The new age of innocence

In late 1979 a young woman was raped and murdered in Southampton. Subsequently, Sean Hodgson, an inmate with serious mental health problems, at HMP Wandsworth, made admissions to that murder. Previously he had also made admissions to offences that he had not committed; a fact known to police in London. The events took place before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and sometimes, when he made admissions to police officers, no solicitor or appropriate adult was present.

Hodgson was charged and stood trial at Winchester Crown Court before Mr Justice Sheldon and a jury. He retracted his admissions and pleaded not guilty. The Crown's case was that the person who raped the victim was the murderer; that the defendant had been in the area; that his blood group fitted the swabs taken from the body of the victim '“ as did a third of the population; and that he had made admissions. In February 1982, Sean Hodgson was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal against conviction was dismissed in 1983. He denied his guilt for more than a quarter of a century.

In March 2008, after seeing an advert in a prison newspaper, he contacted Julian Young and Co, asking about the possibility of looking into an appeal.

Sample analysis

After some time, the location of the documents held by the DPP and samples stored by the Forensic Science Service were established. The process of analysis of evidence and of samples commenced. The LSC authorised funding for an independent forensic scientist to examine and oversee the analysis of samples from the original exhibits.

In December 2008, the first positive result was received but due to Hodgson's fragile state of health, I decided that we should await the balance of the results. They were received in January 2009 and revealed that DNA on all of the exhibits was of one person. That person was not Sean Hodgson and, if the rapist was the killer as asserted in the trial, the killer could not have been Sean Hodgson. I lodged Advice and Grounds of Appeal against Conviction to the Court of Appeal and Crown Court. The papers were later sent to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

In mid-March 2009, I appeared before the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of Appeal to present the appeal against conviction on behalf of Sean Hodgson. The Crown did not oppose the appeal. Twenty seven years and one month after conviction, and less than 12 months after my colleague Judy Ramjeet and I started work on his appeal, Hodgson's conviction was quashed and he was declared an innocent man (see Solicitors Journal, 153/10, 17 March 2009).

Consequences for similar cases

On a professional level it was a privilege and honour to work on such an important and complex case and represent a person who was innocent of this serious charge. It was also a truly humbling experience; perhaps dealing with a miscarriage of justice is one of the reasons we went into this area of legal work. It certainly was not for the money, despite what some sections of the press report.

What of the future in possible cases of miscarriages of justice involving DNA evidence? It is impossible to say how many cases of a similar nature there are potentially in the system '“ perhaps inmates of prisons can respond to that question.

In practice, anyone convicted of an offence before DNA testing was available and who believes that DNA analysis could show their innocence should contact a legal aid solicitor as soon as possible. Solicitors have to obtain files from storage or copies from the police force's prosecuting authority, DPP or CPS. The evidence must be analysed, funding obtained for independent DNA tests and counsel or a solicitor advocate instructed to consider the evidence and draft advice etc. All of this takes time. It should be noted that the case of Sean Hodgson was dealt with in an exceptionally short time. I must stress that each case is different and most if not every case will take considerably longer to resolve.

Constantly improving science

However, it is not just pre-1987 cases that should be re-examined. Although forensic DNA analysis has been used since 1987, the methods used nowadays are quite different and much improved. It is possible to get DNA profiles from much smaller samples than was the case even a few years ago, and specialist techniques, such as Y-STR DNA analysis that selectively targets male DNA, can be used now, in addition to standard DNA analysis.

With regard to the retention of samples, I understand that FSS Ltd managers have been aware that they have been running out of storage space and FSS Ltd has been much more active in destroying retained materials, in accordance with the memorandum of agreement that exists between FSS and ACPO as a consequence of PACE. It may be that some element of luck will still be involved with regard to tracking down potentially useful material from even relatively recent cases.

So, it is not words from me, but action by anyone who believes that they are innocent and that new DNA tests or analysis can assist them in an appeal against conviction that must be taken. This should ensure that there are no more Sean Hodgsons; that is, innocent people in prison.