Questionable Convictions

The Supreme Court announces it will not take up Rodney Reed’s appeal

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 25 February 2020In: All News, Capital Punishment, Featured Articles, Questionable Convictions

Rodney Reed was punished to fatality greater than 20 years ago for the attack, rape and also strangling of 19- year-old StaceyStites But his lawyers with the Innocence Project claim they hav... Read more

2019 was nearly ‘the year of executing the innocent’ says DPIC report

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 22 December 2019In: All News, Featured Articles, Monthly Digest, Questionable Convictions, Research & Reports

The 2019 annual report of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) paints a picture of US capital punishment withering on the vine yet continuing to display shocking flaws and injustices. Read more

Voices from the criminal injustice system : ‘I am Troy Davis’

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 21 December 2019In: All News, Capital Punishment, Questionable Convictions

A sold-out crowd at Rattlesticks Theater heard readings from the book “I Am Troy Davis,” which features the stories of dozens of people whose lives have been cruelly affected by the state an... Read more

New stage reached in the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 6 December 2019In: All News, Featured Articles, Human Rights, Questionable Convictions, The State

Political prisoner and world-renowned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal and his supporters are closer than ever to winning his release, 38 years after he was imprisoned for a crime he did not commi... Read more

Rodney Reed lawyers ‘relieved and thankful’ after stay of execution

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 17 November 2019In: All News, Capital Punishment, Questionable Convictions

"Reed's execution should not just be delayed, but canceled," said Bernie Sanders. "Real criminal justice reform must include joining every other major democracy in eliminating the death pena... Read more

Film-making pair team up to tell British woman’s story [Ruth Ellis]

Posted By: Alison Leslieon: 10 November 2019In: All News, Capital Punishment, Questionable Convictions, Tributes & Remembrance

She was the last woman hanged in the UK after being convicted of shooting her lover to death. And a director/producer in Los Angeles, and a cameraman/videographer, are teaming up to tell her... Read more

Peterborough prison death family ‘treading water’

Posted By: Gaynor Kuyeon: 27 October 2019In: All News, Custody Deaths & Abuse, Prison Deaths, Questionable Convictions

The family of a woman who died in prison while serving an indefinite term say they feel like they are treading water after an inquest into her death was delayed. Charlotte Nokes was sentence... Read more

Eritrea: 28 prisoners of conscience must be immediately and unconditionally released

Posted By: Tippa Naphtalion: 18 September 2019In: All News, Human Rights, Questionable Convictions, Race & Society

The Eritrean government must release the 11 politicians and 17 journalists who were arrested in 2001 after criticising President Isaias Afwerki’s rule, and have never been seen or heard from... Read more

Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death penalty

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 13 September 2019In: All News, Capital Punishment, Questionable Convictions

Supporters of Rodney Reed point to racial bias and questionable evidence. “He never had a chance.” That’s what Sandra Reed said at the start of a rally at the Texas governor’s mansion callin... Read more

New evidence of innocence spurs two court filings for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Posted By: Kushi Amlak-Sakhuon: 13 September 2019In: All News, Capital Punishment, Human Rights, Questionable Convictions, The State

The struggle to free unfairly-convicted Mumia Abu-Jamal took a significant step forward on Sept. 3 when his attorneys submitted two documents to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Read more

12 3 4 ›»

	April 2020
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
		1 Christopher Alder Christopher Alder 1 April 2020 Christopher Alder, 37, of Hull, died at Queen’s Gardens police station in Hull in April 1998. The father-of-two had been arrested in hospital, where he was being treated for a banged head following a scuffle outside a hotel. CCTV footage of his last moments was screened in a BBC documentary in 2004. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/christopher-alder See more details Darcus Howe Darcus Howe 1 April 2020 Darcus Howe, the broadcaster, writer and civil rights campaigner, has died aged 74. His family announced his death in a statement released on Sunday that read: “Darcus died quietly and unexpectedly in his sleep on the evening of Saturday 1 April. Our private grief is inseparable from our public pride.” Howe, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, lived in Brixton, south London, for 30 years and was well known for his Channel 4 series Black on Black and late-night current affairs programme The Devil’s Advocate. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/tributes/tributes-brothers/darcus-howe See more details Ian Tomlinson Ian Tomlinson 1 April 2020 Ian Tomlinson, a 47-year-old newspaper seller, died on 1st April 2009 after being assaulted at least once by officers policing the G20 demonstrations in London. He had been trying to walk home from work when he was confronted by police, hit with a baton and thrown to the ground. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/ian-tomlinson See more details • • •	2 Eduardo de Jesus Eduardo de Jesus 2 April 2020 10 year old Eduardo de Jesus was killed on the 2 April 2015 during what is understood to have been a military-style police operation. He was shot outside his front door. The incident occurred in Alemão, one of the largest favelas in Rio. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/shootings/eduardo-de-jesus See more details Shahid Aziz Shahid Aziz 2 April 2020 Shahid Aziz, 30, was on remand at Armley prison when he was killed by his cell mate Peter McCann in April 2004. McCann was believed to be “low-risk” for cell-sharing despite a history of violence and knives, an inquest later heard. McCann, 28, slashed Mr Aziz’ throat with a makeshift knife, Leeds Coroner’s Court has heard. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/prison-restraint/shahid-aziz See more details Nicholas Saunders Nicholas Saunders 2 April 2020 Nicholas Saunders, 18, was serving a sentence at Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton, when he died on April 2 last year. Jurors were told yesterday that he had twice tried to take his own life in the months before his death. www.shropshirestar.com/news/2012/10/11/shrewsbury-teenager-found-hanged-in-cell-inquest-told See more details • • •	3 Scott Hain Scott Hain 3 April 2020 Scott Hain was 17 years of age at the time of his arrest for the October 6, 1987 murder of Michael Houghton and Laura Sanders. Because Hain was a juvenile - under 18 years of age at the time of his crime - his execution would be contrary to American standards of justice, fairness, and decency as well as international law. www.executedtoday.com/2014/04/03/2003-scott-hain-the-last-juvenile-offender-executed-in-the-united-states See more details •	4 Richard O’Brien Richard O’Brien 4 April 2020 The family of a man who died after being arrested by police won a £324,000 payout from Scotland Yard, but no apology. Richard O’Brien, 37, died in April 1994 after being pinned to the ground by three officers who said they were arresting him for being drunk and disorderly. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/richard-obrien See more details •	5
6	7	8	9	10 Shanice-Paris Goff Shanice-Paris Goff 10 April 2020 At around 9.30am on 10th April 2012 two plain clothes police attended an address in Hastings House, Mulgrave Road, London to carry out a routine arrest enquiry regarding a recall to prison of 18-year-old Shanice-Paris Goff. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/police-restraint/shanice-paris-goff See more details •	11 The Lucasville Five Protest The Lucasville Five Protest 11 April 2020 The Lucasville 5 are five prisoners who were framed for the murder of snitches and guards in the 1993 Lucasville prison riot. The 1993 riot and hostage taking was one of the longest in u.s. prison history, and yet it ended relatively peacefully. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/miscarraiges/the-lucasville-five See more details Carl Woods Carl Woods 11 April 2020 More than a hundred people gathered in Perth, Australia, to call for an open coronial inquest into the death in custody of an Aboriginal man. Carl Woods suffered a massive heart attack last April when police arrested him over an alleged home invasion. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/police-restraint/carl-woods See more details • •	12 Lee Brown Lee Brown 12 April 2020 Lee Brown, 39, a British tourist was allegedly beaten to death by police after being arrested for an argument with a hotel cleaner while on holiday in Dubai. He died on 12th April 2011 after just six days at the notorious Bur Dubai police station. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/lee-brown See more details Freddie Gray Freddie Gray 12 April 2020 25 year old Freddie Gray's death on 19 April 2015 had left many unanswered questions. Arrested on the morning of 12 April, by the time he arrived at the police station some 30 minutes later, he was suffering from wounds that would later kill him. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/police-restraint/freddie-gray See more details • •
13	14	15 Hussain Salah Hussain Salah 15 April 2020 Torture by Maldivian police on detainees has come under spotlight once again with the discovery of a badly beaten body from the harbour of Atholhuvehi area on the morning of 15th April 2007 in the capital Male.’ The young man, Hussain Salah, was under police custody a few days before his death. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/police-restraint/hussain-salah See more details •	16 Joyce Reid Joyce Reid 16 April 2020 A 74-year-old woman collapsed and died [16 April 2004] after being arrested at sheltered accommodation in Cornwall. Joyce Reid was arrested at Albion Court in Torpoint in the early hours of Friday for a minor offence and taken to Charles Cross police station, Plymouth. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/joyce-reid See more details David Oluwale David Oluwale 16 April 2020 Born in Lagos, Nigeria, on 8th September 1930, David Oluwale is the first of 1000′s of Black people to die in police custody in Britain. April 16, 1969, is the last time David is seen alive. He is in the company of Ellerker and Kitching. They find him asleep in the doorway of the Bridal House shop at about 3 a.m. Ellerker and Kitching attack him with their truncheon. Later, David is found dead in the River Aire. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/david-oluwale See more details • •	17 Michael Taylor Michael Taylor 17 April 2020 Michael Taylor, aged 39, was found hanging from the window bars of his cell by torn bed sheets in HMP Bedford on 17th April 2007. The family have blamed their son’s death on overcrowding and the Government’s “macabre game of prison chess.” www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/prison-restraint/michael-taylor See more details •	18 Michael Sweeney Michael Sweeney 18 April 2020 The independent police watchdog is investigating after a father-to-be died in police custody on 18th April 2011 following an apparent altercation at a pub in east London. Friends of Michael Sweeney, 38, said he was in the Approach tavern, in Hackney, east London on Monday evening when police were called. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/michael-sweeney See more details •	19 Gareth Myatt Gareth Myatt 19 April 2020 Gareth Myatt of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was 15 years old when he died days after starting a sentence at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre in Northants. He was being restrained by staff when he lost consciousness, Gareth was one of the youngest people to die in the British prison system, and sparked further fury and debate about methods of restraint used in Young Offender Institutions (YOI’s). www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/prison/gareth-myatt See more details Andrew Pimlott Andrew Pimlott 19 April 2020 Andrew Pimlott died after suffering horrific burns in an incident when he was "Tasered" by a police officer while doused in a flammable liquid. Police were called to his home in Plymouth following a domestic disturbance and told that he was in the garden and had a can of flammable liquid with him. www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/26/man-dies-police-taser See more details Wesley McGoldrick Wesley McGoldrick 19 April 2020 24-year-old Wesley McGoldrick, originally from Ruislip, Greater London, had been in prison for less than a day when he was found hanging from his cell room window on 19th April 2005. He had used bed sheets to hang himself from the bars. Wesley was caught shoplifting cheese and milk from a London branch of Sainsbury’s on Saturday 16th April 2005. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/prison/wesley-mcgoldrick See more details • • •
20 Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter 20 April 2020 The release of Hurricane Carter, who was serving a life sentence for three murders he did not commit, bought support from Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and other members of the radical chic in the 1970s. However, it took the devotion of a teenager from a Brooklyn ghetto and his “adopted” Canadian family to finally bring about Carter’s freedom in the 1980s. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/miscarriages2/reuben-hurricane-carter See more details Melanie Rabone Melanie Rabone 20 April 2020 Twenty-four-year-old Melanie Rabone hanged herself from a tree in Cheshire on 20 April 2005 shortly after being sent home on two-days leave by Stepping Hill Hospital, where she had been admitted as an emergency case following a suicide attempt. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/police-medical-asylum/melanie-rabone See more details David Stokes David Stokes 20 April 2020 The death of a 31-year-old man who died following his arrest by Derbyshire police was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Police say David Stokes, from Birmingham, was in a car travelling towards Chesterfield that was stopped by police near the A617 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-36829894 See more details • • •	21	22 Stephen Lawrence Day Stephen Lawrence Day 22 April 2020 A national day of commemoration for murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence will take place on 22 April every year, the prime minister announced in 2018. It came as the family of the black teenager attended the 25th anniversary memorial of his death in London. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43869377 See more details Stephen Lawrence Stephen Lawrence 22 April 2020 On 22nd April 1993 18 year old Stephen Lawrence was murdered because of the colour of his skin. In 2012 Gary Dobson and David Norris were finally convicted for the murder. An inquiry decided that the police force in London made too many mistakes in their investigation. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/miscarraiges-2/stephen-lawrence See more details Jerard M. Drew Jerard M. Drew 22 April 2020 In April 2009 an investigation was launched after Tulsa Police arrested 38 year-old Jerard M. Drew who later died at a local hospital. The police officers involved in the incident were placed on restrictive duty and the investigation would be led by the Tulsa Police Department. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/police-medical-asylum/jerard-m-drew See more details • • •	23 Emily Hartley Emily Hartley 23 April 2020 The inquest into the self-inflicted death of Emily Hartley has concluded with the jury finding a lack of professionalism at HMP New Hall, including in the implementation of suicide and self-harm procedures (ACCT*), contributed to the 21 year old’s death on 23 April 2016. She was the youngest of 22 women to die in women’s prisons in 2016. www.inquest.org.uk/emily-hartley-closing See more details Blair Peach Blair Peach 23 April 2020 Blair Peach was killed on 23rd April 1979 by members of the Metropolitan Police’s Special Patrol Group while he was attending an anti-Nazi demonstration in Southall in West London. During the protest, against the National Front, Blair was knocked unconscious and killed by the police. In April 1979, the events of the general election were overshadowed by fighting between the police and the largely-Asian population of Southall. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/adult-cases-uk/police-restraint-2/blair-peach See more details • •	24	25	26 Lee Donovan Lee Donovan 26 April 2020 Lee Donovan was arrested in Newport, South Wales, at around 10pm on Friday 25 April 2008. He was taken to a police cell in nearby Pontypool at 10.45pm. By 1am the next morning he was dead. Lee’s family want to know how a happy and healthy 23 year old went out with friends on a Friday night and ended up dead in police custody just hours later. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/police-restraint/lee-donovan See more details Beunka Adams Beunka Adams 26 April 2020 Beunka Adams was imprisoned on the Polunsky Unit of Texas death row for a crime that another man confessed to committing. He was convicted and sentenced to death at the age of 21. Beunka was involved in a robbery in which store employee, Kenneth Vandever, was shot and killed. www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/prison-restraint/beunka-adams See more details • •
27	28	29 Jordan Edwards Jordan Edwards 29 April 2020 A Texas police officer turned himself in after he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old. Roy Durwood Oliver, a patrol officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs since July 2011, was released on $300,000 bail. While dispatched on complaints about drunk teenagers at a party last weekend, Oliver fired his rifle at a car full of teenagers who were leaving, according to investigators, killing Jordan Edwards. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45352610 See more details •	30 Azelle Rodney Azelle Rodney 30 April 2020 The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an investigation following the death of an expectant Father, 24-year-old Azelle Rodney, who was shot dead in the back seat of a car by a police officer in Edgware on Saturday 30th April 2005. The 2012 Inquiry brief was ‘To ascertain by inquiring how, where and in what circumstances Azelle Rodney came by his death on 30 April 2005 and then to make any such recommendations as may seem appropriate.’ www.4wardeveruk.org/cases/youth-cases-uk/shootings/azelle-rodney See more details •

Justice for Christopher Alder - 23 years on https://t.co/XfgPfjN0vD @JusticeGap https://t.co/gpvBSxEnjF
You could win a £250 donation for National Memorial Family Fund and £250 worth of Thorntons chocolate for yourself.… https://t.co/1a8o6DSjqQ
INQUEST briefing on COVID-19: Protecting people in places of custody and detention https://t.co/7Cs2sSEDEg
Colorado Death Penalty Abolished, Polis Commutes Sentences Of Death Row Inmates https://t.co/vNIMC7Z7LJ

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