Regardless of their innocence, tariffs – the minimum that must be served – had to be set. Back in 1990 the trial judge set out the amount that he or she believed should be served and that was then considered by the Lord Chief Justice, who could change that figure. Finally the Home Secretary had the ultimate power to determine the precise amount that would be served. The Cardiff Three received terms that reflected the brutality of the crime. Ironically they were longer than the tariff that was imposed on Gafoor.

The Cardiff Three were punished for not pleading guilty to a crime they did not commit. The fact that they did not show remorse for a crime they did not commit also counted against them. Had they lied and pleaded guilty, or shown remorse despite being innocent that would have been reflected in the tariffs imposed on them. This was bad enough, but there was worse to follow. They were freed on appeal in December 1992, but South Wales Police chose to follow a well worn and thoroughly discredited path. They complained that the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal prevented them from doing their job. It didn't. It simply made it clear that confessions that had been obtained through bullying, hectoring and oppression would not be tolerated.

South Wales Police had the opportunity to begin the process of regaining public trust by re-opening the Lynette White Inquiry. Instead they made it clear that were not looking for anyone else. Gafoor continued to enjoy his life, knowing that nobody was looking for him. Meanwhile, the Cardiff Five were forced to endure an unjustifiable whispering campaign. It would last more than another decade.

Along with other miscarriages of justice it required public pressure to make it clear that the murder of Lynette White was solvable and that nothing less than a sincere attempt to do so could be tolerated. It was reopened twice. In June 1999 time began to run out for Jeffrey Gafoor. Forensic science had caught up with the needs of this case and modern investigative practices were employed. It resulted in Gafoor pleading guilty to the murder on July 4th 2003.

Mr Justice (John) Royce sentenced him to life imprisonment and made it clear that he considered the fact that he had allowed men he knew to be innocent to serve a total of sixteen years wrongful imprisonment to be the most important aggravating circumstance. Surely Gafoor could expect to serve a substantial prison term as he had left a trail of wrecked lives in his wake.