Andy Malkinson will learn on Wednesday if the Court of Appeal will overturn his conviction for rape, after protesting his innocence for 20 years, 17 of which were spent in prison. The Crown Prosecution Service is not contesting his appeal in a case that raises significant questions as to why he was ever imprisoned.
When detectives placed Andy Malkinson in custody on August 2, 2003, the soft-spoken Grimsby man had no idea that he would, in his words, spend half his life fighting for truth and justice.
“I have been let down. “I’ve been severely disappointed,” he says.
“And I’m sure I’m not the only one. I do not trust the government. It dislikes admitting shortcomings.”
The 57-year-old desires a definitive and conclusive verdict regarding these failures.
Three of the most senior judges in England must determine if his conviction for rape should be overturned.
After the discovery of DNA evidence implicating another man in the heinous crime of July 2003, this decision took more than two years to reach.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) detained Mr. Malkinson in his hometown of Grimsby, two weeks after the assault and attempted murder in Salford before he learned of the crime.
He was in the area at the time, working as a security guard temporarily before returning to The Netherlands, where he intended to make his permanent residence.
Mr. Malkinson asserted forcefully and persistently that the detectives had the incorrect man.
He could not comprehend why they believed he was the aggressor.
To begin with, he did not resemble the e-fit image of the suspect created with the assistance of the victim.
The woman had left a significant scratch on the face of her aggressor. There was no evidence that Mr. Malkinson was injured, as none of his coworkers had witnessed it, and there was no DNA or other forensic evidence linking him to the victim or location.
He was taller and had conspicuous tattoos on his forearms that the victim had not mentioned.
She instead recalled a man with a Bolton accent and a hairless, shiny torso.
Mr. Malkinson recalls that the police made a great show of building up to this event.
“I raised my bosom to demonstrate. It was a significant expansion. I had never shaved my torso before. However, they proceeded, disregarded it, and continued.”
The victim recognized him when he voluntarily consented to participate in an identity parade.
“I felt the earth collapse beneath my feet. I believe I cried. He recalls, “I could not believe it.”
According to Mr. Malkinson, he began to feel as though circumstances were conspiring against him.
He told police he would have been sleeping at the apartment of a fellow security guard, where he was a guest.
The issue was that his host did not recall the night in question. Neither man had any particular reason to recall it.
Slow-motion automobile accident
The police had two witnesses who claimed to have seen the accused. The jury was not informed that both defendants had lengthy criminal records.
Mr. Malkinson says, “I was essentially paralyzed.” “I felt as though everything was being manipulated around me.
“It’s like a car collision in slow motion. You’re going to crash through the windscreen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
His conviction was the result of a majority vote. The punishment was life. Mr. Malkinson could only yell in the courtroom that he was blameless.
His first few months in a maximum security prison were “horrendous” as he attempted to determine who, if anyone, he could trust.
As time passed, it became apparent how challenging it would be to escape.
If Mr. Malkinson had admitted to committing rape, he would have been eligible for rehabilitation. An expert psychologist may have ultimately recommended that he be released on parole after serving his minimum seven-year sentence.
I will not tell an untruth
But when he gingerly attempted to get staff to listen to his case, there was no sign of interest in their eyes.
Mr. Malkinson stated, “You are asking an innocent man to make a false confession under the guise of therapy.”
“They stated, ‘There’s no other option here. You will likely perish in prison.
“I stated, ‘I didn’t do it, and I won’t imply that I did’.
“I’m not going to lie, and I’m not going to protect them by making a false confession.”
This refusal to confess to a crime he did not commit landed him in prison for 17 years. In December 2020, he was eventually released with a strict life license.
Mr. Malkinson’s cause has been championed by Appeal, a specialized legal organization devoted to investigating injustices.
It states that numerous opportunities to correct his miscarriage of justice were overlooked.
In 2006, the Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to his conviction.
He then filed a petition with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that investigates potential injustices.
It rejected his case twice, but according to his legal team, the commission could have conducted new DNA analysis and examined the police’s case files.
The appeal then filed a lawsuit against GMP, demanding access to these files.
Ultimately, it was the charity’s work, not the CCRC’s or GMP’s, that led to the discovery of the new DNA evidence in March 2021, owing to scientific advancements.
The critical sample was discovered on the victim’s garment.
The National DNA Database subsequently matched the profile with an individual who had been added in 2012.
Since then, Exeter police have apprehended a man who remains under investigation.
Given these developments, the CCRC referred Mr. Malkinson’s conviction to the Court of Appeal six months ago.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced in May that it would not contest his appeal. For a man with a sex offender conviction and a life sentence, however, this still feels like a delay.
What does he want from the state at this time?
Mr. Malkinson states, “I want CCRC Chair Helen Pitcher to apologize for shortcomings and commission an external, independent review to determine what went wrong in their handling of my case.”
“I requested that the CCRC conduct additional DNA tests to prove my innocence years ago, but they refused. They would not even examine the police records.”
Greater Manchester Police have my utmost rage. I want wrongdoers punished.
“I demand a thorough criminal investigation into what transpired and how I came to lose half my life and endure unimaginable humiliations, pain, and psychological torture.”
These humiliations would destroy many men. Mr. Malkinson was incarcerated for 17 years, including in three of the country’s toughest, highest-security prisons, but he was able to mentally escape with the aid of books and exercise.
He left prison with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics after devoting infinite hours to learning and studying.
“I think it’s made me a stronger person, but in a very difficult way – through a lot of pain, anguish, and frustration,” he says.
I have significantly more forbearance than I ever imagined. A lot more inner fortitude.
What an awful way to find out, however.
