Original pics by Ed King
A candlelit vigil is set to be held in honour of schoolboy Dea-John Reid, three years to the day after the teenager was killed in broad daylight on a busy Kingstanding road.
Weeks after the tragedy, on Sunday 6 June 2021, an immediate event was organised to bring the community together called ‘Shine-a-Light vigil for Dea-John Reid’.
To see the Erdington Local PICTURE GALLERY from the 2021 vigil for Dea-John Reid, click here.
Now on Friday 31 May, at 6:30pm, people are invited to gather once again at the very spot Dea-John died on College Road – just opposite the McDonald’s fast food outlet.
Organised by the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John’ campaign and led by Bishop Desmond Jaddoo MBE – a prominent Kingstanding resident and local spokesperson who supported the family of the killed youngster after his death and throughout the subsequent trail – the peaceful memorial will be attended by Dea John’s family and friends.
Also attending will be local politicians, religious leaders, police representatives, and campaigners demanding a change to the law after the Crown failed to secure a murder verdict back in 2021.
After being arrested and charged with murder of schoolboy Dea-John Reid, the three juveniles and two adult men accused were eventually cleared – following days of CCTV footage being shown to the jury, including the moment the stabbing took place.
The teenager who delivered the fatal blow, a single stab wound with a large kitchen knife to the chest, was eventually found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six year and a half years in custody – with an order to serve half of it in a juvenile detention centre.
The three youngsters accused of murder were brought to trial under joint enterprise, a heavily contested legal doctrine which the House of Commons Justice Committee describes as “a form of secondary liability” where co-defendants can be “liable for all criminal acts committed” by the “principal defendant… in the course of their joint criminal venture.”
The Birmingham Crown Court jury consisted of 11 white members, which Dea-John’s family and advisor Bishop Desmond Jaddoo believes affected the verdict.
Since the trial, a campaign titled ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ has been fighting to change the legal system under a newly proposed ‘Dea-John’s Law’ – which would allow legal representation to challenge the makeup of a jury, currently selected at random from the electoral register, so they can better represent aspects of the crime.
The campaign has even attracted the attention of academics at Birmingham University, with Associate Professor Katharina Karcher publishing a paper earlier this year titled: ‘Re-examining CCTV Footage and Re-imagining Justice through a Critical Black Gaze: The ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ Campaign’s Dark Sousveillance.’
In a social media post about the upcoming vigil on 31 May, Bishop Desmond Jaddoo MBE said: “Please join us as we remember Dea-John, as we continue supporting his family, and as we tell you the next steps in the justice campaign as we launch our quest for ‘Dea-John’s Law’”.
ALL welcome to attend the Dea-John Reid vigil Friday 31st May 2024. 6.30pm College Rd, Kingstanding, Birmingham B44 0AJ opposite McDonald's. https://t.co/iofSvJCplJ pic.twitter.com/YThVLjELkT
— Windrush National Organisation WNO. W.Movement UK (@DefendWindrush) May 28, 2024
Bishop Jaddoo further told Erdington Local: “This vigil is being held in the middle of a General Election campaign so we will be calling on the major parties to back ‘Dea-John’s Law’.
“The vigil is being held three years to the day Dea-John was killed after being hunted by racists.
“And it is also being held the day after the Kingstanding by-election, which is being held because a ward councillor was caught tweeting vile and racist messages and was forced to resign.”
Joan Morris, Dea-John Reid’s mother, also does not want her son to be forgotten.
She added: “Upon reflection, I will never see Dea-John become a footballer or the dentist that he dreamed off. Nor see Dea- John get engaged and married; nor see Dea-John have children; nor his own home… or even just simply have a conversation with him face-to-face.
“The final act of love I could show to my son was to ensure he had the send-off which he deserved.
“Whilst members of the perpetrator’s family will be able to visit their loved one and eventually see him released back in the community, my only visit to Dea-John is to a grave in a cemetery.”
She continued: “He was hunted by a lynch mob, reminiscent of a scene from Mississippi Burning, being called a ‘n**er’ and as evidence was given a ‘black b**tard’ and ‘bang him out’.
“A jury that was not reflective of Birmingham, who bought the stories given by the defendants in this case, and delivering a verdict against this young man in the dock of merely manslaughter.”
The candlelit vigil to remember Dea-John Reid and inform people about the “next steps” in the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ campaign is reported to include songs and speeches, with candles being lit at the exact moment the teenager died of on the Kingstanding road.
Bishop Jaddoo said the Leader of Birmingham Council, Councillor John Cotton (Labour, Glebe Farm and Tile Cross), as well as senior members of West Midlands Police, will be attending the event.
The vigil will be held at 6:30pm on Friday 31 May, on College Road in Kingstanding – opposite McDonald’s, near Watney Grove and Wooton Grove.
For more on the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ campaign visit www.facebook.com/Justice4DeaJohnReid