Capital Punishment News

Focus on the Death Penalty
A collection of recent news from around the world


Zambia: Inmates Plead for Deliverance
20th May 2008
The common prayer of those on Zambia’s jam-packed death row is for divine intervention to end their hell on earth and let the waiting hangman carry out his job speedily, according to a recently released inmate. "It is so painful to be in suspense, we would pray to be hanged," Churchill Malama, 33, recounted to IPS. Malama spent three years on death row in the Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison, located in the central town of Kabwe. His death sentence for murder was overturned by the Supreme Court last March.
Read More >

Georgia ends lull in US executions
7th May 2008
The state of Georgia has executed the first person to be put to death in the United States since a Supreme Court ruling last month that ended a seven-month moratorium on capital punishment. William Earl Lynd, 53, was killed by lethal injection at 7.50pm yesterday, hours after his appeal for a stay of execution failed in the Supreme Court.
Lynd had been convicted of kidnapping his girlfriend and shooting her dead in 1988, after a row over a trip to Florida.
Read More >

Broadcast of execution forces Japan to debate death penalty
6th May 2008
The broadcast today of the execution of a man more than 50 years ago is the first time most Japanese have been confronted by the grim reality of their country's use of the death penalty. Campaigners hope the documentary, aired by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, will strengthen calls for Japan to fall into line with every other developed country except the US and abolish capital punishment.
Read More >

What now for Mumia?
28th April 2008
On 27 March, a US federal appeals court overturned Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence, but not his conviction for murder. His lead counsel Robert R. Bryan gives his reaction to the ruling and the next steps in America's most high-profile capital case.
As widely reported in the media, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its long-awaited decision on March 27, 2008. Mumia and I had legal conferences that day, and have been in frequent meetings since.
Read More >

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Plea to Texas Courts

Appeals Court Weighs Plea to 'Correct Miscarriage of Justice'
28th March 2008

Nearly 10 years after Rodney Reed was convicted of murder and condemned to die, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals now is tasked with deciding whether he should receive a new trial.

Reed's lawyers, including former CCA Judge Morris Overstreet and former Texas Defender Service attorney Bryce Benjet; argue that if Reed's Bastrop jury had known of the available evidence in the case, it would not have convicted Reed of the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. "If a jury had the opportunity to review all of the evidence, they would've made a different decision," Overstreet told reporters outside the CCA building on March 20. "This court can do what it needs to do to correct a miscarriage of justice."

Reed was convicted of killing 19-year-old Stites, a Giddings resident, as she drove to work for an early-morning shift at the Bastrop HEB on April 23, 1996. Stites was strangled with a belt and her body dumped alongside a country road just north of town; the red pickup truck she was driving – which belonged to her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, then a Giddings Police officer – was found in the parking lot of Bastrop High School.

Although DNA evidence on Stites' body eventually led investigators to Reed, who acknowledged having an affair with Stites, no other evidence tied Reed to the crime. Reed's supporters argue that Fennell is a far more likely suspect because he was upset about Reed and Stites' relationship.

In fact, although the state claims that Fennell was initially a suspect, documents in the case reflect that police never seriously pursued him: They failed to process fully for evidence from his pickup truck and instead returned it to him within days of the murder. Moreover, they never searched the apartment Stites and Fennell shared, even though it was the last place Stites was known to be alive.

Read full article >

Oluwale Memorial

The David Oluwale Memorial Appeal
How you can be involved in the appeal: Come to the following events

Event1:
An evening of information and poetry
On Monday 31st March 2008
At Leeds West Indian Centre, Chapeltown

CARYL PHILLIPS (Writer, St Kitts, Leeds)
“What David Oluwale’s story means to me, and why we need a Memorial in Leeds”

IAN DUHIG (Leeds Poet, Eliot Prize nominee) reading “God Comes Home” in commemoration of David Oluwale

FWORDS, six Yorkshire-based black writers, and
LEEDS YOUNG AUTHORS, will present new work reflecting on David Oluwale’s life.

From 6.30 pm – 9.00 pm.
At Leeds West Indian Centre, Chapeltown LS7 3JA.
(2, 3 or 3a bus from town centre. Get off near Mandela Centre on Chapeltown Road.)
Caribbean food on sale from 6.30pm. Programme starts 7pm.

This event is FREE, but a collection will be taken for the Memorial Fund.


Event 2:
The Hounding of David Oluwale
Thursday 15th May

Kester Aspden will discuss his recent book on David Oluwale and Rommi Smith. FWords will present an artistic and poetic response to David's life and Death. 7 pm, Venue to be confirmed.

For information:

Oluwale Memorial Appeal
c/o Max Farrar, C513 Civic Quarter, Leeds Metropolitan University
Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3HE
m.farrar@leedsmet.ac.uk
0113 812 3984

Near Deaths Scrutiny

Legislation Update: near death experiences in police custody
18th March 2008

It is all very well investigating deaths in custody, but in recent years the focus has moved also to investigating near misses as a way of identifying systemic improvements that might prevent deaths in the future.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has produced a report, Near Misses in Police Custody, based on a study in London in collaboration with forensic medical examiners.

The results, the IPCC says, underline the importance of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Pace). Pace has come under attack in recent months for involving too much paperwork for police officers and the Government is undertaking a full-scale review of its provisions.

However, pursuant to Pace are produced codes of practice that provide detailed guidance to police officers. Code C is especially relevant in police stations because it deals with the treatment and care of prisoners in custody.

Read full article >

Death Penalty "Walk 4 Life"

International Human Rights Activist to "Walk 4 Life" to Abolish the Death Penalty

Andre Latallade, also known as Capital-"X" will walk from Trenton New Jersey, approximately 1,700 miles to the Governors mansion in Texas in an attempt to bring awareness to the death penalty.

The death penalty has recently been abolished in New Jersey, and Texas is known as "the busiest killing state." He is trying to "build a bridge between the two groups of victims, the executed, and their families and the victims and families of violent crimes."

Andre says "separated we call for life or death, I say we unite and call for solutions." He asks that life without parole be called for as opposed to the death sentence. Currently all executions are "on hold" while the Supreme Court rules whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual.

The walk will begin on March 31, 2008 approximately 5PM. Latallade estimates it will take around 54 days walking 8 hours a day minimum, about 3.5 mph. He will take one break for 3 days about one-third of the way to participate in the Hip Hop Association's HHEAL Festival in the Bronx, New York. Latallade is a hip hop artist himself and is known by the name of Capital-"X" on stage. Andre has created a video about his "Walk 4 Life." Andre will walk through 10 of the 12 highest executing states.

Latallade said "I think it can bring unity. Unite everybody that is fighting injustice, and keep that unity till the end. Can we make this big enough to apply international pressure on the USA?" He says "I have Italy behind me as well as London organizations, France, Denmark and Croatia. I am reaching out to Puerto Rico." Various non profit organizations, human rights groups, and other abolitionists support Andre on his "Walk 4 Life."

Capital-"X" will try to raise funds to educate people on the death penalty, and monies raised from this event will be donated to murder victim's families and abolitionist groups.

Anyone interested in supporting "X" and uniting in this cause to Stop Capital Punishment, can email Andre at this address: projectrevolution2010@gmail.com

Donations much appreciated.

Visit the Walk4Life video blog >

Memorial for Oluwale

Support the appeal for a memorial to David Oluwale
30 January 2008
All credits: IRR News

An appeal has been launched for a memorial in Leeds to David Oluwale, who was found dead in the River Aire in 1969. Two police officers were later prosecuted and convicted of assaulting him.

David Oluwale was a Nigerian migrant who arrived in the UK in 1949 and subsequently spent many years living on the streets of Leeds and detained in Menston asylum (now called High Royds hospital). While in Leeds David was persecuted by two police officers, Sergeant Ken Kitching and Inspector Geoff Ellerker, who assaulted and abused him as often as they could. (This persecution is documented in a recent book on David's life and death, The hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden).

A committee has recently been established to raise money for the memorial and will be organising public events to generate support for the campaign. It includes Max Farrar (Leeds Metropolitan University), Canon Kathryn Fitzsimons (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds), Arthur France MBE (Leeds West Indian Centre), Mahalia France (Transformations Bicentennial Committee), Bill Kilgallon OBE (St Gemma's Hospice), Martin Patterson (St George's Crypt), Rommi Smith (Poet and playwright) and Martin Wainwright (The Guardian). To add your support for the memorial please write to the Committee. (See links below for full details)

For more information contact: Max Farrar, Room C513, Civic Quarter, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds LS1 3HE. Tel: 0113 812 3984. Email: m.farrar@leedsmet.ac.uk.


Related Information:

David Oluwale - memorial appeal

Download details of the David Oluwale - memorial appeal (pdf file, 68kb)

Read a review of the The hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden

Pre-order from Amazon The hounding of David Oluwale

Jury deliver critical verdict

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release 1st February 2008
Source: INQUEST

Jury deliver critical verdict at inquest into the death of a young woman in prison

Yet another jury at an inquest into a death of a woman in prison has highlighted the inappropriate use of prison for vulnerable women. The jury at the inquest into the death of 19 year old Petra Blanksby delivered a critical verdict declaring "prison was not an appropriate place" for Petra.

Petra Blanksby died on 24 November 2003, following an incident at New Hall prison on 19 November when she was found in her cell having tied a ligature around her neck. The jury found that the following had contributed to her death:

• Traumatic life experiences including mental and physical abuse in early childhood, coupled with an unstable upbringing and a complete lack of emotional support.
• Prison was not an appropriate place in view of Petra's diagnosis.
• There appears to be no infrastructure in the forensic mental health service for people with her problems.

At the conclusion of the three week inquest HM Coroner David Hincliff said that he was struck by the comments of the consultant psychiatrist Dr Keith Rix. Dr Rix gave evidence to the inquest that in a civilised society someone as severely mentally disordered as Petra should not be in prison.

The coroner announced he would using his power under rule 43 of the Coroners Rules to write to the Prison Service and the Department of Health in the hope of them providing appropriate facilities for women with similar problems. In a statement made after the inquest the family urged the government to implement the recommendations of the Corston Report.

Kirsty Blanksby, Petra's sister said:
"Petra was a wonderful mother and daughter, as well as a brilliant sister who always managed to warm the hearts of everyone around her. It is simply wrong that she was in prison instead of receiving the necessary and proper help for her deep-seated problems. We only hope that lessons will be learnt to prevent a similar tragedy happening again and for the government to realise that it cannot use prison as an NHS dumping ground for vulnerable women with mental health problems."

Deborah Coles, Co-Director of INQUEST said:
"Petra was a vulnerable young woman who was criminalised for her mental health problems. Her death was entirely predictable and therefore preventable, for which someone should be held to account. We await the response of government ministers to the evidence heard at this inquest, and its verdict. They are responsible for criminal justice policies that fail to divert the mentally ill and vulnerable from custody.

The failure to implement the recommendations of the Corston Report and invest resources in alternatives to custody for vulnerable women is putting more lives at risk. The sad reality is that despite this death talking place over four years ago the lessons have not been learned and women like Petra are still being sent to prison where they continue to die."

Notes to editors:

1) Petra died on 24 November 2003 following an incident at HMP New Hall on 19 November when she was found in her cell having tied a ligature around her neck.
At the time of her death Petra was on remand having been charged with the offence of arson with intent to endanger life.
The evidence revealed that the offence with which Petra was charged was an act of self-harm and the only life endangered was her own.

Petra had an alarmingly long history of serious attempts at self-harm and had been under the care of the mental health services for many years. She had previously been diagnosed with a personality disorder. Throughout her time in New Hall, Petra was subject to an open F2052SH, the form used to record details of those identified as being at risk of suicide and self-harm. During the 130 days Petra spent in New Hall she was involved in at least 90 incidents of serious self harm, some resulting in hospital admission.

While Petra was in the prison, her son was placed for adoption. Witnesses gave evidence that there was a "blatantly obvious" increase in Petra's pattern of self-harm linked to her son's adoption.

A range of concerns have emerged in the evidence heard at the inquest including:

• The acknowledged unsuitability of prison for someone with Petra's mental health problems.
• The lack of provision in the community for women who self-harm.
• Concerns about the role of Derbyshire Social Services in relation both to Petra's own care and the arrangements for the adoption of her son.
• The collective failure of various authorities to understand the impact of adoption proceedings on Petra's mental health and self-harming.
• Concerns about the care provided by the Pennine Health Care Trust in not admitting Petra to hospital on the day she committed the offence which led to her remand in custody, despite her specific attempts to seek help.
• Procedures, staff training and access to resources at HMP New Hall on 19 November 2003.

2) INQUEST is the only non-governmental organisation in England and Wales that works directly with the families of those who die in custody. It provides an independent free legal and advice service to bereaved people on inquest procedures and their rights in the coroner's courts and conducts policy work on the issues arising.


Further Information:
www.inquest.org.uk

Deborah Coles, Co-director, INQUEST
Office 020 7263 1111
Mobile 07714 857 236

Jo Kearsley, Farleys Solicitors
Office 01282 718 000
Mobile 07814 016 786

INJUSTICE Film

"See It Believe It"
INJUSTICE; The film the police don't want you to see!



Injustice is a documentary feature film that follows the struggles for justice by the families of people that have died in police custody. Between 1969 and 1999 over one thousand people
died in police custody in England.

Not one police officer has ever been convicted
for any of these deaths.
Injustice depicts how Brian Douglas, Joy Gardner, Shiji Lapite and Ibrahima Sey met violent deaths at the hands of the police and documents a five year period when their families came together to fight for the truth.

See the other reports:

Video 1
Video 2 | Video 3

Visit INJUSTICE Film TV

INQUEST condemnation

INQUEST condemns Government proposals for "secret" death in custody inquests


INQUEST today condemned government proposals in the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 which give unprecedented powers to the Secretary of State to intervene in death in custody inquests where issues of state intelligence are involved.

Clause 64 of the Bill gives the Secretary of State extraordinary powers to issue certificates at his or her discretion to hold “secret” inquests, without juries, in any case in which the Secretary of State believes that material will be revealed contrary to the public interest.

The discretion given to the Secretary of State is broad and is to include reasons of national security, international relations or any other public interest. In these circumstances it is proposed inquests are to be conducted at least partly in private, with government vetted coroners and government vetted counsel overseeing the “sensitive material”. This would exclude bereaved families and their legal representatives - as well as the public at large - from the process.

INQUEST has written today to Bridget Prentice MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State responsible for coroners to express its extreme concern that this measure has been introduced without any consultation. This is despite the organisation and members of its Lawyers Group being in regular and ongoing dialogue with Ministers and officials about the operation of the inquest system and other proposed reforms.

The family of Azelle Rodney, shot seven times by police in a pre-planned surveillance operation in April 2005, have already been told that their case will be subject to the new measures.

Daniel Machover, solicitor for Susan Alexander, Azelle Rodney’s mother said: “These proposals mean that Ministers and those responsible for intelligence gathering will never be held properly to account for the validity of their tactics. It is a fiasco, bearing no resemblance to a fair system of justice. Presented with the problem of what to do with sensitive material that is relevant to the circumstances of how and why a person was killed by a state agent, the government proposes to remove the vital democratic accountable layer of a jury and hide away from the bereaved family crucial evidence about the death. My client, Susan Alexander, is very distressed that having expected a new law which would finally enable her to see and question the key evidence that led to the police shooting of her son, she will end up being worse off than before.”

Helen Shaw, co-director of INQUEST said: “We have serious concerns about these far reaching proposals which have been introduced without consultation and have wide reaching consequences. The public will find it difficult to have confidence that these coroner-only inquests, with key evidence being suppressed, can investigate contentious deaths involving state agents independently.”

Notes to editors:

The Counter Terrorism Bill 2008 received its first reading in the House of Commons on 24 January 2008.

The proposals contained in Clauses 64-67 of the Bill regarding inquests arose from legal challenges bought on behalf of the family of Azelle Rodney over admissibility of intelligence evidence.

INQUEST is the only non-governmental organisation in England and Wales that works directly with the families of those who die in custody. It provides an independent free legal and advice service to bereaved people on inquest procedures and their rights in the coroner’s courts.

Further Information
www.inquest.org.uk

Helen Shaw, Co-Director INQUEST
office 020 7263 1111
mobile 07976 787 840

Daniel Machover, Hickman and Rose Solicitors
office 020 7700 2211
mobile 07773 341 096

Trial in Death of Sean Bell Postponed

A judge has rescheduled the trial of three police detectives accused of killing an unarmed man on his wedding day to give the defense team more time to prepare.

The trial had been set for early January, and will now begin Feb. 4 in Queens.
The officers have pleaded not guilty.

Bell was killed and two of his friends seriously wounded on Nov. 25, 2006, hours before he was to be married. The three were leaving Bell's bachelor party at a Queens strip club.

Defense lawyers have said the undercover detectives, who were investigating alleged prostitution at the club, believed the victims were getting a gun from a car.

Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, says the officers were still considering whether to seek a change of venue.

See details of Sean's case:
4WardEver >

Menezes cousin leads deaths in custody demo

All Credits: Lancaster Guardian

The cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent Brazilian mistaken by police for a suicide bomber and shot dead at Stockwell Tube station, has led a poignant protest against deaths in custody.

Patricia da Silva Armani walked alone, carrying a wreath, ahead of the procession of demonstrators who gathered in central London to raise the plight of their own loved ones.

About 200 protesters, all friends and family members of people who died either in police custody, in prison or in secure psychiatric hospitals, followed her down Whitehall.
Dressed in black and holding banners proclaiming slogans including "Murderers get life, police get promoted", the group marched in silence before halting outside Downing Street.

Ms Da Silva Armani said: "It is very important for all the families to come together and demonstrate because together we have a greater chance of achieving justice. "It is very sad and difficult for me to come here today and it is sad for me to see the injustices the other families are facing. "We are here to continue to fight for someone to be held criminally responsible for Jean's death. That is the only way we feel we can get justice."

Mr de Menezes was shot dead on July 22, 2005. Specialist firearms officers mistook him for suicide bomber Hussain Osman and shot him seven times.
The Metropolitan Police is currently on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of a "catastrophic" series of errors leading to his death. It denies a single charge under health and safety legislation.
See Latest Update >>

The 9th Annual Remembrance Procession was organised by the United Families and Friends Campaign, which claims around 600 people die in custody every year.

Europe fights capital punishment

Europe is marking its first anti-death penalty day, despite moves from Poland to block the event, calling for it also to condemn abortion and euthanasia.

The day was taken over by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, after Poland's veto threatened to derail an EU-sponsored event.

The event is being held in conjunction with a global anti-death penalty day. Capital punishment is banned in all 27 EU states but Poland's president called on the EU to reintroduce it last year.

Poland, Ireland and Malta are the only EU member states where abortion is illegal.

Contrary view

Last month, Poland was the only member state to oppose an EU-sponsored European Day Against the Death Penalty, with Deputy Justice Minister Andrzej Duda saying the EU "should approach the subject in a broader way and debate the protection of life."

Read full article >

Report reveals 500 custody deaths

Between 500 and 600 people die every year in state custody in England and Wales, a report due out later will say. The figures, seen by the BBC, were compiled for the first time by the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody.

They cover deaths in prisons, police cells, secure hospitals and other establishments and include those from natural causes, suicides and murders. The forum was established to help cut deaths in custody - but campaigners say it is toothless and lacks resources.

The report is the first time figures from across the criminal justice system have been brought together for a complete look at deaths in state custody.

Toothless
The aim of the forum is to spread best practice and information on preventing custody deaths. But the campaign group INQUEST described the forum as "toothless" because it had no formal powers and lacked resources.

The forum was established after the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for the Home Office and Department for Health to set up a multi-agency body to monitor deaths in any form of state custody, including mental hospitals.

The forum is chaired by John Wadham, the legal head of the incoming Commission for Equality and Human Rights and formerly deputy chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Other members include representatives from the police, Prison Service and Youth Justice Board. The forum has no funding of its own - but says it wants to bring about improvements through its standing and credibility among criminal justice professionals.

Social dustbins
Pauline Campbell, whose daughter Sarah died in custody, told BBC News that improvements were essential. She said: "I think prisons are overwhelmed. They're being used as social dustbins for people who are mentally ill, drug and alcohol dependents, the homeless and so on.

"And given that we have such a high proportion of prisoners who have psychiatric difficulties, it is inevitable that these tragic deaths will occur unless action is taken to prevent this happening."

Source for this article: BBC News

Other Articles

Prison facts & figures

Joint Committee on Human Rights (report)

Deaths in custody stats from the IPCC

Steve Biko: Your Memories

It is 30 years since South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko died in police custody, aged 30. What does the anniversary mean to you?

The leader of the black consciousness movement was arrested and detained under the Terrorism Act by South African police on 18 August 1977.

He died whilst in detention from major head injuries, 25 days later on 12 September.

His contribution to the black fight for freedom from apartheid is often placed as second only to that of former President Nelson Mandela.

"They had to kill him to prolong the life of apartheid," Nelson Mandela said of Steve Biko.

Read More >

Related Items:

Steve Biko Foundation >

1977 - Steve Biko Dies in Custody >

Steve Biko Changed the World >

Quotes from Steve Biko >

Why Menezes was true victim of 21/7

Four men have been convicted of plotting to blow up three Tube trains and a bus on 21 July 2005. The conspiracy, and the police operation it sparked, led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead the following day.

The 21 July plotters failed to kill on the scale they had planned, but there was one person who unwittingly paid with his life in the wake of their attacks. Jean Charles de Menezes was gunned down by police officers hunting for Hussain Osman.

Osman's lawyer, Anthony Jennings QC, said during his trial that officers had mistaken the Brazilian electrician for his client, who had tried to blow up a Tube train at Shepherd's Bush.

Chasing a lead

Mr Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head as he boarded a train at Stockwell Tube station in south London. What is apparently not in doubt is that police were chasing up a lead from the rucksack Osman had abandoned in the train at Shepherd's Bush. In it they found a gym club membership card that gave an address in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, south London.

Read the full article >

Custody Death family 'want truth'

all credits - BBC News

The family of a man who died after being taken into police custody say they are determined to find out the truth about what happened to him.

Nadeem Khan - known as Dean - died in hospital after falling ill at Burnley Police Station on Saturday 30 June. Post-mortem tests failed to determine how he died and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is awaiting toxicology tests.

Mr Khan's family said they had been left "deeply distressed" by his death. The 28-year-old was arrested in Brierfield at about 0900 BST on 30 June after reports of windows being smashed and violent behaviour.

After Mr Khan became ill he was taken to Burnley General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1030 BST. On Monday, the IPCC said initial tests confirmed that he had suffered no serious trauma injuries and had no natural disease.

The family said they were being kept informed about the IPCC investigation and urged people not to speculate about what happened to Mr Khan. In a statement, the family said: "Dean was a great son, brother, friend and dad and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. "Dean was a very generous person and would do anything for the people he cared about. He was protective of his family and friends. "He was the one who everyone turned to in the time of need and the family always felt protected when he was around. We just wish we were there to protect him. "There are a lot of questions to be answered and we are determined to find out the truth."

CCTV link in custody death probe >

News Digest (July 07)

Woman died after one police shot

A woman shot by a police marksman after a stand-off in a Kent market town died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, an inquest has been told. Ann Sanderson, 37, was shot after police received reports of a woman armed with a gun in Sevenoaks in the early hours of Monday.

DNA of under-10s on government database
The DNA fingerprints of more than 100 children aged under 10 are stored on a government database despite their being younger than the age of criminal responsibility, it emerged today.

Prison suicides up to two a week as jail numbers soar
Suicides in prisons have risen to two a week, with 43 so far this year as overcrowding in England and Wales bites more deeply, the chief inspector of prisons told MP's last night.

Family sues MoD over Iraq death
The family of an Iraqi man who was beaten to death while in British military custody are suing the Ministry of Defence. Lawyers for the children and father of Baha Mousa, say they are looking for "hundreds of thousands of pounds" in damages.

Ministers lose manslaughter vote
The government has been defeated in the Lords over plans to exclude prisons from its Corporate Manslaughter Bill. Peers voted by a majority of 91 to reinstate their amendment saying the offence of corporate manslaughter must apply to people who die in custody.

Behind the Facade - Rye Hill Prison

All the following reports relate to the same prison which saw four prison guards cleared in relation to 23 year-old Michael Bailey from Birmingham.

Four guards cleared of jail death
2nd April 2007

Four prison officers charged over the death of an inmate have been cleared. Michael Bailey, 23, from Birmingham , was found dead at Rye Hill prison on the border of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire in March 2005.
Read more >

---------------------------------------------

Private prison corruption exposed
16th April 2007

In Panorama, to be screened today, an undercover BBC reporter went into the privately run Rye Hill prison in Warwickshire, to expose corruption and intimidation at the prison where two men have taken their own lives in the last two years. Read more >

Home Office promises review after private prison exposé
16th April 2007

The Home Office has pledged to review the management of a privately run prison where an investigation by Guardian Films and the BBC uncovered routine bullying of staff by prisoners at the jail. Read more >

Drugs, bribe offers, staff in fear: life at Rye Hill jail
16th April 2007

Alone with an inmate on a wing of a private jail, an undercover reporter in his first weeks on duty as a prison officer is given a very surprising offer. The prisoner leaves him in no doubt that he is in a position to pay him double his normal weekly wage if he will act as a drugs courier.
Read more >

No discipline for officers in Mikey Powell case

Family's response >>

Source: IPCC

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed that none of the West Midlands police officers acquitted of criminal offences following the death of Michael Powell, 38, in police custody on 7 September 2003 are to face disciplinary charges. The IPCC has criticised important aspects of the police handling of the incident leading to Powell's death, which started when Mrs Clarissa Powell, his mother, called for police assistance at her home, and urged the force to ensure that key lessons are fully implemented.

Ten officers faced a range of charges covering dangerous driving, assault and misconduct in a public office at Leicester Crown Court last July and in August all ten were acquitted. The majority of charges were dismissed as 'no case to answer' on the direction of the judge when he disallowed crucial prosecution evidence of the transcript from the custody CCTV audio as being unsafe to rely upon because of its extremely poor quality.

Commenting on his decision IPCC Commissioner for the West Midlands region John Crawley said;

"This has been a very lengthy and deeply painful experience for all involved. Having had responsibility for this case for some three years now, with extensive contact with the family of Michael Powell, I am only too well aware of the gravity of the matters at stake, the suffering of Michael's family and the dignified endurance and unfailing courtesy of the family as a too lengthy process has unfolded. Their sense of loss is as acute today as the day Michael died.

"I am also conscious that for the officers involved, all of them suspended for a very long time, followed by a lengthy criminal trial, this has been a deeply traumatic time.

"The evidence for any misconduct (discipline) hearing would be essentially the same as that considered at the trial, and I have examined the findings and outcome of the trial very carefully indeed. I am satisfied that in this particular case - and given the weaknesses in the evidence against the officers that the rigour of the criminal process exposed - their acquittals should suffice in terms of the formal accountability properly expected from these police officers.

"I am confident that the leadership of the force is committed to learning and change from the important lessons that this case has identified. Central to this is the challenge of demonstrating real progress in better management of serious incidents where mental ill health is likely to be a key factor. The force has done much over the last two years to improve its formal policies and procedures; now it needs to be able to highlight the better results on the ground, including improved training of officers.

"This case also demonstrates - and it is by no means an isolated example in this regard - that there is also much scope for improved supervision of front line officers by their supervisors when they are involved in an escalating incident to ensure that all sources of available information - including crucially from family members - are identified and the right questions asked before critical decisions are taken.

"Finally, I cannot stress too highly the importance the IPCC attaches to proper investment in high quality CCTV systems in all police custody suites - an essential protection for officers as well as detainees, as this case has so unhappily revealed. We live in a time when CCTV is very widely deployed - and assumed to be - as a crucial source of evidence and protection in public open spaces. We still have too many custody suites, where people are detained, where there is no - or seriously inadequate - CCTV; the public will not understand why this continues to be the case. The IPCC is committed to pursuing this issue to achieve national standards of coverage and quality."

-ends-

News Digest - 14th October 2006

What happens when police kill?
13^th October 2006

New research into how armed police react in the highly charged seconds before pulling a trigger has exonerated many of blame in the US. Now it's being investigated by British police. Harry Stanley, Jean Charles De Menezes and Mohammed Abdul Kahar. Three innocent men shot by the Metropolitan Police. Read more >>

4WardEver Comment:
This strikes us as yet another attempt (and possibly one we should be worried about) to excuse armed officers of any wrongdoing even before they have done wrong – now there’s a contradiction in terms if ever we heard one!?

Is this just the tip of the iceberg? When increasing pressure and public exposure is being bought to bear on the police for all deaths in custody, what next? Pre-post traumatic syndrome!! Well worth a watch….. Make up your own mind.
Tippa Naphtali

US soldiers killed British TV reporter
13^th October 2006

A coroner ruled Friday that British television journalist Terry Lloyd was unlawfully killed by US forces in southern Iraq in 2003 and said he would try to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted. Following his verdict, Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker said he would write to the director of public prosecutions "to see whether any steps can be taken to bring the perpetrators responsible for this to justice." Read more >>

Breakthrough in Brit execution case
12^th October 2006

A European Parliament member has won EU backing in a bid to save a British citizen from execution. Mirza Tahir Hussain faces execution in Pakistan after a man died in a freak accident after the man tried to molest Hussain. The 36-year-old British national was due to be hanged on 1st October, but that date has been postponed under after Ramadan which ends next week. Read more >>

Tribute to ‘OB’ from Rachael Ford (wife of Tony Egbuna Ford)
10^th October 2006

On this day when activists all over the world try to get people to think about this barbaric system I want to share a video one of my best friends made in memory of her husband, executed just a few short months ago. "OB" was one of Tony's (my husband's) closest friends, and I had the honour of sharing a visit with Tony (known to his friends as Egbuna) as Noora visited OB on their wedding day.

I hope if nothing else it makes you stop for a second, and think about doing something, anything, to stop more families going through what Noora has to go through now. I know it is so easy to feel this is something so abstract it doesn't have any bearing on life in a country without a death penalty, but killing anyone and calling it justice really kills a little of the humanity in all of us.

OB we miss you - and we're still shouting out loud about you, just like I told you we would! See the movie >>