Having waited so many years, you leave the court a free man

APPEAL JUDGE'S WORDS TO INNOCENT MAN WHO SPENT ALMOST TWO DECADES IN PRISON

- JOHN SCHEERHOUT

APPEAL court judges have quashed the rape conviction of a man who spent 17 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

Andy Malkinson, 57, always denied carrying out the violent attack on a woman by the M61 motorway in Little Hulton, Salford, in July 2003.

The following year he was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years, but remained in prison for a further 10 because he maintained he was innocent.

At the time of his trial, there was no DNA evidence linking him to the crime and the prosecution case against him was based solely on identification evidence. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, after new DNA evidence was discovered.

Yesterday, three top judges sitting at the Court of Appeal quashed his rape conviction.

The news was greeted with cheers at the Court of Appeal in London. Mr Malkinson raised his hands aloft to acknowledge the cheers moments after he had been cleared.

Mr Malkinson was 37 when he was found guilty on February 10, 2004, by a 10-2 majority of carrying out a violent sex attack on a mum-of-two by the M61 in Little Hulton, Salford.