknowledge that it does not return the years he has lost. I have offered to meet with him to personally deliver this apology.

"We are also profoundly sorry to the victim of this crime, who not only suffered an horrific trauma 20 years ago, but also relived the experience during a criminal trial, and now may endure additional harm caused by learning that the true offender has not yet been brought to justice. We are absolutely committed to following all new lines of enquiry to ensure the right person is held accountable for harming her.

"Whilst this case tragically led to the wrong person being convicted, these instances are thankfully very rare. Following an appeal heard by the Court of Appeal in 2006, and two reviews by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a full and thorough review of the original investigation was carried out by GMP. The force has and will continue to fully cooperate with any further reviews of this case and action will be taken if it is found that anything could have been done differently.

"In the vast majority of cases, the processes our officers follow lead to a case being presented to the CPS whereby the suspect and evidence collected were relevant to the crime committed. The evidence presented by GMP and the CPS at court between 2003-2004 was subject to a full criminal trial before a jury, who ultimately reached the final guilty verdict. Sadly, in this case it is now clear that the wrong person was convicted.

"Due to new forensic evidence, following developments in forensic technologies, there is a live criminal investigation in which a suspect remains on bail. We cannot comment further on that matter at this time.

"We are sorry that in this case, the judicial process failed, and the wrong man was convicted. We are determined to work with our colleagues in the CPS to ensure all new evidence is fully examined and that the person truly responsible is convicted and the victim of this horrific crime receives the justice deserved."