Brown, Ronald

Ronald Brown was convicted in February 1983 of robbery, attempted robbery, assault with intent to rob, burglary, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Mr Brown received a total sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in April 1998.

The CCRC considered that the main evidence against Mr Brown came from a police informant who was tried alongside Mr Brown and who had already admitted taking part in four connected counts of robbery.

The evidence of the informant had subsequently been treated as discredited by the Court of Appeal when it later quashed the conviction of Derek Treadaway in November 1996 as a result of the informant’s handling by corrupt police officers.

Other evidence had been provided by officers from the West Midlands Police Serious Crime Squad, who had been significantly discredited and criticised for misconduct and whose evidence had been rejected in a number of Court of Appeal judgments.

The CCRC concluded that the evidence of the informant comprised a major component of the prosecution case and that therefore there was a real possibility the jury would not have convicted in the absence of the informant’s evidence.

The CCRC referred the conviction in February 1999.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in January 2001.