ANDY MALKINSON, 57, a man who was wrongfully convicted and jailed for rape, has shockingly revealed that he may be required to pay thousands of pounds for his ‘board and lodgings’ during his time in prison.
Malkinson, found guilty of raping a woman in Salford in 2003, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of seven years in 2004.
On Wednesday, Malkinson’s conviction was overturned by senior judges at the Court of Appeal after DNA evidence implicating another man in the crime was discovered. However, despite serving 17 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Malkinson may have to pay for the cost of food and accommodation during his imprisonment. This sum would be deducted from any compensation he receives for his wrongful imprisonment. This has reportedly been standard practice in miscarriage of justice cases since the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 came into force.
Malkinson served an additional 10 years behind bars as he staunchly maintained his innocence. He spoke candidly to BBC Radio 4 about the enormous psychological burden this period of his life had on him, sharing that he ‘contemplated suicide many times’. He considered admitting to the crime he did not commit just to secure his release but described that option as a ‘hollow choice’.
‘Getting out involves taking part in group therapy. Discussing with other rapists, murderers, paedophiles and discussing what you’ve done wrong. I thought through it, but it was even more horrific than spending more time (in prison). The idea of lying in a group and listening to horrific stories and pretending I’d done something as horrific as that, I couldn’t even contemplate it,’ he said.
In the aftermath of the ruling, the Greater Manchester Police extended an apology to Malkinson. Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson stated, ‘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.’
However, Malkinson dismissed the apology as ‘hollow’ and accused Greater Manchester Police of a ‘deliberate’ cover-up. ‘Since 2009, it’s been known that there was an ‘unknown male’s’ DNA on a crime-specific area. Greater Manchester Police have wantonly and systematically destroyed that evidence – the clothing the victim wore on that night. You can’t dress that up as a mistake, that’s deliberate. I believe that force is just corrupt. It’s a hollow apology,’ he countered.
Malkinson expressed his sympathy for the victim of the crime he was wrongfully accused of, saying, ‘I am so sorry that you were attacked and brutalised that night by that man. I am not the person who attacked you but what happened to me is not your fault.’
