The tendency on the part of the media when reporting a miscarriage of justice is to dismiss it ‘as a shocking one-off aberration—a minor hiccup in a system that otherwise functions in an exemplary fashion’. That was a theme of my 2018 book Guilty Until Proven Innocent (Biteback Publishing) in which I looked at 11 cases of serious injustice over the previous 20 years which prompted little (if any) press reflection on ‘system’ issues.
The coverage of the acquittal of Andrew Malkinson (pictured) and the subsequent shocking revelations over the summer is a notable exception. So far, the furore has prompted two inquiries—one instigated by the miscarriage of justice watchdog itself, and one launched by the Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk—as well as huge press interest in our dysfunctional system of criminal appeals (itself the subject of an ongoing Law Commission review). This is the first of two articles exploring the fallout of the case.
Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for
