I make this statement in support of my judicial review 

application seeking to quash the Defendant’s Decision of 2 August 2024, as I wish the Court to take into account the impact on me of the wrongful conviction and decisions in connection with my miscarriage of justice compensation including the decision under challenge.

I was wrongfully convicted of the robbery and murder of Philip Saunders on 20 July 1988. have read and approved the draft facts and confirm that the details relating to the miscarriage

of justice that are set out at paragraphs 22-26 of that document are correct and I therefore do not repeat those details here.

Impact of my wrongful conviction and imprisonment

 My wrongful conviction had a profound effect on me. At the time I trusted the system and because I knew I was innocent I was sure everything would get sorted out at trial. Then I lost my daughter while I was on remand, she was just three months old, and she died a cot death. I was in such a bad state. When the jury said I was guilty, and the judge gave me a life sentence it felt like my whole life was over. I didn’t care if I lived or died.

 I can’t explain how it feels to wake up every day in prison knowing that you are serving a life sentence for someone else’s crime. Often, I would wake up and think I had been having a horrible nightmare. When I realised it was real, I would freak out and feel sick to my stomach. I was tense all the time. I just couldn’t believe that this was my life.

 My oldest son was only one when I went into prison. I had to watch him grow up through prison visits. When I got out of prison, I wanted to be a proper father to him, but me being in prison

had caused too much of a rift between us. I wasn’t the best father to him because I was so badly affected by what happened to me and I couldn’t be there for him when I should have been.

 We don’t have a relationship anymore and I will always regret that. I’ll never know the man and father I could have been if it wasn’t for my wrongful conviction. I feel like the possible future I might have had was stolen from me along with the 11 years I

spent in custody. The Secretary of State’s decision

To me the compensation award is more than just money, it’s also a recognition of my innocence and an apology for the wrong that has been done to me. Ever since I was convicted, I’ve felt plagued by the shadow of suspicion, even after my conviction was quashed. When my two-year-old son, Dylan, died in 2012 and I was allowed to see and hold his body in the hospital there was a police officer in the room with me. I felt like they were treating me as a suspect even though the fact that he had metabolic problems was well-documented. All this time I’ve never stopped feeling like the system and South Wales Police see me as a guilty man.

Having the deduction made to my compensation payment when it’s not made to the payments received by other victims of miscarriages of justice makes me feel like the payment is only a

partial vindication of my innocence. The Secretary of State’s decision makes me feel like the system is telling me I’m still guilty and should be punished. I worry that it puts a question mark

over my innocence because the public can’t understand an innocent man being treated so badly.

Since we got the decision, I feel angry and annoyed all over again. I don’t sleep well, I feel anxious, and it dominates my thoughts. I feel like I’m treated worse than a guilty person. At least if I was guilty, I would do my time, and it would be over when I got out. I thought that everything with my conviction and appeal process was over, but the delay in responding to the letter of 18 August 2023 and then the decision letter of 2 August 2024 has felt like insult added to injury.

The Secretary of state response in their summary grounds of 

Defence is appalling and unnecessary I quote their response for your ease of

reference:

First, the Defendant was not required to consider any “on-going harm” to the Claimants as there is no on-going harm (contrary to §106(i) of the grounds of review). The Claimants received amounts of compensation calculated lawfully in accordance with the 2007 decision of the House of Lords. They have therefore been compensated in accordance with the principles which apply in relation to civil damages. (Emphasis added)

My psychiatrist in a letter to my lawyers shows there is on-going harm and that the Home Secretary is not telling the truth.

If I lose the judicial review. I will fight to get the Law changed in Parliament

Please keep signing and sharing the petition I am grateful to everyone who has supported this petition best wishes Michael O'Brien