Criminal Cases Review Commission

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is an independent body responsible for investigating potential miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It reviews cases where individuals believe they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced and can refer them back to the Court of Appeal if it believes there is a real possibility that the conviction or sentence will not be upheld. The CCRC is in the news currently due to its role in referring cases that have resulted in overturned convictions and subsequent findings of guilt for the actual perpetrators. Recent examples include the case of Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly imprisoned for rape; the CCRC referred his case, leading to the identification and conviction of Paul Quinn. Similarly, the CCRC played a role in the quashing of Benjamin Field's conviction for the murder of Peter Farquhar. These cases highlight the CCRC's crucial role in ensuring the integrity of the justice system and correcting wrongful convictions, even decades after the initial trials.