Our Impact Report 2024-25

Impact Report 2024-25 Signs of Hope, Calls for Change   This year, we’ve seen genuine signs of hope for those failed by the justice system. The Law Commission’s decision to undertake a long-overdue review of the criminal appeals process signals a growing recognition that our system is not working as it should, and the results…

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Jury on Trial

Jury on Trial: How Leveson’s Proposals Risk Greater Racial Bias and Wrongful Convictions Jury on Trial: How Leveson’s Proposals Risk Greater Racial Bias and Wrongful Convictions Alannah Burdess, Legal Intern at APPEAL, reviews Sir Brian Leveson’s proposals for jury trials. She discovered a wide range of evidence that shows how they would dismantle a centuries-old…

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LAW COMMISSION CONSULTATION RESPONSE, 2025

Law Commission consultation response Response to the Law Commission’s Criminal Appeals Consultation Paper APPEAL /// June 2025 APPEAL’s response to the Law Commission’s Criminal Appeals Consultation Paper (June 2025) strongly supports reform of the criminal appeals system to better identify and correct miscarriages of justice. We welcome several of the Commission’s proposals—particularly replacing the Criminal…

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Joint Enterprise on Trial

Joint Enterprise on Trial 📢 Joint Enterprise on Trial On 26 June 2025, APPEAL’s Racial Justice Lead, Dr Nisha Waller and Racial Justice Researcher, Tehreem Sultan launched ‘Joint Enterprise on Trial’, a report exposing the harsh realities of joint enterprise prosecutions at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey. The launch event…

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Defend our juries

Defend our juries APPEAL strongly opposes government proposals to reduce jury trials Why are juries under threat? Sir Brian Leveson’s review of our court system, announced in December 2024 by the Ministry of Justice (‘MOJ’), has reignited debate about the role of juries in ensuring justice. The review, prompted by an alarming backlog of over…

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Women’s Sentencing

Women’s Sentencing women who kill    APPEAL’s Women’s Justice Initiative (WJI) uses strategic litigation to appeal sentences and convictions for women experiencing severe disadvantage in the criminal justice system. Policy around women’s sentencing has been on the government agenda this year and we have responded to three public consultations. Personal circumstances must be considered The…

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Our Impact Report 2023-24

Impact Report 2023/2024 What a year it has been for APPEAL! Last July after many years of hard work our client Andrew Malkinson won his appeal at the Court of Appeal. Andy was finally able to achieve justice and the outpouring of support from the public has been extraordinary. The magnitude of the fallout from…

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Response to the Crime Lower Consultation Legal Aid, 2024

Response to the Ministry of Justice Crime Lower Consultation Legal Aid APPEAL /// March 2024 APPEAL disagrees with current Ministry of Justice proposals to focus new criminal legal aid investment only in the early states of a case – and not to make changes to the CCRC fee scheme. These proposals are perilous not only…

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LAW COMMISSION CONSULTATION RESPONSE, 2023

Law Commission consultation response Rapid redress: reforms for the swift rectification of wrongful convictions in england and wales APPEAL /// November 2023 It took APPEAL client Andrew Malkinson two decades to clear his name. We set out reforms which will help ensure wrongful convictions are rectified more swiftly. Download this report as a PDF Download…

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Doubt Dismissed

Doubt Dismissed Race, Juries and Wrongful Conviction Nisha Waller and Naima Sakande /// Jan 2024 Nisha Waller and Naima Sakande hold up their report Doubt Dismissed at the launch party in May 2024 In May 2024, APPEAL published a report on the hidden racist and classist intent behind the 1967 introduction of majority jury verdicts…

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