A new proposed amendment to the law on joint enterprise aims to create a route for prisoners serving lengthy sentences to have their convictions reviewed.

MP Zoe Franklin has put forward the amendment on behalf of Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), a campaign group representing hundreds of families who say their loved ones were wrongly convicted under discredited legal principles.

According to JENGbA, the proposed reform could correct decades of injustice caused by the misuse of secondary liability, which allowed people to be convicted based on ‘foresight’ rather than ‘intent.’

In the 2016 case of Jogee the Supreme Court admitted that the law had ‘taken a wrong turn.’ It ruled that only those who intentionally took part in a crime should face the same punishment as the main offender. But the ruling was not made retrospective. As a result, many remain behind bars for offences judged by a law the Court itself rejected.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s 2023 joint enterprise pilot found that young Black men were disproportionately affected by the doctrine. Meanwhile, the Law Commission has questioned whether the ‘substantial injustice’ test used in appeals sets the bar too high. This remains a major issue for those seeking review.

The amendment also covers those sentenced under the now-abolished IPP regime. Although the law was scrapped in 2012, more than 1,200 people remain imprisoned beyond their minimum terms. The Justice Gap has previously reported that UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Alice Jill Edwards has condemned the indefinite detention of prisoners under the UK Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) scheme, reporting the scheme as ‘cruel, inhumane and degrading’ to the Human Rights Council.

JENGbA campaigners say the change would not reopen convictions in bulk. Instead, it would let courts apply current legal standards to ensure fairness. ‘This amendment offers a vital chance to right historic wrongs,’ a JENGbA spokesperson said in a recent statement.