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| Miscarriage of justice victims are cast aside in the UK. The details are shocking | Miscarriage of justice victims are cast aside in the UK. The details are shocking |
| (7 months later) | |
| It was almost six years ago that Sam Hallam emerged from the court of appeal and walked out on to a busy Strand a free man. The 24-year-old had spent seven years in prison for a gang-related murder he had always denied any involvement in. | It was almost six years ago that Sam Hallam emerged from the court of appeal and walked out on to a busy Strand a free man. The 24-year-old had spent seven years in prison for a gang-related murder he had always denied any involvement in. |
| Miscarriage of justice victims unfairly denied compensation, court told | |
| This week, the highest court in the UK revisits an appalling miscarriage of justice. In a long-awaited test case, the supreme court will wrestle with what exactly that phrase means – and consider the responsibility of the state to make amends to the wrongly convicted. | This week, the highest court in the UK revisits an appalling miscarriage of justice. In a long-awaited test case, the supreme court will wrestle with what exactly that phrase means – and consider the responsibility of the state to make amends to the wrongly convicted. |
| It is a responsibility that the state has abdicated. | It is a responsibility that the state has abdicated. |
| It is shocking, but nonetheless true, that there is less state support for the victims of miscarriages of justice than for other (guilty) prisoners. There is only one source of help specifically available to this tiny subset of prisoners: the Royal Courts of Justice’s miscarriage of justice support service run by Citizens Advice. In 2011, it reported that one third of its clients found themselves homeless after they walked out of the court of appeal. It shames us that there is no specialist psychological support available despite well-evidenced research documenting the uniquely traumatic experience of being locked away for a crime that you didn’t commit. | It is shocking, but nonetheless true, that there is less state support for the victims of miscarriages of justice than for other (guilty) prisoners. There is only one source of help specifically available to this tiny subset of prisoners: the Royal Courts of Justice’s miscarriage of justice support service run by Citizens Advice. In 2011, it reported that one third of its clients found themselves homeless after they walked out of the court of appeal. It shames us that there is no specialist psychological support available despite well-evidenced research documenting the uniquely traumatic experience of being locked away for a crime that you didn’t commit. |
| Four years ago the coalition government changed the scheme for compensation for the wrongly convicted. As a result, it has slowed down the trickle of payouts to a complete stop. Over the last five years there have been just five successful applications for funding, according to a report by the human rights group Justice published last month. Not a single penny was paid last year. | Four years ago the coalition government changed the scheme for compensation for the wrongly convicted. As a result, it has slowed down the trickle of payouts to a complete stop. Over the last five years there have been just five successful applications for funding, according to a report by the human rights group Justice published last month. Not a single penny was paid last year. |
| Standing outside the supreme court on Tuesday, Paddy Hill of the Birmingham Six told the press that he and the other five innocent Irish men who spent 16 years in prison would not have received compensation under the new scheme. He’s right. “We can’t allow this young man to be treated in this way,” Hill said. | Standing outside the supreme court on Tuesday, Paddy Hill of the Birmingham Six told the press that he and the other five innocent Irish men who spent 16 years in prison would not have received compensation under the new scheme. He’s right. “We can’t allow this young man to be treated in this way,” Hill said. |
| I won’t review the details of the overturning of Hallam’s convictions here, other than to observe that there was no forensic evidence linking Hallam to the killing, no CCTV footage, and there was the kind of shocking disclosure failure that we have became familiar with over recent months in connection to sexual assault cases (the police had Hallam’s mobile containing photos of him in a pub with his father earlier in the evening). Thames Valley Police, instructed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate the case, spoke to 14 separate witnesses at a crowded murder scene who insisted Hallam was not there, including the intended victim of the murder. | I won’t review the details of the overturning of Hallam’s convictions here, other than to observe that there was no forensic evidence linking Hallam to the killing, no CCTV footage, and there was the kind of shocking disclosure failure that we have became familiar with over recent months in connection to sexual assault cases (the police had Hallam’s mobile containing photos of him in a pub with his father earlier in the evening). Thames Valley Police, instructed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate the case, spoke to 14 separate witnesses at a crowded murder scene who insisted Hallam was not there, including the intended victim of the murder. |
| Despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence, the Ministry of Justice rejected his claim for compensation and his case is now joined with that of Victor Nealon in this week’s test case. | Despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence, the Ministry of Justice rejected his claim for compensation and his case is now joined with that of Victor Nealon in this week’s test case. |
| Hallam remains deeply damaged by his years in prison. His father took his own life while his son was in prison because, as Hallam’s mother put it, he “couldn’t take it any more”. Not only were Hallam and Nealon denied compensation, they received no apology nor an acknowledgment of their innocence from the court of appeal. In her judgment, Lady Justice Hallett suggested that Hallam, just a teenager at the time, was the architect of his own misfortune because of his “dysfunctional lifestyle”. When Hallam’s QC, Henry Blaxland, attempted to invite the court to make a clear declaration of innocence, she cut him short. This was “not a court of compensation”, the judge chided the barrister. | Hallam remains deeply damaged by his years in prison. His father took his own life while his son was in prison because, as Hallam’s mother put it, he “couldn’t take it any more”. Not only were Hallam and Nealon denied compensation, they received no apology nor an acknowledgment of their innocence from the court of appeal. In her judgment, Lady Justice Hallett suggested that Hallam, just a teenager at the time, was the architect of his own misfortune because of his “dysfunctional lifestyle”. When Hallam’s QC, Henry Blaxland, attempted to invite the court to make a clear declaration of innocence, she cut him short. This was “not a court of compensation”, the judge chided the barrister. |
| Nealon left prison with just a £46 discharge grant and a train ticket having had his conviction for attempted rape quashed. He would have spent his first night of freedom on the streets but for journalists who paid for a B&B. | Nealon left prison with just a £46 discharge grant and a train ticket having had his conviction for attempted rape quashed. He would have spent his first night of freedom on the streets but for journalists who paid for a B&B. |
| This is not unusual. Michael Hickey, convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater, spent 18 years in prison before his conviction was overturned. He was delivered from the cells to the Royal Courts of Justice barefoot. | This is not unusual. Michael Hickey, convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater, spent 18 years in prison before his conviction was overturned. He was delivered from the cells to the Royal Courts of Justice barefoot. |
| “Innocence as such is not a concept known to our criminal justice system,” said Lady Hale in 2011, as the supreme court tussled with the meaning of “a miscarriage of justice”. “We distinguish between the ‘guilty’ and the ‘not guilty’. A person is only guilty if the state can prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.” | “Innocence as such is not a concept known to our criminal justice system,” said Lady Hale in 2011, as the supreme court tussled with the meaning of “a miscarriage of justice”. “We distinguish between the ‘guilty’ and the ‘not guilty’. A person is only guilty if the state can prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.” |
| The coalition government did not find the lawyerly distinction helpful. So its Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, amending section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, restricts compensation to only those who can demonstrate their innocence “beyond reasonable doubt”. | The coalition government did not find the lawyerly distinction helpful. So its Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, amending section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, restricts compensation to only those who can demonstrate their innocence “beyond reasonable doubt”. |
| So much for the presumption of innocence. The issue has a long and grubby history. In 2006 the then Labour home secretary, Charles Clarke, scrapped an ex gratia discretionary scheme under which compensation could be awarded. Professor John Spencer QC, of Cambridge University, damned the move as “monstrous”. It was part of New Labour’s “rebalancing” of the criminal justice system away from the rights of defendants and towards victims. As his boss, Tony Blair, once infamously put it: “It is perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in today’s system when the guilty walks away unpunished.” | So much for the presumption of innocence. The issue has a long and grubby history. In 2006 the then Labour home secretary, Charles Clarke, scrapped an ex gratia discretionary scheme under which compensation could be awarded. Professor John Spencer QC, of Cambridge University, damned the move as “monstrous”. It was part of New Labour’s “rebalancing” of the criminal justice system away from the rights of defendants and towards victims. As his boss, Tony Blair, once infamously put it: “It is perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in today’s system when the guilty walks away unpunished.” |
| This week the supreme court justices will examine whether the current scheme is incompatible with the presumption of “innocent until proved guilty” under the Human Rights Act. To ask people to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt was “an affront to our system of law”, said Lady Helena Kennedy. | This week the supreme court justices will examine whether the current scheme is incompatible with the presumption of “innocent until proved guilty” under the Human Rights Act. To ask people to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt was “an affront to our system of law”, said Lady Helena Kennedy. |
| The fight against wrongful convictions must go on – we owe it to the innocent | Jon Robins | |
| This week’s case is not just about compensation or reversing a mean-spirited piece of legislation. It goes to the heart of the integrity of our justice system, its reluctance to acknowledge its fallibility – and its failure to deal with the victims of miscarriages of justice fairly and humanely. Let’s hope the supreme court does the decent thing. | This week’s case is not just about compensation or reversing a mean-spirited piece of legislation. It goes to the heart of the integrity of our justice system, its reluctance to acknowledge its fallibility – and its failure to deal with the victims of miscarriages of justice fairly and humanely. Let’s hope the supreme court does the decent thing. |
| • Jon Robins is a freelance journalist who writes about the law and justice | • Jon Robins is a freelance journalist who writes about the law and justice |
| UK criminal justice | UK criminal justice |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Court of appeal | Court of appeal |
| UK supreme court | UK supreme court |
| Crime | Crime |
| Prisons and probation | Prisons and probation |
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