Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. He was convicted in 2004, released in 2020 after serving his sentence, and finally exonerated in July 2023 when the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction following new DNA evidence that identified the real attacker. In March 2026, the man the DNA evidence links to the crime — Paul Quinn, 51 — is on trial at Manchester Crown Court. The case has raised profound questions about how a wrongful conviction happened, why it took so long to overturn, and what UK law provides for victims of miscarriages of justice.

What Happened to Andrew Malkinson?

In July 2003, a 33-year-old woman was raped in Salford, Greater Manchester. Andrew Malkinson, then 37, was identified by the victim and witnesses at an identity parade and was convicted at Manchester Crown Court in 2004. He maintained his innocence throughout and refused to take part in a sex offenders programme in prison, which meant he could not be considered for early release. He served the full sentence and was released in 2020.

Malkinson spent years attempting to have his conviction overturned through the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and through the charity APPEAL. In July 2023, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction after DNA evidence from the original crime scene was matched to Paul Quinn, a man with previous convictions who had never been investigated in connection with the original offence. The DNA evidence had reportedly been available for analysis earlier but had not been fully pursued.

Who Is Paul Quinn?

Paul Quinn, 51, is on trial at Manchester Crown Court in March 2026 charged with rape in connection with the 2003 Salford attack. The Crown’s case is that DNA evidence links him directly to the scene. Quinn denies the charge.

The trial has heard that at Malkinson’s original 2004 trial, the rape victim told the court she had initial doubts about her identification of Malkinson at the identity parade, but that police reassured her this was normal and referred to it as “trial nerves.” A witness, Michael Seward (now deceased), told Malkinson’s trial he had “no doubt” about identifying Malkinson in the parade. The prosecution at Quinn’s trial has argued that it is difficult to believe three people could all have mistakenly identified the wrong man — but the DNA evidence points to Quinn.

Why Did It Take So Long to Overturn the Conviction?

The Malkinson case exposed serious failures at multiple levels of the justice system. The CCRC was criticised for rejecting Malkinson’s appeals and for failing to pursue available DNA evidence that could have identified the real perpetrator much earlier. A subsequent independent review found systemic failures in how the CCRC handled the case.

There have also been calls for reform of the CCRC itself, including changing the legal threshold the Commission uses when deciding whether to refer a case back to the Court of Appeal. Currently the CCRC must have a “real possibility” that the Court of Appeal will quash a conviction — critics argue this standard is too high and prevents meritorious cases from being referred.

What Compensation Did Andrew Malkinson Receive?

Malkinson received compensation from the Government under the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme. The scheme, governed by Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, provides compensation where a person has been convicted of a criminal offence and subsequently had that conviction reversed or been granted a pardon. The standard of compensation in England and Wales has been criticised as insufficient — the scheme was tightened in 2014 to require applicants to prove their innocence “beyond reasonable doubt,” a threshold Malkinson’s case helped to highlight as problematic.

In 2025, the Government proposed changes to the compensation scheme. Andrew Malkinson publicly criticised the reforms as inadequate, stating that “the state stole years of my life” and that the compensation framework still did not properly acknowledge the harm done to wrongly convicted prisoners.

What Is the CCRC and How Does It Work?

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent public body established under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. Its role is to review potential miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offence and believes their conviction is unsafe can apply to the CCRC after exhausting the normal appeals process.

The CCRC can refer a case back to the Court of Appeal if it believes there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld. If the Court of Appeal agrees, the conviction can be quashed. In Malkinson’s case, the CCRC initially declined to refer his case — a decision that has been heavily criticised. The charity APPEAL eventually secured the DNA evidence that led to his exoneration.

What Does Malkinson’s Case Mean for UK Law?

The case has highlighted several areas where UK law and practice require reform. These include: the reliability of eyewitness identification evidence (long known to be one of the leading causes of wrongful conviction); the use and preservation of DNA evidence in historical cases; the CCRC’s referral threshold; the adequacy of miscarriage of justice compensation; and the treatment of prisoners who maintain their innocence and refuse to participate in sex offender treatment programmes.

Malkinson has stated publicly that he intends to continue campaigning for reform, saying he is “not finished” fighting to change the system that wrongly imprisoned him. The Paul Quinn trial in 2026 is expected to be a further focal point for debate about how the original miscarriage of justice could have occurred.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long did Andrew Malkinson serve in prison wrongly? Andrew Malkinson was convicted in 2004 and released in 2020 after serving 17 years. His conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in July 2023 after DNA evidence identified Paul Quinn as the likely attacker.

Who is on trial for the rape Andrew Malkinson was wrongly convicted of? Paul Quinn, 51, is on trial at Manchester Crown Court in March 2026. DNA evidence from the 2003 crime scene matches Quinn. He denies the charge.

Can you get compensation for a wrongful conviction in the UK? Yes. Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides a compensation scheme for people whose convictions are reversed. However, the scheme has been criticised as inadequate, and the 2014 tightening of eligibility criteria — requiring proof of innocence beyond reasonable doubt — has made it harder to claim.