Bid under way to stop deportation of autistic Jamaican man from UK
Published:Wednesday | October 7, 2020 | 10:25 AM
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition to spare a Jamaican man with autism in the United Kingdom from deportation.
The BBC is reporting that Osime Brown, 21, faces being returned to Jamaica, which he left at the age of four, due to a 2018 conviction under the joint enterprise law.
His mother, Joan Martin, is quoted as saying that her son cannot understand deportation and asked her which bus he would need to catch from Jamaica to visit her at home in Dudley.
The Home Office reportedly indicated that Brown's case would be "for the courts to decide".
Minister Kevin Foster cited the UK Borders Act of 2007 which says "foreign criminals" are subject to automatic deportation, however, campaigners for Brown say he has no support network in Jamaica and would not cope.
He was jailed for robbing a phone through the joint enterprise law, which is often used in gang cases as it allows for group culpability for crimes.
However, it has been criticised as a "lazy law", with a large proportion of those convicted being young black and mixed-race men.
Martin said her son has been self-harming in prison, where he is due to be released this week, adding that "everything is draining from him".
"I have to be honest with him, I said if they deport you, you can't come back," she said.
"He looked like the light when you turn it off."
Sarah Ricca is one of Brown's lawyers and said his case has "struck a chord" with people.
"It's very hard not to be concerned that the system now grinds away and fails to take proper account of his particular condition and the particular risks it poses," she said.
Martin said her son had fallen through the cracks and been let down by the government throughout his life.
"To offload him to another country without helping him would be cold."
A gofundme account has been established for Brown and his family.
Click here to see gofundme page
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