NI: More than £9 million in compensation paid to 16 wrongfully convicted people
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More than £9 million has been paid in compensation to 16 people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes in the Northern Ireland courts over a decade.
Figures obtained by BBC News NI show that 84 people were wrongfully convicted between 2007 and 2017 of crimes including murder and rape.
At least 46 people (55 per cent) served prison sentences for convictions that were later quashed, the longest of which was six years. Twelve were serving life sentences.
The Department of Justice is responsible for handling compensation claims from those whose convictions were overturned.
Compensation is only provided when there is evidence to suggest the person convicted had suffered a “miscarriage of justice”, the Department said.
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