Andrew Malkinson was imprisoned for seventeen years for a rape he did not commit.
The British government has informed victims of historic miscarriages of justice – theoretically including Andrew Malkinson – that they will now have to pay ‘bed and board’ costs for the period they spent in prison, the British government said. BBC. According to the decision, compensation payments to those wrongfully imprisoned will be reduced by these costs.
One of these victims is Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for the false conviction of raping a woman in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2003. He will see a deduction of P100,000 (Rs 1,06,88639 ) to pay his compensation for these costs, despite the fact that they have now been acquitted, according to the newscast. It was revealed that former Attorney General Alex Chalk had abolished the previous policy that allowed such deductions last year. However, the new ruling reverses this change, placing a financial burden on individuals who have already suffered significant injustice.
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According to the BBC, Mr Malkinson, whose case prompted the policy change, spent almost 20 years in prison for a rape he did not commit and was formally acquitted by the Court of Appeal last July.
He has called for an overhaul of the jury and appeals system to give more protection to wrongly convicted people. Mr Malkinson said that even with the cost of living rule abolished, he expected to have to wait two years for any compensation while the independent board, which determined how much he was entitled to, made a decision.
He called for speeding up the system and simplifying requirements, saying: “It is a foolish barrier that has been artificially erected. It is inexcusable. It is not justified.”
A 2015 House of Commons library document describes compensation as “the exception rather than the rule” in cases of miscarriage of justice.