One of the troubling after effect of a wrongful conviction, remain how victims come to terms with their present situation; how they go past it, put it aside and move ahead. Some never do. Others just resign themselves to fate and the vicissitudes of life. The system is so skewed and unfair to leave a man stranded for apparently no fault of his.
The vexed question of post wrongful conviction compensation, whether and when to pay, indeed, if there is a right to restitution remain a moot point – both with adversarial and inquisitorial jurisdictions. It sounds strange that the system would continue to stigmatise a man for an offense he did not commit or has not been found culpable by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Despite the ‘giant’ stride that has been made in the United Kingdom, and the long line of cases of miscarriages of justice – from the days of the Birmingham Six, to the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission – it seems cases still seep through the system undetected and uncompensated when they come to light.
James Taylor deserve to get his life back. He must explore all in his power and within the law to see to that, if the pronouncements of Judge Peter Clarke QC is to make any sense. Judge Peter Clarke QC is reported to have said that ‘We find the consequences to Mr. Taylor little less than horrifying’
You can read Taylor’s odyssey here and make up your own mind http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18787249
Wrongful Convictions Blog 
Daniel – so pleased you noted this case. It is very very rare indeed for such a case to make the news. Indeed, there are hundreds of cases like this every year, but because these defendants don’t get sent to prison, they are ignored. However, the consequences of any wrongful conviction, of however small a criminal charge, can be life-changing. I think it’s great that this has made the news and we need to be far more honest and open to the realities of ‘justice’ that takes place in the lower courts, which supposedly only deal with ‘minor’ cases, but can have major consequences when it goes wrong.
Thanks Carole. Your observations are very pertinent.