CCRC refers conviction of final member of the ‘Stockwell Six’
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the conviction of the final member of the ‘Stockwell Six’, convicted in 1972 for attempted robbery following an operation by the discredited police officer DS Derek Ridgewell.
Ronald De Souza was convicted on 22 September 1972 at the Central Criminal Court and received a sentence of six months’ detention. Mr De Souza and his four convicted co-defendants appealed their convictions and sentences. On 2 March 1973, leave to appeal conviction and sentence was refused.
Mr De Souza was one of a group of young black men arrested by DS Derek Ridgewell of the British Transport Police anti-mugging squad after boarding a train at Stockwell Underground station on 18 February 1972. The CCRC has carried out a range of investigations into the historical racist and corrupt practices of DS Ridgewell, who fabricated evidence that led to convictions that lasted long after his death in 1982.
The CCRC began its review of the Stockwell Six cases after it referred two other cases involving DS Ridgewell: Stephen Simmons and the Oval Four. The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions in both of these cases.
Following CCRC referrals, the convictions of Mr De Souza’s co-defendants (Mr Paul Green, Mr Courtney Harriott, Mr Cleveland Davison and Mr Texo Johnson) were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2021. Mr Everet Mullins, the sixth co-defendant, was found not guilty at trial.
The convictions were overturned on the basis of new information rendering the evidence of DS Ridgewell and his colleagues unreliable.
The CCRC had previously appealed for Mr De Souza to come forward. An application for a review of Mr De Souza’s conviction was received in December 2024. Following this, the CCRC has decided to refer the conviction to the Court of Appeal.
The referral is made on the same basis as those of Mr De Souza’s co-defendants, namely new evidence relating to DS Ridgewell’s conviction in 1980 for conspiracy to steal goods in transit.
The CCRC relies on the two judgments of the Court of Appeal in 2021 which led to the quashing of the convictions of Mr De Souza’s co-defendants (R v Green et al [2021] EWCA Crim 1026 and R v Johnson [2021] EWCA Crim 1837).
The CCRC has concluded that the Court of Appeal is likely to take the same approach to Mr De Souza’s conviction as it did for his co-defendant Mr Johnson, his case also being ‘materially indistinguishable’ from those of his co-defendants and other related convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Therefore, there is a real possibility the Court of Appeal will now quash Mr De Souza’s conviction.
Anyone else who believes they might be a victim of a miscarriage of justice, convicted in a case involving Derek Ridgewell, is urged to contact the CCRC.
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Notes to Editors:
- The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice.
- There are currently nine Commissioners who bring to the CCRC considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.
- The CCRC usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year. Since starting work in 1997, the CCRC has referred around 3% of applications to the appeal courts.
- The CCRC considers whether, as a result of new evidence or argument, there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld were a reference to be made. New evidence or argument is argument or evidence which has not been raised during the trial or on appeal. Applicants should usually have appealed first. A case can be referred in the absence of new evidence or argument or an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”.
- If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe.
6. More details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk. The CCRC can be found on Facebook, Instagram (@the_ccrc) and Linkedin.