After 17 years behind bars, a British man has been acquitted of a heinous rape case he had no connection to. From the outset, the events that led to Andrew Malkinson, now 57 years old, being imprisoned for rape were absurd, according to "The Guardian." It was in the summer of 2003 when police stopped the motorcycle that Malkinson, then 37, was riding. The encounter was "completely friendly." Weeks later, the same officers received a description of a man who attacked and sexually assaulted a woman. For some strange reason, they recalled their brief meeting with Malkinson and decided he was a fitting suspect.
Malkinson was taken to the police station, then to court, and subsequently sentenced to 17 years in prison. In fact, he was transferred to what he refers to as a "parallel nightmare world," where he remained until last year when his conviction was finally overturned. Malkinson stated in press comments that he had been positively identified by the victim, and two others claimed to have seen him near the crime scene, which occurred on a highway bridge in Salford in the early hours of the morning. He added: "I spent 17 years, 4 months, and 16 days in prison... all that time, the real perpetrator, the real dangerous person was free, and now I'm out of this court without an apology, without an explanation, unemployed, homeless." The jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He spent his time incarcerated "hyper-vigilant" against violent attacks, yet always hoped for something to emerge that would prove his innocence.
