Edward Conteh was little more than a child when he was convicted of the manslaughter of another teenager, Nicholas Pearton.
The controversial doctrine known as joint enterprise enabled the 16-year-old to be convicted of a crime that he did not see or commit and was unable to predict or prevent. A Belgian national who arrived in the UK in his pre-pubescent years, he had never been in trouble with the police before.
His story began in 2010 when a playground bicker turned into a fight that ended the life of one and imprisoned seven others – three for murder and four for manslaughter.
Outside Conteh’s school in south London two boys from the so-called “SG” group had clashed with two “Sydenham Boys”. The argument faded, the group dispersed, no blows were exchanged. It should have been the end of the matter, but someone had been disrespected.
Shortly after, a group of boys, including Conteh, decided to travel to Home Park in Sydenham. It was summer and the park was buzzing. A stand-off ensued between the Sydenham Boys and the SG group, and Conteh, not wishing to fight, saw a discarded bike from the rival group and made off with it, away from the confrontation. This is supported by CCTV footage.
Nicholas Pearton, 16, a member of the Sydenham Boys, showed up late and became isolated. He ran out of the park and across the main road, pursued by SG members. He was stabbed in the back, ran into a takeaway shop, and died minutes later.
His murder featured in a BBC One documentary Guilty by Association, highlighting Conteh’s conviction and that of another who remained behind inside the park, Joseph Appiah, 16, who was convicted of murder under joint enterprise, despite being 200 yards away at the time of the stabbing.
“When Edward came home that day it was very late,” Conteh’s mother, Memunatu, explained to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. “When I saw Edward’s face there was panic. I asked what happened and he said, ‘Mummy, they said my friends stabbed someone’.’’
Conteh’s mother met Gloria Morrison, who heads the campaign group Jengba (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association) and asked if she could help. Jengba is a grassroots campaign group formed in 2010 by four angry women. It is currently supporting more than 700 prisoners “wrongfully imprisoned” under the law of joint enterprise.
Under the 300-year-old law, a second person who did not deliver the fatal blow can be convicted if they can be shown to have foreseen the possibility that another person may inflict serious harm. They do not need to intend the harm themselves, or even physically participate in it.
This substantially low threshold of guilt has enabled thousands to be convicted of murder and sentenced to long prison terms, released on parole only if remorse is shown.
However, even if “foresight” cannot be proven, if the defendant was associated with the crime in some way – ie presence at the scene or a friendship with the principal protagonist – they can still be convicted of manslaughter.
This is what happened to Conteh when he was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. A psychologist at the trial testified that his abnormally low IQ meant he was unable to foresee consequences like others, therefore would not have been able to foresee that another might use a knife to inflict serious harm.
Conteh had almost lost all chance of clearing his name when, in February, the supreme court declared that joint enterprise had been misapplied by the judiciary for 30 years. The lack of any intention or foresight of the harm caused to Pearton would render his conviction unsafe.
Conteh now has a good chance to appeal his conviction. Despite having served his sentence, he is still haunted by being labelled a killer. His appeal has been lodged at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, but as a foreign national convicted of a crime he will now be deported back to Belgium without any family or even a place to stay.
Jengba has supported Conteh while in prison and in the detention centre in Dover throughout his many deportation hearings. A judge at one hearing noted that joint enterprise was a “very controversial area of law” and accepted the view of the original trial judge that there were mitigating circumstances, as outlined in a probation report: “He did not plan the trip to Sydenham and was more likely to be a follower than a leader in what took place in Home Park. His age, good character, borderline intelligence and abnormally compliant personality are mitigating features in his case.”
However, Conteh is still an offender, so his appeal against deportation was refused, despite his probation officer’s views that he is a low risk to the public. Held securely in a deportation centre, travel documents in hand, he will be abandoned in Belgium this Thursday, leaving behind his parents and four younger siblings and the country that he calls home. If the Home Office stays his deportation, Conteh will have a chance to clear his name. Justice must prevail.
• To ask for a stay of deportation to give Edward Conteh a chance to appeal his conviction, write to the Home Office minister for immigration, Robert Goodwill
