MOJO
  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Comment
  • Testimonials
  • Donate
_119255846_stockwell2
July 6 2021

Stockwell Six: Three men have convictions overturned after almost 50 years

Euan News

From the BBC News website today (Tuesday, 6 July) we reproduce this report on the decision of the Court of Appeal, today, to overturn the 50-year-old convictions of Courtney Harriot, Paul Green and Cleveland Davidson:

Three men jailed for allegedly attempting to rob a corrupt police officer nearly 50 years ago have had their convictions overturned.

Courtney Harriot, Paul Green and Cleveland Davidson were arrested after leaving Stockwell station in 1972.

The trio, part of the so-called “Stockwell Six”, were jailed largely on evidence from British Transport Police officer Derek Ridgewell.

A judge described the time taken to quash the convictions as “unfortunate”.

The men, all aged between 17 and 20 at the time, were accused of trying to rob Ridgewell, who was in plain clothes and had previously served in the South Rhodesian, now Zimbabwean, police force.

Although they each pleaded not guilty, all but one were convicted and sent to jail or borstal, a youth detention centre, despite telling jurors that police officers had lied and subjected them to violence and threats.

The two remaining members of the Stockwell Six who were convicted have not been traced.

Paul Green (left) and Cleveland Davidson outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Paul Green (left) and Cleveland Davidson had their convictions overturned at the Court of Appeal

‘Most unfortunate’

At a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal cleared Mr Harriot, Mr Green and Mr Davidson, nearly five decades after they were convicted.

Quashing the convictions and allowing the appeal, Sir Julian Flaux, sitting with Mr Justice Linden and Mr Justice Wall, said: “It is most unfortunate that it has taken nearly 50 years to rectify the injustice suffered by these appellants.”

The case of the Stockwell Six would be the third time Ridgewell’s corruption has led to wrongful convictions being overturned by the Court of Appeal.

  • Men ‘framed by corrupt detective’ to go to court
  • Final conviction quashed in corrupt detective case
  • Convictions quashed in corrupt detective case

Ridgewell was involved in a number of high-profile and controversial cases in the early 1970s, culminating in the 1973 acquittals of the “Tottenham Court Road Two” – two young Jesuits studying at Oxford University.

He was then moved into a department investigating mailbag theft, where he joined up with two criminals with whom he split the profits of stolen mailbags.

Ridgewell was eventually caught and jailed for seven years, dying of a heart attack in prison in 1982 at the age of 37.

In December 2019, three members of the “Oval Four” – who were arrested at Oval Underground station in 1972 and accused of stealing handbags by Ridgewell’s “mugging squad” – also had their convictions overturned. [see our report HERE.]

Remembering Gerry Conlon On this Day… 1988

Related Posts

Guildford 4

News

Birmingham bombings inquest whitewash repeated at Guildford

The decision by the coroner at the Birmingham bombings inquest to exclude from scrutiny the very matters that might have allowed the victims’ families some degree of closure – a decision that also denied justice to Paddy Hill and the other unwitting victims of the atrocity – rendered that exercise effectively pointless and, depending on […]

3990

News

Prisoners denied access to forensic evidence in bid to prove their innocence

For miscarriage of justice victims looking to overturn their wrongful convictions, one of the most significant challenges they encounter is the refusal of police and Crown to allow access to crucial evidence that could fatally undermine the case against them. From The Guardian online yesterday (10 July), we reproduce an interesting article that highlights this […]

community

News

MOJO Community Project Launches

The MOJO Aftercare and Reintegration Team are pleased to report the successful, long-awaited launch of our MOJO Community Project. The MOJO Community is an extension of our client-led reintegration programme which aims to bring clients together to seek to mitigate the consequences of wrongful imprisonment and to offer an alternative to commonly encountered feelings of […]

Latest Tweets

  • We reproduce this article by Samuel Osbourne from the Independant 30 May 2019. mojoscotland.org/carbon-credits…
    4 years ago
  • We reproduce here a worrying piece from the Guardian from 29 May 2019 by Sian Cain about austerity and it’s potenti… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    4 years ago
  • There is a debate on going regarding the not proven verdict in Scotland. In an article from the Times, Gordon Jacks… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    4 years ago
→ Follow us

Archives

Search

  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Comment
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Notice
© Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (Scotland) 2023 - Company No SC239555 - Registered Charity No SC033820 The work of MOJO is financially supported by the Scottish Government