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Mr. Redmond
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year for the last 10 years, how many people have been wrongfully imprisoned; and what was their length of stay in custody.
Mr. John Patten
The tables give details of the cases referred to the Court of Appeal under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 in respect of conviction, since 1980 (table I); and of free pardons (for convictions involving custody) (table II).
| Table I References by the Home Secretary to the Court of Appeal under Section 17(1) (a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 in respect of conviction | |||
| Years | Number of cases referred | Number of defendants | Appeals allowed |
| 1980 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 1981 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| 1983 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 1984 | 12 | 14 | 3 |
| 1985 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 1986 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 1987 | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 1988 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Total | 42 | 57 | 19 |
| 1 one to be heard | |||
| Table II Free Pardons (for convictions involving custody) | |
| Number | |
| 1980 | 0 |
| 1981 | 1 |
| 1982 | 1 |
| 1983 | 0 |
| 1984 | 0 |
| 1985 | 0 |
| 1986 | 0 |
| 1987 | 0 |
| 1988 | 0 |
| 1989 | 0 |