Two researchers asked people, both in prison and out, about their experiences of trying to overturn their convictions.
The findings?
Swathes of people unable to access any legal representation to support their application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission; those who could afford it draining savings, re-mortgaging houses and cashing in pensions to pay for a solicitor; those with no practical support? “Abandoning all hope”.
A new report, co-authored by Dr Lucy Welsh and Dr Amy Clarke, aims to offer a comprehensive, independent analysis of how individuals maintaining innocence, both in and out of prison, experience the post-conviction criminal justice process.
At the launch, hosted by the APPG on Miscarriages of Justice and chaired by Kim Johnson MP, APPG members and a public audience heard more about their recommendations. The panel also featured the interim Chair of the body at the heart of their report, Dame Vera Baird, as well as APPEAL’s Emma Torr, Professor Penney Lewis, and Danny Barrs, who discussed their reactions to this work.
The event was attended by MPs, including the head of the Justice Select Committee Andy Slaughter, academics, third sector stakeholders, lawyers, and people with lived experience of wrongful convictions.
