A British Black man who was sent to prison based on the testimony of a corrupt and racist cop finally had his name cleared for the crime, but it was long after he had died.

Errol Campbell, who died in 2004 after serving 18 months in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, had his convictions for theft and conspiracy to steal from a goods depot in south London quashed at a London court on Thursday, according to various newspaper reports.

He was found guilty in April 1977 and sentenced to prison at the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court for the thefts from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he worked as a British Rail employee.

Campbell appealed his conviction in 1978, but it was upheld.

The case against him was led by the discredited British Transport Police officer Detective Sargent Derek Ridgewell. 

The police officers who were led by Ridgwell, who arrested him and seven other Black men, were the ones stealing the property. 

Ridgewell and his crew, including Detective Douglas Ellis and Detective Alan Keeling, were involved in the arrest. All of the cops pleaded guilty to stealing goods and framing Campbell and the other Black men. Ridgewell died in prison of a heart attack in 1982.

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting on Thursday with Mr. JusticeButcher and Mr. Justice Wall, said that it was with “regret” that the court could not undo Mr Campbell’s suffering.

He added: “We can, however, and do, allow the appeal brought on his behalf, and quash his conviction.”

“We hope that will at least bring some comfort to Mr Campbell’s family who survive.”

The Crown Prosecution Service did not oppose the appeal.

Campbell was found guilty in April 1977 and sentenced to a total of 18 months’ imprisonment at the Old Bailey for thefts from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he worked as a British Rail employee.

Errol Campbell Jr, his son, applied to the Criminal Courts Review Commission (CCRC) in September 2024, with the help of the charity APPEAL.

Following a review, the CCRC found there was a real possibility that, like the convictions of 11 other people that have been referred to the court, Campbell was innocent of the charges made against him.

Henry Blaxland KC, or King’s Counsel, refers to a set of barristers and solicitors who the monarch appoints to be part of His Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law, and representing Mr. Campbell, told the court it was dealing with victims of a miscarriage of justice brought about by “state crime.”

He added that the case “throws a shadow over the administration of justice and leads to loss of confidence not only in the police, but in the legal system as a whole.”

Mr Blaxland also said the effect of the convictions of Mr. Campbell had been “incalculable”.

He read a statement from his son, Errol Campbell Jr, to the court.

He said that the first time his father returned from the police station, “he had bruises on him and said he had been beaten by the police”.

Campbell Jr. said in his statement that he remembers helping to bathe his father and that this event is something he will “never forget.” He continued: “He (Mr Campbell Senior) called it n*****-hunting by the police.”

The court heard that after Mr. Campbell was released from prison, he went to America to “get away from his experience” and “took up heavy drinking.” “He was a ruined man,” his son said in a statement.