Summary
Overview
Journalist Adam Bahawsky investigates the UK's broken compensation scheme for wrongly convicted individuals, revealing how a 2014 law change made it virtually impossible for exonerated people to receive compensation. Despite having their convictions overturned, victims now must prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt—reversing the burden of proof and resulting in a 94% rejection rate for compensation claims.
Origins of the Investigation
Adam Bahawsky began investigating compensation for wrongly convicted individuals while covering the Post Office scandal in 2024. His Freedom of Information request revealed that even Post Office scandal victims were being rejected from the government's compensation scheme. This discovery led him to uncover broader systemic failures affecting hundreds of wrongly convicted people across the UK.
- Investigation began during Post Office scandal coverage when victims struggled to get compensation despite a decades-old government scheme
- Freedom of Information request revealed all Post Office scandal victims who applied through the scheme were rejected
- Statistics showed only 6% of applicants were receiving compensation through the scheme
" If this scheme is even rejecting post office scandal victims then there must be many many others "
The 2014 Law Change That Changed Everything
In 2014, the UK government fundamentally altered its compensation scheme for wrongly convicted individuals. Previously aligned with international law requiring only new evidence to overturn a conviction, the new system demands victims prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt. This change effectively reversed the burden of proof in the criminal justice system, making compensation nearly impossible to obtain.
- Under international law, wrongly convicted people should receive compensation when new evidence leads to overturned convictions
- 2014 law change required victims to prove innocence beyond reasonable doubt, not just present new evidence
- The change reverses the burden of proof—state must prove guilt to punish, but victims must prove innocence for compensation
- Lawyers say it's virtually impossible to prove innocence beyond reasonable doubt unless the real perpetrator confesses
" For the state to punish you, it has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you're guilty. And now the state was asking people who had been wrongly convicted and had overturned their compensation to have to go the extra mile and prove they were innocent. "
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