House of Commons Justice Committee

December 3, 2021

Dither and Delay over Miscarriages of Justice Inquiry Findings

Reading Time: 7 minutesWhen the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice published the findings of its inquiry into the Criminal Cases Review Commission (‘In the Interests of Justice’) on 5 March 2021, it made over 40 recommendations. Whilst the vast majority of these were directed at the CCRC, 9 of the recommendations made...

anonymous person with binoculars looking through stacked books

December 7, 2020

Miscarriages of Justice Investigations – Going Beyond the Bundle

Reading Time: 5 minutesDeconstructing a wrongful conviction is a painstaking process. Often, once all the tripwires that floored the original jury have been carefully exposed, a case will require extensive investigative efforts to reveal previously unseen evidence that can exonerate the individual, or at least raise serious doubts about the veracity of the...

November 30, 2020

The Need for Speed – Improving the Criminal Cases Review Commission

Reading Time: 5 minutesOne of the many problems plaguing the Criminal Cases Review Commission – the body set up to review potential miscarriages of justice in England and Wales – is the sheer length of time that it takes them to consider any given application. To help address the issue, the House of...

November 7, 2020

Wrongful Convictions and Bad Juries – ‘Lurking Doubt’ in the Court of Appeal

Reading Time: 8 minutesProving your innocence in most cases requires finding some ‘fresh evidence’ that wasn’t available at your original trial, a challenge that stops many a wrongly convicted person in their tracks. Unless you are one of the lucky few able to acquire pro bono support, conducting a private investigation from behind...

October 31, 2020

Getting a Wrongful Conviction back into Court: A tortured path

Reading Time: 5 minutesMost people wrongly convicted of a crime are quick to lodge an appeal within the allotted 28-day time limit. Unless there was something seriously wrong with the actual trial process however, your only hope of an acquittal is to find some fresh evidence that wasn’t available just a week or...

confused businessman checking time on wristwatch

October 13, 2020

The APPG on Miscarriages of Justice – Unfinished Business

Reading Time: 4 minutesIn 2019, a Westminster Commission made up of a growing number of MPs concerned by the rising tide of wrongful convictions across England and Wales was formed across party political lines in search of solutions. Establishing an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice (APPGMJ), they launched a public inquiry...

A friend from University

“Mark has all the qualities I admire; he is likeable, reliable, flexible and well-natured, with an endearing charm and excellent sense of humour. My initial impression was that Mark was both at ease and in control – a rare combination, this respect grew as our friendship deepened. I was fascinated to learn of his business. He related, without emphasis, his achieving the top mark in the country in IT and subsequent internship with IBM. He created a Facebook application with half a million users [2009]. He was – at 20 – a young professional in every sense of the term: driven, busy, talented, focused. He was always working to a deadline. I never could get my head around how he managed to keep all the plates in the air. Everywhere he was, he seemed to be just dropping in. Often, I saw him doing work for a client during class. I was reminded that Mark had made all these possibilities for himself with the sheer force of will. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Even after his arrest, it seemed there was no injustice or challenge he was not equal to. He focused more on his father’s death than on his imprisonment, though it was not lost on either of us that nothing could make it harder to grieve than being accused of the very act itself. “Life tests the worthy and the virtuous” I offered, and as always the reply was “you’re too kind”.

I see this trial as the last of many Mark has been through; the last obstacle in the way of an extraordinary man finally realising his potential. It is a disgrace that he was stopped so short in his tracks by these ridiculous accusations. Mark has so much to offer the world. We just hope he returns to us the way he was. His is a life that needs to be lived, not wasted.”

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