Unbelievable

Sometimes the insensitivity of the law can just leave you speechless:

Two men wrongly jailed for murder for 18 years must pay for the money they saved in "board and lodgings" while in prison, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Cousins Michael and Vincent Hickey were convicted of murdering newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater in November 1979.

An independent assessor ruled their "loss of earnings" compensation should be cut by 25% to cover living expenses.

Here is some of the fine board they experienced:

Stigmatised as child killers, they had been subjected to appalling treatment in prison, Susie Labinjoh, of Hodge Jones & Allen, added. Their food had regularly been adulterated with phlegm and glass.

The very definition of insult to injury.

Comments

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

You might want to take another look at their story. Is there anything at all there to support the idea these guys are innocent? Or only that the cops did wrong in securing their conviction?

[Soul]

The charges against them are gone, that means they are innocent. I'm sick at tired of people like marcus here deciding that they know better than our founding fathers on this issue. Their passion clouds their minds and their judgement, they assume that is someone is charged with something then they must be guilty.
Forensic and police sciences are advanced to the point that if you are looked at for a crime, and are guilty, you will be convicted. The fact that the police can't bring another case, and couldn't convict without cheating, speaks for itself.
This is just punishing people for executing their right to appeal.

[stephen]

Soul might like to note that "our founding fathers" have nothing to do with this matter, as it took place in Britain. And you can't pin it on Britain's "founding fathers" (whoever they are) as Britain has no written constitution. Yes, custom and precedent dictate much of the gray areas between written legislation. And yes, once the charges are gone, it's over, although that hasn't stopped police or the public from seeking justice for the killers of Stephen Lawrence, for example.

The "insult to injury" factor was much played up here in England. Never mind they went to prison for a crime they were later absolved of - it's fair enough to say that they had been convicted when they went to prison. But the denial of liberty is the miscarriage of justice here. The idea that food and lodging had been provided is a sickening joke. When the state gets it wrong they should be gracious enough to pay up and keep quiet, even if it leaves the officials gritting their teeth to do so.