Death of Damilola Taylor - Retrial For Manslaughter

Retrial For Manslaughter

On 9 August 2006, Ricky Gavin Preddie (born 1987, Lambeth, London) and Danny Charles Preddie (born 1988, Lambeth), after a 33-day retrial, were convicted of the manslaughter of Damilola Taylor. After allowing time for reports, sentencing took place on 9 October 2006. Both defendants were very well known to police, being involved in multiple robberies.

In reaching their verdict, the jury of six men and six women accepted defence arguments that the fatal wound was caused by a fall (as claimed by Alastair Wilson, a consultant at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel).

During the retrial, it was noted that, while the police did follow procedure collecting evidence, lapses occurred in the prosecution.

On 9 October 2006, an Old Bailey judge sentenced the Preddie brothers to eight years in youth custody for manslaughter.

Although it was widely reported in the media that Taylor's parents were unhappy that the sentences had not been longer, the judge, Mr Justice Goldring, went to some lengths to explain the factors he was forced to take into account. These included the age of the offenders at the time (12 and 13), and that there was no evidence to suggest that there had been a plan to kill Taylor. In addition, the weapon used had not been carried to the scene of the crime, but was found lying on the ground.

Both brothers were set to be paroled in 2010 after serving half of their sentence. Ricky was released on 8 September 2010, subject to probation supervision, and subject to recall to custody if he breached the conditions or if his behaviour indicated that it was no longer safe to allow him to remain in the community. Danny was released in 2011. Ricky was recalled on 13 March 2011 because he was seen in Peckham, and associating with gang members, both contrary to his parole conditions. He was released again on the 25th of January 2012. However, he was recalled to jail in February 2012 after breaching the terms of release.