Preparations for Sean Hodgson’s release from prison began about a week before his conviction was quashed at the Court of Appeal and he emerged on to the steps of the court a free man. No wonder he looked bewildered as the media jostled to take his picture and the traffic hurtled along The Strand in Central London.

After almost three decades of incarceration in institutions in which there is routine, adapting to life outside is hugely difficult in practical and emotional terms. For Mr Hodgson the challenge was even greater. He was mentally ill and in the hospital wing at Albany jail on the Isle of Wight.

Had he been released as a guilty man who had served his sentence, Mr Hodgson would have been prepared for his release for many years and supervised by the Probation Service for years after. He would have spent the last years of his sentence in an open jail.

A detailed resettlement plan would have been drawn up to include help with finding housing and job. As a man with mental health problems he may even have been offered accommodation in a supervised halfway hostel.

The most important pre-release experience that he would have received would have been a gradual introduction to life outside jail. He would have been escorted by a prison officer on visits to a nearby town, taken on buses and trains and on shopping trips. Eventually he would have been allowed out on his own. He might even have been allowed to leave the jail to work or to take part in sports activities.

The aim of the resettlement activity is twofold: to test the prisoner and, more importantly, to help someone who has been in an institution to adapt to life outside, which will have changed beyond recognition. A long-term prisoner will have to adapt to a frightening volume of road traffic, a huge increase in prices and bewildering changes in banking and methods of payment for goods and services.

“Two of the things that cause the most difficulty for long-term prisoners is getting used to the noise and speed of life outside jails. They often find the quickness of life outside difficult compared to the regime in jail,” a Prison Service spokeswoman said.

Mr Hodgson was denied much of this crucial help because the victim of a miscarriage of justice receives only a crash course in support.

Since 2002 the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London has run a scheme offering support to the victims of miscarriages of justice. It contacts prisoners whose cases are coming up for review and offers to help them to find accommodation and to obtain benefits and medical help.

Julian Young, Mr Hodgson's solicitor, said: “The Miscarriages Justice Support Unit started dealing with his case just before his release. They were aware of what was happening with his case. They got things such as his hotel organised.”

Despite the efforts of the CAB Mr Hodgson emerged with little idea of the transformation that had taken place in society since he was convicted in 1982. Mr Young admitted after he was freed: “He has no idea of budgeting or the cost of living. Every element of society — and his life — has changed.”

James Banks, chief executive of the CAB branch at the Royal Courts of Justice, admitted that many of the prisoners were released without the advantage of having day release from jail.

“The gaps we have identified are in provision of special psychiatric support, particularly in the area of post-traumatic distress and the delays in getting compensation. Treatment for post-traumatic distress disorder can be difficult to access on the NHS so if there is a delay in compensation, they cannot be treated.”

Times Recommends

• Oh no, Darling: you've failed
• BBC survives dogfight over Kennel Club expose
• Where the Rosetta belongs can’t be set in stone