A British man, Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, may have to pay for prison board and lodging if he receives compensation for the wrongful conviction, as reported by local media.
Malkinson was convicted in 2004 for a brutal attack on a 33-year-old woman in Greater Manchester, England, in 2003. However, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction on Wednesday after new DNA evidence emerged, linking another suspect to the crime.
Throughout his incarceration, the 57-year-old always maintained his innocence and expressed his concern about potentially having to pay for prison board and lodging costs if he is compensated.
“I am sickened by it. The result is that even if you fight tooth and nail and gain compensation, you then have to pay the prison service a large chunk of that for so-called ‘board and lodgings,'” Malkinson told the BBC.
Currently, Malkinson cannot claim compensation as he has not yet received a declaration of innocence from the Court of Appeal.
The rules concerning payment for prison service were established in 2007 by the House of Lords, the UK’s highest court at the time, according to the BBC.