Innocence Network UK

The Innocence Network UK (INUK) was established by Dr Michael Naughton in the School of Law at the University of Bristol as a practical contribution to his on-going researches on miscarriages of justice and the wrongful conviction of the innocent.

INUK was officially launched at a press conference on the eve of the Innocence Projects Colloquium, also held at the University of Bristol, School of Law, 3rd September 2004, that explored the feasibility of establishing a national network of innocence projects in UK universities, akin to those that exist in the United States.

The following is a selection of links to media coverage:

BBC News UK
Article in The Guardian by Lee Glendinning
University of Bristol
The launch of the INUK also featured in the Times Law Reports, 7 September, 2004

The Innocence Projects Colloquium was attended by over 80 delegates comprised of prominent academics from the UK, the USA, and Australia, interested parties from the campaigning organisations, leading activists, and criminal appeal lawyers. During the day, members from the Innocence Networks in the USA and Australia shared information on the various models that innocence projects can take, as well as their own personal experiences of their day-to-day running. Victims of wrongful imprisonment such as Paddy Hill (Birmingham 6) and Mike O’Brien (Cardiff Newsagent Three) spoke of the harm that they had endured and their continuing struggle to fit back into society after over a decade of incarceration. Representatives from leading legal organisations, including the Law Society, the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel (HAAP), the Criminal Appeal Lawyers Association (CALA), and important forensic scientists, all expressed their commitment to assisting with Innocence Projects, and the Innocence Network in the UK. The day was concluded by Sir Ludovic Kennedy, a campaigner against wrongful convictions for almost half a century, with a rousing speech on the necessity of a united movement to bring about meaningful and lasting reform of the criminal justice system.

Even the CCRC welcomed the creation of the INUK and the Innocence projects initiative, conceding that they were often helpless in assisting innocent victims of wrongful conviction if they did not fulfil the criteria laid down under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. The limits of the appellate system dictate that applicants to the CCRC must present fresh evidence or fresh arguments to have their cases referred to the appeal court. This means that if the CCRC have evidence of innocence that was available at the original trial, it will not always constitute grounds for referral.

Feedback from exit questionnaires confirmed that the day was a resounding success and it was firmly established that there is both a need and a desire to establish an Innocence Network in the UK, to improve the criminal justice system.