Why the Failure of the Prison Service and the Parole Board to Acknowledge Wrongful Imprisonment is Untenable

This article analyses key documents that were produced in collaboration between the Prison Service and the Prison Reform Trust. It identifies an organisational inability on the part of the Prison Service and the Parole Board to acknowledge that the courts can return incorrect verdicts and that wrongful imprisonment can, and does occur. It argues that this renders the ways in which the Prison Service and the Parole Board deal with life prisoners who maintain that they are innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted untenable. To demonstrate this, the article distinguishes two broad categories of wrongful imprisonment. It concludes that those charged with a duty of care for, and the possible release of, those given custodial sentences by the courts must, therefore, be prepared to 'think the unthinkable' and make adequate provision for the innocent victims of wrongful imprisonment that are sure to come their way.