Section 13 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 requires that the Criminal Cases Review Commission only refer cases if it believes that there is a “real possibility” the conviction will be quashed. This can leave innocent victims languishing in prison unable to overturn their convictions.
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The CCRC is not the panacea to the problem of the wrongful conviction of the innocent that was envisaged and hoped for. Section 13 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 structures reviews in such a way that it must reject applications of innocent victims of miscarriages of justice if it is not felt that they have the necessary new evidence or argument to satisfy the ‘real possibility’ test. It is wrong, inhumane and unacceptable that innocent victims are unable to overturn their wrongful convictions.