Two individuals, wrongfully convicted in separate legal proceedings in the 1970s due to accusations from a corrupt police officer, have had their names exonerated by the Court of Appeal.

Errol Campbell, who passed away in 2004, received an 18-month prison sentence for theft and conspiracy to commit theft, while Ronald De Souza, a member of the group known as the Stockwell Six, was incarcerated for six months on charges of attempted robbery.

Both men were convicted based on testimony from British Transport Police (BTP) Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, who was implicated in multiple instances of racially motivated miscarriages of justice. Thus far, all 13 cases referred to the court have been overturned.

Lord Justice Holroyde expressed “regret” that the court could not remedy the suffering endured by Mr. Campbell.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reassessed Mr. De Souza’s conviction following the annulment of the convictions of his co-defendants—Paul Green, Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson, and Texo Johnson—in 2021.

The sixth member of the Stockwell Six, Everet Mullins, was acquitted after it was established that his reading skills were insufficient for him to have comprehended his signed statement, which was composed for him by Ridgewell.

In his ruling on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde noted that Mr. De Souza, who was absent from the court, “carried the weight of his wrongful conviction throughout his adult life.”

“We regret that this court cannot rectify all that he has endured for over fifty years,” he remarked.