Man Wrongfully Jailed For 17 Years Is Now Living In A Tent

A man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and sentenced to 17 years in prison says he is now ‘broke’ and living in a tent in Spain.

Andrew Malkinson, then 37, was wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in 2003 while working as a security guard in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK.

If the 57-year-old had confessed to the crime, he could have been released after six and a half years, but he refused to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit.

Malkinson was finally released in July 2023 after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal due to Greater Manchester Police withholding critical information during his trial.

After his release, he went to Amsterdam to visit an ex-partner, Karin Schuitemaker, who he claims never doubted his innocence.

He then took a friend’s van on a road trip through Europe, stopping in France and Portugal before arriving in Seville, where he now lives in a tent on a campsite.

He claims that living in a tent allows him to enjoy “anonymity and nature,” and that he “cannot bear” being in Britain.

“This horror will always be with me,’ he told BBC Breakfast.

“I just deal with it by using the mental resources I’ve used to survive in prison. I am kind of at war with the authorities, I’ve been that way since the day they kidnapped me.

“They lied, they distorted the truth, they hid exculpatory evidence, that to me is a war.

“A non-statutory is not going to cut it with the police. They’ve been everything but honest. They will not give it up. They’re institutionally dishonest.

“I have no faith in any British authority higher than a traffic warden. I don’t trust the British, Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday – they can’t face the truth.”

When asked if he considered the UK to be his home, he replied, ‘No,’ adding, ‘this isn’t my home, your friends don’t kidnap you, do they?’

Although Malkinson is set to receive substantial compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, he has been warned that he could be out of money for two years.

Meanwhile, Andrew has stated that he is ‘basically homeless’ while awaiting his trial.

“I’m on benefits. I don’t have a job, I’m living in a tent. I’m basically homeless and waiting for them to do the right thing,” he said.

“They have the power to do the right thing but they chose to take their time.”

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk revealed plans for a public inquiry into why Mr Malkinson spent nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit in August.

However, the investigation will be non-statutory, which means that investigators will have no legal authority to compel witnesses to attend.

Mr Malkinson blamed the Lord Chancellor, saying he ‘made a mistake’ by not compelling witnesses to testify and disclose evidence under the law.

“The police don’t want to disclose,” he told the Guardian. “They never have done and I can’t see them playing ball unless they’re compelled to by a statutory inquiry.”

“I want to know all the details of exactly how and why [this] happened. Because I can’t rest until I know,’ he added. ‘It’s my life and the suffering is incalculable. Oceans of tears I’ve suffered because of that. And I want to know why.”