Tag: Joan Morris

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NEWS: Local community join city leaders at candlelit vigil for killed schoolboy Dea-John Reid

Words by Erdington Local editorial team / Pics by Joe Marchant

On Friday 31 May, the Kingstanding and local community stood in silence at the exact spot where 14-year-old Dea-John Reid was stabbed to death in 2021 – at a special memorial event held three years ago to the day the schoolboy was killed in broad daylight on College Road.

Those attending the candlelit vigil include Dea-John’s friends and family, alongside local community leaders, Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton, Edgbaston MP Preet Gill, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, and Birmingham City Council Leader John Cotton.

The mood was mournful but defiant, unlike the vigil a week after Dea-John’s death in 2021 which pulsated with anger after hundreds of protestors descended on the area from across the country.

The racial tinderbox which could have exploded in the aftermath of the schoolboy’s killing never did, due to the hard work of local community members who worked to untie and not divide the Kingstanding or North Birmingham community.

However, the subsequent not guilty verdicts from the highly publicised murder trail sadly did little to quell the growing frustration and anger.

But that anger turned to action, and the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John’ campaign has been working to make changes to the judicial process that they feel let them down in 2021.

Addressing the crowd at the 31 May vigil on College Road, the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John’ campaign informed how they want to create ‘Dea-John’s Law’ – which would see jury members reflect the racial make up of an area.

In the 2021 murder trial, 11 jurors in Dea-John’s case were white in a city of 52% ethnic minority residents.

Bishop Desmond Jadoo and Dea-John’s mother, Joan Morris, led prayers at the spot where the teenager died.

Bishop Jadoo told Erdington Local: “This evening has been a success. I was pleased to see the Leader of Birmingham Council and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner here today, as well as MPs.

“What happened here three years ago, if filmed it would have been something like Mississippi Burning, and though it is important to remember Dea-John’s name and honour his memory we have to try and change the system which let him down.”

He added: “To have the backing and help of the University of Birmingham is also really important to our campaign. We have got support from young people who want to get involved, they want to see the

“We are campaigning for a civil rights law too. We cannot forget the horrific injustice which Dea-John suffered on the last day of his life and when the verdict was passed by 11 white jurors.”

At 7.34pm, a minute’s silence was held for Dea-John and then balloons were let off into the sky followed by chants declaring: “Say his name, Dea-John Reid”.

Birmingham City Council Leader Councillor John Cotton told Erdington Local: “I came to show solidarity with Dea-John’s family and stand with the community today. What happened here three years was a terrible racist murder.

“We are a majority minority city and I think the campaign is important because I believe public institutions need to reflect the communities they make decisions about.”

He added: “I think juries should reflect their communities.”

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster also told: “I think it was necessary to pay our respects to Dea-John and give our condolences to Dea-John’s family.

“Any change to the criminal justice system should be done after evidence led academic study. I think Birmingham University coming on board with the campaign which will give it an academic rigor which is needed.”

PICTURE GALLERY: Candlelit vigil for Dea-John Reid on third anniversary of schoolboy’s death

For more on the ‘Justice 4 Dea-John Reid’ campaign visit www.facebook.com/Justice4DeaJohnReid

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NEWS: ‘Justice 4 Dea-John’ campaign to hold candlelit vigil on anniversary of schoolboy’s broad daylight killing

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’”.

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

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NEWS: “The Justice for Dea John Reid campaign has a lot of work to do,” as teenager guilty of killing is sentenced to six and a half years

Words by Ed King

The teenager convicted of killing 14 year old Dea John Reid in Kingstandng last year has been sentenced to six year and a half years, with an order to serve half of it in a juvenile detention centre.

Dea John Reid was fatally stabbed on Collage Road on 31 May 2021, with two adults and three minors arrested and charged with his murder. In a shock verdict in March 2022, all were acquitted or murder – with the charge against the boy who delivered the fatal blow dropped to manslaughter.

In UK courts, manslaughter can carry a jail term of up to 24 years for adults – with sentencing guidelines cutting that in half for minors.

At the sentence hearing on Friday 6 May, for the prosecution Richard Wormald QC argued how the court has “clearly rejected his (the minor guilty of manslaughter) defence of self defence,” and the killing had been “motivated by revenge… after an orchestrated chase”.

He added the killing was especially “shocking” as it “took place in broad daylight” in a busy residential area and in front of numerous members of the public.

Speaking for the defence, Tim Clarke QC mitigated how the “negative influence” from the adults who had been previous charged with murder was a significant factor and “the motivation they had and the words they used” were not the same as his client’s.

Throughout the case, extensive CCTV footage had clearly shown racist language being used towards Dea John and his group of friends by some of those accused, although not by the young person now guilty of manslaughter.Mr Clarke QC added, there was a “public duty to reach the right sentence, not the one that will bring comfort” to those hurt and affected by the case.

Presiding over the case, Mr Justice Johnson told the juvenile “You killed Dea John Reid. You had armed yourself with a knife. He stood no chance; he was unarmed he was no threat to you.

“You have taken the kitchen knife to the scene, along with the balaclava and gloves – you had planned to commit some form of offence. It involved others but you look a leading role.

“The CCTV shows there was a concerted chase of DJ which was led by you.

“I can only impose a custodial sentence when no other avenue is appropriate. I do not think you are a significant risk to the public, but you took Dea John’s life – the offence is so serious I have to impose a custodial sentence.”

Dea John’s family were present in the courtroom as the sentencing was handed out and were permitted to address the court with a statement from Dea John’s mother, Joan Morris.

Read by Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, who had been counselling the family since the killing and throughout the trial, the personal message told how the family had “put our faith in the justice system” and felt “let down” by the previous acquittals.

Following the sentencing, which will see the teenager who killed Dea John spend only another three years in a detention centre, Bishop Jaddoo addressed a crowd outside the court, stating how the trial “tells us how this system is not gear up to give black people justice”.

He told how Dea John had been “chased by a lynch mob and knifed to death” and how “this does say that this great city Birmingham, that does say black lives matter… black lives just do not matter.”

Closing his remarks, on behalf of Dea John’s family, Bishop Jaddoo added: “Dea John’s death must not be in vain and trust me it will not be.

“The Justice for Dea John Reid campaign has a lot of work to do.”

Bishop Desmond Jaddoo outside Birmingham Crown Court – Friday 6 May