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I Was Wrongly Imprisoned For 17 Years. Then The State Released Me Into A Legal Maze | Andrew Malkinson

Nine months after a court quashed my conviction, I’m living on universal credit. Why is it so hard for victims like me to get compensation?

When I emerged blinking into the sunlight outside the court of appeal last July as a “free man”, I was also an impoverished one. I was living on universal credit, homeless and in urgent need of mental health support from clinicians who would at last recognise what I had been through in the past 20 years.

In the days after my exoneration, news stories were followed by comments from the public suggesting that I must be due a major payout from the state. Millions, they reckoned. Enough to make sure I could own a home, make up for lost time and secure the support I needed for my mental health. This week I found myself in line at the local food bank. I am so grateful to the people who so generously stocked my kitchen for the week, but given what the state owes me I should not be in this position.

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I Was Wrongly Imprisoned For 17 Years. Then The State Released Me Into A Legal Maze | Andrew Malkinson

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