Two teenagers who were convicted of killing a 16-year-old at a house party are now free men after their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Cartel Bushnell, 17, and Leo Knight, 18, were jailed for the manslaughter of Mikey Roynon last year.
Mikey, from Kingswood near Bristol, died after being attacked with a zombie knife during a house party in Bath in June 2023.
Shane Cunningham, 16, fatally stabbed the teenager in the neck and was convicted of his murder after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
He remains in prison despite attempting to appeal his conviction.
Leo Knight (L) and Cartel Bushnell were jailed for the manslaughter of Mikey Roynon. This conviction has now been quashed.
A jury also initially found Cartel Bushnell and Leo Knight guilty of manslaughter by joint enterprise – a law which can be applied when it’s believed someone has assisted or encouraged another person to commit a crime.
The teens have since served more than two years in custody after being convicted but in May this year, successfully appeal their sentence.
In that ruling the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Bryan and Mr Justice Cavanagh quashed Bushnell and Knight’s convictions, while shed dismissed Cunningham’s appeal bid.
The reason as to why this couldn’t be reported earlier is because of a retrial scheduled in November, however on Thursday.
The three judges said the prosecution had “offered no evidence” in either case, meaning reporting restrictions could be lifted.
In their judgment, Baroness Carr said there had been an “accidental, but critical, error” in directions given to the jury around how to reach their verdict, making the convictions “unsafe”.
Because of this they retrial is no longer happening, meaning they’ve only been convicted for Knife possession convictions, which they’ve served time for.
Shane Cunningham will continue to serve his life sentence for the murder of Mikey after getting his appealed tossed.
The Crown Prosecution said:
“Due to changes with the evidence available and after careful review, it was decided there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.”
Hayley Ryall with her son Mikey Roynon.
Hayley Ryall, mother of Mikey Roynon, who was known as a Drill rapper called YM responded to the this decision by the courts:
“I felt like it was a punch in the stomach.
“You just don’t expect it. You go through a long trial, which is horrendous, like a whirlwind and you think that is it. You start rebuilding.
“But then to have it all again, it just puts you back to two and a half years ago.”
When asked what she’d say to the teens who are now free she said:
“I would say, they’ve got a second chance now.
“Mikey doesn’t get a second chance. We don’t have a second chance to change what has happened. Just don’t get into this mess again. Take that opportunity because you’re quite lucky to have a second chance.”
