The wrongful imprisonment of Victor Nealon occurred in 1996 when the British postman Victor Nealon was mistakenly convicted of attempted rape. He was released in 2013 after spending 17 years in jail, 10 years more than his recommended tariff, because he continued to protest his innocence.[1][2][3] He was sentenced to a discretionary life sentence in 1998 and was refused parole because he refused to admit guilt. He was denied legal aid and in 2014, the Ministry of Justice turned down his claim for compensation and demanded he pay £2,500 costs claiming the DNA analysis "did not show beyond reasonable doubt that the claimant did not commit the offence."
The Criminal Cases Review Commission commented that they should have investigated the case more thoroughly. Commission chairman Richard Foster said “I regret the fact in this particular case we missed something and I apologise to all concerned for the fact we did so.”[4][5][6][7]
See also
edit- Wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson - Also spent longer in jail because he maintained his innocence.
References
edit- ^ "Miscarriage of justice victims will find it harder to get compensation, lawyers say". The Guardian. 31 Dec 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "Wrongfully convicted man Victor Nealon gets apology". BBC. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Gwyn Topham (2013-12-13). "Man wrongly convicted of sexual assault is freed after 17 years in jail". the Guardian.
- ^ "Compensation fight over Victor Nealon's wrongful conviction". The Law Gazette.
- ^ "Wrongly convicted men launch new case against the Justice Secretary". The Independent. 2015-01-18. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07.
- ^ "Irish man wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years to sue British Government". The Irish Post.
- ^ "Wrongly jailed men lose payout appeal". BBC News. 2016-04-11.