Ryan Passey: Family's law change bid after club death

Ryan Passey died in hospital after he was stabbed in the heart

The family of a man who was fatally stabbed in a nightclub want a change in the law to allow for more grounds to appeal against acquittals in criminal cases.

Ryan Passey died after an altercation in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in 2017.

Kobe Murray, who was found not guilty of his murder, told a court the stabbing was an accident after he took the knife off someone else.

Mr Passey's family want juries to give reasons for their decision.

His father Adrian said their Justice For Ryan campaign, which is also fighting against knife crime, had received "overwhelming support" from the local community.

Keen footballer Mr Passey's family are meeting Home Secretary Sajid Javid later.

Chicago's in Stourbridge has been closed since the stabbing

Campaigner and family friend Jason Connon said they were seeking changes in the law in two areas.

They want juries to give reasons on how they reached their decisions so they could be challenged and families to be given the right to appeal against acquittals that are considered as "perverse" in serious criminal cases.

A court can, in limited circumstances order a retrial after a defendant has been acquitted, including in serious offences such as murder and manslaughter where new and compelling evidence has come to light.

The Court of Appeal can allow an appeal against a conviction if they think it is unsafe.

• Teenager cleared of nightclub murder

Mr Connon said: "The Justice For Ryan campaign was set up following what we're considering a perverse jury acquittal.

"A perverse acquittal is one that goes against the law or against the evidence or one which no reasonable jury could have come to.

"We maintain that Ryan was killed unlawfully inside Chicago's and it's absolutely devastating to watch Ryan's parents' pain and suffering."

Mr Passey was a keen footballer and played for Stourbridge youth team

Mr Passey, 24, from Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, was stabbed in the heart in the early hours of 6 August 2017.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the stabbing occurred after two altercations on the dance floor in Chicago's, including one where punches were thrown.

Prosecutors alleged was a deliberate act by Mr Murray, but his defence counsel argued he may have "pushed out" as he was punched and then realised the knife had injured someone.

Mr Murray, of Dudley, was cleared of murder and an alternative count of manslaughter after the jury accepted he did not intend to harm Mr Passey.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said it was "always the the prosecution's case that Kobe Murray murdered Ryan Passey".

"At the family's request we have reviewed the prosecution case and are due to meet with them to discuss our findings," they added.