BLACK PEOPLE are three times more likely to be prosecuted under the “racist” joint enterprise law than white people, a new investigation has found.

Hundreds of people from African and Caribbean backgrounds had been jailed for life for murders they did not commit under the controversial law that has been dogged by stereotypical gang narratives. 

Scores of academics, human rights activists and defence lawyers have argued against the unjust legal principle that can lead to multiple people being charged with a single crime and face being locked away for good that has been deemed “racist” towards black people. 

However, a New York Times investigation into the British justice system reports that despite a UK Supreme Court ruling to bolster the “unfair” joint enterprise law in 2016, senior prosecutors have instead whipped up new strategies to keep the hundreds of people still in its grip.

In new information obtained by the newspaper, they discovered that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had actually ramped up the number of people charged under the devastating law. 

Black defendants are three times as likely as white defendants to be prosecuted under joint enterprise.

They are often laden with the harmful gang narrative that has been used against black men and boys for decades. 

A spokesman from the CPS said that the gang label was not used “lightly” by those in power. “If a person helps or encourages another to commit a murder, it is right they can face prosecution for their involvement in the crime,” the statement read.

The CPS also slammed claims of racial inequality on their part and instead said that “racial disproportionality is an issue in almost all stages of the criminal justice system”.

The controversial joint enterprise law has come into questions once again following the case of the “Manchester 10,” where a total of 10 black men were sentenced over a murder they did not commit. Four were convicted of  conspiracy to murder and the further six were found guilty of conspiracy to GBH.

The ten men from Moss Side, in addition to the one who did commit murder, were sentenced to a total of 168 years in prison after the prosecution pushed gang narrative tropes under the joint enterprise law. 

Giovanni Lawrence, 20, was another tragic case when he was sentenced to life in prison under joint enterprise following a trial at Manchester Crown Court after a 16-year-old was stabbed to death in Old Trafford. 

Lawrence was not at the scene of the stabbing and never touched a knife, while the prosecution was unable to find a motive and no history of violence. 

The disproportionate targeting of black people under joint enterprise comes as the Met has announced plans to dismantle the “racist” gang matrix that saw black men disproportionately represented on its database in London. The racial disparities echo a similar story for black communities in Manchester.

In the UK, black communities have had strained relationships with the police for decades with black people six times more likely to be stopped than white people and three times more likely to be arrested and given lengthier jail time, according to government statistics.

Activists and campaigners hope that UK law makers will start to “double-down” on the stark disparities impacting black communities in Britain.

In response to the stark findings, a spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service told The Voice that if a person helps or encourages another to commit a murder, it is right that they face prosecution for their involvement in the crime.

The statement added: “However, prosecutors assess the evidence against each individual and have to prove to a jury beyond reasonable doubt that a defendant is guilty. Following the Supreme Court ruling in 2016 which clarified the law on secondary liability, CPS legal guidance was updated and this is publicly available.

“We also do not apply the term ‘gang’ if this isn’t relevant and have specific guidance on handling these complex cases. We know racial disproportionality is an issue in almost all stages of the criminal justice system, and have commissioned external, academic analysis of our charging decisions to inform our response.”