Ronald De Souza has been exonerated by the Court of Appeal after being wrongfully convicted of attempted robbery in 1971. His conviction followed accusations related to a corrupt police investigation led by Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell. De Souza was jailed for six months and maintained that he and others were threatened by officers. The Criminal Cases Review Commission previously quashed the convictions of four of his co-defendants in 2021, and the court expressed regret for the suffering endured by De Souza and others, allowing his appeal to quash the conviction.
Ronald De Souza is the final member of the Stockwell Six to have his conviction quashed, after being accused of trying to rob corrupt British Transport Police officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviewed his conviction after previously overturning those of his co-defendants Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson, Texo Johnson and Paul Green in 2021.
Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'We regret that this court cannot now put right all that he has suffered. However, we can and do allow his appeal and quash his conviction.'
Another of Ridgewell's victims, Errol Campbell, had his conviction overturned posthumously on Thursday at the Court of Appeal.
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