Two men have been sentenced for their parts in the 2022 killing of Reece Radford, South Yorkshire Police say.
Dereck Owusu and Louis James were jailed in April 2023 after a jury found the pair guilty of the murder of the 26-year-old. On 29 September 2022, Owusu and James attacked Reece, who had intervened when he saw Owusu assault a 17-year-old girl in Sheffield city centre. James fatally stabbed Reece during the attack, and Reece died at hospital six days later.
An appeal against the original convictions was upheld by the Court of Appeal and a retrial took place this month at Leeds Crown Court. On Thursday 22 October 2026, a jury upheld James' murder conviction. They returned a verdict that Owusu was guilty of manslaughter rather than murder.
James, 50, previously of Manor Lane, Sheffield, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years. Owusu, 43, previously of Strathmore Grove, Rotherham, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Adam Watkinson, from the Major Crime Unit, said: "I am so glad that Reece's family finally have closure, and that the pair responsible for an innocent man's death have once more been returned to jail where they belong.
"They were rightfully found guilty of their shameful parts in Reece's killing.
"Reece acted as a good Samaritan, going out of his way to defend a young person who he did not know, and he should not have had to pay for this act of kindness with his life."