When Andy Malkinson was found guilty of raping a woman in Greater Manchester in 2004, the DNA technology to identify saliva on the victim’s shirt as from another man did not exist. Three years later, it did, and by 2009 all the agencies involved in his prosecution knew it did. By then he had been in jail for five years, and he remained there for 17 years in all despite the new evidence. His conviction, obtained with no DNA evidence, was not formally quashed until last month. He always protested his innocence. Scientists who started a review of cold case evidence in 2007 told Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service the “new” DNA came from the victim’s vest close to where she had suffered a serious bite wound. A CPS lawyer wrote at the time: “If it is assumed the saliva came from the offender, then it does not derive from Malkinson”. On his release, Malkinson was initially told the costs of his incarceration would be deducted from any compensation. The UK government has since intervened to say it won’t be.
