Claims of Innocence

[Alison J Stevens]

Claims of Innocence

Press release issued 26 November 2010

An introduction to wrongful convictions and how they might bechallenged is the focus of a new book launched by the University ofBristol.

Entitled Claims of Innocence, the book, which is availablefree of charge, describes how innocent people can be wrongly convicted,how the criminal appeals system can fail and even obstruct theoverturning of convictions given to the innocent. It details howalleged wrongful convictions may be investigated and appropriatelychallenged, providing a six-stage methodology for such a task.

The book by Dr Michael Naughton,Senior Lecturer, School of Law and School of Sociology, Politics andInternational Studies (SPAIS), University of Bristol, is underpinned bya decade of academic work on wrongful convictions and practicalattempts to overturn alleged wrongful conviction as part of his workwith the Innocence Network UK and the University of Bristol Innocence Project.

Claims of Innocence looks set to make an impact as almost3,000 copies were requested pre-publication by specialist criminalappeal lawyers and wrongful conviction victim support organisationsbased around the UK.

Mark Newby, Solicitor Advocate, Jordans LLP Doncaster; Director,Historical Abuse Appeal Panel (HAAP), said: “I am delighted to endorsethis comprehensive book on wrongful convictions. In its clear andconcise terms it will help readers start to grasp hold of a systemwhich is overly complex and stacked against those who have beenwrongfully convicted. The book will help all those who have suffered aninjustice to have direction as they continue to fight to clear theirnames.”

Dr Andrew Green, Co-Founder of INNOCENT and United Against Injustice(UAI), said: “We, who have for many years tried to help innocent peoplein prison and their families to challenge the wrongful convictions ofwhich they are all victims, have long felt a desperate need for aconcise explanation of the appeals process and how prosecution casesmight be effectively challenged. I and colleagues in innocent prisonersupport and campaigning organisations welcome the publication of thisbook, which will be of great assistance to us and to prisoners andtheir families.”

Claims of Innocence will reach an international audience,too, as 500 copies have been sent to the Ohio Innocence Project at theUniversity of Cincinnati for the delegate pack at the Innocence Network Conference 2011,that will bring together scholars, lawyers and exonerees from aroundthe world together in one place to interact and learn from one another.

LexisNexis UK, a leadingprovider of legal, tax and business information and content-enabledworkflow solutions, designed the book on a pro bono basis and donatedthe first 5,000 copies. The book will be distributed throughout UKprisons, and a copy of the book will also be sent to every sitting MP.

Tom Laidlaw, Head of Academic Development at LexisNexis, said: “Weare pleased to be able to support the book in this manner as part ofour commitment to support the ‘Rule of Law’ around the world. We oftenthink of the ‘Rule of Law’ in terms of helping create a system of lawor government in countries without clearly written and accessible lawsor constitutions. However, even in mature democracies, the ‘Rule ofLaw’ still needs to be effectively upheld.”

Funding for the book, published by University of Bristol, ISBN978-0-9561001-3-9, came from the first-ever award made by theUniversity of Bristol’s Impact Development Fund.

 

Further information:

Dr Michael Naughton teaches in the area of criminal justice in boththe University of Bristol’s School of Law and Department of Sociology.He is the Founder and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK), anorganisation that he established in September 2004 to facilitatecasework, research and communications in the area of wrongfulconvictions, which has spawned almost 30 innocence projects inuniversities in England, Scotland and Wales. He is Founder and Directorof the University of Bristol Innocence Project, the first innocenceproject in the UK, through which he directs pro bono investigations ofclaims of innocence by long-term prisoners convicted for seriousoffences.

If you would like a free copy of the book please complete the order form (pdf, 121kb).