The British government has informed victims of historic miscarriages of justice-theoretically, including Andrew Malkinson-that they will now have to meet "bed and board" costs for the period spent in prison, according to the BBC. According to the decision, compensation payments made to those wrongfully jailed will be reduced by these expenses.
One of these victims is Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for the false conviction of raping a woman in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2003. He will see deductions of 100,000 pounds (Rs 1,06,88639) from his compensation to pay for these costs, despite having since been cleared, according to the news outlet. It was revealed that former Justice Secretary Alex Chalk axed the previous policy, which allowed such deductions, last year. However, the new ruling reverses this change, placing a financial burden on individuals who have already suffered significant injustices.
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According to the BBC, Mr Malkinson, whose case sparked the policy change, served nearly two decades in prison for a rape he did not commit and was formally cleared by the Court of Appeal last July.
He has called for an overhaul of the jury and appeals system to give wrongly convicted people more protection. Mr Malkinson said that even with the living costs rule removed, he expected to wait two years for any compensation while the independent board, which determined how much he was entitled to, made its decision.
Calling for the system to be speeded up and requirements to be simplified, he said: "It's a silly barrier that's been artificially erected. It's inexcusable. It's not justified."
A House of Commons library document from 2015 describes compensation as "the exception rather than the rule" in miscarriage of justice cases.
