News
'Appeal court overturns Manchester rape conviction of man who spent 17 years in jail'
A man who spent 17 years in prison for rape has had his conviction overturned by the court of appeal. Andrew Malkinson was convicted in 2004 of raping a 33-year-old woman who was left for dead on a motorway embankment in Salford, Greater Manchester. After enduring two decades of being labelled a sex offender, Malkinson, 57, had his conviction quashed on Wednesday after a DNA breakthrough.
Justice Holroyde, vice-president of the appeal court, said the appeal was allowed on the basis of the DNA evidence and reserved judgment on whether it would be allowed on other issues, including police disclosure. There was never any DNA linking Malkinson to the crime and he always insisted he was innocent, spending more than double the time in prison as a result. His case was referred to the court of appeal in January after another man’s DNA was found on fragments of the victim’s clothing...
'Commission considers case for criminal appeals reform'
The Law Commission has issued a call for evidence to determine if the appeals process for criminal cases needs to be reformed. A year after being asked by the government to review the law relating to criminal appeals, the commission today published an ‘issues paper’ explaining the various appeal routes and tests applied. The commission asks, for instance, if the law satisfactorily enables criminal cases to be considered by the Supreme Court. On the Criminal Cases Review Commission, it asks if the referral test – a ‘real possibility’ that the conviction, verdict, finding or sentence would not be upheld – when considering whether to refer an appeal hinders the correction of miscarriages of justice. Appeals in summary proceedings are also explored.
The commission’s paper comes a day after Andrew Malkinson’s rape conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal following a 20-year fight. The issues paper mentions Malkinson’s case, as well as the Post Office 'Horizon' scandal, which is the subject of a public inquiry...
'Over 30 cases broadcast in first year of TV cameras in Crown Court'
Millions of viewers have seen justice served in over 30 serious criminal cases in the last year – shining a spotlight on the inner workings of the Crown Court and boosting public understanding on how trials operate. Today (Friday 28 July) marks the one-year anniversary since the first TV broadcast of sentencing remarks from the Old Bailey, capturing the sentencing of Ben Oliver who was in the dock for the manslaughter of his grandfather.
Since that landmark moment – made possible thanks to a major change in the law permitting camera crews to film judges in the Crown Court as they sentence serious criminals – broadcasters have filmed the sentencing of 33 offenders, including Thomas Cashman and Wayne Couzens. And in a bid to further boost public understanding of how justice is delivered in England and Wales, Parliament is now consulting on whether to expand filming to include Court of Appeal judges sitting in the Crown Court...
'Co-op warns rising crime could create 'no-go' areas for shops'
The Co-op has warned some communities could become "no-go" areas for shops due to soaring levels of retail crime. The convenience store operator said crime in its outlets had hit record levels, increasing by more than one third over the past year. There were about 1,000 cases of crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in its shops every day in the six months to June, the chain said. But it cited figures indicating police did not attend most retail crimes.
The Co-op said a Freedom of Information request had shown many police forces did not prioritise retail crime, with, on average, 71% of serious retail crime not responded to by police. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said forces were doing "everything possible to tackle offenders and support retailers in reducing shoplifting and attacks on retail staff"...
Cases
R v BKR [2023] EWCA Crim 903
...In this case there is no doubt that the judge was quite entitled to express her views on the proper application of the public interest test. We would suggest that many Crown Court judges, faced with the backlog of serious and important cases waiting to be tried, would probably agree with her that this prosecution was not in the public interest. Each member of this court, if sitting at first instance, would have taken steps to ensure that the decision to continue with the case had been taken at an appropriately senior level and after proper consideration of the Code for Crown Prosecutors. However, it does not follow from this that the continued prosecution was an abuse of the process of the court. The powers of the court to stay a prosecution as an abuse of process are a very important part of the jurisdiction of the criminal courts, but they are limited and a stay is an exceptional remedy. The courts must exercise care and restraint in their use, particularly where the issue is a decision to prosecute a case to trial. That decision is entrusted by Parliament to the CPS and it is, in the ordinary case, no part of the function of a judge to say who should be prosecuted and who should not be...
We therefore hold that the exercise on which the judge embarked was one which was not properly open to her. She engaged in a review of the decision-making process of the CPS in circumstances where no reasonable judge could find that it was capable of constituting misconduct of the kind which justifies a stay of a prosecution as an abuse of process in the second limb of Ex. p. Bennett...
Education
'The use of short prison sentences in England and Wales'
This POSTbrief summarises the most recent and relevant evidence on the use and effectiveness of short prison sentences. It outlines the key trends, objectives of effective sentencing, alternative sentencing options and wider considerations.
Other
'Child abuse survivor who saw grandfather jailed speaks out - as recorded cases hit new high'
A teenager who helped jail her paternal grandfather after he sexually abused her as a small child is speaking out to "take away the shame" for survivors like her. Poppy hopes her story will change attitudes and help others...
'Rape conviction quashed for man who spent 17 years in jail' - Recording of Hearing
A man who served 17 years in prison had his rape conviction overturned after fresh DNA evidence emerged linking another suspect to the crime. Andrew Malkinson, now 57, was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years in 2004 after he was found guilty of the attack on a woman in Salford, Greater Manchester - but he stayed in jail for another decade because he maintained his innocence...