Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years, is calling for a thorough investigation into the conduct of the police after the true perpetrator of a brutal rape was convicted.
Paul Quinn, 52, was found guilty on Friday of the 2003 sexual assault that led to Andrew’s wrongful incarceration. Following this case, five former Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers and one current officer are now being probed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Additionally, the chair and chief executive of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) have both stepped down.
A public inquiry has been initiated following a 2024 review that uncovered shortcomings which could have cleared Andrew’s name a decade earlier. He continues to be a victim of one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in British legal history.
Expressing his demand for accountability, Andrew stated, “I want a thorough investigation and complete transparency now. These were not innocent errors but deliberate choices by the police to disregard evidence of my innocence, withhold information, and obstruct my attempts to prove my innocence. People must be held responsible for those decisions.”
After a six-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, Quinn was convicted of assaulting a young mother in Little Hulton, Salford, in 2003. Despite Andrew’s protests of innocence during his time as a security guard at a local mall, he was wrongly identified in a lineup and imprisoned. The victim had expressed doubts about identifying Andrew in 2003, but these concerns were dismissed by the police as nerves related to the trial.
New evidence emerged in 2007 when a DNA sample from the victim’s clothing excluded Andrew as the perpetrator, a significant development that should have raised concerns. Quinn, a father of six with a history of sexual offenses since the age of 12, was arrested nearly two decades after the trial when a DNA match from saliva on the victim’s clothing was established in 2022.
Andrew, now 60, was finally released in 2020 after spending 17 years behind bars. His conviction was ultimately overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2023. Reflecting on the ordeal, he shared, “The police should have investigated Quinn instead of targeting me, especially after doubts were raised by the victim.”
Andrew’s mother, Trish Hose, expressed the emotional toll the injustice took on her son, emphasizing the incompetence of the Greater Manchester Police and the Criminal Cases Review Commission in handling the evidence. She also voiced concern for the victim, who had believed her attacker was in prison two decades ago.
Apologizing for the delayed justice, Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker of GMP stated outside the court, “This closure comes too late for all involved in this tragic case. I offer my sincere and unreserved apologies to the victim and to Andrew Malkinson for this profound miscarriage of justice.”