Man cleared of rape after spending 17 years in jail

A man who was jailed for 17 years for rape has been cleared by the Court of Appeal after new DNA evidence came to light.

57-year-old Andrew Malkinson from Grimsby was found guilty of the 2003 attack on a woman in Greater Manchester and the following year was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years, but remained in prison for a further 10 because he maintained he was innocent.

At the time of his trial, there was no DNA evidence linking him to the crime and the prosecution case against him was based solely on identification evidence.

His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, after the new evidence was discovered.

“I have always known I am innocent."

In a statement after the CPS and GMP announced their decision, Mr Malkinson said: “I’ve suffered incalculably for the last 20 years as a result of my wrongful conviction, and I continue to suffer each day.

“I have always known I am innocent. Finally, the prosecution has acknowledged my conviction should not stand.

“Of course, it is still the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant me justice. I sincerely hope they will give serious consideration to the disclosure failures which denied me a fair trial.

“The police must be made accountable – no one should have to suffer what I’ve been through.”

While his main ground of appeal is the fresh DNA evidence, his lawyers told the court at a preliminary hearing in May that there were photographs of the victim’s hands, corroborating her evidence that she scratched her attacker and broke a nail, which were not disclosed at the time of Mr Malkinson’s trial.

They also said there is evidence that one of the key identification witnesses was a “long-term user of heroin”, which may have affected his memory, but that was not known by Mr Malkinson or his legal team at trial.

At the preliminary hearing in May, Edward Henry KC, for Mr Malkinson, told the court the CCRC had been aware since 2009 that there was “crime specific” DNA which was not a match for either Mr Malkinson or the victim.

However, he said at that time the CCRC “did not consider it tipped the balance towards a referral” to the Court of Appeal.

But, in October last year, the sample was found to be a partial match for another man, who the court ordered can only be identified as Mr B.

Mr Malkinson previously applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC, but was turned down, eventually being released from prison in December 2020.

After his release, advancements in scientific techniques allowed his legal team, supported by legal charity Appeal, to provide new DNA analysis that cast doubt on his conviction to the CCRC.

The body then commissioned its own testing which found that DNA from the victim’s clothing matched another man on the national police database.

GMP confirmed in January that a man had been arrested and released under investigation in light of the new information, but no decision has been made as to whether he will be charged.

"We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson"

Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson from Greater Manchester Police gave this statement:

We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson that he is the victim of such a grave miscarriage of justice, in being convicted of a crime he did not commit and serving a 17-year custodial sentence. Whilst we hope this outcome gives him a long overdue sense of justice, we acknowledge that it does not return the years he has lost. I have offered to meet with him to personally deliver this apology.

We are also profoundly sorry to the victim of this crime, who not only suffered an horrific trauma 20 years ago, but also relived the experience during a criminal trial, and now may endure additional harm caused by learning that the true offender has not yet been brought to justice. We are absolutely committed to following all new lines of enquiry to ensure the right person is held accountable for harming her.

Whilst this case tragically led to the wrong person being convicted, these instances are thankfully very rare. Following an appeal heard by the Court of Appeal in 2006, and two reviews by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a full and thorough review of the original investigation was carried out by GMP. The force has and will continue to fully cooperate with any further reviews of this case and action will be taken if it is found that anything could have been done differently.

In the vast majority of cases, the processes our officers follow lead to a case being presented to the CPS whereby the suspect and evidence collected were relevant to the crime committed. The evidence presented by GMP and the CPS at court between 2003-2004 was subject to a full criminal trial before a jury, who ultimately reached the final guilty verdict. Sadly, in this case it is now clear that the wrong person was convicted.

Due to new forensic evidence, following developments in forensic technologies, there is a live criminal investigation in which a suspect remains on bail. We cannot comment further on that matter at this time.

We are sorry that in this case, the judicial process failed, and the wrong man was convicted. We are determined to work with our colleagues in the CPS to ensure all new evidence is fully examined and that the person truly responsible is convicted and the victim of this horrific crime receives the justice deserved."

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