Andrew Malkinson: 'The world finally knows the truth'

Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, has spoken of the toll the miscarriage of justice had on his "psychology, being and soul".

He told the Today programme he felt "joy at finally telling the world the truth" but also anger "that I was even tried for this".

Mr Malkinson, 57, said he was late to the interview because he slept in.

Host Justin Webb said "we at least owe him that".

Mr Malkinson was jailed in 2004 for an attack on a woman in Salford, serving 17 years in prison.

His conviction was overturned on Wednesday by the Court of Appeal.

He said his arrest and trial was "like a real bad dream happening in real time".

"I maintained my innocence - 'I didn't do this'," he said. "But once you've been convicted, you're processed like meat in an abattoir."

"Nobody offers any empathic understanding or anything like that."

He said he would expect compensation but was "living on benefits".

His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January after new evidence pointed to another potential suspect.

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed the suspect was rearrested and released pending further investigation.

Mr Malkinson said he was "very shocked [on the day he was arrested] - how am I a suspect?"

"To have someone looking at you like you've committed such an act is horrific," he said, adding his "fervent hope was that it would clear up".

Mr Malkinson told how a combination of studying pure maths and Buddhist meditation kept him resilient in prison.

"It helped discipline my head. In HMP Frankland you could just read science books and study books.

"There is something pure about mathematics it's the truest thing we have."

Mr Malkinson said he never felt tempted to falsely admit the crime to get out of jail sooner by doing a rehabilitation programme.

"It means I would get into group therapy, listen to the horrific stories and they would say 'tell us what you did' and it would stick in my throat.

"The only thing I could do was to be true to myself and keep telling the truth.

"It's taken an extremely heavy toll on my person, my psyche - my psychology, my being, my soul - if you want to put it like that. It's been a heck of a devastating experience."

Speaking about what he could be owed, he said: "I feel very strongly about this - somehow, the prison service has lobbied the government so that even if you fight tooth and nail to gain compensation, you have to pay the prison service a large chunk of that for so-called board and lodging."

Mr Malkinson, who is originally from Grimsby, told BBC Newsnight night he banned his mum and sister from coming to see him while he was in prison with sex offenders.

"My mother had her son convicted of a horrific rape - if you saw the newspaper headlines, emotive case - she suffered immensely.

"I wouldn't let [my mother and sister] visit me - it's too emotionally taxing, even if it's once a month.

"They'd be treated like [prisoners]."

However he also said it was "very, very important" that his family and partner stuck up for him.

He said he was still in touch with his partner and described her as "the best friend you could ever ask for".

He also spoke of his sympathy for the rape victim.

"She's been let down," he said.

"She thought that I was the perpetrator because she was traumatised when she picked me out of the parade."

Emily Bolton, director of the legal charity Appeal, questioned why it has taken nearly 20 years for Mr Malkinson's case to be overturned.

"The truth is this case is an indictment of both the Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission," she said.

"These so-called 'safety nets' in our justice system missed three earlier opportunities to put this obvious miscarriage of justice right."

Helen Pitcher, chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said she welcomed the court's decision.

She added: "In the ever-changing world of forensic science, new evidence can come to light years after a conviction. We used our special powers to take advantage of DNA breakthroughs to find evidence that we considered could overturn this conviction.

"We recognise that Andrew has had a very long journey to clear his name, but sadly the evidence that led to the court overturning his conviction only became available years after his conviction."

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