Three black men imprisoned for allegedly attempting to rob a corrupt police officer nearly 50 years ago were finally overturned their convictions. Sue in court.
Courtney Harriot, Paul Green and Cleveland Davidson, all between 17 and 20 years old at the time, London The subway departs from Stockwell Station in South London in February 1972.
The trio, now in their 60s, and three friends-later known as the “Stockwell Six”-are on trial in court. Old Bailey Mainly about British Traffic Police Detective Officer Derek Ridgeville.
The six Stockwell men were accused of trying to rob Richville. He was dressed in plain clothes and previously served in the police force of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
They all pleaded not guilty, but all were convicted and sent to prison or Borstal, even though they told the jurors that the police lied and exposed them to violence and threats.
The Criminal Case Review Board submitted their convictions to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that “it is indeed possible for the Court of Appeal to revoke these convictions now.”
At the hearing Royal court In London on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal cleared Mr. Harriot, Mr. Green and Mr. Davidson nearly 50 years after their convictions.
Sir Julian Flaux sitting with her husband justice Linden tree Judge Wall said: “The most unfortunate thing is that it took nearly 50 years for the injustices suffered by these appellants to be corrected.”
The judge added: “These appeals are allowed and the conviction has been dropped.”
The whereabouts of the remaining two members of the Stockwell six who were found guilty are unknown.
Many people emphasize injustice on social media.
Leicester East District Councillor Claudia Webbe wrote on Twitter: “It took 50 years to correct this injustice! Our police and criminal justice systems have collapsed.”
Stockwell Sixth Hearing
/ Amplifier lineAnother commentator wrote: “They have been fighting for justice longer than I have been alive. Congratulations to the Stockwell Six.”
Previously, the Criminal Case Review Committee stated that it was still very eager to listen to the opinions of the remaining members.
Ridgewell participated in a number of high-profile and controversial cases in the early 1970s and was eventually acquitted in 1973 on “Tottenham Court Road Two”-two young Jesuits studying at Oxford University .
He was then transferred to a department investigating the theft of mail bags, where he joined with two criminals and shared the profits of the stolen mail bags with them.
Richville was eventually arrested and imprisoned for seven years, and died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 37.
The Stockwell Six-person case will be the third time that Ridgewell has been overturned by the Court of Appeals due to a wrongful conviction for corruption.
In January 2018, Stephen Simmons was convicted of theft of mail bags in 1976 because he discovered that Ridgewell was sentenced to prison for similar crimes only two years after his conviction.
In December 2019, the three members of the “Oval Quadruple”-who were arrested at the Oval Metro Station in 1972 and accused of theft of handbags by the “Robbery Team” in Richville-were also overturned their conviction .
Winston Tru, Sterling Christie and George Griffith were all sentenced to two years in prison, which was later reduced to eight months after an appeal after a five-week trial in the old Bailey.
Chief Justice Lord Burnett overturned their convictions, saying that “there is a lot of evidence that the evidence provided by DS Ridgewell and others in the panel is simply unreliable.”
In March 2020, the name of Constantine “Omar” Boucher, the last member of the Oval Quadruple, was also removed, prompting people to call for a “wholesale review” of all cases related to Ridgewell.
After the hearing, Mr. Davidson delivered a speech outside the Royal Court of London, saying: “We were innocent at the time. This is proof. We were very young at the time and we did nothing.”
He added: “This is a complete stitch, it is a meaningless frame.”
Mr. Davidson said that Ridgewell was a “corrupt, evil and evil policeman,” and added: “We don’t know how many people Ridgwell has sewn… it’s simply endless.”
He said that his beliefs have affected him and “ruined” his life in the past five years.
