Green, Wayne

Wayne Green and Andrew Sam were convicted together at Marlborough Magistrates’ Court on 15 January 1972 of attempted theft from a person. They were sentenced to three months’ detention. Mr Sam was 17 years old at the time of his conviction and Mr Green was 18. 

On 14 January 1972 Mr Sam and Mr Green had been stopped at Tottenham Court Road station in London. They said they had been approached by plain-clothes police officers. 

Both men pleaded guilty and DS Ridgewell gave evidence in the case.  

As Mr Sam and Mr Green pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court, they had no ordinary right to appeal their convictions. However, they appealed their sentences to the Crown Court, and on 11 February 1972 their sentences were reduced to probation orders for three years.  

Applications to the CCRC for Mr Sam and Mr Green came via the British Transport Police as a result of their own investigation into DS Ridgewell’s misconduct.  

Following a review the CCRC concluded that DS Ridgewell played a central role in the prosecution of Mr Sam and Mr Green, and as he had since been discredited, that new evidence raised a real possibility that the Crown Court would not uphold the convictions.  

The CCRC referred the conviction in October 2026.