Dea-John Reid: Family 'let down' as teen jailed for killing boy

Dea-John went out to play football with friends when he was stabbed

The family of a boy stabbed to death say the system is "not geared up to give black people justice" after his killer was sentenced to six and a half years.

Dea-John Reid, 14, died in Kingstanding, Birmingham, in May 2021.

The trial heard he was "hunted down" by a group of white youths and adults who shouted racial slurs.

A 15-year-old was cleared of murder at a trial last month, but convicted of manslaughter.

Four others were cleared of murder.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, is expected to spend less than three years in custody.

However, during sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Johnson told him: "If an adult did what you did it would almost certainly be murder and they would be sentenced to life imprisonment."

'Lynch mob'

Wearing a balaclava and gloves, the 15-year-old was captured on CCTV chasing Dea-John along with four others before carrying out the attack.

The all-white group, some masked and armed with a wrench and a large kitchen knife, were likened by the victim's mother, Joan Morris, to a "lynch mob reminiscent of a scene from Mississippi Burning".

Bishop Desmond Jaddoo said Dea-John's death "must not be in vain"

"This verdict of manslaughter, whilst the others are all found not guilty, just goes to prove to me that the life of Dea-John Reid, my son, a young black man, didn't matter," Ms Morris said.

"I do believe that a system that I decided to trust has completely let me, my family, my community, including the friends of Dea-John, down.

"I do wonder, if the roles were reversed, what the verdict may well have been?"

Representing the victim's family, Bishop Desmond Jaddoo said the family was "clearly upset... that the young man found culpable for [Dea-John's] death will serve, physically, less than three years in prison".

He called for a change in the law, saying "Dea-John's death must not be in vain".

Dea-John had been out with friends the day he died and the trial heard the violence was sparked by an earlier confrontation in which one of his group was accused of trying to steal a bag.

Dea-John's mother Joan Morris (centre) said her son was a "talented young man" who was loved "so much"

Mr Justice Johnson said the confrontation "did not remotely justify" the fatal attack.

"The CCTV shows that there was a concerted chase of Dea-John, which was led by you and which involved four others," he told the teenager during sentencing.

"Your co-defendants were acquitted by a jury of homicide. But that does not mean that they had no involvement in what you did."

The racist abuse targeted at Dea-John was "disgusting", he added.

Dea-John was a "budding footballer", who wanted to be a dentist his mother said, adding they had a "fantastic relationship, which was abruptly destroyed by the actions of others".

'Never returned'

Ms Morris recalled in court when she first heard her son had been hurt on College Road in Kingstanding.

"After seeing my son bouncing around with life and he went out to play football and never returned," she said.

"Suddenly, my youngest baby at the tender age of 14 had gone and all I was being told is that I cannot even see him. The next time I saw him was in a mortuary in Coventry."

She concluded: "Whilst members of the perpetrator's family will be able to visit their loved one and eventually see him released back in the community, my only visit to Dea-John, is to a grave in a cemetery.

"My only reunion with Dea-John may well be if I am still in this country, to join him in his grave when the Lord calls me home."