UK man declared innocent after 17-Year wrongful conviction for rape
Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years on a rape charge he vehemently denied, has finally been declared a free man.
Salford: Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years on a rape charge he vehemently denied, has finally been declared a free man. The Court of Appeal judges overturned his conviction on Wednesday, following the discovery of new DNA evidence linking another potential suspect to the crime.
Andrew Malkinson was sentenced to jail in 2004 for a rape incident in Salford, a crime he maintained he had not committed. His case was re-evaluated in January when fresh evidence emerged, pointing towards the involvement of another individual.
In an emotional interview with BBC, Malkinson expressed his feelings about the long and unjust ordeal, stating that the past two decades felt like he had been “kidnapped by the state.” He maintained his innocence throughout the entire period and asserted that he had been innocent for each of those 20 years leading up to his exoneration.
Lord Justice Holroyd presiding over the case overturned Malkinson’s conviction, allowing him to leave the court as a free man.
Speaking outside the court after his release, Malkinson spoke about the ordeal he endured, saying, “When a jury finds you guilty when you are innocent, reality does not change. You know you did not commit the crime, but all the people around you start living in a false fantasy universe and treat you as if you are guilty.”
