RIGHTING WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Innocence Initiative
We can all remember a time when we've been wrongly accused of something.
But imagine actually being sent to prison for something you didn't do.
British justice should be the best in the world, But it continues to land innocent people in prison.
Our Innocence Initiative is focused on righting these wrongs.
Modelled after similar Innocence Projects in the USA, we recognise that sometimes, the system gets it wrong. Stories such as those of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six rocked the nation when their convictions were declared unjust back in the late 80s and early 90s.
But has British justice taken steps to ensure these failures do not recur?
When the police don’t have the resources to investigate thoroughly, when “junk” science slips into our courtrooms, when the legal aid regime hobbles the defence, or when evidence favourable to the defence is not disclosed - miscarriages of justice can and do still occur.
We carefully screen cases of people imprisoned in England and Wales who maintain their innocence and elect to represent small number of prisoners where we believe we can develop evidence that will satisfy the Court of Appeal is unsafe.
We represent people to the Court of Appeal, the Criminal Cases Review Commission and in Judicial Review proceedings.
In the long run, our aim is to change the system so fewer innocent people are wrongly convicted in future.
Fighting Injustice: Armed with DNA evidence that proves another male was responsible for the crime for which he spent more than 17 years in prison, Andy Malkinson continues the fight to clear his name. Listen to his story in a five-part podcast by the Times here.