Law Weblog

Miscarriage of justice prisoners lose prison bed and breakfast challenge

Saturday 17 March 2007 at 2:09 am | In News | Post Comment

 

The House of Lords ruled this week that people wrongly convicted of crimes who are paid compensation, should have the amount they receive reduced by up to 25% for the cost of keeping them in prison. The argument being that they have not had to feed themselves during the period they are wrongly held in prison.

• Michael Hickey and his cousin, Vincent, were wrongly convict ed of the murder of newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater, 13, who was shot dead in 1978 in West Midlands. Their convictions were quashed in 1997.

• Michael O’Brien, who was 20 when he was convicted in 1988 of the murder of a Cardiff newsagent, was awarded £670,000 compensation after spending 10 years in jail.

Lord Brennan, QC, the Home Office-appointed assessor, reduced awards by 25 per cent deductions to pay for their saved “board and lodgings”.
The House of Lords supported the Independent Assessor; it reflected the necessities of life which they would have had to buy from their wages had they been at liberty.
Lord Brown said,

“Here are men, incarcerated in prison for many years for crimes they never committed, entitled by statute to compensation for that grave miscarriage of justice, now required, so it is suggested on their behalf, to give credit against their earning losses for the supposed benefits of being fed, clothed and housed in prison.”