Wrongfully jailed men call for change to England and Wales compensation law
source: The Guardian
first published: 10 February 2026
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Three men who have never been compensated for spending between 11 and 38 years in prison for crimes they did not commit, have joined calls for a change in the law in England and Wales.
Even after being cleared, people who spend years behind bars owing to a wrongful conviction have to prove their innocence “beyond reasonable doubt” to qualify for compensation.
The result is that claims from many high-profile miscarriage of justice survivors have been rejected.
Speaking on Monday at a meeting of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on miscarriages of justice, Justin Plummer, who spent 28 years in prison after being twice found guilty of a murder he did not commit, said he could not believe he was being denied compensation.
“It’s ridiculous. I’ve been through a minefield once. Now, on release, I’m thinking ‘oh plain sailing, I should be all right’ but no, no, no,” said Plummer, who was released last year.
“I do really need it [compensation]. I’ve got mental health problems through this wrongful conviction so I don’t want compensation for mad housing, mad holidays, I want it so I can get treatment.”
His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, said it was absurd that people were required to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt, even after having been exonerated by the court of appeal.
“How on earth can you do that?” she asked. “You haven’t got the resources of the police to go and investigate the crime that took place in 1997 and find the culprit.”
Oliver Campbell, who spent 11 years in jail after receiving a life sentence in 1991, aged 21, for conspiracy to rob and murder, but was cleared only in 2024, said: “Everyone said: ‘Are you getting your compo?’ … I’ve been trying to tell someone but I don’t think he knows, [he thinks] ‘he’s got a lot of money’.”
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