Andrew Malkinson and Innocent Prisoners

 Miscarriages of justice occur regularly in our justice system. The list of victims is lengthy: Timothy Evans, The Birmingham Six, The Bridgewater Four and Stefan Kiszko are just a few that come to mind. Lately, the name of Andrew Malkinson has been added to the list. 

The facts of Mr Malkinson's case are well enough known by now. He was jailed in 2003 for the brutal rape of a woman, then aged 33, in Salford. The victim had been walking home when she was dragged down a motorway embankment and attacked in the early hours of July 19, 2003.She had been walking home from her boyfriend's residence when her attacker, wrongly identified as Malkinson, started following her. The woman was strangled until she was unconscious. Upon waking, she ran to the nearest road to get help.

Even at the time, the evidence against Malkinson was questionable. The Bolton News, reporting during the trial, noted:

"Forensic scientists tested 29 samples, including swabs from various parts of the victim's body, her clothes, and grass from the scene, but no DNA evidence was found".

There were other discrepancies in the case against Malkinson. As The Guardian said in May:

"His case was referred to the court of appeal in January after another man’s DNA was found on the victim’s clothing. The victim said she recalled causing such a “deep scratch” to her attacker’s cheek that she broke her nail, yet Malkinson was seen by police the next day with no marks on his face".

The prosecution’s case relied on unreliable eyewitness testimony and the victim choosing Malkinson in a video lineup - despite several key details not matching the victim's description of her attacker. Incredible though it seems now, the lack of DNA evidence was explained by saying that Malkinson was “forensically aware” and had purposely left no trace.

Greater Manchester Police have apologised for their "mistakes" over Mr Malkinson. With commendable restraint, Mr Malkinson told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "The Greater Manchester Police apology... it's meaningless to me, absolutely meaningless. An apology without accountability, what is that? It's nothing, it's nothing, it means nothing."

Besides having suffered a monstrous injustice, Malkinson might be charged for his incarceration. The Mirror says here:

"Mr Malkinson has now revealed that he may have to pay for the cost of food and accommodation while he was behind bars from whatever compensation he receives. It is understood that is has been standard practice in miscarriage of justice cases since the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 came into force".

Surprisingly to me, even a senior Tory has spoken out against this. As LBC says: 

"Sir Bob Neill, the senior Tory MP who is chairman of the House of Commons Justice Committee, said: "I think any fair minded person thinks this is just wrong...:To say it's adding insult to injury is probably to put it more mildly than it deserves".

That is well said, and let's hope that a man who has suffered enough already will be spared from paying for his unjust imprisonment.

But there is one aspect of this case that has wider implications. It is something that I knew nothing of, and find it disturbing. It began with Malkinson's refusal to confess to a crime that he did not commit. The Mirror again: 

"Although he could have been let out after serving seven years if he had admitted the offence, he went on to serve a further 10 years because he insisted on his innocence".

To me, that was mind-numbing, though admirable. To languish in prison on grounds of principle is very brave. But the idea that an innocent man should be punished with more than twice the sentence length of a guilty man is beyond appalling. It has led me to an awareness of what is called the Innocent prisoner's dilemma. The innocent prisoner's dilemma is a consequence of a legal system in which confession of guilt can result in reduced sentences or early release on licence. When an innocent person is wrongly convicted, legal systems which need the individual to admit guilt punish an innocent person for their honesty, and reward unrepentant criminals. Wikipedia comments here: 

"There have been cases where innocent prisoners were given the choice between freedom, in exchange for claiming guilt, and remaining imprisoned and telling the truth. Individuals have died in prison rather than admit to crimes that they did not commit".

it seems to me that a radical rethink of the system is needed. It is intolerable to think that innocent people are in prison for crimes they did not commit - and, to his credit, Andrew Malkinson says that there are more like him. I don't pretend to have the answer. I am not a lawyer , but the Malkinson case has exposed a gross injustice that must be remedied. 

To conclude, I wish Andrew every happiness and good luck with further struggles against the system. Good luck, also, to other wrongly convicted people in jail who are fighting to prove their innocence.

Rip-Off Degrees - Halfwit Government?

 

I suppose we should all be used to diversionary tactics by this present government, but the recent "Rip-Off Degrees" controversy, stirred up by Rishi Sunak, could well be compared to dumping a load of dead cats on a table, rather than the proverbial one. Sky News reported it on the 17th of this month:

"The government has said it wants there to be a cap on the number of students who study so-called "rip-off" university degrees. The limits will be imposed on courses that have high dropout rates or a low proportion of graduates getting a professional job."

The PM was quoted as saying: 'They're (students) being taken advantage of with low-quality courses that don't lead to a job that makes it worth it, leaving them financially worse off. That's what we're clamping down on today."

Now, it does not take much thought to see that terms like "rip-off", "low-quality" and "Mickey Mouse courses" are vague and conceal more than they reveal. The government themselves do not appear to be clear on what they mean, as was shown in a remarkable Good Morning Britain interview of the minister seen above: Robert Halfon. Tory politicians are prone to making themselves look stupid, but this interview is a classic, and I recommend it for watching (click on the link). He could not define a "good job", a "Mickey Mouse degree" or a "Rip-Off course". Under exemplary questioning by Susannah Reid and Richard Madeley, Mr Halfoff  made a complete prat of himself. Even the Spectator commented adversely on his dismal performance: 

"In an interview on Good Morning Britain, higher education minister Robert Halfon couldn’t name a single degree, salary threshold or ‘good job’ against which the criteria for a ‘Mickey Mouse’ degree could be set."

The article continues:

"Studying law – a more vocational, supposedly ‘employable’ degree – at the University of Wolverhampton is not necessarily a ‘better’ idea than studying philosophy at Durham: the former has a progression rate of only 56 per cent. According to OFS, only 35 per cent of graduates who study Computing at London Metropolitan University ‘proceed’ to a positive graduate destination, and yet you rarely hear Computing being called a ‘Mickey Mouse’ degree."

This whole government "initiative" is nothing more than an attack upon social sciences, humanities and the arts, despite 58% of FTSE executives having degrees in those academic areas. And of course...as in many things, there is a good deal of Tory hypocrisy involved - in this case quite blatant. Boris Johnson gained a degree in Greek and Latin Studies (" Literae Humaniores"). Penny Mordaunt has a degree in Philosophy, while Tom Tugendhat has a degree in Theology. None of these degrees have a vocational or "practical" application; they don't prepare you for the world of high finance or train you how to lay bricks. And yet these three Conservative politicians (as well as others) have become stars in the political firmament (to our cost, but you get the picture). Robert Halfwit, the star performer on breakfast TV, has a degree in Politics and an MA in Russian and Eastern European Politics - hardly entrepreneurial qualifications.

While it is amusing to ridicule this latest Tory folly, I believe that there is an underlying populist attitude to which they are seeking to appeal. This is the pub loudmouth/white van man/Daily Mail reader prejudice against the arts, humanities and social sciences ("all bloody waffle"), which, on a political level, leads to a demand for more "practical" courses - in other words, turning universities into glorified occupational training centres. According to this view ( still extant ) there is too much of what they call "theory".

Discerning readers will guess correctly that holders of this view have similarly unenlightened views on immigration, social care and Brexit.

This "view", which 19th century thinkers would describe as "Philistinism", despises culture, art and the love of learning for its own sake. But it has a significant weakness. Suppose, for example, in any given year, our universities produce 1500 graduates in (say) Sports Centre Management. Yet, in the whole of the UK, there are only 300 vacancies for these graduates. That means 1200 unemployable Sports Centre Management graduates, possessed of skills that are of no value anywhere else.

Philistinism, espoused by so many "practical" people, is theoretically unsound, as is this latest Tory government folly.

Facebook comment by Have I Got News For You.

Violence Against School Staff: A Worsening Problem

 Jamie Sansom, a 27-year old mathematics teacher at Tewkesbury School, Gloucestershire, was stabbed by a 15 -year old pupil on Monday. Thankfully, his wounds were not life-threatening and he has been discharged from hospital. Quoted in Gloucestershire Live, Mr Sansom said yesterday:

 “On police advice, I can’t comment in detail about what happened, but I do want to address some misinformation which has been circulating in coverage of yesterday’s incident. It is simply not true to say that I was intervening in a fight between students. In my view, there was no point at which Tewkesbury students faced any direct threat."

In time, we will learn why the pupil turned so violent, and we all wish Mr Sansom a full recovery. However, this shocking attack has highlighted once again an abiding problem in our schools: that of violence against teachers.

Back in April, 2014, while still working as a supply teacher, I wrote of the murder by stabbing of Ann Maguire, a Leeds teacher murdered in school by one of her pupils, Will Cornick. At the time, I said that a Rubicon had been crossed, by which I meant that we could expect more lethal attacks on teachers, like that on Jamie Sansom. 

Some people, no doubt, will scoff at this, pointing out that these two attacks are separated by nine years. Superficially, it could be said that the Rubicon has only been crossed twice in nine years, so there's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, such complacency is misplaced. Violence against teachers has worsened since the murder of Ann Maguire, even if there have been no fatalities. 

BBC Wales reports that there were  at least 5,000 recorded violence cases against school staff in Welsh schools from 2018 to 2022. NASUWT Wales says this was the tip of an iceberg. One anonymous teacher said:

"Colleagues have had hair set on fire. Pupils have violently attacked staff. Not just a single punch, but have continually gone at them".

Significantly, the teacher went on to say:

"Not all management will admit what is going on in their school."

SoloProtect says that 72,173 violent students were either excluded or suspended in England in 2019/20 due to physical assault against an adult or pupil. They go on to say:

"Moreover, a Labour Force Survey reported by the BBC stated that staff working in secondary education are "three times more likely to be physically attacked at work than the average UK employee".

I wonder how long it will be before parents realise that violence and other factors are affecting their children's education. Schools Week says the rate of teachers leaving the state sector for reasons other than retirement grew to a record high in 2022, with nearly 40,000 departures. They go on to say:

"New school workforce data, published today, shows that 39,930 teachers (8.8 per cent of the sector) left state schools in the 2021-22 academic year, up 7,800 on the previous year when 6.9 per cent left". 

The Rubicon might not be running red with blood, but it has definitely been crossed. Violence is an ever-present occupational hazard for secondary school teachers and, increasingly so, in primary schools. 

Violence against teachers is rightly covered frequently in the media. What is not highlighted, and should be, is violence against those essential support staff in schools: Teaching Assistants. UNISON, the union sets it out in stark terms: 

"Teaching assistants have reported being kicked, punched and spat at by pupils in mainstream primary and secondary schools, according to new research released today (17/10/22).
The analysis is the first to look at the violence and aggression faced by teaching and classroom assistants in England, Scotland and Wales. Extensive data already exists into pupil-on-pupil violence and aggression towards teachers and senior managers".
Members questioned described being the target of student aggression in a range of ways, including being hit in the face, punched, kicked and bitten. Researchers found that in several cases staff reported receiving death threats from pupils.
Physical injuries included cuts, a black eye, a dislocated thumb, a broken finger and ripped ligaments. Staff also reported a range of psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression. Two workers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Disturbingly, the report went on to say:
"The report also noted that the response of schools to attacks was sometimes inadequate. Teaching assistants felt the message from their employers was that it was their job to manage pupil violence. This, combined with their low status, normalised violence against them".

When we discuss violence in schools, we must focus upon all school staff in the future. 

This is not the place to discuss solutions, nor am I suggesting that all our schools are hellholes - if any. There are many fine schools in all areas with robust policies for dealing with this problem. But if the problem of violence against school staff is not tackled more widely and more comprehensively, the school staff exodus will get worse.

By way of a footnote, I have been reminded that Ann Maguire was not the first educationalist to die violently at school. Philip Lawrence, seen above, was the head of  St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale, London. The BBC radio presenter, Edward Adoo, a pupil of Mr Lawrence, wrote in glowing term of his old head in 2020, describing Mr Lawrence as

"...  a strict but approachable head who was utterly committed to his job, his staff and the kids in his school."

On 8 December, 1995, concern for his pupils cost Philip Lawrence his life. He was fatally stabbed in the heart as he tried to break up a fight between a 13-year-old from St George's and a gang of teenage youths. He left a widow, Frances, and four children. His killer, a 15-year old gang member named  Learco Chindamo, was released in 2014, the year that Ann Maguire was murdered. 

28 years separate the stabbings of Philip Lawrence and Jamie Sansom. It is a sobering thought that things have not improved during that time - and it's difficult to be optimistic for the future.

Colin Pitchfork, Murder and the Risk of Reoffending

 Much as I hate to praise the present government for anything, I welcome the Lord Chancellor's decision to ask the Parole Board to reconsider their decision to release Colin Pitchfork (seen above). The Parole Board's decision to free Pitchfork was met with great anger and opposition - understandably so, as Pitchfork is a convicted double murderer. As is well known, Pitchfork received a life sentence in 1988 after admitting to raping and murdering two 15-year-old girls, Lynda Mann (murdered 1983) and Dawn Ashworth (murdered 1986). He has the distinction of being the first person in Britain to be convicted of rape and murder, thanks to the use of DNA profiling.
Arrested in September 1987, he owned up to the two murders and rapes, as well as to exposing himself to over 1,000 other women. His sentence of 30 years was reduced to 28 years in 2009, and Pitchfork was released on licence in 2021. After two months, he was back in prison for 'approaching young women', in a violation of his licence conditions. 

It is not clear as yet what the Parole Board's decision will be, but, speaking personally, I hope that Pitchfork will never be released. I have seen a number of articles about Pitchfork the murderer, but I would like to look at what is known about his long-dead victims. Lest we forget.

Lynda Mann was 15 when she was murdered on November 25, 1983, in her home town of Narborough, Leicestershire, on her way home from babysitting. Her parents and others searched all night for her when she did not return home. Next morning, she was found dead. She had been raped and strangled on a lonely footpath, known to locals as the "Black Pad".
Pitchfork had murdered Lynda after dropping his wife off at an evening class and - sickeningly - while his baby son slept on the back seat of his car. The Sun comments here: 

"After sexually assaulting and strangling the schoolgirl, the killer drove home and put his baby to bed."

If not for Pitchfork, Lynda would be about 55 years old now.

Pitchfork struck again, three years later. On 31 July 1986, Dawn Ashworth left her home in Leicestershire to visit a friend. Her parents had expected her home at 9:30pm.
She failed to return, so her parents reported her missing to the police. Two days later, her body was found in a wood near a footpath called "Ten Pound Lake".
Like Lynda, Dawn had been viciously beaten, raped and strangled.

Had she not fallen foul of Pitchfork, Dawn would also have been in her 50s today.

Understandably enough, the relatives of these two girls, like many of us, are outraged at the possibility of Pitchfork being released - especially since Pitchfork was previously freed in 2021. Two months after his release, he was arrested and sent back to jail after he approached a lone woman in breach of his licence conditions.

I must here acknowledge the efforts of media outlets and individuals whom I have often disparaged and condemned. I have previously spoken unkindly of Nick Ferrari of LBC and have expressed my contempt for the tabloid press on numerous occasions ( and will again, no doubt ). However, I thank them for alerting me to this matter which - surely? - transcends political affiliations. After all, be ye left, right or centre, murder is still murder.

But is it right to say that Pitchfork cannot be stopped from reoffending, as has been suggested? It may be that he has simply contrived an elaborate cover to deceive the Parole Board (and others). Anyone who doubts the fact that he can be manipulative and highly cunning should watch THIS VIDEO. Here, he can be seen as plausible enough to convince another man to take a DNA test in his place during the police investigation. He was also skilful enough to substitute this man's photo on his passport - no easy task. He may well have spent his time in prison researching ways to deceive the authorities.

And yes, there is always the possibility that he will kill again. As I have noted on many occasions, mental health patients with histories of lethal violence often do commit more murders. As for "ordinary" killers, statistics give no comfort.

In 2012, the BBC reported that:

"Over 30 killers killed again after being freed from prison between 2000/1 and 2010/11, statistics show.
Figures released by the Home Office show 29 people with homicide convictions went on to commit murder and six went on to commit manslaughter.
Of those 29 murderers, 13 previously committed murder and 16 manslaughter.
The government says it does all it can to protect the public from offenders "but sadly risk can never be eliminated entirely".

Well, that's reassuring - is it not? It makes me wonder if all repeat/serial murderers should be classified as having mental health issues. But I digress.

The Daily Mail, in 2021, reported:

"Dozens of killers, rapists and paedophiles released from prison have been given second life sentences for further offences. Over the past decade 129 criminals who were jailed for life have been handed the same sentence again".

Of course, none of this means that Pitchfork would kill again, should he be released. There is a possibility that he has changed. Dr Scott A. Bonn, in "Psychology Today", asserts:

"There are serial killers who stop murdering altogether before ever being caught or killed.
Although not completely understood, in such instances, there typically are events or circumstances that occur in the offenders’ lives that inhibit them from continuing a life of murder. These events might include an increased participation in family life, substitute sexual gratification, an alternate method of experiencing power/control, or another diversion".

And of course, active surveillance by the authorities and the wider community would also help in Pitchfork's case.

 However, we must remember that should Colin Pitchfork murder once more, it will be his third time killing, while for his victim, or victims, it will be their first time dead.