Being able to walk freely with dignity and pride knowing you are free from guilt is compensation enough

Stephen Downing

Judges at the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the conviction of Mr Downing in 1973 for the murder of typist Wendy Sewell was unsafe.

But the appeal stopped short of declaring Mr Downing innocent or guilty.

Derbyshire Police have yet to decide whether to reopen the case into the brutal killing of the 34-year-old in a churchyard cemetery in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Right result

Mr Downing told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his lawyers would be seeking compensation but that money was not everything.

"Just having your freedom and being able to walk freely with dignity and pride knowing you are free from any guilt is compensation enough."

Wendy Sewell's killer may still be found

The 45-year-old said the hardest part had been waiting for the appeal court judges to make their ruling on Tuesday.

"Waiting 27 years was easy compared to that 70 minutes.

"We got the result we were looking for."

The Court of Appeal said that it could not be sure that Mr Downing's initial confessions to the police were reliable after he was questioned for more than eight hours without access to a solicitor.

Mr Downing, who then had the reading age of an 11-year-old, later withdrew the confession.

But despite 27 years in jail for a crime he has always insisted he did not commit, he is not bitter about his experience and believes it is too late to apportion blame.

Not bitter

He said most of the Derbyshire Police officers who dealt with his arrest were either dead or too old to face charges.

I thought it would be resolved in weeks or maybe a few months

Mr Downing

"We'll just let sleeping dogs lie.

"Let's look to the future, not the past."

Mr Downing was only released on bail in February last year after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the matter to the Court of Appeal.

But he described how when he first went to prison, he never thought it would take so long to clear his name.

"I was so naive. I thought it would be resolved in weeks or maybe a few months.

"Time ticked on and I didn't realise how much time had gone by."

But he was full of praise for his current legal team, his family, friends as well as Don Hale, the former editor of the Matlock Mercury, who tirelessly campaigned for his release.

He believes the real killer may still be brought to justice but he wants to get on with his life.

As for his hopes for the future - he said he wanted to marry.

And if he gets compensation predicted to be a record pay-out, he said he wanted to buy a nice car and somewhere to live.

"I am not really interested in somewhere posh, just nice comfortable accommodation.

"That is all I ask for".