Andrew Malkinson: UK: I have begun to follow this compelling case, which is backed by 'Appeal' and pro bono lawyers - and promises to be of great interest to this Blog. This introduction to the case by 'Appeal' is an excellent place from which to start..As reported by Emily Dugan in The Sunday Times, "(Our) lawyers and investigators have found stunning new evidence supporting Andy’s innocence. First, APPEAL was able to commission new DNA testing which identified new male DNA which does not belong to Andy in four separate locations from samples taken from the victim shortly after the attack. One area in which this unknown male DNA was found was under the victim’s fingernails on the hand she said she used to cause a deep scratch on the attacker’s face. APPEAL succeeded in securing the police’s co-operation in getting this DNA testing done with pro bono forensic science assistance from professors Christophe Champod and Franco Taroni at the University of Lausanne. Second, after taking them to court, APPEAL eventually succeeded in getting the police to disclose that two of the supposed eyewitnesses – described to the jury as “honest” – in fact had 16 convictions for 38 offences between them. The police have acknowledged that their criminal histories should have been disclosed at trial."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The trial that resulted in my  wrongful conviction felt like a slow motion car crash - I just couldn't  think of any way to stop it. Thanks to APPEAL taking the police to  court, we've discovered evidence that I hope means that the Court of  Appeal will finally clear my name after spending more than 17 years in  prison for a crime I did not commit.” – Andy Malkinson; 

POST: I'm walking after 17 years - now to clear my name: Andrew Malkinson: APPEAL:  (About APPEAL: "Our investigation methodology is based on that deployed in high stakes death penalty cases in the US, and includes closely analysing the existing case materials using cutting edge software, demanding access to new documents, interviewing witnesses, visiting to key locations, and working with pro bono experts to find the evidence needed to overturn wrongful convictions and unfair sentences. We value results over throughput, and so work on behalf of a small number of people to ensure the quality of our work."

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GIST:  "APPEAL’s  client Andy Malkinson was released from HMP North Sea Camp in December  2020, having served over 17 years in prison for a crime he did not  commit. Although his sentence could have allowed for his release after  six and a half years, Andy’s consistent protestations that he did not  carry out the 2003 stranger rape for which he was convicted caused him  to spend an extra decade behind bars.  

As reported in The Sunday Times, new DNA evidence proves that our client Andy Malkinson is and always has been innocent.

Andy was convicted  by a 10-2 majority jury verdict despite the complete absence of any  forensic evidence linking him to the attack and several discrepancies  between him and the descriptions obtained of the attacker. The  prosecution’s case rested solely on identification evidence from three  individuals.  

 With help from pro bono lawyers from firms  Ropes & Gray and Latham & Watkins, APPEAL identified numerous  flaws in the way police carried out the identity procedures, rendering  this evidence unreliable. However, the Criminal Cases Review Commission  nevertheless refused to grant Andy a fresh appeal hearing. 

However, APPEAL did not give up there. As reported by Emily Dugan in The Sunday Times,  our lawyers and investigators have found stunning new evidence  supporting Andy’s innocence. 

 First, APPEAL was able to  commission new DNA testing which identified new male DNA which does not  belong to Andy in four separate locations from samples taken from the  victim shortly after the attack. 

One area in which this unknown male DNA  was found was under the victim’s fingernails on the hand she said she  used to cause a deep scratch on the attacker’s face. 

APPEAL succeeded in  securing the police’s co-operation in getting this DNA testing done  with pro bono forensic science assistance from professors Christophe  Champod and Franco Taroni at the University of Lausanne.  

Second,  after taking them to court, APPEAL eventually succeeded in getting the  police to disclose that two of the supposed eyewitnesses – described to  the jury as “honest” – in fact had 16 convictions for 38 offences  between them.

 The police have acknowledged that their criminal histories  should have been disclosed at trial. 

Working with barristers Edward  Henry QC and Max Hardy, APPEAL have now launched a new legal challenge  aimed at getting the police to finally be fully transparent about these  two prosecution witnesses. 

“The trial that resulted in my  wrongful conviction felt like a slow motion car crash - I just couldn't  think of any way to stop it. Thanks to APPEAL taking the police to  court, we've discovered evidence that I hope means that the Court of  Appeal will finally clear my name after spending more than 17 years in  prison for a crime I did not commit.” – Andy Malkinson 

Although  now out of prison, Andy remains on the sex offender’s register and with  strict restrictions on his freedom. Armed with compelling new evidence,  APPEAL are determined to exonerate Andy and expose the systemic  failures which caused him to be wrongly convicted and made it so  difficult for him to access justice."

The entire story can be read at:

https://appeal.org.uk/andrew-malkinson-1

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL, FINAL WORD: “It is incredibly easy to convict an innocent person, but it's exceedingly difficult to undo such a devastating injustice. 

Jennifer Givens: DirectorL UVA Innocence Project.