0:00:09 > 0:00:11Few would argue with the value
0:00:11 > 0:00:15of a law that has secured convictions
0:00:15 > 0:00:19in some of the most notorious murder cases of recent years.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Almost 19 years after Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to
0:00:23 > 0:00:28death in South London, two men have finally been jailed for his murder.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Gary Dobson and David Norris were both found guilty,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36although there was no proof that either had delivered the fatal blow.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The law that convicted them was joint enterprise,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42which holds that a person in a group or gang can be held
0:00:42 > 0:00:45responsible for the criminal acts of others.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46Kids need to know today that
0:00:46 > 0:00:50if they're going to get involved in gangs and gang crime,
0:00:50 > 0:00:55then they can be found as much guilty for being there
0:00:55 > 0:00:58as actually committing the crime.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Rising incidents of gun and knife crime have put
0:01:02 > 0:01:06pressure on successive governments to take tough action on gangs.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Where there is a need for new laws, we will pass them.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Where there is a need for tougher enforcement,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14we will make sure that happens.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17For too long, there's been a lack of focus
0:01:17 > 0:01:21on the complete lack of respect shown by these groups of thugs.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Joint enterprise, a 300-year-old law,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31has proved a highly effective weapon in this fight.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35But there is a growing unease within the legal profession that
0:01:35 > 0:01:37it's being too widely applied.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43There's a very clear public policy that the gang violence problem
0:01:43 > 0:01:47is a serious one, and it is. Politicians are quite right.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52They have to deal with public concerns. And so does the law.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57What we don't know is whether the cost of doing that is
0:01:57 > 0:02:01people are being convicted of things that they haven't done.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18- What's happening later, then? - We'll be on till late this afternoon.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21It's really hard. What do you think, Mum?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24I'm not getting too optimistic, but...
0:02:26 > 0:02:29..I don't want him to get really down.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Sally Halsall, her husband Jeff
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and daughter Charlotte are a family struggling to deal with
0:02:35 > 0:02:39the news that Sally's son Alex has been involved in a serious crime.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45'Detectives are continuing to search for the killers of a'
0:02:45 > 0:02:4922-year-old man stabbed to death in a busy shopping area of West London.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52It was a Friday night
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and we got a call from a police station to say that they
0:02:55 > 0:03:01had my son and he wanted to talk to me and he was very, very distressed.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03The most distressed I've ever heard him.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07And he told me that he had been arrested for murder.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Alex Henry had been involved in a street fight,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13in which one of his friends had used a concealed knife to stab two
0:03:13 > 0:03:18brothers, killing 21-year-old Taqui Khezihi.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Following his arrest, Alex Henry was charged with joint enterprise
0:03:22 > 0:03:25murder, along with three other boys.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Did you know about joint enterprise?
0:03:28 > 0:03:31I knew there was a law where a group of people,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33one of them may commit the crime,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37but the others are egging them on and they knew he was going to do it and
0:03:37 > 0:03:42they supported him, encouraged him to do it, then that is joint enterprise.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44And I agree with that law.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50If my son was murdered, I would want the murderer to be charged
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and to be sentenced for murder.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57If the group of people that were with him had planned it
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and intended on doing it with him, then I would agree with that law.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04But I would not want people in that situation,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06peripheral of that situation,
0:04:06 > 0:04:12or involved where both groups were fighting and...I would want each
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and every boy to be charged with what they did.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25The use of joint enterprise raises the question - how far should
0:04:25 > 0:04:29a person be held responsible for the unexpected actions of others?
0:04:31 > 0:04:36In August 2011, Wayne Collins, a 24-year-old barber from Luton,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39was about to fall foul of the law.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46He was in Birmingham for Carnival when the riots broke out.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Let me explain to you about that night.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The CCTV footage shows my nephew
0:04:54 > 0:04:56didn't hurt anybody,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00he didn't pick anything up, he didn't throw anything.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01All he was, was there.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06What CCTV footage also showed, however,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08was that Collins was in the crowd
0:05:08 > 0:05:12when a hooded figure produced a gun and fired it towards the police.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Later that night,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18he was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- Officer...- Yeah.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- Are they trying to say that I had a firearm?- Yeah.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- From where, though? - Nobody's going to talk to you.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31- So, if you've got any questions, ask them in your own mind.- Uh?
0:05:31 > 0:05:35'You do something wrong, yes, you should be punished for it.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37'My nephew did nothing.'
0:05:37 > 0:05:42He knew one person, who happened to be related to another person.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Whether or not they were doing something, I don't know.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48But why should you be punished for their actions?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51The case against Wayne Collins was that
0:05:51 > 0:05:54while he was in Birmingham, he'd met up with Jermaine Lewis,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56whose cousin, Nicholas Francis,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00was later convicted of using the firearm that night.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03The police claimed that this association meant me
0:06:03 > 0:06:07must have known about the gun and foresaw how it was going to be used.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- A gun?- The fact that he may have known is speculative
0:06:09 > 0:06:13because this other guy's got a gun, he must have known he had it...
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Well, there's nothing to base that on.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Must have known he was going to shoot it police,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21rather than in the air, there's no evidence of that.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23It's all complete speculation.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26But that's the way that joint enterprise works.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30How can you prove that someone knowingly knows what somebody
0:06:30 > 0:06:33else is thinking?
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- What's your occupation? - I'm a barber.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40'His problem was that he was not good at giving his account.'
0:06:40 > 0:06:42He was completely out of his depth.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44He was in Birmingham with people he didn't know.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47They were all members of serious gangs.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50So when Wayne was arrested, I think he was frightened of saying
0:06:50 > 0:06:54things and he gave a story which wasn't true to the police.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- What are you doing in Birmingham? - Meeting a girl.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- At one o'clock in the morning? - Well, obviously...
0:06:59 > 0:07:01The guys smash up the girl's windows and they're chasing me.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04What can you do? The girl's drove off and left me.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05What do you want me to do?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07'Because he would had to name the people he was with,'
0:07:07 > 0:07:10that would have linked them with him
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and he was actually found at the scene and they weren't.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16On that basis, he wasn't believed and he was convicted.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Although there was no evidence that Collins had seen or touched
0:07:21 > 0:07:24the gun, he was found guilty of possession of a firearm with
0:07:24 > 0:07:28intent to endanger life and sent to prison for 18 years.
0:07:32 > 0:07:3618 years is excessively long for somebody who has not
0:07:36 > 0:07:41participated and is based purely on inference
0:07:41 > 0:07:45and speculation as to what Wayne may have known.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Concerns about joint enterprise are echoed at the highest
0:07:50 > 0:07:52level of the legal establishment
0:07:52 > 0:07:56and have led one recently retired senior judge to take the
0:07:56 > 0:08:00unusual step of publicly criticising the way the law is being used.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Let's take a murder case.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07A person can't normally be convicted of murder unless he intended
0:08:07 > 0:08:14to kill or intended to cause serious, very serious, bodily harm.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16But in joint enterprise,
0:08:16 > 0:08:22instead of having to intend to kill someone, it's enough if he foresaw
0:08:22 > 0:08:27that someone might be killed, but it's a very low threshold.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31You can think of many situations in your life where you foresee
0:08:31 > 0:08:35that something might happen, but you certainly don't intend it to happen,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38in any way at all.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Whatever their misgivings, judges are obliged by law to impose
0:08:43 > 0:08:47life sentences on anyone convicted of joint enterprise murder.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Alex Henry has been on remand for five months and is discovering
0:08:56 > 0:09:00how difficult it is to fight a charge under joint enterprise.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03He was speaking to the solicitor and the solicitor was like, "Joint
0:09:03 > 0:09:08enterprise murder is 25 years," and he was just like, "But how?
0:09:08 > 0:09:11"I didn't know there was a knife." And he went, "Yeah, I know.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14"But they're going to try and prove that you knew there was a knife,"
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and he was like, "But how do they know what I'm thinking?
0:09:17 > 0:09:21"How am I looking now at 25 years for shopping with someone that may
0:09:21 > 0:09:24"or may not have had a knife?"
0:09:24 > 0:09:28We spoke to the barristers yesterday and they were really helpful.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'What was their perspective on the case as it stands at the moment?'
0:09:31 > 0:09:32We asked them that.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37We said, "Roughly, what do you think?" And they said, "50-50."
0:09:37 > 0:09:39I mean, when I came out of that meeting, I thought -
0:09:39 > 0:09:41things are getting worse.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I had a secret hope we'd go in there and they'd say,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49"Listen, he's clearly innocent. The jury will know he's innocent.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53"He probably won't even get anything."
0:09:53 > 0:09:56The person that did commit the murder, I believe, will be
0:09:56 > 0:10:00denying it, so without any independent witnesses seeing
0:10:00 > 0:10:02a knife, none of the boys that
0:10:02 > 0:10:05didn't do it, seeing a knife, who's to know who actually had this knife?
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Who's to know who committed it?
0:10:07 > 0:10:13- So I think that's our first task of them finding it...- Who did it.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Well, we know who done it, but the jury seeing who done it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21And then, second to that, proving that the other three
0:10:21 > 0:10:25co-defendants didn't know about the knife.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The effectiveness of joint enterprise in securing
0:10:29 > 0:10:32multiple convictions for a single crime was
0:10:32 > 0:10:37demonstrated following the murder of Ben Kinsella in 2008.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41'This CCTV shows the events immediately before Ben's death.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'His acquaintances are being chased up an Islington
0:10:44 > 0:10:46'street by the defendants.'
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Three men were charged with the killing
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and although it was never proved which one of them stabbed Ben,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55using joint enterprise, they were all found guilty of murder.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59All three of them knew what they were doing. They came armed with knives.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05He was stabbed... Within five seconds, he was stabbed 11 times.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07So...
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Yeah, I hold them all responsible.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Not one of them tried to stop the other two from doing it.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19Not one of them assisted my son while he was bleeding on the floor.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21There was none of that.
0:11:21 > 0:11:27So...as far as I'm concerned, they're all culpable for it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Without joint enterprise, probably maybe one or maybe even
0:11:32 > 0:11:36two of them would still be walking the streets today.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39The public demonstration which followed Ben's death
0:11:39 > 0:11:42reflected wide support for the principle that all those involved
0:11:42 > 0:11:46in a murder, however peripherally, should be held to account.
0:11:46 > 0:11:52If a gang of kids or men or whatever want to go out
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and commit these sort of crimes, then they've got to know that
0:11:55 > 0:11:58if they are part of it or involved in it,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01then they're going to be held responsible.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17In 2010, 16-year-old Nicholas Pearton was stabbed to
0:12:17 > 0:12:19death in a South London street.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The police need to stop this. Do you know what I mean?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Before all of our children die. You know?
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Parents aren't meant to bury their children. You know?
0:12:34 > 0:12:37And to see the state of his mother last night, well,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40she was just literally uncontrollable.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45Nine teenagers were eventually charged with his murder.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49The prosecuting counsel was Edward Brown.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53There was a dreadful killing in May 2010.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56A young boy was chased across a park, across a road,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00stabbed in the middle of the road by one person.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02He received a stab wound to his back.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03It proved fatal, within seconds.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10The trigger for the murder was a school gate confrontation between
0:13:10 > 0:13:14two boys from the Grove Park area and two boys from nearby Sydenham.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21Nothing serious happened. No blows were exchanged.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23And the boys from Grove Park went back home,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25to their various homes,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and a plan was said to be hatched to travel to the Sydenham area
0:13:29 > 0:13:33and mark this disrespect by finding
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and probably chasing the Sydenham boys and showing them that they
0:13:37 > 0:13:41can't get away with just doing this at the school gates.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44The group from Grove Park travelled by bus
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and met the Sydenham boys in the park on their home turf.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51The Sydenham gang ran away, only to return a few minutes later,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53brandishing weapons.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59There was a brief stand-off and no blows were exchanged, but as it
0:13:59 > 0:14:04finished, Nicholas Pearton found himself isolated from his friends.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07He was chased out of the park and into Sydenham Road,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10where he was stabbed once in the back.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14He died in the doorway of a shop, protecting
0:14:14 > 0:14:18himself from another person who was seeking to attack him further.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25The case was heard at the Old Bailey in January 2011.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Although only one boy had stabbed Nicholas Pearton,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32nine were charged with his murder.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Joint enterprise, it's called. It's not a statutory definition.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41It's an ordinary expression.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47The public, I suspect, would approve of a secondary party,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50not the stabber or the shooter,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54but the secondary party being convicted of a serious crime,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57if they were participating, by for example,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01encouraging the gunman or the knifeman.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Of the boys charged with murder,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08only three were in the street at the time of the stabbing.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11The rest were scattered over the area where the fight had
0:15:11 > 0:15:13taken place.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15One of them, 15-year-old Joseph Jay,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19claimed to be at the other end of the park.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I've described the law of joint enterprise as a drift net.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25You drop your drift net into the ocean
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and you pull out all sorts of fish, big and small,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32and you hope that someone's going to chuck the small fish back in before
0:15:32 > 0:15:36it's too late, but you can never be sure that's going to happen.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- That looks like it's reversing... - Let the car through.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Oh, I see.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Alex Henry's family have been given CCTV footage by his lawyers,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54showing the lead up to the fight.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57They're viewing it for the first time.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- OK, so that's the... - They're going to the car.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05The confrontation happening down there, so there's four now.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And now, they're... He's trying to split it up.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- Trying to pull him away. - Yeah, he's...
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It's very, very clear that he's trying to stop them from fighting.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- Yeah.- One of them. And that's one of the friends of my son.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22The boy doing his best to break up the fight is Younis Tayyib.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25He's one of the four on remand for the murder.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- Oh... Gosh, he is trying hard, isn't he?- Mm.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33The boy behind Younis, carrying the bottle,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37is another of Alex's co-defendants, Janhelle Grant-Murray.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40OK, so now they're coming around the corner.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44My son isn't here in this at all.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48They go round there, I think.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Alex, who had been shopping with his friend Cameron Ferguson,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54runs into the altercation when he sees Younis
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- and Janhelle on the other side of the road.- There.- There they are.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59They're running there now
0:16:59 > 0:17:02because they're running really fast cos they've seen their friends.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05The fight, which lasts less than 45 seconds, takes place
0:17:05 > 0:17:09in an area not covered by CCTV cameras.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17The first boy to leave the fight is carrying what later proved to
0:17:17 > 0:17:18be the fatal weapon.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21There he is. Stop. There. Now. See?
0:17:21 > 0:17:25- This is the bag, here.- And it's sticking out...- It's sticking out!
0:17:25 > 0:17:27A plastic bag doesn't stick out like that,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30unless it's got something in it that is long.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32The running boy,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35who confessed later that day to the other three that he'd used
0:17:35 > 0:17:39a concealed knife in the fight, is the 19-year-old Cameron Ferguson.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45'Do you feel that there's been enough emphasis on finding which of
0:17:45 > 0:17:49'the four were actually responsible for stabbing the victim?'
0:17:49 > 0:17:52No. I think they just want to put them all in the frame.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54They're all there.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58They know one of the four did it and as they are allowed to,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01under joint enterprise, they can scoop them all up in one go.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05They don't have to find out, really, who out of the four did it.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Makes their job easier, really, doesn't it?
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Two years after his conviction for possession of a firearm,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Wayne Collins' appeal is being heard at the Royal Courts of Justice.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23We appealed against the conviction,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26but it's difficult to appeal against a conviction because you have
0:18:26 > 0:18:29to show there is some error in the judge's summing up.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32There must be error of law.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38On the 18 years, our case was this is disproportionate for somebody
0:18:38 > 0:18:42who is described as playing no active role in the event.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Deborah Taylor, Wayne's aunt, has been
0:18:47 > 0:18:50fronting the family's campaign for his release.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54I've come out here today to the Royal Courts of Justice a lot more
0:18:54 > 0:18:57confident in the justice system than what
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I felt two-and-a-half years ago on the trial.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04There is a way that, you know, with persevering and campaigning,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06we can get this sentence reduced.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10That's great. That's all I need from you.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13It went really well. James dusted them.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17James said the judge misled them. How he delivered it, Mum, was amazing.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Amazing! Amazing!
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- 'Is the family hopeful?' - We are, yeah. We are.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Reduction in sentence. You know?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Definitely. So, yeah, it's good. Happy. There's hope.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38And at the end of the day, thank God there's an appeal court.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Wayne Collins' family will now have to wait
0:19:43 > 0:19:45until the ruling is handed down by the judges.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52This picture of my daughter
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and my brother was taken about nine months ago in jail.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59As you can see, she loves him a lot.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03And he looks completely different to his mugshot.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06We just thought, tops, they'll hold him three days,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10and he'll come home and we'll go through it together
0:20:10 > 0:20:12till we get to court,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16but as the days went on, the weeks, the months,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18we started thinking, "What's going on?"
0:20:18 > 0:20:20And then we realised that he was
0:20:20 > 0:20:22probably going to get an example made of him...
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- Yeah.- ..but didn't think it was going to be 18 years.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29He's involved in everybody in our family and our lives,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32so somebody being taken away for 18 years, you know,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35in a very small involvement of a crime.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I don't see the justice in that, as his father.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51The main thing that comes to mind is Alex is very kind and sweet.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54He's the only one, really, out of all of my family
0:20:54 > 0:20:56that can tell if I'm upset just at a glance.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58He'll just come in and I'll be looking away and he'll be,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01"What's happened? What's happened? Are you OK?"
0:21:01 > 0:21:06He's very protective of, like, his family, and especially me and my mum.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08He's really smart, as well.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13When we were younger, he was really, really good at maths.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16He flourished at school.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The teachers told me he was outstanding.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22But then he developed what they classified him as having ADHD
0:21:22 > 0:21:24and he couldn't sit still in the classroom.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28They perceived that to be aggression and bad behaviour,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32when actually it's a child who needs to be reassured
0:21:32 > 0:21:37and needs a safe environment. He was expelled when he was 11.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Once you're kicked out of school,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41you're sent to these alternative provisions.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43No child that likes education is actually going to want to go
0:21:43 > 0:21:46to one of these things, cos it's not really teaching,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48it's just a place for them to be off the street.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53I did feel like I was losing him.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I was losing him to his friends and I didn't know who they were.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59He seemed to have a whole world that he was involved in
0:21:59 > 0:22:02when I was at work and he wasn't at school.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08This... It was an incredibly difficult, impossible situation.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I've read books and articles and no-one ever talks about it,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13because people are ashamed.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17They're ashamed to say that, "I lost control of...of my child."
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Seven months after his arrest,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Alex Henry's trial has started at the Old Bailey.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34All four co-defendants are pleading not guilty to charges of murder
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and attempted murder.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39The prosecution case is that each of them played a part
0:22:39 > 0:22:42in a joint attack on Taqui Khezihi and his brother -
0:22:42 > 0:22:46each knew about a knife and intended it would be used to stab.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51On the fifth day of the trial, there is a dramatic development.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56The judge called all the boys back in and asked Cameron Ferguson his plea.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01Again, for both counts of murder and GBH with intent
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and he pleaded guilty to both counts.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08We are very pleased that the person who did it has been honest enough
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and courageous enough, without any family around him to support him,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15to hold up his hands and say that it was him.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18It gives all of the families peace of mind to know that
0:23:18 > 0:23:21that knowledge is out there now.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23So that's really positive.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26However, we're still proceeding with the trial,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29because they're still trying to get the three other boys
0:23:29 > 0:23:31in on the murder, as well.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34They're going to seek to prove that they knew about the knife.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35We know that that can't be proven,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38but they're going to seek to prove it nonetheless
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and we've just got to pray that the jury see the truth.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Despite the change of plea,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Alex's family are concerned that the jury will not be impressed
0:23:51 > 0:23:54by his behaviour immediately after the fight.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56He knew the police were looking for him,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59but wanted to avoid arrest for three days
0:23:59 > 0:24:02so he could attend his pregnant girlfriend's first scan.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07And even though by this time Cameron had told him he'd used a knife,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11the two of them went to hide out in a friend's flat in Croydon.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15He got to Croydon and news reports start coming in
0:24:15 > 0:24:18and he eventually realises there's been a fatality.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Alex calls me and he says,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24"Look, Charlotte, my girlfriend's pregnant. Now, you need to pick me up
0:24:24 > 0:24:26"and you need to take me and her to the scan."
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I'm very excited, I'm... I was lost at the word "pregnant".
0:24:30 > 0:24:34I'm like "What's Mum going to say? I'm so excited." And he goes,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37"No, no, Charlotte, you must listen to the rest I've got to tell you.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40"Something really bad has happened.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43"I can't tell you what it is, because I don't want you to get in trouble,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46"but you need to pick me up, you need to take me to the scan
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"and then you need to take me to the solicitors
0:24:49 > 0:24:50"and then take me to the police station."
0:24:50 > 0:24:53So I planned to pick him up on the Friday,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57but unfortunately on the Thursday night Alex is arrested.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02For every family that sees joint enterprise as a threat
0:25:02 > 0:25:04to the liberty of their loved ones,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08there are others who believe it was their only way of securing justice.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That's Umar.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16(RAPS) And if we had nothing we'd eat with bare hands
0:25:16 > 0:25:19And I'm not going to lie I do have bear's hands
0:25:19 > 0:25:21It's a hot day and I hear a glass break
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Then I find a fast way to pass...
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Umar Tufail was forging a music career
0:25:26 > 0:25:31when he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 2012.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35INDISTINCT
0:25:35 > 0:25:36That's it, cut.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47- Just one of the...- So full of life. - He was, wasn't he?- And fun.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- He was.- Do you know? Sometimes, I do believe in the death penalty.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Because they took more than just his life, they destroyed Saj's,
0:25:57 > 0:26:03his family's, his girlfriend's, any chance of ever having kids.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06It's...it's extremely difficult.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Our lives will never be the same again.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Umar was sitting in his car outside his home here in Thornton Heath
0:26:12 > 0:26:15when Daley and Thomas drove up alongside him.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18They pulled out a gun and shot him once at point-blank range.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22There was one shooter. But there were two people involved from the offset.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26There was a lot of CCTV footage of the two lads together.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29The accomplice was in the car.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33He saw the shooter take out the gun and he admittedly said that
0:26:33 > 0:26:36when the person who shot my son pulled out the gun,
0:26:36 > 0:26:42he leaned back to make room for him to carry out his horrendous crime.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45In my mind, I knew that they both were equally responsible.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49So I think having joint enterprise really does
0:26:49 > 0:26:50give you that peace of mind,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53although I'll never be happy that my son has gone,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56but at least we managed to convict both people
0:26:56 > 0:26:59who were guilty of the crime that they committed.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03RAP MUSIC PLAYS
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Since the death of Umar, Saj has been on a mission
0:27:10 > 0:27:13to warn young people about the dangers of gang crime.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19The shooter got 25 years.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24The accomplice, 22 without any parole.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27These are two young men who had a life ahead of themselves.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Not only have they taken my son's life,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32but they've also destroyed theirs.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36So joint enterprise is there for a purpose
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and it's there for a purpose when people are involved from the offset.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Thanks for listening.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43CLAPPING
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Is there a way to honestly prove to a court that you did not know
0:27:51 > 0:27:53if your friend was going to commit a crime?
0:27:53 > 0:27:56You know that you didn't know, but you might not be able to prove it.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59That's the problem. That's why people get sentenced when they can't prove it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02It's the circumstances. It's the way the thing is set, isn't it?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04You live in Loughborough,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I live in Loughborough, they ain't going to believe us.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08You, you're from Loughborough,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10I went to the same school as David Cameron
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and I grew up with him and I'm in a car with you
0:28:12 > 0:28:16and I didn't know, they'll believe you. It's the circumstances.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19It's where you come from, at the end of the day.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Even in your situation, you get me?
0:28:21 > 0:28:24The sad thing is that guy that was in the car, what's he going to do?
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Sit in the passenger side and keep his head there?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Man was going to fire, you're going to move back anyway.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31If you're in the car with me, and I pull out a gun
0:28:31 > 0:28:33and go to shoot someone, you'll move.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35The thing is, someone has to make a stand and say,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38"What you did there was wrong." I can understand where you're coming from,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40you don't want to snitch on someone.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43But equally when are we going to stop doing this?
0:28:43 > 0:28:45There are young children dying almost every day.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49We don't live in a country where there's a civil war.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Do we? So someone has to stand up and say,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55"This isn't the way to do it. We've got to make a stand
0:28:55 > 0:28:57"and we've got to stop this."
0:28:57 > 0:28:59I can't do it. It has to come from you guys.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Let me ask you this question -
0:29:02 > 0:29:04do you think that the joint enterprise
0:29:04 > 0:29:06is convicting innocent people?
0:29:06 > 0:29:10- Yeah.- Yeah. 110%.- 110%?- 110%.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Definite. Definitely. It is.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16We know that joint enterprise will exist, it's not perfect.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19Because it's very clear that the innocent can be taken down
0:29:19 > 0:29:20with the guilty quite easily.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23But at the moment there's high crime, there's areas
0:29:23 > 0:29:26where things are happening, and we know what the police is going to do.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28They are only interested in one thing -
0:29:28 > 0:29:30getting you, taking you down, putting you inside
0:29:30 > 0:29:32and the taxpayers' money paying for you whilst you're inside.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Money's being made, millions is being made, yeah?
0:29:36 > 0:29:40And you're not seeing none of it. All right. OK, thank you very much.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Listen, there is... You guys, go and get yourself pizzas and food...
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Alex Henry's trial is into its third week
0:29:54 > 0:29:58and it's his turn to take the stand and give his evidence.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04Alex will be...nervous this morning. I'm nervous.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Yeah, I think we all are.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Hopefully it'll be over by Friday.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14Then we've just got the horrible wait
0:30:14 > 0:30:16- and that's going to be horrendous. - Yeah.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21I hope he doesn't faint when he's on the stand.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24He's fainted before, hasn't he, Charlotte?
0:30:24 > 0:30:26It's horrible,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29sometimes you hear them screaming going down to the cells, don't you?
0:30:29 > 0:30:30What? Yelling stuff?
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Yeah. That must be if they get a bad sentence or something.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36The other day, it was someone making a real noise. I know.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Alex spends two days in the witness box.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53On the second day, he's cross-examined by the prosecution.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54Sometimes it's said,
0:30:54 > 0:30:59"Well, how does a defendant prove he didn't know the person had a knife?"
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Of course, that is exceptionally difficult.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07I think everybody should understand that proving lack of knowledge
0:31:07 > 0:31:11is not altogether easy for a young man in the witness box
0:31:11 > 0:31:12at the Old Bailey.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19So how do you think he did on the witness stand?
0:31:19 > 0:31:21He did really good.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Really good.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25His evidence that he gave was flawless,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29it was just everything that had been said in his original statement
0:31:29 > 0:31:35and everything he says is then also said by these other co-defendants,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37they all say the exact same story.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40And considering they've never been allowed to speak together,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43they've been in separate prisons, they've been in separate cells,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46they are not allowed to talk to each other.
0:31:46 > 0:31:52You can't come up with stories that perfect and have them as lies.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55So it couldn't have gone better, really.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07In June 2011, the jury reached their verdicts in the trial
0:32:07 > 0:32:10of those accused of Nicholas Pearton's murder.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15Seven teenage killers were sentenced to a total of 74 years in jail today
0:32:15 > 0:32:18for the murder of a 16-year-old in broad daylight.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20What the youth of today need to understand,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23that small minority that do carry knives
0:32:23 > 0:32:25are actually in a group with knives.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28It isn't the one that delivers the fatal blow
0:32:28 > 0:32:31that will suffer consequences and punishment at court,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35it'll be also those that actually are with him, as well.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Seven boys were found guilty of homicide offences -
0:32:39 > 0:32:42four for manslaughter and three for murder.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Dale Green was the stabber
0:32:44 > 0:32:47and Lamarr Gordon, who was alongside him in the chase,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50was held to be the gang leader.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53CCTV footage showed the two of them shaking hands
0:32:53 > 0:32:55shortly after the stabbing.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01The third boy convicted of murder was 15-year-old Joseph.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06My client, Joseph, was at the opposite end of the park
0:33:06 > 0:33:08when the stabbing happened.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12And we showed that because there was a 999 call at the time from a
0:33:12 > 0:33:16witness who was quite clear in her description of a boy with sunglasses.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18My client was wearing sunglasses,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20because he has an eye condition.
0:33:20 > 0:33:25You can't beat hard evidence, which is the timing of the call
0:33:25 > 0:33:29to when Joseph exits the park, the CCTV real-time
0:33:29 > 0:33:32and if you collect all that together,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35it works out that Joseph was 220m away
0:33:35 > 0:33:38whilst Lamarr Gordon and Dale Green had exited the park.
0:33:38 > 0:33:4230 seconds later, as Joseph comes out of the park,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Nicholas Pearton was already dead.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48So what was the prosecution case against him?
0:33:48 > 0:33:53The prosecution relied on the fact that Joseph's DNA was on a knife
0:33:53 > 0:33:56that had been found afterwards.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01Joseph accepted that he had picked up two knives in the park
0:34:01 > 0:34:04after they had been discarded by the other group.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Now you might think that sounds quite ludicrous,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10but the prosecution witnesses
0:34:10 > 0:34:13describe the other group discarding weapons in the park.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Although neither of the knives that Joseph picked up
0:34:16 > 0:34:18was the murder weapon,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23this was enough to show he knew that knives were present.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26It was then up to the jury to decide whether he foresaw
0:34:26 > 0:34:29that they might be used by someone else to cause serious harm.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36The use of joint enterprise in theory doesn't dilute the usual principles
0:34:36 > 0:34:39of the prosecution having to prove their case
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and having to make the jury sure.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45But what it does is it places an enormous burden on a jury
0:34:46 > 0:34:49to read the minds of defendants,
0:34:49 > 0:34:54who are themselves required to read the minds of other defendants.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56And I think that's a burden
0:34:56 > 0:34:58that probably they shouldn't have to carry.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Of course, we are told anything can happen,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06a jury can deliver any verdict.
0:35:06 > 0:35:12No guarantee, anything not 100% but we still believed,
0:35:12 > 0:35:17because he didn't have an intention to harm anyone. He should be OK.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23So I still remember at the moment... that one of the jury stood up
0:35:23 > 0:35:27and delivered the verdict to my son.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it, that moment.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Everything changed.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40The jury found Joseph guilty of murder,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43while concluding that the boy who fly kicked the door
0:35:43 > 0:35:47moments after the attack was not guilty of the same charge.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51He was convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55I can only think that the jury concluded he
0:35:55 > 0:35:58had a lesser degree of knowledge
0:35:58 > 0:36:05of the knife than the other boy, who had a knife himself.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07Because of his age,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Joseph's life sentence had a reduced minimum tariff.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15But it will still be 12 years before he can apply for parole.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Such an intelligent boy.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21He's spending... Effectively, he won't be released...
0:36:21 > 0:36:25At the earliest, he won't be released until he's 30.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28He was a 15-year-old boy at the time, with great prospects.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Hands down, he's guilty of violent disorder,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33but he's certainly not guilty of murder.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36He wasn't to know Dale Green was going to do what he did.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Where's the foresight? You can't foresee that at all.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41So I think it's a rather unfair...
0:36:41 > 0:36:45And this case has been troubling me for some years now.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48I think the public generally feel that you should be found guilty
0:36:48 > 0:36:50in a criminal court for what you've done
0:36:50 > 0:36:52or encouraged or participated in.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56And this is such stretched participation, across the extent
0:36:56 > 0:37:00of this park that day that he serves life for murder at the same time
0:37:00 > 0:37:03as the boy who chased down the road and stabbed him?
0:37:20 > 0:37:22In the final week of Alex Henry's trial,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26the prosecution sum up their case against him.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29- How did you feel watching that? - Angry. Really angry.
0:37:32 > 0:37:37Yeah, things that have already been disproved in court,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40are now being presented as facts to the jury again,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42even though they've been disproved.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47For example, now they are alluding to the fact
0:37:47 > 0:37:50that despite there has been a confession by one of the boys
0:37:50 > 0:37:54as to being the primary...the stabber,
0:37:54 > 0:38:01they're now trying to place my brother as another stabber,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03primarily the killer.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Even though that the top he was found in didn't have any
0:38:06 > 0:38:09of the victim's blood on it, the boy that's confessed
0:38:09 > 0:38:11had an item which had the victim's blood on it.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14The witnesses have said that the boy that's confessed was the one
0:38:14 > 0:38:16that committed the stabbing.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19You're certainly not going to say that you're guilty of murder
0:38:19 > 0:38:24and GBH with intent unless you were the stabber on those two occasions,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27where one person died and the other person was injured.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30They're trying to say, "He wasn't! He didn't do it.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32"He was just saying he was party to the group,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35"that's why he pleaded guilty and someone else did it,"
0:38:35 > 0:38:37and they're trying to say it was my son.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Well, over my dead body are they going to get away with that
0:38:39 > 0:38:42and I will fight and I will carry on fighting for him.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I studied law at Brunel University, so during one of the criminal modules
0:38:50 > 0:38:53we touched a little bit about joint enterprise.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57So I knew vaguely the situations that can arise from it.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01However, I never knew it would be like they would cast the net
0:39:01 > 0:39:03this wide to get every single person
0:39:03 > 0:39:06that was present there charged with murder.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10That's not what I learnt. We were taught about proportionality,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13the intention to kill, the mens rea element.
0:39:14 > 0:39:20And...none of that is in this case or in the previous cases
0:39:20 > 0:39:24where people have actually been convicted of it.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27So I never realised it was like this.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43The Court of Appeal's decision on Wayne Collins' application
0:39:43 > 0:39:46for a reduction in sentence is due today.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Just having...
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Just the waiting is just so...
0:39:55 > 0:39:56It reminds me of the trial.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00And the jury went out
0:40:00 > 0:40:06and Wayne's the last person for a decision to be made.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10So we were all on edge and it was like half of the family were like,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12"Oh, my God, it's great."
0:40:12 > 0:40:15PHONE RINGS
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Here we go.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Hello, you're through to Deborah.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Hi, Barry, how are you doing?
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Hi, it's bad news, I'm afraid.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28What's the news?
0:40:30 > 0:40:34They've not reduced his sentence at all?
0:40:34 > 0:40:36They're not reducing it?
0:40:39 > 0:40:42I'm really, really angry.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47So we have to go to the European Court Of Human Rights?
0:40:47 > 0:40:50I can't believe it. Wayne's going to be devastated.
0:40:51 > 0:40:58The Court of Appeal said, "Well, not only did his presence encourage
0:40:58 > 0:41:04"what went on, but by the jury's verdict, he intended to do that."
0:41:04 > 0:41:08And so it was "participation in extremely serious offending"
0:41:08 > 0:41:12is what the Court of Appeal said and upheld the 18 years.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14- Hi, Mum, it's me.- 'Oh, God.'
0:41:15 > 0:41:20They're not letting him... They're not granting his appeal.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22'Oh, God, my baby!'
0:41:22 > 0:41:28I know. We're going to go to the Court Of Human Rights.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33'Jesus Christ, have mercy, my poor baby. I will be strong.'
0:41:33 > 0:41:36But I don't know how Wayne would ever have been able
0:41:36 > 0:41:39to give evidence well, cos I don't think he's that sort of person.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42The prosecution has spent weeks going through it all,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45looking at every little bit, "How we can catch you out,"
0:41:45 > 0:41:48"Oh, you said here that it happened at five past three,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51"and now you're saying it's ten past three and how can you be so wrong?"
0:41:51 > 0:41:53It's kind of...
0:41:53 > 0:41:57It's a game for those people who are not caught up in it.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00For those people who are caught up in it, it's their life.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03But for the others, it's a game they play.
0:42:14 > 0:42:15The jury have retired
0:42:15 > 0:42:19and Sally and Charlotte are visiting Alex at Belmarsh Prison
0:42:19 > 0:42:22for the last time before hearing the verdict.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25I hate seeing him in there. He's got such...
0:42:25 > 0:42:27He's got bags, he looks pale,
0:42:27 > 0:42:31he hasn't been out in the fresh air, he hasn't had sunlight.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34He just looks really, really scared and down.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36There's so many different groups of boys,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40all up for joint enterprise murder, so he speaks to them and he sees them
0:42:40 > 0:42:42explaining that there's no evidence against them
0:42:42 > 0:42:44and that they've been told that they're going to be off
0:42:44 > 0:42:47and they're getting really excited about going home.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51But then he sees them a day later and they've been found guilty.
0:42:51 > 0:42:52So now he's terrified.
0:42:59 > 0:43:05We have, I'm sure, young men now in prison for a minimum of 30 years
0:43:05 > 0:43:07for some criminal activity
0:43:07 > 0:43:11where there was no intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm
0:43:11 > 0:43:15and I think it's a very serious problem.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18We're not saying they're not guilty of anything,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21it's just whether we really need to go to murder,
0:43:21 > 0:43:26particularly when we have such hugely long minimum terms.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33'I feel that I'm a victim of a joint enterprise
0:43:33 > 0:43:38'as I've been convicted of a charge just for associating with someone.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42'I do not avoid the fact that my behaviour on the horrific day
0:43:42 > 0:43:46'of the murder was disorderly. Being a 15-year-old boy,
0:43:46 > 0:43:50'following the crowd to gain a bit of respect from the older lads,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52'I was naive to how things could end up.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58'I had never believed that anybody would be hurt
0:43:58 > 0:44:01'as a result of setting out that day, let alone killed.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06'What most people forget is that a large quantity of people
0:44:06 > 0:44:07'who didn't carry out the fatal blow
0:44:07 > 0:44:10'are also punished for another's actions.'
0:44:11 > 0:44:15He's still struggling to accept the fact...
0:44:18 > 0:44:22..he was convicted. So, as a mother...
0:44:22 > 0:44:25if I think about how he feels...
0:44:28 > 0:44:31..I'm very, very sad, but I realise...
0:44:34 > 0:44:36..the things I can do is very limited.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45After four days of deliberations,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48the jury have arrived at their verdicts.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Younis Tayyib, who had tried to break up the fight,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54is acquitted of the murder of Taqui Khezihi.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Alex Henry and his friend, Janhelle Grant-Murray,
0:44:59 > 0:45:01have been found guilty,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04alongside the self-confessed stabber, Cameron Ferguson.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Everyone was in a real state by the time we went in.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15The judge tells you that when the verdict is announced
0:45:15 > 0:45:17that the people in the gallery, that's us,
0:45:17 > 0:45:22have to take it without a noise - in absolute silence, we have to remain.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27And so we didn't, because obviously it was such a shock,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30an ambulance had to be called for one of the mums.
0:45:31 > 0:45:38I'm still just absolutely baffled as to how a jury
0:45:38 > 0:45:40could come to a majority verdict
0:45:40 > 0:45:44of guilty when there was no direct evidence in this case.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50Just for...
0:45:52 > 0:45:55..hanging out with the wrong friend, I suppose.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00- That's it. - For just being there.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03There's nothing he could have done to change it.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08He couldn't have foresaw that anything was going to happen
0:46:08 > 0:46:12that day, he was just a young boy going shopping with some friends.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Charlotte went up to the relative of the victim...
0:46:19 > 0:46:21I think it was the father.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23..father of the victim and said, "I'm sorry for your loss,"
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and he said, "I'm sorry for yours."
0:46:26 > 0:46:29You're very courageous, saying that to him.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37There's no winners in this, is there? That's for sure.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40No.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00So this is the road Ben was murdered in - North Road.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06And after his murder, all the kids went to lay flowers
0:47:06 > 0:47:11and they all signed the street sign.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21You know, even the kids around here, locally, as a community,
0:47:21 > 0:47:22had had enough.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26There was a big march organised by young kids saying,
0:47:26 > 0:47:31"Enough is enough of this knife crime and violent crime on our streets."
0:47:31 > 0:47:35Our son never got to find out about his exam results.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37We was given an envelope for that,
0:47:37 > 0:47:42sort of two months after he died to say that he was a straight-A student.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46You know, we'll never see him grow up.
0:47:46 > 0:47:52They can go and visit their sons or daughters.
0:47:52 > 0:47:57We have to go up to a cemetery every weekend or nearly every weekend.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00You know, that's what you've got to think about.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05He was precious to us.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I feel to them, life's cheap.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12He was our everything, wasn't he?
0:48:14 > 0:48:15Yeah.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Following Ben's death,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24the Kinsella family successfully campaigned to increase
0:48:24 > 0:48:30the mandatory sentence for murder with a knife from 15 to 25 years.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34The laws are there to sort of keep people on the straight and narrow.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37But if people want to break them,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39then they've got to face the consequences of that.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41They've got to know that
0:48:41 > 0:48:47if they're going to get involved in serious crimes like murder and stuff,
0:48:47 > 0:48:53then being part of it, you might as well throw away the key yourself.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Sentencing for Alex Henry and his co-defendants
0:49:00 > 0:49:03is at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Cameron Ferguson receives a life sentence
0:49:06 > 0:49:08with a minimum term of 22 years.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14As secondary parties, Alex and Janhelle Grant-Murray
0:49:14 > 0:49:18are given life with minimum terms of 19 years,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21despite there being no proof that either had a knife
0:49:21 > 0:49:25or intended to kill or cause serious harm.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28What was his face like? Because I was just comforting you.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30I was... He seemed OK, he just looked straight ahead.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33- He seemed all right. He seemed dignified.- He did.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35- He just looked straight ahead. - Yeah. Yeah.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39It's a very harsh sentence.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44I think Cameron Ferguson's actions on that day
0:49:44 > 0:49:47did tragically take Taqui's life,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51left a family devastated and mother heartbroken.
0:49:51 > 0:49:56But this law has also taken two more victims,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58my brother and his friend, Janhelle.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01And they're going to be serving a life sentence
0:50:01 > 0:50:04for a murder they did not commit,
0:50:04 > 0:50:06and two more families are now devastated,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09two more mothers are now heartbroken.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11And something needs to change.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25Alex and Janhelle's lawyers are appealing against their convictions.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28It's difficult to appeal convictions, generally.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30The reason's a good one, actually,
0:50:30 > 0:50:35which is that the Court of Appeal respects the jury's verdict
0:50:35 > 0:50:40and unless something has gone seriously wrong in the trial process,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43they will uphold that verdict.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46They may not agree with it, but if they think that the jury
0:50:46 > 0:50:49were given all the relevant facts
0:50:49 > 0:50:53and the trial was conducted fairly and according to the law,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57then generally speaking that's enough for the verdict to stand.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Even if it's one that people don't think is correct.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10The appeal process has left the Collins family deeply disillusioned.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16We just thought, even if he got four years taken off,
0:51:16 > 0:51:18we would have been happy,
0:51:18 > 0:51:22but for it to just completely be dismissed, we were just...
0:51:22 > 0:51:27It was devastating. It was like him being resentenced all over again.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31- Yeah.- On the run-up to the appeal, it gave him hope, didn't it?
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Like, something to look forward to, but there's nothing now.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42No justice, no peace.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46- What do we want?- Justice. - What do we want?- Justice.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48No justice, no peace.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51'Unfortunately, the demographic group who are affected by joint enterprise
0:51:51 > 0:51:54'are going to be a section of society
0:51:54 > 0:51:57'who do not have a great deal of influence.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:02And I don't see middle-class people ending up in the dock
0:52:02 > 0:52:05being accused of crimes on the basis that they associate
0:52:05 > 0:52:08or they're with other people who commit crimes.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12- When do we want it?- ALL: Now! - Free our innocents.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Calls for reform are coming not only from families
0:52:15 > 0:52:19caught up in joint enterprise cases, but also from the Law Commission
0:52:19 > 0:52:23and the Justice Committee of the House Of Commons.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27So far, successive governments have declined to act.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32'I think there's an element of policy here.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:35The law has progressed in this way,
0:52:35 > 0:52:40to cater for large numbers of senseless killings,
0:52:40 > 0:52:44when if you didn't have a definition such as exists at the moment,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48very often the followers, the encouragers would be acquitted
0:52:48 > 0:52:51of any responsibility for the death.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57My brother is currently serving 19 years' imprisonment
0:52:57 > 0:53:00for a crime he did not commit.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03- Free our innocents. ALL:- Free our innocents!
0:53:03 > 0:53:08My suggested reform would be that a person is only guilty of murder
0:53:08 > 0:53:13if he intended to kill or intended to cause grievous bodily harm.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16No intention, no guilt.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19- ALL:- No intention, no guilt.
0:53:19 > 0:53:24I'd like the people that want this reform to talk to parents like us,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28parents and families that have lost their loved ones.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Talk to us and see if that changes your mind.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37You know, I'm sure if the boot was on the other foot,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40they'd feel exactly as strongly as us.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42Joint enterprise is a court full of lies.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- ALL:- Joint enterprise is a court full of lies.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48- Let our prisoners go. - ALL:- Let our prisoners go.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53- Not guilty by association. - ALL:- Not guilty by association.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59The judges in the Supreme Court tomorrow could say this doctrine
0:53:59 > 0:54:04has led us too far away from basic principles and we should abandon it.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06So it could be done.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08I'm not saying it would be done, but it could be done.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11- Are you saying it should be done? - In my view, it should be done.