.
THE OFFENDER
Society should take on some responsibility for the plight of the falsely accused so that these prisoners are given ample opportunity to prove their innocence and clear their name whilst serving their sentence, but sadly this is not the case.
In prison an inmate will always be referred to as the offender. For the guilty prisoner this serves as a daily reminder that they have committed a crime but for the innocent, it comes as a constant jolt to the senses that they have been falsely accused and wrongfully convicted.
The British public is reluctant to acknowledge that there are a high proportion of innocent people within our prison walls as it is always assumed that we have the best criminal justice system in the world. It is only when someone is falsely accused and wrongfully convicted that they realise how fallible the system really is.
There is little or no provision in prison for prisoners maintaining their innocence. Both parole and probation officials are obliged to treat all prisoners as if they are guilty. They are bound by law to accept without question that the courts have made the correct decision and cannot challenge their ruling under any circumstances. This means that society does not recognise that it should bear any responsibility whatsoever to the wrongfully convicted as their plight is not even acknowledged.
Tough luck then, if you become the unfortunate victim of false allegations; the judge said you were dangerous, the jury convicted you "Beyond all reasonable doubt," even though they were only presented with lies and now here you are, incarcerated for crimes that never even happened.
Proving your innocence is virtually impossible in the current climate of the U K Criminal Justice System. You'll soon find that you are deprived of every opportunity to clear your name and will be told that funding is not available, every step of the way - quite simply because the system is reluctant to admit that it can and does make the occasional mistake. Even if you have no assets to sell or money saved, your chances of getting good legal representation on legal aid will be practically zero. Society will not even give you a fighting chance to prove your innocence, never mind compensate you for the harm it has done!
The guilty are given every opportunity to progress and make some restitution for the harm they have caused but as a prisoner maintaining innocence you will be viewed as being in a constant state of denial and are far less likely to be granted parole because you refuse to address your offending behaviour.
So what responsibility should society have to you, the falsely imprisoned? Nothing will ever be able to compensate for those lost years snatched from your life. Society can never make amends for the injustice it has meted out to you. The world will move on and leave you behind languishing in a cell that is little bigger than a toilet. Friends will lose touch or abandon you to your plight. You will most likely have lost your home and your business, if you had one. Everything will be taken from you except the love and continued support of those closest to you, who know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... the real truth that the jury were not presented with.
Likely you will not even get a sincere apology from the powers that be upon release if that ever happens, though a thousand "Sorrys," could never be enough. Your accusers should be given the same sentence you've had to endure but this is highly improbable.
As an innocent prisoner you will soon come to realise that even monetary compensation that runs into ridiculous figures can never make up for the years that have been stolen from your life. You have been extracted from society like some rotten tooth and know even with adequate financial compensation, there will still be little assistance to help you put down new roots and re-assimilate into society.
The food in prison is stodgy and exercise is virtually impossible; how can society ever compensate you for the damage done to your health? And who will allay the fears and pure paranoia you have of the outside world now you have become institutionalised? How can society ever make up for the stigma and the heartache your family were subjected to when your name was dragged through the mud and your face plastered all over the papers?
Society certainly has a debt to repay you, both whilst still in prison and once you regain your freedom but there is nothing it can do to make amends for the wrong decision of the court. The only thing that might give you some satisfaction is to actively try to help others who find themselves in the same situation and to attempt to bring about changes in the Criminal Justice System so that miscarriages of justice are less likely to happen in the future.
You might decide to write a book, highlighting the plight of the falsely accused and you will continue to hope that society will one day accept that it must bear some responsibility for their predicament. Significant changes in society can sometimes be brought about by the experiences and actions of an individual and changes need to be made in order to prevent wrongful convictions in the first place. Society needs to be more ready to acknowledge the fact that innocent people's lives can be utterly ruined because of the malicious lies of those who have abused the justice system and borne false witness.