A man who has spent 17 years in jail for a rape that he did not commit has this afternoon won the fight to clear his name
In 2004, Andy Malkinson was convicted by a 10-2 majority jury verdict of the July 2003 rape of a 33-year-old woman in Greater Manchester despite the absence of any forensic evidence linking him to the attack and notable discrepancies with the descriptions provided by eyewitnesses.
He then spent a decade longer in prison than he might have done had he admitted his guilt.
He was finally released on a strict life licence in December 2020.
His conviction was referred in January this year for a fresh appeal hearing after DNA was linked to an alternative suspect.
I’ve suffered incalculably for the last 20 years as a result of my wrongful conviction, and I continue to suffer each day,’
‘I have always known I am innocent. Finally, the prosecution has acknowledged my conviction should not stand. Of course, it is still the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant me justice. I sincerely hope they will give serious consideration to the disclosure failures which denied me a fair trial. The police must be made accountable – no one should have to suffer what I’ve been through.’
Assistant GMP Chief Constable Sarah Jackson:
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.”
Kate Green, Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire, said:
“What Mr Malkinson has been put through, and the pain and stress caused to him, is truly awful and my deepest sympathies are with him. It has come far too late, and he will never get the last 20 years back, but I hope this outcome can finally offer him some relief.
“My thoughts are also with the victim of this horrific offence who, after 20 years, finds herself once again looking for the person responsible to be brought to justice for what they did, and she is now having to relive that trauma again.
“This is a shocking miscarriage of justice, and I would urge Government – as I will be doing with Greater Manchester Police and local criminal justice partners – to look at this case in close detail to examine what lessons need to be learnt across the criminal justice system to prevent another innocent person having to go through something like this again.”
