A MAN wrongly convicted of a double murder today revealed he is no nearer to finding out if he will be compensated -- two years after being cleared.
Peter Fell, 41, who grew up in a Great Harwood children's home, believes he will not be able to fully restart his life until he knows if and when he will be compensated for spending 18 years behind bars for two crimes he did not commit.
He was convicted in 1983 for the murders of Ann Lee and Margaret Johnson on Aldershot Common.
Despite admitting to the killings to police, the original court hearing was not told that Peter was, at the time, suffering from a condition which made him a 'pathological confessor.'
Since his release by the Court of Appeal in March 2001, Peter has lived in South London and worked with a local church, where he met his wife Elaine.
A review into the way compensation is awarded to people wrongly convicted has meant Peter and his lawyers have had to revisit his claim.
Peter said: "It is taking a very long time There has been a judicial review with regards to compensation schemes which has slowed things down.
"I have been told it will take at least six to eight months so I don't expect to hear anything for a while. The point I have always argued is that while people who are released from prison get a lot of help to resettle, people who are cleared, like me, get nothing.
"That is what needs to be sorted out. I was lucky, I had friends. Many people do not and it is no wonder that some actually end up dropping into a life of crime."
Hyndburn MP Greg Pope, who helped campaign for Peter's release, today said: "It is appalling that this system means that things take so long.
"It is a disgrace that he has to wait like this and lessons need to be learnt."
A Home Office spokesman said it could not comment on individual cases.
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