LOCAL Lawyer Glyn Maddocks KC (hon) has made the Legal Heroes 2026 shortlist.

Legal Heroes celebrates the solicitors who have made the biggest difference to the lives of others, their local communities and society over the last two years.

And Glyn has plenty of form when it comes to fighting the good fight.

The 70-year-old has spent his career advocating for those who have suffered injustice and, in 2025, was named Welsh Legal Hero.

Tony Stock, Oliver Campbell, Paul Blackburn, Johnny Kamara, Michael Frost and Jamie Sneddon are just a few of the individuals on whose behalf Glyn has tirelessly fought.

In an ideal world, miscarriages of justice wouldn’t happen, but they do, and even one is far too many.

Not only is an innocent person locked up, but the guilty party walks free.

Glyn explained, “We have too much of an adversarial system in this country, and the establishment often has a habit of closing ranks. They cannot be seen to be anything but infallible, but people make mistakes, policeman make mistakes, and courts make mistakes.

“General incompetence, false confessions, wrongful identification, malpractice and faulty forensic evidence can all conspire to create a deadly trap for an innocent individual.”

Glyn added, “A crucial factor is that the public perception of the foolproof nature of forensic science is wrong. A recent parliamentary report warned that the forensic science sector is in a ‘graveyard spiral’ and wrongful convictions are on the rise. Forensic investigations are all carried out in-house by the police now, who in many cases just haven’t got the adequate training and knowledge to do the job right.”

Glyn believes as a society we should and could do more when it comes to miscarriages of justice and said, “When a plane crashes, a team of investigators study the black box to discover what happened and prevent history repeating itself. Yet it seems in the criminal justice system, there is a sense of complete denial and we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.”

A former civil litigator, Glyn developed an interest in miscarriages of justice and has represented clients in high‑profile cases involving tragedy and institutional failure.

Appointed an honorary KC for his pro bono work overturning wrongful convictions, he founded APPEAL and established the Future Justice Project, working to address causes of wrongful convictions and promote evidence‑based legal reform.

“I can’t imagine anything worse than spending decades locked in a tiny cell and knowing all the time you’re innocent, but hardly anyone believes you. Think of the anger and despair you’d feel and the corrosive effect it would have on your spirit,” explained Glyn Maddocks when asked what compels him to fight tirelessly for the long list of victims of miscarriages of justice he has represented.

"The terrible rage and despair an innocent person feels when they’re left to rot in prison is unquantifiable and not only destroys your life but decimates everyone in your immediate orbit. It casts a long shadow over everyone involved.

“Couples split up, children grow up without a parent, people are forced to leave their homes, and it slowly dawns on the innocent person that the world thinks they’re guilty, and they begin to lose all hope. And why? Because the criminal justice system got it wrong.”