UK - British Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson, 27, shot in head, London, May 2021 *charges dropped*

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The prosecution has offered no evidence against four young men who were accused of conspiracy to murder after Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson was shot at a party in Peckham last year. They are formally found not guilty
 
What now, I wonder?

Sasha is still in hospital, sounds like life altering injuries if she ever recovers.
 
A bit more info: Sasha Johnson shooting: case against four men collapses

[Mark Heywood QC] said four men in balaclavas, who the prosecution had believed to be the defendants, had approached the house and discharged a weapon at guests, striking Johnson, who was in a relationship with the oldest son of the family who lived there. He stressed there was nothing to suggest she was targeted because of her anti-racism campaigning and involvement in the BLM movement.

Heywood said the wider background had been a “falling out” and “hostility” between Deriggs and Brown and the two youngest occupants of the house, who were aged 18. But he said the case against the defendants for an alleged conspiracy was based on “circumstantial evidence” and there was no direct evidence identifying any of them. The core evidence came from contact with each other, phone data and their movements, the court heard.

Announcing that the test for the case to proceed to trial had not been satisfied, Heywood said: “For very good reasons it is not possible to set out in full in open court the reasons it is so but it should be understood the relevant considerations have been given the most anxious and careful scrutiny.

[...]

Mr Justice Hilliard QC recorded formal not-guilty verdicts. The judge said he believed the director of public prosecutions had knowledge of the case.

Not sure what to make of this. Strange, if the case was built purely on circumstantial evidence, that it (supposedly) originally met the threshold for charging them. Also - excuse my ignorance - but when charges are dropped before a trial has begun, is it usual to record a 'not guilty' verdict? Isn't it enough just to drop the charges? Given that no evidence has been heard, to be sure that they were not guilty (rather than simply not being able to justify proceeding to trial) wouldn't it be necessary to know who was responsible?

I am sure someone with more knowledge of criminal law than me will be able to interpret what's happened better than I can, but I find this all very odd.

JMO

ETA: If the police initially ruled out any connection to SJ's activism work in the belief that this was a dispute between the men who have now been exonerated and some of the residents of the household having the party, does this mean that that can now be considered a plausible motive again?
 
Last edited:
JuicyLucy said:
A bit more info: Sasha Johnson shooting: case against four men collapses

[Mark Heywood QC] said four men in balaclavas, who the prosecution had believed to be the defendants, had approached the house and discharged a weapon at guests, striking Johnson, who was in a relationship with the oldest son of the family who lived there. He stressed there was nothing to suggest she was targeted because of her anti-racism campaigning and involvement in the BLM movement.

Heywood said the wider background had been a “falling out” and “hostility” between Deriggs and Brown and the two youngest occupants of the house, who were aged 18. But he said the case against the defendants for an alleged conspiracy was based on “circumstantial evidence” and there was no direct evidence identifying any of them. The core evidence came from contact with each other, phone data and their movements, the court heard.

Announcing that the test for the case to proceed to trial had not been satisfied, Heywood said: “For very good reasons it is not possible to set out in full in open court the reasons it is so but it should be understood the relevant considerations have been given the most anxious and careful scrutiny.

[...]

Mr Justice Hilliard QC recorded formal not-guilty verdicts. The judge said he believed the director of public prosecutions had knowledge of the case.

Not sure what to make of this. Strange, if the case was built purely on circumstantial evidence, that it (supposedly) originally met the threshold for charging them. Also - excuse my ignorance - but when charges are dropped before a trial has begun, is it usual to record a 'not guilty' verdict? Isn't it enough just to drop the charges? Given that no evidence has been heard, to be sure that they were not guilty (rather than simply not being able to justify proceeding to trial) wouldn't it be necessary to know who was responsible?

I am sure someone with more knowledge of criminal law than me will be able to interpret what's happened better than I can, but I find this all very odd.

JMO

ETA: If the police initially ruled out any connection to SJ's activism work in the belief that this was a dispute between the men who have now been exonerated and some of the residents of the household having the party, does this mean that that can now be considered a plausible motive again?
Click to expand...

I think that the police have the correct suspects. I think the problem is that the police were heavily relying on at least one person, who was present at the shooting, to come forward and ID one of the suspects. That did not happen, so all they were left with was the purely circumstantial evidence that could probably have been hard to prove. JMO
 
Det Ch Insp Nigel Penney, who is leading the continuing investigation into the shooting, said many witnesses have refused to come forward.

"Our biggest challenge is the wall of silence we have faced when appealing for witnesses," he said.

"There were plenty of people there, yet many have not been willing to speak to us.

"I know it is daunting, but our officers are here to do all we can to support anyone who is willing to come forward."

Ms Dalling said: "We need justice for Sasha. So please, I'm asking everyone at the party to come out and speak out for Sasha."

Sasha Johnson shooting: Witnesses' silence 'crazy', says victim's sister
 
Ms. Johnson's scalp will look better with time and cosmetic adjustments, her face is unscathed and lovely, the rest will take longer to heal, glad she has a supportive family. imo.
 
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