Thread by @notrude_honest

Boy do I have a story time for you guys! #collinsVScps

I’m quite a private person so you know I’ve hit my limits when I start tweeting my life but it’s definitely time to air out some dirty laundry. Then again, it’s not mine, it’s CPS’s. 🙃 #collinsVScps

Let me set the scene so you get a better picture of just how bad CPS and the police they often work with are. #collinsVScps

Collins is my youngest brother. #BabyBro
Back in December of 2016 Collins crashed his car in Brixton. Unable to move the vehicle he left it; it was on a private road so he hope to come back to get it later but it was gone. #collinsVScps

2 days later he was arrested. The charge? Attempted murder! 😱 #collinsVScps

I don’t know if you guys have ever had the police bust down your door at 6am but it’s not fun. If they’d knocked (which they are legally required to do!) we’d have opened the door but why should they? All black people from South London are criminals right? 🙃 #collinsVScps

Unless Collins argued the person into their death bed there was no way he was guilty of attempted murder or any other violent crime for that matter so I laughed. Literally, I laughed. #collinsVScps

By the evening we were informed that Collins had tried to run someone over with his car and that a passenger in his vehicle went on to stab someone. This is when I KNEW there was a mistake. Put simply, Collins isn’t about that life. #collinsVScps

This all happened on the 30th of December. On the 31st we were in court requesting an appeal which was denied because apparently saying “No comment” (as advised by his solicitor) in your police interview means your guilty. 🙃 #UKcriminaljusticesystem #collinsVScps

For 3 days nobody could tell me where they had taken Collins because apparently it was New Year’s eve. 😱😒 #collinsVScps

Throughout January we went back and forth with solicitors in the hopes of determining what was going on and getting him released on bail. #collinsVScps

On the first bail hearing the prosecution stated that the police and CPS had advised he should be remanded because he had multiple arrests and gang related activities on his record... #LemmeSee 👀 #collinsVScps

I laughed again. At the Central Criminal Court/the Old Bailey. In the halls. It echoed. People thought I was mad. I still laughed. #collinsVScps

You see, if you know Collins you’d find this funny too. Several arrests? Trust me, being from South London does not equal gangster, Collins couldn’t even handle detention! 🤣
I knew they were lying and I was glad the judge didn’t believe them either. #collinsVScps

Lo and behold: “There was a clerical error and we got him confused with someone else. No arrests and no gang relations”. This was in Jan 17 so why did DC Patrick White tell the @EveningStandard @London_Bulletin @DailyMailUK that it was gang related in Dec 17??? 🎤 #collinsVScps

Collins was given bail with strict conditions to stay in Cambridge (where he was at uni studying Psychology), a 7pm curfew and to sign on not once but twice a day at the local police station. Not once did my brother break his bail conditions. NOT ONCE in 10 months! #collinsVScps

In that time CCTV had shown that my brother had not hit anyone with his vehicle and therefore the charge had to be dropped. Did they let him go? Nope! It went from attempted murder to conspiracy to gbh. #collinsVScps

Please remember that at the time of the incident my brother was unaware that anyone had been hurt. CCTV shows him inspecting the damage around the vehicle and collecting his things from the car calmly. #collinsVScps

This was in the middle of Brixton, there were witnesses who all testified to this and were also unaware that a few yards away somebody had been stabbed. #collinsVScps

The back seat passenger ran away from the scene. He later told us that he had weed on him and hadn’t told Collins so he was scared that they would all get in trouble if the police came to the scene of the crash. He too was unaware that someone had been stabbed. #collinsVScps

Fast forward to Nov 2017. Trial is supposed to start and it’s scheduled to last 3 weeks. This is where things get really juicy. Are y’all ready? #Leggo #collinsVScps

By his point the prosecution have decided on the 3 people who they believe were in that car on this fateful day. They want to get them all on conspiracy using joint enterprise. They have all denied knowledge of the stabbing. #collinsVScps

Nov 20th 2017 is the first pre-trial hearing where the jury is swarn it etc. Prosecution calls for a recess. CPS wants to offer Collins a deal. 👀#collinsVScps

Prosecutor: We know you & Mr Brooks had nothing to do with this but we need these convictions so testify against him in court & I’ll let the jury know you didn’t do anything. (continued)
#collinsVScps

Prosecutor: (continued)... You will both plead to ABH but it’s ONLY a 2 yr sentence. I’d let you both go but CPS don’t want to drop the case, it’s not up to me.

What? Que? Che cosa? Qué? Kilo wi? 🤨

So you know they are innocent but you want them to plea so that your statistics don’t get affected??? Are you people hearing this? #collinsVScps

Collins has been a model student and has always aspired to become a psychologist, he has no business with getting a criminal record that would affect his future career goals only to help CPS with some damn stats! 🤬#collinsVScps

I need to highlight at this point that the person they are asking my brother to turn against has never admitted to stabbing anyone. This from the 👮‍♂️ who lied about my brother having multiple arrests & being a gang member. You can see the issue here right? #collinsVScps

The next day the 3rd person whom CPS has argued is the person who did the stabbing gets dropped from the case. The reason? “Offering no evidence”. #collinsVScps

Medicine is my field so I don’t know much about law so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong - ‘Offering no evidence’ means that they have arrested the wrong person. The alternative would be ‘Lack of evidence’ - right person but not enough evidence to prosecute. #collinsVScps

So on my birthday, November 23rd, Collins’ trial began. To say that the “coincidence” was heartbreaking is an understatement but this isn’t about emotion, it’s about the facts. CPS are incompetent and discriminatory. #collinsVScps

The prosecution began presenting their case. They kept naming the 3rd person whom they apparently had no evidence for as the stabber. The judge doesn’t realise until day 3 that the person being named is the person she let go. DAY MOTHERFUCKING 3!!! #collinsVScps

At the end of that court day she confronts the prosecutor.

J: If you knew he was the stabber then why did you let me give a ruling of ‘no evidence’ instead of ‘lack of evidence’?

P: The case was stronger without him.

They forgot we were still in the gallery. 😐

#collinsVScps

You see, with ‘lack of evidence’ the person can still be brought back into the case if further evidence comes to light. With ‘no evidence’ the person can never be retried on the same case. #collinsVScps

So why, you ask, did the prosecution do that if they knew it was him and kept bringing up all the evidence they had against him after they had let him go?

Please help me to ask CPS. We all want answers. #collinsVScps

It doesn’t end there guys! Oh no, what kind of corruption would it be if CPS didn’t add a cherry to the top of their elaborately baked cake!

In the 2nd week of trial CPS want to introduce a knife into evidence. A knife they’ve had since December 2016! 😵

#collinsVScps

So apparently they found the weapon that did the stabbing yet, since Dec 16 CPS and the police failed to mention this. This is classic non disclosure of exculpatory evidence. #collinsVScps

This knife could have been used to get the actual stabber. So why would they not introduce it into evidence sooner? I don’t know, and neither did the judge so she wouldn’t allow it. I can list another 10 items that the prosecution & CPS didn’t disclose. #collinsVScps

Collins took the stand to defend himself. Can you believe they tried to claim the car was obtained for the purpose of the crime? Unluckily for them my bro really is a good kid, he had all the documents to prove otherwise. #collinsVScps

Prosecutor: You’re a liar, you don’t have the paperwork.

Collins: Yes I do, it’s right here in my pocket. *produces paperwork*

Prosecutor: So why didn’t you give it to the police?

Collins: Until this very moment, nobody ever asked me.

#collinsVScps

The trial was 3 weeks long. I don’t blame the jury for getting weary but it no excuse for being flippant with people’s lives. These are real people. #collinsVScps

We had not only proven there was reasonable doubt, we showed that the prosecutions’ series of events had way too many holes. Holes that could have been filled with the evidence they didn’t disclose because it told they truth, Collins is innocent. #collinsVScps

By the last day we were confident that we’d get a ‘not guilty’ verdict. We couldn’t wait for it to be over. For the past year it had been a constant battle between us & ‘the system’. They had lied, cheated & schemed. Patrick White had even pushed Brooks’ mum over! #collinsVScps

They had used intimidation tactics with our family. They had gone to Cambridge and intimidated Collins’ landlord. They harassed him whenever they came into contact with him. It has not been easy. At all. #collinsVScps

If you know anything at all about me it’s that I don’t play with mine. To be up against an enemy you have to be careful of fighting back is the most helpless situation I’ve ever been in. I couldn’t wait for it to be over and get Collins back on the right track. #collinsVScps

Collins was drained. He had kept up with his bail conditions and not breached them. He had kept top grades at uni and even maintained a part time job. He never imagined he’d have any dealings with the police at all so this was the most stressed he’d ever been. #collinsVScps

He’s so loved that everyone from secondary school teachers to friends’ parents came to his trial dates. How many of you left uni to go visit your secondary school teachers when they had a baby? That’s who Collins is. #collinsVScps

Everyone came to let both CPS and the judge know that he’s not a statistic, he doesn’t fit the black gang member stereotype. Throughout the case we could see them struggling with that fact. How could he not be? He’s black and grew up in South London! #collinsVScps

On the last day of trial we were all hopeful. We knew CPS had done him dirty and withheld evidence that would have gotten the case thrown out but we still felt it had gone well and we could win this. We were wrong. 😔💔 #collinsVScps

The jury found him guilty. I personally believe they just wanted to go home and they couldn’t see past the black 6’3 guy standing there to see his humanity. He was just another black boy who needed to be sent away so that knife crime could stop. #collinsVScps

We all couldn’t believe it. Neither could the judge. She started shouting at CPS. You see, everyone believes that if the stabber has been in court, they wouldn’t have been found guilty. #collinsVScps

She wants to know why CPS let him go if they were sure it was him and had the knife to prove it. She’s asked them to write a report and appear in court to justify their actions. Unfortunately that doesn’t help Collins or Bujawne Brooks. #collinsVScps

The way the system is set up, there’s little we can do even though we all know, including the judge, the there’s been a gross miscarriage of justice here. #collinsVScps

Why is it that CPS are allowed to take a case to trial after admitting to the judge that they know the defendants to be guilty? Why is CPS willing to ruin people’s lives just so they can meet some stats? #collinsVScps

Why are CPS allowed to withhold exculpatory evidence? Aren’t they supposed to be catching actual criminals? Why is a legal system pressure to make stats?

We know the answer. Prisons. They are a lucrative business, isn’t that right @theresa_may? 🙃 #collinsVScps

We are hoping for a retrial but everyone is trying to cover up their mistakes and it seems that they are willing to ruin Collins’ life to do so. #collinsVScps

We are trying to plead to the judge to correct this misconduct & I reached out to our local MP @KateHoeyMP to help us. I’ve left numerous messages & sent emails yet I haven’t heard a peep even though I was told by her office that she’s get back to me within 5 days. #collinsVScps

I reached out to @ShaunBaileyUK also because he attended my one of the court dates. I don’t know what he was doing there but I was hoping he could help in some way since he seems to care about what happens to black men on London. Emailed and tweeted. Silence. #collinsVScps

I get that there’s a whole bunch of politics involved but I refuse to let my brother be collateral damage. On top of that @SadiqKhan wants to give the police more chances to harass black men?! Politicians politic-ing at the expense of our youth. 😔 #collinsVScps

Don’t get it twisted, had my brother been involved in this crime in any way, shape or form I would throw away the key myself! The way my family is set up, we don’t condone that shit! 🚫 #collinsVScps

I’ve lost people to stabbings. We don’t take that stuff lightly. If CPS were actually doing their job instead of chasing numbers maybe they would actually reduce the crime in the streets. 😒 #collinsVScps

We hear that the system is rigged against minorities and especially black men all the time but it’s something so abstract until you have to live through it. CPS is supposed to be fighting for justice aren’t there enough criminals for you to deal with? #collinsVScps

Conspiracy to commit GBH has a maximum sentence of 10 years. Collins has already had to spend one birthday behind bars and I’m fighting so he won’t have to spend another. #CollinsVsCPS

He is currently awaiting sentencing so if anyone knows anyone that can help or any legal info to overturn this conviction or get a retrial, I’m all ears. It takes a village. #collinsVScps

As I go through this with my brother I realise how many other young men get imprisoned unjustly because they don’t have a support system or because their parents are uneducated in the ways of this country. #collinsVScps

As a British born to Nigerian parents and the eldest, I know that if this had happened to me when I was his age, my parents wouldn’t have been able to help me. Not because they wouldn’t want to but because they wouldn’t have known how to. #NotRudeHonest #collinsVScps

I will keep you guys updated on how things go. ❤️ #collinsVScps

Collins. #BabyBro ❤️ #collinsVScps