From convicted criminal to published author: Wakefield man celebrates 25 years of acquittal with his autobiography
Dale Hyde served 27 months of an eight-year sentence for rape before seeing his conviction overturned in the Court of Appeal in 1996 – now he is a multi-published author.
In February 2021, Hyde celebrated the publication of his autobiography, Stitched.
The book follows his experience of life in prison and living with the stigma of being labelled a rapist on the outside, despite being fully acquitted in court.
Hyde said: “I’ve touched upon the stigma and how the system does fail at times, plus some positive vibes on my ability to continue throughout all this stress and become a successful published author.
“Writing was like therapy once I got out of prison.”
Hyde told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he had been in trouble with the law previous to his rape accusation, but had sought to reform himself.
The accusation of rape, and serving prison time before subsequently being acquitted, had put a significant dent in his attempts to get his life back on track.
He said he wanted to raise awareness of the fact that the judicial system can sometimes fail to work as intended and the damage that can come as a result.
Hyde has also published poetry, crime fiction and short stories.
Stitched has recently featured on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list, and has received wide-ranging praise.
Paul Finch, a Sunday Times best-selling author, said: "Hyde’s writing has an air of authenticity that other crime writers can only dream of."
As well as dealing with the stigma of a rape accusation, Hyde also revealed that he has been suffering from stage four bowel cancer for eight years.
The cancer has since spread to his liver.
He is receiving radiotherapy treatment at St. James’ Hospital in Leeds.
Both Stitched and The Ink Run are available on Amazon now.