Fourth member of the 'Stockwell Six' who was wrongly jailed for attempting to rob a corrupt police officer nearly 50 years ago mounts appeal against his conviction
- Texo Johnson contacted Criminal Cases Review Commission earlier this month
- Three of his friends had their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal
- Mr Johnson and two others arrested on London Underground in February 1972
A fourth member of the so-called Stockwell Six - a group of young black men who were wrongly jailed for attempting to rob a corrupt police officer nearly 50 years ago - has mounted an appeal against his conviction.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission announced on Monday that Texo Johnson got in touch after his sister saw the news that three of his friends had their names cleared earlier this month.
The convictions of Courtney Harriot, Paul Green and Cleveland Davidson were overturned by the Court of Appeal as they were based on the word of corrupt British Transport Police officer Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell.
The trio, Mr Johnson and two others – Ronald De'Souza and Everett Mullins, who was acquitted – were arrested on the London Underground on a night out on February 18 1972.
The Stockwell Six, as they became known, were accused of trying to rob Ridgewell, who was in plain clothes and had previously served in the police in South Rhodesia, now Zimbabwean.
The Stockwell Six were largely convicted on the evidence provided by Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell (pictured) who was later found to be corrupt and died in prison in 1982
Ridgewell claimed the six, who got on the train at Stockwell station in south London, attempted to rob him before he fought back and arrested them with a team of undercover officers.
They all pleaded not guilty, but all bar one were convicted and sent to jail or borstal, despite telling jurors that police officers had lied and subjected them to violence and threats.
Mr Mullins was acquitted because it was shown that his reading was not good enough for him to have read and fully understood his signed statement, which was written for him by Ridgewell.
But Mr Harriot was sentenced to three years in prison, Mr Davidson was sentenced to six months' detention and Mr Green was sent to borstal.
Mr Johnson has now submitted an application to the CCRC, which investigates miscarriages of justice, and is expected to become the ninth person convicted in the 1970s on the word of Ridgewell to finally have their name cleared.
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In a statement, he said: 'It happened such a long time ago so, to be honest, I'd put it to the back of my mind.
'I'm still taking it all in and it's quite overwhelming – but I'm pleased to have the same opportunity to finally clear my name.'
CCRC chairwoman Helen Pitcher said: 'We'd tried a number of ways in the past to try and find Mr Johnson, which is why we were delighted when his sister called and put us in touch with him. It was a good day for us all.'
After his conviction was overturned earlier in July, Mr Davidson described Ridgewell as a 'corrupt and wicked and evil police officer' and said his own conviction had affected him for the last five decades and 'ruined' his life.
He asked: 'We got justice today, but it has not put it right – how can it put it right?'
The convictions of Courtney Harriot, Paul Green (left) and Cleveland Davidson (right) were overturned by the Court of Appeal earlier this month
Ridgewell was involved in a number of high-profile and controversial cases in the early 1970s, culminating in the 1973 acquittals of the so-called 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.
He was eventually caught and jailed for seven years, and died of a heart attack in prison in 1982 at the age of 37.
Ridgewell's corruption has previously led to eight wrongful convictions being overturned by the Court of Appeal.
In January 2018, Stephen Simmons' 1976 conviction for stealing mailbags was quashed after he discovered Ridgewell was jailed for a similar offence two years after his own conviction.
In December 2019, three members of the Oval Four – who were arrested at Oval Underground station in 1972 and accused by Ridgewell's 'mugging squad' of stealing handbags – also had their convictions overturned.
Winston Trew, Sterling Christie and George Griffiths were all sentenced to two years, later reduced to eight months on appeal, following a five-week trial at the Old Bailey.
In March 2020, the final member of the Oval Four, Constantine 'Omar' Boucher, also had his name cleared, prompting calls for a 'wholesale review' of all cases linked to Ridgewell.
After Mr Davidson, Mr Green and Mr Harriot's convictions were overturned, BTP Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock said the force had 'examined all available records' of investigations where Ridgewell was the principal officer.
He said BTP 'have not identified any additional matters that we feel should be referred for external review'.
How corrupt Derek Ridgewell was linked to wrongful convictions
Derek Ridgewell worked for the British Transport Police having previously served for the South Rhodesian Army in what is now Zimbabwe.
He made a name for himself in the 1970s by arresting young black men for muggings on the underground which was considered a high-profile problem at the time.
However, it has since emerged he was linked to several controversial court cases and the wrongful convictions of multiple people in the 1970s including five of the Stockwell Six and the Oval Four.
Oval Four: Group framed them for theft and assaulting the police 47 years ago have convictions overturned
The Oval Four were convicted of attempted theft and assaulting police, and Mr Christie was also found guilty of theft of a handbag, following a five-week trial at the Old Bailey.
Winston Trew, Sterling Christie, George Griffiths and Constantine 'Omar' Boucher - then aged between 19 and 23, were arrested at Oval Underground station in 1972 by a police unit known as 'the mugging squad'.
Det Sgt Ridgwell was the prosecution's chief witness.
All four were jailed for two years, later reduced to eight months on appeal.
Mr Trew, Mr Christie, and Mr Griffiths, had their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal in December 2019, after a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) earlier that year.
Winston Trew and his wife Hyacinth, pictured outside court in London last year
Mr Boucher's conviction was not referred to the Court of Appeal, as the CCRC had been unable to trace him - but Mr Boucher contacted them shortly after his friends' convictions were overturned.
The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction last year.
Also in 1972, six black men were arrested at Stockwell station and accused of attempting to rob Ridgewell who was serving as a plain clothes police officer at the time.
Again, the prosecution relied heavily on the evidence of Ridgwell.
Five of them were convicted and jailed or sent to Borstal for up to three years.
Mailbag theft: Businessman convicted of stealing mailbags aged 19 clears his name 40 years later after Googling corrupt police officer
Prosecutors began to notice a pattern with cases brought by Ridgewell which were linked to his running of the anti-mugging squad.
This culminated in the acquittal of the Tottenham Court Road Two - devout Jesuit students from Oxford University the prosecution of whom was thrown out by a judge.
To avoid embarrassment, Ridgewell was quietly moved to a squad investigating mailbag theft.
In 1976, Stephen Simmons was wrongly convicted of stealing mailbags. Mr Simmons was just 20 in 1976 when he was locked up after his convictions in relation to the theft of mail from a train at Clapham Goods Yard in London.
Stephen Simmons (pictured, left, and, right, with his wife Sue) said the overturning of his conviction in January 2018 was 'one of the best feelings' he had had in his life
Mr Simmons, now 64, was sent to Hollesley Bay borstal in Suffolk and served eight months.
The businessman discovered he may have a chance at appeal in 2013 when he Googled his arresting officer - Ridgewell - and discovered that, in 1980, he had been convicted of conspiracy to steal mailbags and jailed for seven years.
Ridgewell died in prison after suffering a heart attack.
Mr Simmons' case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and his conviction was finally quashed in January 2018.
He said that winning his appeal was 'one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life'.
