The European Court of Human Rights has turned down Lorraine Allen’s application for compensation for the time she wrongly spent in prison following the death of her son, Patrick.
Lorraine Allen was acquitted of the manslaughter of her son in 2005, and has been fighting for compensation ever since.
The ECHR’s Grand Chamber of the Court heard Lorraine’s case on November 14th 2012. However judgment was reserved at the time. They handed down their judgment in the case of Lorraine Allen v UK today, July 12th 2013.
The case involved important principles including defining what is a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and whether the presumption of innocence applies once a conviction has been quashed.
The Court concluded that in the present case, whilst Article 6 (2) and the presumption of innocence applied to the process, it was important to look at the precise words used by the Courts. This would be of critical importance. In Lorraine’s case they found there was there was no evidence that the Courts in the UK had applied the statutory test in a way which questioned the innocence or guilt of Lorraine. The role of the Court of Appeal on appeal had been to look at whether the conviction was safe rather than whether Lorraine was guilty.
Lorraine Allen was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice in one of the high-profile ‘shaken-baby’ cases. She was convicted of the manslaughter of her four-month old son Patrick in 2000, after prosecution experts claimed the only explanation for his collapse was violent shaking or shaking plus impact. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a child born while she was serving that sentence was taken away from her and placed for adoption.
The conviction was quashed in 2005, after fresh medical expert evidence proved it to be unsafe and as a victim of miscarriage of justice, Lorraine applied for compensation but this was refused by the Home Secretary because her claim, it was argued, did not meet the statutory criteria. Lorraine challenged the decision by Judicial Review, but this was refused by the High Court in 2007 and the subsequent appeal was dismissed in 2008.
Her solicitor, Mike Pemberton, a partner and head of the Civil Liberties Unit at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said: “We are bitterly disappointed with the Court’s decision not to award Lorraine compensation for the time she wrongly spent in prison after her son’s death. Lorraine has fought for many years to obtain the compensation she deserves.
“We have taken that fight through every domestic Court and we were hopeful that the European Court would uphold our view that the presumption of innocence applies once a conviction has been quashed.
“I would now call on the Government to seriously consider bringing back the previous scheme to allow a discretionary and moral approach to compensation. It is abhorrent that the right to compensation following a miscarriage of justice relies entirely on the strength of evidence. In complex cases concerning differing expert views, it is highly likely that the high threshold required to obtain compensation will never be met.
“We are in uncertain times when future miscarriages of justice may become more prevalent with proposed funding cuts to Legal Aid. It is crucial that a safety net exists to compensate those who lose their livelihoods and more.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Mike Pemberton is greatly experienced in public law, human rights matters and judicial review, and is recognised by Chambers UK as a leader in the field of Prison Law and Civil Liberties.
- Stephensons is a large national law firm with ten offices across the country in London, Manchester, Altrincham, Wigan, Bolton, Leigh and St Helens.
- The firm has 36 partners and almost 400 staff, offering a range of legal services to individuals and businesses. For more information, visit www.stephensons.co.uk.
Media information: Lianne Tracey, PR Executive
Stephensons Solicitors LLP
Tel: 01616 966 229
Email: lct@stephensons.co.uk