header-logo header-logo

17 April 2026 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 8157 / Categories: Features , Miscarriage of justice , Criminal
printer mail-detail

Released, but no recompense

247147

© The Justice Gap

Three convictions overturned, all without compensation—Dr Jon Robins sets out the alarming failings that are ruining lives

Collectively, Peter Sullivan, Oliver Campbell and Justin Plummer spent a total of 77 years wrongly imprisoned before they had their convictions overturned. The three men have all been released from prison in the past three years and haven’t received a penny in compensation—despite alarming failings by the police and the courts.

The three men appeared side-by-side with their lawyers on a panel at an urgent meeting convened by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice to highlight the ‘unconscionable cruelty’ (in the words of the group’s chair Kim Johnson MP) of the current arrangements for miscarriage of justice compensation and the almost total lack of ongoing support for the wrongly imprisoned on release.

Justin Plummer

In ‘Freedom: the final act’, 175 NLJ 8142, p21, I wrote about the extraordinary story of Justin Plummer, who had his conviction for a 1997 murder quashed in 2021, only to be

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Paula Myers to private capital team in Leeds

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

Law firm mfg Solicitors announces five promotions at Birmingham office

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners adds six to partnership in record year for partner promotions

NEWS
Calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 have been renewed, with the Bar Council arguing the current threshold criminalises children too early and risks pushing them towards lifelong offending
The legal profession's AI challenge extends far beyond fabricated case citations, according to a warning about the next phase of technological risk
Law firms should use the transition period before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumes anti-money laundering (AML) supervision to strengthen governance and compliance, experts have warned
Cross-border disputes increasingly demand creative approaches to gathering evidence, with litigators needing to look beyond traditional letters of request
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified the distinction between contracts of 'indefinite' and 'perpetual' duration, with potentially significant implications for commercial drafting
back-to-top-scroll