BACKGROUND: (From 'Times' Social Affairs Reporter Emily Dugan, April 25, 2021. "I spent 17 years in jail but DNA provers the real killer os still at large."..."A man who spent 17 years in prison for rape and maintained his innocence is a step closer to clearing his name after a fresh DNA breakthrough in his case. Andrew Malkinson was convicted of raping a 33-year-old mother left for dead on a Manchester roadside in the middle of the night in July 2003. There was never any forensic evidence against him and his conviction depended on an identity parade and testimony from witnesses whose criminal pasts were hidden from the court. Malkinson, 55, who was 37 when he went to jail, was released from prison last December for good behaviour. He was locked up for ten years beyond his tariff because he refused to admit to the crime. Greater Manchester police (GMP) have now admitted that they misled the court by presenting two key witnesses, a couple, as honest. In fact, they had 16 convictions for 38 offences between them. They claimed they were able to identify Malkinson having seen him on a dark street in the middle of the night. Despite this, GMP continue to spend public money fighting Malkinson’s lawyers in the courts to prevent more information being revealed about the witnesses and their interaction with police. The couple came forward to say they were witnesses shortly after police put out a call to their sources, raising the possibility that they were police informants. “I’ve always known I’m innocent ... I’ve waited a long time for the science to catch up and finally it has,” Malkinson said. He added: “It’s a terrible position to be in when it’s your word against someone else’s, because you just look guilty by the mere fact you’ve been accused ... A year in prison is not like a year outside it. Every day drags and it’s just psychologically demanding.” Last week a High Court judge ruled that there had been an “arguable error in law” over GMP’s refusal to disclose more information about the witnesses and granted permission for a judicial review. Malkinson’s last serious girlfriend, a Dutchwoman called Karin Schuitemaker, has always insisted it was impossible that Malkinson could have committed the crime. They were together for four years until 1999 and while he was in prison she wrote to officials in the UK begging for the case to be looked at again. She said: “From the beginning I didn’t have any doubts at all. It didn’t fit him in any way. Nothing fitted his personality. He’s a very gentle person ... a pacifist.” Last year The Sunday Times revealed that fresh forensic analysis found male DNA on samples taken from the victim and her clothing that did not match Malkinson’s. To prove his innocence, however, his lawyers needed to eliminate the possibility that the DNA might belong to the victim’s boyfriend at the time. Now fresh samples taken from the boyfriend by GMP have revealed he is not a match. Malkinson’s lawyers say the development proves the woman’s attacker must be at large and that Malkinson’s conviction is a grave miscarriage of justice. A spokeswoman for GMP said: “As a formal complaint has been registered with our professional standards branch in relation to the actions of officers at the time of Mr Malkinson’s trial, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. We will of course co-operate with any further review of this case which may be conducted by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-served-17-years-in-jail-but-dna-proves-real-rapist-is-still-at-large-0rcjmrwfz
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: (The Times April 3, 2022 story)..."Malkinson still has to have regular meetings with probation officers, but these days they are more empathetic. “[Mine] is quite understanding, she keeps asking me how my case is going,” he said. “Of course I say, ‘Very slowly’. I’m waiting and waiting and waiting.” Emily Bolton, Malkinson’s solicitor and the director of Appeal, said: “We hope the CCRC will do the right thing and send Andy’s case to the Court of Appeal so he has the chance to clear his name.” The CCRC said it would review the submissions sent by Appeal last week and decide whether they justify further investigation. A CCRC spokesman said: “Mr Malkinson’s case remains under review at the CCRC. No decision has been taken yet on whether or not the case will be referred to the Court of Appeal. The case remains at the investigation stage, with active lines of inquiry being carried out.”
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STORY: Freed after 17 years in prison — but Andrew Malkinson is still locked in limbo," by Social Affairs Correspondent Emily Dugan, published by The Times on April 3, 2022.
SUB-HEADING: "A man jailed for a rape he denies committing says he is suffering psychological torture because he can't clear his name or get a job."
GIST: "When Andrew Malkinson finally walked out of prison in December 2020, he hugged his mum, Trish, and told her: “It’s all over.”
Seventeen years earlier he had been convicted of the rape of a woman left for dead by a stranger in Salford, though no DNA evidence put him at the scene. He kept insisting on his innocence for the duration of his sentence — and as a result spent a decade longer behind bars. But his hopes of wiping the slate clean have long since been dashed. Since leaving, his life has been in limbo.
Malkinson, 56, who lives in a small flat in a seaside town, has applied for job after job. On one occasion he was due to be interviewed for therole of a postman but it went nowhere after they learnt of his conviction. Eventually he was given a position in a food factory, spending all day on his feet, despite his age and increasing ill health.
“The job I’m doing at the moment is really physically demanding. I’m not young any more. I’m having troubles with my sciatica and it’s really full-on, but it’s all I can get,” he said. “I am struggling to find my place in society — the suffering doesn’t end when you walk out of the prison gates. Living out here with a crime this monstrous as my calling card is more psychological torture.”
It is not just employers who are horrified. “If I am meeting someone who knows about my situation, sitting at a table for coffee, and another person comes up and is introduced to me, the first thing in my head is: ‘When do I tell them, so they won’t feel betrayed later?’ ”
New evidence, including DNA that points to another unknown suspect and revelations about witnesses, was sent to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) last year. Nearly 11 months have gone by and the CCRC still has not decided if it warrants a referral back to the Court of Appeal. A further tranche of evidence relating to disclosure failures by Greater Manchester police in its handling of the criminal investigation was sent to the CCRC on Thursday.
“It’s frustrating and it’s mentally exhausting . . . because you think, ‘I wonder what is required for them to move with speed?’ ” Malkinson said. “If new DNA evidence isn’t sufficient, what is?”
Appeal, the miscarriage of justice charity and law practice representing him, has made several requests to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for a full investigation into GMP’s handling of the case. But so far the IOPC has insisted it can be investigated locally only by GMP itself
A force spokeswoman said: “GMP has appointed a senior officer to undertake a review of the case in response to representations made by Mr Malkinson’s legal representatives. GMP is assisting and co-operating with the CCRC.”
Malkinson still has to have regular meetings with probation officers, but these days they are more empathetic. “[Mine] is quite understanding, she keeps asking me how my case is going,” he said. “Of course I say, ‘Very slowly’. I’m waiting and waiting and waiting.”
Emily Bolton, Malkinson’s solicitor and the director of Appeal, said: “We hope the CCRC will do the right thing and send Andy’s case to the Court of Appeal so he has the chance to clear his name.”
The CCRC said it would review the submissions sent by Appeal last week and decide whether they justify further investigation.
A CCRC spokesman said: “Mr Malkinson’s case remains under review at the CCRC. No decision has been taken yet on whether or not the case will be referred to the Court of Appeal. The case remains at the investigation stage, with active lines of inquiry being carried out.”
An IOPC spokesman said: “After carefully considering the available information, we determined that an investigation was required . . . As GMP was at that time in the advanced stages of investigating further allegations made by the same complainant, we directed the force to carry out a local investigation.”
Malkinson said: “I feel so far behind in life. I am 56, I should have at least equity in a home, and a pension.
“I bought £300 worth of shares with my wages a couple of months ago but last week I had to sell them to meet my bills, which include a long-term payment plan to an energy company. One step forward, two steps back.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/freed-after-17-years-in-prison-but-andrew-malkinson-is-still-locked-in-limbo-z0xj3lc7f
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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;
