Victor Nealon: the Court of Appeal miscarriage of justice case

The case of Victor Nealon, denied compensation despite being imprisoned for 17 years after a miscarriage of justice, has raised important issues about the compensation regime for such cases. Nealon, a former postman, was convicted of attempted rape in Redditch in Worcestershire in 1996. He served 10 years more than his recommended minimum tariff on a life sentence, in part because he continued to protest his innocence. The facts and legal arguments about the case are outlined below in some detail, based on his successful appeal in 2013 thanks to new DNA evidence. A post on the legal issues regarding compensation and why the new law (2014 Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act at Section 175) that bars it to people in Nealon’s position unless they can prove their innocence (rather than prove a miscarriage of justice) is also available on Thinking Legally: The case against Grayling.

Nealon was convicted of attempted rape (of Ms E) in 1997 at Hereford Crown Court and sentenced by Jowitt J. His first appeal against conviction was dismissed in 1998. In July 2012, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (“CCRC”) referred the conviction to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division on the grounds of fresh DNA evidence (following his third application to the CCRC). He had continued to declare his innocence throughout his time in prison which debarred him from consideration for release after the 7-year minimum term was up. In effect his refusal to accept the verdict of the court meant he lost an extra 10 years of his life.

The following is extracted from Lord Justice Fulford’s judgment in the Court of Appeal in March 2014.