Counsel acting for the defendants included Icah Peart KC, Keir Monteith KC, Victoria Meads, Daniel Jameson and Gerwyn Wise of the Garden Court Crime Team.
After a four-month murder trial, where the prosecution alleged that six young black boys were all guilty of a joint enterprise murder, an Old Bailey jury found all six not guilty.
Keir Monteith KC and Gerwyn Wise of Garden Court Chambers, instructed by Ghislaine Sandoval of Hodge Jones & Allen, represented KB, one of the boys who was exonerated. He was just 15 at the time of the murder.
After a comprehensive and ongoing review of the case, KB’s defence legal team concluded that there was so little evidence, and they did not have to ask a witness a single question, or call their client to give evidence. They concluded that it was “obvious” that this was sadly an unplanned spontaneous stabbing. Indeed, five of the six who were found not guilty did not call their clients to give evidence either.
Keir Monteith KC said:
‘This case is yet another example of why the joint enterprise laws require immediate reform. My client was wrongly locked up for over 14 months; taken away from his family, friends, education and the adverse impact on him is incalculable. The whole process has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, clogged up the court system and delayed justice for many other victims and defendants.”
Gerwyn Wise said:
“We are grateful for the obvious care and consideration given to KB’s case by the jury. He now has his life back. But this verdict provides yet another example of the dangerous scope of the joint enterprise law and the necessity for a comprehensive parliamentary review.”
Icah Peart KC of Garden Court Chambers, leading Kyri Argyropoulos of 15NBS, instructed by Kunle Balogun of Achom and Partners, represented JP, one of the boys who was also aged 15 at the time of the murder. JP was charged with murder, manslaughter and possessing a bladed article, and was cleared of all those charges.
Victoria Meads of Garden Court Chambers, led by Stephen Moses KC of Furnival Chambers and instructed by Rob Johnson at SVS Solicitors, represented OR. OR was another of the boys who were aged just 15 years old at the time of the incident. OR was also unanimously acquitted of both murder and manslaughter. OR had spent almost a year in custody away from his family and was deprived of full-time education. This was another case which demonstrated the dangers of the joint enterprise law.
Daniel Jameson of Garden Court Chambers was instructed as junior counsel, led by Michael Holland KC of Furnival Chambers, to represent the fifth defendant. The defendant was a boy aged only 15 at the time, who faced charges of murder and manslaughter. After a four-month trial and 33 hours of deliberation, the jury rejected the prosecution’s narrative and acquitted him on both counts. Daniel was instructed and ably assisted by Anna Sidgwick and Abu Kibla of Stuart Miller Solicitors.
Further information and resources on reform of joint enterprise
- Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association
- Kim Johnson MP’s Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill
- The Justice Gap – ‘Parliamentary inquiry into the controversial joint enterprise law to begin work‘
- Authors of ‘Racial Bias and the Bench’ Report make submission to Independent Review of the Criminal Courts – states “Joint enterprise (JE) cases take up a disproportionate amount of police, court time and resources, they are extremely expensive and freighted with an ‘ethnic penalty’”
