Wrongfully jailed men call for change to England and Wales compensation law | UK criminal justice
Three men jailed for 11 to 38 years for crimes they did not commit have joined calls for changes to the law in England and Wales.
People who spend years behind bars for wrongful convictions must prove their innocence “beyond a reasonable doubt” to be eligible for compensation, even after they are exonerated.
As a result, many high-profile miscarriage claims by justice survivors have been dismissed.
Speaking at a meeting of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on miscarriages of justice on Monday, Justin Plummer, who spent 28 years in prison after being twice convicted of a murder he did not commit, said he could not believe he had not been given compensation.
Plummer, who was released last year, said: “It’s ridiculous. I went through a minefield once. Now when I’m released, I think ‘ah, plain sailing, I should be fine’ but no, no, no.”
“I really need this [compensation]. “I have mental health issues because of this wrongful conviction, so I don’t want compensation for crazy housing, crazy holidays, I want it so I can get treatment.”
His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, said it was absurd that people were being asked to prove their innocence beyond a reasonable doubt, even after being exonerated by the appeals court.
“How can you do this?” he asked. “You do not have the resources of the police to investigate the crime committed in 1997 and find the culprit.”
Oliver Campbell, who was sentenced to life imprisonment at the age of 21 in 1991 for conspiracy to burglary and murder and then 11 years in prison, but was only cleared in 2024, said: “Everyone said: ‘Are you getting your plot?’ … I’m trying to tell someone but I don’t think they know, [he thinks] ‘He has a lot of money’
Campbell, who has a learning disability, says he was bullied into making a false confession. His barrister Glyn Maddocks KC said it was harder to prove Campbell’s innocence beyond a reasonable doubt because in overturning his conviction the appeal court did not criticize the way his confession was obtained, the way Met police officers treated him and did not refer to statements exonerating Campbell by Eric Samuels, who was jailed for his involvement in the robbery.
Maddocks said the message “didn’t get through that people like Oliver and Justin weren’t going to get a dime of compensation. I think if the public knew that…they might have been up in arms.”
Peter Sullivan, who spent 38 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned last year in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice by a living prisoner in British history, was also present at the APPG meeting.
His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said they were told he would receive compensation, but they were still waiting despite calls in parliament for his application to be prioritized.
In the meantime, he said that he had difficulty in benefiting from social aid. He added that “someone who has been going through this process for so many years should not face such basic difficulties”: “Why can’t an interim payment be made even within a few days?”
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment.
