So you’re in prison, but you didn’t do it

If you’ve been convicted of a crime you did not commit, you’ll need all the help you can get in your fight to see justice done. But who can provide the help? Inside Time explains 

Arms are raised in triumph as cheers, cries and laughter fill the air. Faces are flooded with joy, disbelief and anger. Photographers jostle for position. Journalists shout questions. You may think I’m describing the scene of one of the landmark miscarriage of justice cases from the 1980s and 90s when innocent prisoners were freed, but I could just as easily be describing Andy Malkinson in 2023 or Oliver Campbell in 2024. Both men had their convictions quashed after protesting their innocence for more than a decade. Wrongful convictions have not been consigned to history. In fact, many would argue it is harder now to get your conviction quashed if you’re innocent than ever before. If you’ve been found guilty of a crime you did not commit, and have wondered how Andy and Oliver finally got justice, this article will help you understand the legal process, how best to navigate the hurdles along the way, and how help might be best found in some unlikely places. 

I’ve been involved in the miscarriage of justice world for nearly 30 years as a journalist, charity founder and academic. I’m not a lawyer. I no longer run a charity. I’m not here to promote any specific organisations, but to share with you what I’ve learned over the years so you can better understand the system and, hopefully, find a way to access the help you need.

Tip 1 // keep your trial papers safe

It is vitally important that you keep the records that show what happened before and during the trial. It will be very hard, if not impossible, for anyone to be able to help you without them. Ideally, this means everything: all of the used and unused material generated by the police investigation and the trial process; witness statements, forensic reports, police schedules and any transcripts that have been produced from the trial, the most important of which is the Trial Judge’s Summing Up. You need to know who has got your trial bundle. Is it with your lawyers? Are they happy to store the papers for you? If they can’t, make sure they’re sent to you or a trusted supporter. These papers are important so that anyone can see for themselves what has gone before. If you can’t find your legal papers, don’t give up. Keep reading this article and contact organisations I’m going to suggest, as they may be able to help you find what you need. 

Tip 2 // get written advice from your barrister on whether you can appeal

If you have been convicted in a Crown Court in England or Wales, your barrister should tell you within 14 days of sentencing whether you have grounds to appeal. This is just another way to say reasons to appeal which satisfy the legal tests imposed. The Criminal Appeal Acts 1968 and 1995 are the two key pieces of legislation for appeals. If your barrister hasn’t told you whether you have grounds to appeal, ask them to write to you setting out their advice. You will have 28 days to submit your grounds of appeal after sentencing – your lawyers will usually do this for you – if grounds have been identified. Most appeals lodged at this time are about the trial process going wrong in some way. Beyond that 28-day window you can still lodge an appeal, but you will need to satisfy the court there are exceptional circumstances. Most commonly this is some sort of evidence which is only discoverable or possible to know now, e.g. new evidence based on a scientific development that’s come about since your trial.

Tip 3 // understand the appeal process 

Everybody convicted of a criminal offence in a Crown Court has the right to ask the court for permission to appeal. This is known as getting ‘leave to appeal’. First you have to get permission (leave) and if it is granted, there will then be a full hearing in court. 

Stage 1 – obtaining ‘leave’. At the first stage a judge sitting on their own in chambers (not in court) will read the paperwork that has been submitted and decide whether the case is arguable and permission should be granted. Leave will be granted or denied. Either way you will get a decision in writing from the single judge, setting out their reasons. If the single judge has refused you leave to appeal, you can re-apply to the full court of three judges asking them to reconsider, arguing the single judge has got it wrong. If you get a knock-back (refusal) from the single judge, take legal advice on whether you should re-apply to the full court before you do, because you can be penalised for trying that route if it fails and the full court decides you were deliberately wasting their time.

Stage 2 – for those who are granted leave to appeal, a date will be set for a full appeal hearing in front of three judges in court, where you should be able to attend in person or via a video link with lawyers representing you. The full appeal hearing will be scheduled with an expected duration of a few hours or, in more complex cases, days. Witnesses might be heard if necessary. At trial you were the defendant, now you’ll be called the appellant and the prosecution at the trial is called the Crown at appeal. Appeal hearings can be filmed, if there is a request made by the media in advance.

If a full hearing is granted there are three possible outcomes: 1. the judges might announce their decision immediately with full reasons provided; 2. the judges might announce their decision immediately but not give the full written reasons till later; or 3. they might ‘reserve judgment’ i.e. not announce their decision at all that day. In Andy Malkinson’s case, the final decision was announced in court, with the full written reasons published two weeks later. Being told the conviction was quashed while everybody was together in court meant Andy could exit the iconic Law Courts on the Strand in London to a sea of photographers and an army of supporters. Oliver Campbell wasn’t so lucky. When his appeal finished, in May 2024, he was told the decision would be announced at a later date. Everybody left court not knowing whether he’d won. It would be almost four months before Oliver was told by his lawyer, over the phone, that his conviction was quashed.

Tip 4 // take stock if your first appeal fails and draw up an action plan

Many of the well-known miscarriage of justice victims who eventually got their convictions quashed were not successful at their first appeal. Neither Andy Malkinson nor Oliver Campbell won their first appeals heard after conviction. In both cases it would take many more years of campaigning, by them, their lawyers, members of the media, and other supporters, to get their cases sent back to the Court of Appeal for a second time. Let’s look next at the legal process if the first appeal fails. 

Tip 5 // the official source of help and only route back to appeal

If your first attempt to appeal has been denied, the only way to get back again is via the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The CCRC is what’s known as an arms-length body which is funded by taxpayer’s money. It has legal powers and resources to investigate cases, and it is effectively the gatekeeper to the Court of Appeal for anyone who has used their first chance to appeal. The CCRC has had some high-profile successes and some even higher profile failures when the quality of its work has been questioned, but like it or not, if you’ve appealed once and failed, you will have to navigate your way through the CCRC to have any hope of getting another appeal.

The CCRC was set up in the late 1990s to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system. A string of high-profile campaigns led to a general unease that men and women who were widely believed to be innocent were not getting justice in the courts. A Royal Commission was established and one of the recommendations was that a new body should be set up which would be independent of government and the courts. The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 sets out that the CCRC can only make a referral to the Court of Appeal if it believes there is a real possibility the court will quash the conviction. How does the CCRC decide whether there is a real possibility? By and large it looks at past decisions made by the Court of Appeal (individual appeal judgments) in order to predict what the Court might decide in any given case it is reviewing. It also looks at the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 which sets out the legal tests. If, and only if, the CCRC decides there is a real possibility the conviction will be quashed it will be referred by them and then the case will be heard by a full court of three judges who will come together at a future date set by the court. If the CCRC decides the real possibility test is not passed, it will decline to refer the case. You’ll get notification along with their Statement of Reasons. 

Along with this responsibility come legal powers and staff resources to get your papers, seize evidence, conduct interviews, and commission new scientific tests, amongst other things. It will not charge you a fee for any of its work. You are not required to have a lawyer to make an application. The CCRC can do a lot of investigative legwork on your case, but you also should be aware of persistent widespread criticisms. Most recently the CCRC was severely criticised over its handling of Andy Malkinson’s case which found the CCRC “missed” evidence that could have led to his conviction being quashed a decade earlier. 

Tip 6 // other sources of help

Law firms 

You don’t have to have a lawyer to apply to the CCRC but, as Andy Malkinson and Oliver Campbell learned, it can really help because they may make submissions on your behalf and push the CCRC to do more or better if necessary. A lawyer can also advise you, and perhaps do the work, if you’re lucky, to find grounds of appeal. Getting a good lawyer is vital but it’s not easy because Legal Aid funding has been severely cut. Lawyers will advise you on whether you can access Legal Aid if you can’t afford to pay them. There are some law firms who offer pro bono, i.e. will work for free, if Legal Aid isn’t available, but many can’t afford to. Look for lawyers who do criminal appeal work, or try to spot the name of an individual or law firm who seems particularly impressive on another case and ask their advice.

The media 

If you can’t find a law firm to help you, you could think about trying the media. There used to be a lot of media interest in investigating wrongful convictions. Programmes like Rough Justice at the BBC, where I worked for nearly two decades, would do a lot of the legwork in digging up new evidence which a lawyer would then take forward to the Court of Appeal. Sadly, the media is going through its own funding crisis and rarely invests money in this sort of investigative work now, although that’s not to say never. If you see the media about a wrongful conviction, think about writing to the journalist or producer/director involved to see if they’ll help. Ask friends and families to search the internet looking for legal blogs and online resources that take a particular interest in wrongful convictions. Consider national outlets, but also local newspapers or a regional TV programme which might have somebody working there who takes an interest simply because it’s a big local story. Try to write to a specific person if you can. When John Kamara had his conviction quashed, his prison file showed he’d written 300,000 letters to anyone and everyone he could think of who might help: the Queen, the Pope, MPs, TV and newspaper journalists. Other prisoners gave him their stamps and he spent most of his 19 years inside writing letters asking for help. He won in the end. 

Charities, campaign groups, university projects & MPs

There are a range of places you can approach beyond law firms and the media. Charities have been established which provide free advice whether it be legal, investigative, forensic, or some other area. They are typically funded by donations and grants, and may be able to get free expert help on an applicant’s behalf. Many universities now run Innocence Projects or Justice Projects so their law students get the benefit of working on a real case and a prisoner can access free help. There are also some privately-run investigation firms who might work on your case for a fee. There are campaign groups who specialise in specific types of wrongful convictions, such as Joint Enterprise. Members of Parliament can support somebody from their constituency. Like any service, it is important you do your homework on the quality of advice being offered. What fields of expertise does an organisation have within its staff? Are they suitably qualified to give the advice you need? Do they have a good track record in accessing free expert help and advocating for other innocent prisoners? Do they come from a particular angle or area of training? Be aware that organisations working within this field can have a very different make-up of staff; some are lawyers, others are retired police staff or law students. Find the right one for you. Sometimes organisations, and lawyers, will collaborate on a case but often they won’t want to because of duplication of effort and a concern that they may disagree on the best way forward, so it’s important to be honest and transparent with everyone.

If you’re innocent and trying to get help you will need to be polite but persistent. In the first instance don’t flood people with paperwork. Try to give them short manageable chunks of information and supply whatever they need. They’re bound to be approached frequently and have insufficient money and time, so if you’re genuinely innocent, give them reasons to believe you. If you’re not innocent, don’t take this opportunity from somebody who is. The hardest sentence is served by the innocent person in prison but it’s tough for supporters too, whether that be a family member, campaigner or expert adviser. If somebody is helping you, they are highly likely to be doing so in their spare time, so try to build a respectful, honest relationship with them that allows you to be confident of their work and them to be confident that you are truly innocent. It still won’t be easy to win an appeal, but at least it will give you the best chance of success. Good luck.

Students helping to secure justice

We all go on nights out, but what if one night out resulted in you being convicted of a murder that you did not commit? This happened to Conroy. He never thought that a night out at Notting Hill Carnival with two friends would end up with him being wrongfully convicted for murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. And Leon – when he went for a night out in Bristol it was furthest from his mind that he would be convicted of murder and attempted murder. Leon was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum tariff of 20 years. He only went on a night out.

I run the Innocence Project London and know from these cases, and the others we work on, how innocent people can end up in prison. The Innocence Project London (IPL) is a charity that works on behalf of convicted individuals who have exhausted the criminal appeals process but are maintaining their innocence, and who want to make an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). We are based at the University of Greenwich, which enables students to work on the cases.

Scarlett recently graduated, but she spent two years working for the Innocence Project London. During that time she investigated her client’s claim to innocence, coming up with a case theory, researching aspects of the case and talking to lawyers about what would be considered new evidence for a CCRC application. She did this whilst studying for a law degree. Scarlett had to request some evidence from the police for this case, but they are still resisting.

Lidia was a Criminology student. She spent four years working for the Innocence Project London during her undergraduate degree and her Masters degree. The second case she worked on has been submitted to the CCRC recently. Lidia had to find a medical expert who was willing to provide a report that would be considered new evidence. This took nearly a year to complete.

The Innocence Project London supports prisoners who are maintaining their innocence, have exhausted the criminal appeals process, and want to make an application to the CCRC. Students like Scarlett and Lidia work in small groups, supervised by myself, working with a lawyer to examine each case to try to find fresh evidence or a new legal argument, which are the requirements of the CCRC when making an application to them. Students learn a lot about the criminal justice process and the impact that the law has on real people. The benefit to prisoners is that they get free support to help them make the application to the CCRC.

Not every application to the Innocence Project London is eligible, but every application is screened to try to find the potential for fresh evidence and/or a new legal argument. We reply to everyone who writes to us.

The Innocence Project London is licensed as an innocence project, along with three others in England and Wales. We meet the standards set by the Innocence Network based in the USA.

To apply to the Innocence Project London, you can write to us directly (see box for the address) or a friend or family member can download the application pack from our website. Once we receive the completed application form and relevant documents, we send each case to be screened. We write back to each applicant within eight to 12 weeks letting them know whether we can help them or not. If we are unable to help, we explain why that is, and if we are able to help we provide details of the next steps.

Louise Shorter is a journalist and law tutor. She founded Inside Justice, but has moved on, and now runs the University of East Anglia Justice Project.

Possible sources of help

• Innocence Project London: School of Law, University of Greenwich Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, SE10 9LS. Phone: 020 8331 9461. Run by Louise Hewitt and actively seeking applications. 
• University of East Anglia Justice Project: The Law Centre, Earlham Hall, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ. Run by Louise Shorter and actively seeking applications.
• University of Leicester Miscarriages of Justice Project: University of Leicester School of Law, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH
• University of Sheffield Miscarriages of Justice Review Centre: School of Law, Bartolome Lodge, Winer Street, Sheffield, S3 7ND
• Cardiff Innocence Project: School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Law Building Museum Ave, Cardiff, CF10 3AX 
• Manchester Innocence Project: University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL
• Inside Justice: One Business Village, Emily St, Kingston Upon Hull, East Yorkshire, HU9 1ND
• APPEAL: (formerly the Centre for Criminal Appeals) Lion House 72-75 Red Lion Street (6th Floor) London, WC1R 4NA. For men, only takes on cases of those convicted of murder, serious violence or serious sexual offences in England and Wales, who maintain innocence. Wider eligibility for women seeking to appeal conviction or sentence.
• Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (MOJO): 24 James Morrison Street, Glasgow, G1 5PE
• Criminal Cases Review Commission: 23 Stephenson Street, Birmingham, B2 4BH. Phone: 0300 456 2669. (Covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland)
• Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission: Portland House, 17 Renfield St, Glasgow, G2 5AH. Phone: 0141 270 7030

Editor’s note This list was compiled by Inside Time from information published by each organisation on its website. If writing to them, remember to include your full name, prisoner number, and prison address. Some projects may be too busy to reply. 

Louise Hewitt is Director of Innocence Project London