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Anniversary of an injustice.
On 2 July 1998 Siôn Jenkins was wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder he did not commit.
For six years he lost his freedom and became the object of a campaign of villification in the media. His loss of liberty was compounded by other - personal - losses. After winning a second appeal he went through two retrials before being declared not guilty.
Throughout those turbulent years he had steadfastly maintained his innocence.Today, as he works to rebuild his life, the impact of the losses he suffered cannot be underestimated.
Meanwhile,the killer of Billie-Jo Jenkins continues to evade justice. Sussex police have resolutely shrugged their shoulders and have abandoned their search for the murderer.
East Sussex Social Services overstep the mark - again.
East Sussex Social services have been criticised by Appeal Court judges over their disregard of a father's rights in a recent adoption case. Lord Justice Thorpe said East Sussex County Council "was out to gain its ends by means more foul than fair " Social Services staff acted on the basis of their judgement of the father. Even though their action was technically within the law it showed a contemptuous indifference to his rights as a parent.
East Sussex Social Services behaved with similar insensitivity towards Siôn Jenkins when he was awaiting trial.
Forced to leave Hastings, he went to live in Wales and was allowed no contact with his children. A month after the murder, a supervised visit at a local family centre was arranged by East Sussex Social Services. Sussex police came to the centre and rearrested him while his children were still in the building. For Social Services, the interests of the children were the prime concern. Just one week later the interests of the children were evidently less of a priority for Ian Vinall the family's social worker, who failed to attend a meeting at which Sussex police told Siôn Jenkins' children that their father had killed Billie-Jo.
This breach of duty by East Sussex Social Services had consequences which more than a decade later, continue to reverberate.
During the years of his wrongful imprisonment , Siôn Jenkins saw his daughters only twice. On both occasions the visits were closely supervised by another East Sussex social worker whose interventions were inappropriate and unprofessional, but whose power in that situation was unassailable.
This latest misuse of power by East Sussex Social Services has received public censure. Their role in the Jenkins case was also pivotal and immensely damaging. Family relationships are precious , and in view of the lasting damage caused, it is reasonable to hope for some accountability .
Miscarriages of justice have lasting reverberations. Their consequences are, at the very least, complex and painful for those whose lives are changed forever as the result of a wrongful conviction. Sometimes the consequences are irreversibly tragic. In high profile cases, the media bear a grave responsibility for the damage they inflict on those individuals and the people closest to them.
In such cases the only source of healing is the truth, and the truth must be made known no matter how long it may take.
In the case of Siôn Jenkins, the full truth still remains to be told.