4WardEverUK e-News

New PROOF magazine: Cover-ups, jailhouse snitches & scapegoats

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 23:07:40 GMT

published: 16 April 2026

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

Issue number #7 of PROOF magazine is out next week – Monday, April 20: Cover-ups, jailhouse snitches & scapegoats. It’s [The Justice Gap's] biggest ever issue of PROOF – 124 pages – featuring the best long read writing shining a light on our broken justice system.

Kate Wilson of Police Spies out of our Lives on her attempts to lift the lid on how far the state is willing to go to protect the identity of one of its agents, a white supremacist neo-Nazi.

[In this issue], Simon Hattenstone bids farewell to colleague and friend Eric Allison, the first and probably last prisons correspondent for a national newspaper. Plus, interviews with Harriet Wistrich and Lucy Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald.

In PROOF#7, Mos Hannan revisits the Free Satpal Ram campaign – a shocking case of racism in our justice system. Mos writes about how Satpal fought back.

Filmmakers Jemma Gander and Fran Robertson on how a vulnerable prisoner, Joe Outlaw, managed to put the discredited IPP sentence on trial. APPEAL’s Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan expose that other great source of injustice: joint enterprise.

The issue revisits the legacy of the Guildford Four and the ongoing fight for the truth in feature written by by the lawyer who represented those wrongly convicted of the 1974 bombings, Alastair Logan CBE, together with the journalist who made two films and wrote a book about the landmark case .

See the full article here >

Two reports from Ohio draw starkly different conclusions of the State’s death penalty system

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 22:13:30 GMT

source: Death Penalty Information Center

published: 9 April 2026

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at www.Pexels.com

Ohio’s capital punishment system has come into sharp focus with the release of two reports that examine four decades of the state’s death penalty record and draw starkly different conclusions about the future of Ohio’s death penalty.

On March 30, Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE) published Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Confronting the Wrongful Conviction Crisis in the State of Ohio, documenting the record of mistakes and errors that resulted in 12 exonerations. “The death penalty in Ohio is a system defined more by its capacity for error than its pursuit of justice,” the report states, concluding, “It’s time for Ohio to end its death penalty.”

Two days later, outgoing Attorney General Dave Yost released his eighth and final Capital Crimes Report, calling the state’s years-long pause on executions “a mockery of the justice system” and complaining that Ohio has provided death-sentenced prisoners with “more than their fair share of due process.” AG Yost urges lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow executions to resume.

“Beyond Reasonable Doubt centers on data OTSE argues Ohioans can no longer ignore: since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981, it has executed 56 people and exonerated 12 others from death row — marking one exoneration for every five executions carried out. Collectively, OTSE notes that these 12 men lost 245 years of their lives to wrongful imprisonment. “It turns out that Ohio has a massive wrongful conviction problem, far worse than anyone imagined,” said Kevin Werner, Executive Director of OTSE. Mr. Werner added that “[a]ttempts to restart executions will result in the executions of innocent people, and no one wants that.”

In addition to the 12 individuals who have been wrongfully sentenced to death, Beyond Reasonable Doubt identifies an additional 12 “shadow exonerations,” or cases in which individuals faced capital indictments and were sentenced to life in prison rather than death and were later proven innocent.

The same issues are present in both groups of 12 cases: prosecutorial misconduct, coerced testimony, false eyewitness identifications, and false or misleading forensic evidence.

Read the full article >

A whole systems approach for women in contact with the CJS (report published)

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:50:31 GMT

source: Russell Webster

published: 16 January 2026

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Clinks Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) Special Interest Group, has published a report on a ‘ Whole Systems Approach’ for women in contact with the criminal justice system . The RR3 convenes Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to advise on specific areas of policy and practice as the need arises.

This SIG follows the establishment of the Women’s Justice Board (WJB) and was instituted in order to provide feedback to both bodies from the perspective of the voluntary sector working in criminal justice.

The report’s findings are based on consultation with 44 individuals drawn from both voluntary and statutory organisations with experience in supporting women through ‘whole system approaches’ (WSAs). The report also includes information from the MoJ on the 4 WSA pilots in an Annex to the report. A Rapid Evidence Review of the impact of women-specific WSAs is being conducted by the MoJ and findings from this will be published in the future.

The report defines an effective WSA for women as delivering gender-responsive, holistic support through joined-up local service provision, which is locally led; partnership-focused & evidence-based .

This report outlines its findings and recommendations in four main sections. Section One examines three WSAs and their common factors. Section Two explores additional critical success factors, as well as the challenges and barriers to delivering WSAs. Section Three highlights the importance of evaluation and impact, and Section Four provides collaboratively developed recommendations for effective WSA implementation.

The report recommends that the structure for a WSA should feature a lead organisation, with a clear co-ordination role to ensure effective communication and information sharing between all relevant agencies. It also emphasises accessible and streamlined data systems, combined with joint working arrangements across agencies.

Read full article >

How do you prove you’re innocent if you’re on death row?

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:29:47 GMT

source: Texas Metro News

published: 21 March 2026

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

Rodney Reed faces execution in Texas despite mounting evidence of innocence and bipartisan support. [His] execution was stayed this month by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and a lower court will now examine the evidence that Reed’s lawyers believe will show he is innocent.

The case of Rodney Reed, who is scheduled to be executed in Texas on Nov. 20 , is unique not only because of the celebrities promoting his claims of innocence, from Oprah to Beyonce to Dr. Phil. Numerous lawmakers—with the support of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas —are calling for the execution to be halted. So are several law enforcement officers, who told the U.S. Supreme Court that the “the forensic case against Mr. Reed has been completely obliterated.”

The case is unique also because of the sheer volume of evidence implicating someone else for the crime for which Reed was sentenced to die, the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, in Bastrop, Texas. Although his semen was found on Stites’s body, Reed, who is black, has maintained he was in a consensual relationship with Stites, who was white. Witnesses have come forward with evidence that points to former police officer Jimmy Fennell, who was Stites’ fiancé at the time of her death.

Late last month, Reed’s lawyers at the Innocence Project unveiled an affidavit from a man saying he heard Fennell boast, “I had to kill my nigger-loving fiancé.” Fennell has never been charged and, through a lawyer, has denied killing Stites. ( Jordan Smith at The Intercept offers the most comprehensive account of where the case stands).

And yet, Reed’s situation also is all too common: every death row prisoner in the United States faces high barriers when they want to argue they are innocent after trial. Reed isn’t even the only death row prisoner this month facing execution while struggling to present new evidence of innocence .

Read the full article >

Nominations open in May for the 2026 Memorial and Gala Campaigner Awards

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:06:45 GMT

provided by: Memorial Family Fund

published: 22 March 2026

Image Credit: Charmaine Burton

In May 2026 the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) will be announcing the nominations process for the second Annual Gala Dinner & Campaigners Awards.

See the report on the 2023 award event here >

Keep updated on the nominations process by visiting the NMPMFF website, signing up for the e-newsletter or following their social media on Facebook , Twitter 'X' and Instagram .

Tippa Naphtali, NMPMFF founder and Development & Fundraising Manager, said;

"These awards recognise the efforts of grassroots individuals, groups and organisations that have developed or led on initiatives supporting those that have been affected by state custody deaths and killings, and have also demonstrated a significant commitment to making change and raising awareness."

The 2026 award event will be supported by 4WardEverUK , The People's Tribunal on Police Killings , Naphtali & Associates , and others to be announced.

The 2026 activists campaign awards will be in the following categories:

Mikey Powell Youth Action Award
Benjamin Zephaniah Literary Award
Pauline Campbell Systems Change Award
Gilly Mundy Family Advocacy Award
Joy Gardner Arts & Education Award

S ee the National Memorial Family Fund's historic moments!

"We want to share some of the historic and pivotal moments for the the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) over the last 5+ years. These mark some of our key milestones and developments over the period which demonstrates how we have progressed our mission." Tippa Naphtali (Founder)

Read full details here >

Benjamin Zephaniah’s brother and widow receive his City of Birmingham Medal

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 01:32:13 GMT

source: Birmingham Lord Mayor

first published: 12 March 2026

Image Credit: Janet Douglas - Feed My Creative

Birmingham honoured the life and legacy of trailblazing poet Benjamin Zephaniah this week during a ceremony at Birmingham City University’s Benjamin Zephaniah Building , where his City of Birmingham Medal was formally presented.

The award was accepted posthumously on his behalf by his brother Tippa Naphtali and his widow, Qian Zephaniah on 11 March 2026. Benjamin is the inaugural recipient of the medal, which has been designed by students at BCU’s renowned School of Jewellery.

Born in Handsworth, Benjamin started performing poetry at demonstrations and youth gatherings and his writing often responded directly to events. He was heavily influenced by Jamaican music and poetry and released several albums, as well as appearing on radio and television including his role as Jeremiah “Jimmy” Jesus in BBC drama Peaky Blinders.

Benjamin’s brother, Tippa Naphtali said: “We are extremely proud that it is Benjamin's city of birth that is making this award and are grateful to the City Council for supporting several memorial initiatives since his untimely passing in 2023. We are also extremely grateful to all the parties involved in making this event possible.”

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal MBE said: “From his groundbreaking poetry collections to his iconic role in Peaky Blinders, Benjamin Zephaniah was a trailblazer and is a much-missed son of Birmingham whose work continues to shape our cultural and literacy identity. Fittingly the first recipient of the City of Birmingham medal, he embodied the spirit and creativity of our city, and I was honoured to present his family and widow with this award as we came together to celebrate his remarkable life and career.”

Professor David Mba, Vice-Chancellor of BCU, said: “Benjamin Zephaniah’s voice was fearless and compassionate, challenging injustice and celebrating the diversity that defines Birmingham. It is especially meaningful for Birmingham City University to host this ceremony in the building that bears his name. That the medal has been designed by students from our School of Jewellery makes this tribute even more special, connecting the city, our university and the next generation of creative talent.”

Other News:

‘His words belonged to everyone’ – Life of poet Benjamin Zephaniah celebrated with City of Birmingham Medal
12 March 2026

BCU hosts City of Birmingham Medal ceremony to honour Benjamin Zephaniah
12 March 2026

Casey Bailey on the Benjamin Zephaniah City of Birmingham Medal (Facebook Video)
12 March 2026

Benjamin Zephaniah’s widow Qian Zephaniah and brother Tippa Naphtali receive his City of Birmingham Medal
12 March 2026

The PTPK's European Action Evidence Session, October 2026

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:28:38 GMT

source: The PTPK

published: February 2026

Image Credit: J M Moore

At the first session of the Peoples Tribunal on Police Killings (PTPK) in London in April 2025 a commitment was made for international action. Now we are announcing the second session which will focus on police killings across Europe. The families of those killed by the police in many European countries will gather for the first time in an unprecedented way to unify radical struggles for justice.

The colonial policing strategies of European nations and the use of extreme violence disproportionately impacts Black, Arab, racialised and migrant communities as well as the working class. This is increasingly happening in the context of the ascendancy of the far-right to political power with an increase in attacks on our communities, compounding the legacy of the preceding left-wing, centrist, and right-wing governments.

Families that struggle for justice have worked together in solidarity in the past, they have learned from each other and inspired each other. The PTPK is initiating new solidarities in this event which will be an opportunity for families from countries including France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the north of Ireland and the UK to come together for the first time to launch international actions. The tribunal will take testimonies from families and expert witnesses to an international panel in full public view.

There will also be sessions to plan international strategies for communities of resistance to confront the waves of killing and torture by police forces. State violence is used to control populations and to maintain capitalist domination of the working class. This anti-imperialist gathering will link our struggles for justice with the global majority, who we call on for support. We declare allegiance to international calls to abolish and defund the police.

PTPK European Action will build a sustained platform of unity and strength that will challenge the containment of our struggles and take international joint actions to bring justice where it has been absent for so long. A full joint declaration will be released after the event.

See here for more information on the PTPK: www.peoplestribunal.info

Email: tribunalpeoples@gmail.com

Trayvon Martin and other Black people unjustly killed by police in the United States

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:58:02 GMT

source: The Root

published: 2 March 2026

Image Credit: mohamedhassan at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Over 14 years have passed since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was gunned down in his own neighborhood in Florida. But while his tragic killing sparked a world-wide movement to protect young Black men and women, we’d be lying if we said there haven’t been other Trayvon Martins, whose murders continue to haunt the Black community.

George Zimmerman’s acquittal marked a dark time for Black Americans, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be the last. Hundreds of Black people have been killed by police, while in custody or simply for the color of their skin. Now, we honoring the lives and legacy of Martin and the other Black victims, who aren’t here to share their stories.

Two years after Trayvon’s death, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. According to police testimony , Brown was accused of assaulting officer Darren Wilson and tried to take his weapon. Witness testimony and ballistics told a completely different story. Brown had his hands up when he was shot. His death sparked the global protest chant “Hands up, don’t shoot.” No charges were brought against officer Wilson, according to CBS News.

On Feb. 23, 2020, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was jogging in the Brunswick, Ga. area when three white men — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and neighbor William Bryan — armed themselves and chased Arbery in a pickup truck.

Bryan followed the father and son in his own vehicle while recording the tragic incident. The men shot and killed Arbery, which prompted hundreds of demonstrations in his memory .

Read full article >

Mumia gives the United Nations ‘inside impression’ of death row

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:35:59 GMT

source: Workers World

published: 20 February 2026

Image Credit: www.youtube.com

In response to the [United Nations] Special Rapporteur’s call for contributions “on the death penalty in relation to the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment and the protection of human dignity,” we wish to bring to his attention the situation of Mr. Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has spent 29 years of his life on death row in Pennsylvania (USA).

An African American journalist, now aged 71, he [Mumia] had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Incarcerated for 45 years, below you will find his testimony on the conditions of survival in prison hell and the physical and mental consequences of his fellow inmates awaiting execution or the deterioration of their health exposing them to death in the case of life sentences.

An iconic figure in the international fight for the universal abolition of the death penalty, Mr. Abu-Jamal was convicted after a racist and expedited trial without being able to defend his innocence.

Denounced by Amnesty International, the European Parliament, and the U.N. Human Rights Committee, he has still not obtained a review of his trial. Today, the deterioration of his health, like that of the oldest prisoners, would justify his release on humanitarian grounds.

Read full article >

The Roger Sylvester Centre opens in Haringey, north London

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:06:14 GMT

all credits: Haringey London

originally published: February 2026

Image Credit: Haringey London

The new Roger Sylvester Centre at Canning Crescent will honour the memory of the man it is named after, by making it easier for more in the borough to get the help they need.

Roger, who experienced episodes of poor mental health, was restrained [in 1999] by police outside his home aged 30, and was taken to hospital, where he sadly passed away, having his life support turned off eight days later. He accessed services at the former Canning Crescent Health Centre, and he was a mental health worker at the Lambo Centre in Archway.

Haringey Council, Clarendon Recovery College, Mind in Haringey, and the North London NHS Foundation Trust are proud to be working together on this new centre.

Haringey has unveiled a pioneering multi-purpose mental health centre named in honour of Roger Sylvester. The disused building at Canning Crescent has been transformed into a hub for integrated mental health support, bringing together vital services from the council, NHS, and voluntary sector under one roof.

If you would like to refer yourself, or a loved one, to any of the services, you can do so below:

Clarendon Recovery College (CRC) is available to people who are interested in knowing more about maintaining their own wellbeing and good mental health, or the mental health of people they know. Our courses are free for all Haringey residents aged 18 and over.
Safe Haven Crisis Hub run by Mind in Haringey , is a service for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. It is a non-clinical short term intervention to help reduce mental health crisis and isolation. This support is offered by peer support workers.
Crisis Prevention House (CPH) operated by the North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) . CPH provides short-term support for individuals experiencing mental health crises, aiming to help them recover and reintegrate into the community. The CPH offers a supportive, recovery-focused environment where individuals can receive assistance to prevent a crisis, manage existing crises, learn wellness skills, and address underlying issues contributing to their distress.

For further mental health support, visit these webpages .

Read the original article >

September 2008

Wrongfully jailed men call for change to England and Wales compensation law

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:09:38 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 10 February 2026

Image Credit: Donald Tong at www.Pexels.com

Three men who have never been compensated for spending between 11 and 38 years in prison for crimes they did not commit, have joined calls for a change in the law in England and Wales.

Even after being cleared, people who spend years behind bars owing to a wrongful conviction have to prove their innocence “beyond reasonable doubt” to qualify for compensation.

The result is that claims from many high-profile miscarriage of justice survivors have been rejected.

Speaking on Monday at a meeting of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on miscarriages of justice, Justin Plummer, who spent 28 years in prison after being twice found guilty of a murder he did not commit, said he could not believe he was being denied compensation.

“It’s ridiculous. I’ve been through a minefield once. Now, on release, I’m thinking ‘oh plain sailing, I should be all right’ but no, no, no,” said Plummer, who was released last year.

“I do really need it [compensation]. I’ve got mental health problems through this wrongful conviction so I don’t want compensation for mad housing, mad holidays, I want it so I can get treatment.”

His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, said it was absurd that people were required to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt, even after having been exonerated by the court of appeal.

“How on earth can you do that?” she asked. “You haven’t got the resources of the police to go and investigate the crime that took place in 1997 and find the culprit.”

Oliver Campbell, who spent 11 years in jail after receiving a life sentence in 1991, aged 21, for conspiracy to rob and murder, but was cleared only in 2024 , said: “Everyone said: ‘Are you getting your compo?’ … I’ve been trying to tell someone but I don’t think he knows, [he thinks] ‘he’s got a lot of money’.”

Read the full article >

IOPC Publish custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2024-2025

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 01:59:34 GMT

all credits: IOPC

published: 4 February 2026

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

In July 2025 the Independent Office for Police Misconduct (IOPC) released details of their custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2024-2024.

The following content is adapted from the IOPC website.

Deaths during or following police contact
Each year, we [The IOPC] publish data showing how many people have died after contact with the police. The report provides a definitive set of figures for England and Wales. It gives an overview of the nature and circumstances of these deaths.

Brief summary of the report:

This report presents figures on deaths during orfollowing police contact that happened between1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. It provides adefinitive set of figures for England and Wales,and an overview of the nature and circumstancesin which these deaths occurred.

During 2024/25, there were:

26 road traffic fatalities
2 fatal police shootings
17 deaths in or following police custody
60 apparent suicides following police custody
50 other deaths following police contact that were independently investigated by the IOPC

Demographic information about those who died is provided in the report, along with details about the circumstances of their death and a summary of trend data. The appendix contains more information, such as the age, gender and ethnicity of those who died, and information about the police force or appropriate authority involved. (The appropriate authority is usually a chief officer or police and crime commissioner).

Some of the investigations into the deaths recorded in the report are ongoing at the time of publication. Details about the nature and circumstances of these cases are based on information available at the point of analysis.

Read full article & data tables here >

Download report here >

Other News:

INQUEST Statistics on Deaths of people in and following police contacts

Continuously updated

State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2024–25

10 September 2025

IOPC publishes figures on deaths during or following police contact

31 July 2025

Eight people have died in dealings with ICE so far in 2026

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:20:44 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 28 January 2026

Image Credit: AloC3 AFs Moubax at www.Pexels.com

The killings of the 37-year-old Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal agents have sparked protests and outrage throughout the nation. Pretti and Good are just two people out of at least eight who have either been killed by federal agents or who have died while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in 2026 so far.

The high-profile fatal shootings follow the deaths of at least 32 people in ICE custody in 2025 – the highest number since 2004. One of the people killed was Keith Porter Jr , a 43-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent outside of his Los Angeles apartment complex on the evening of 31 December 2025.

The father of two was firing a gun into the air, a Los Angeles police department spokesperson said, before the off-duty ICE agent, Brian Palacios, went to investigate. Porter was pronounced dead at the scene when police officers responded.

On 5 January, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, a 42-year-old immigrant from Honduras, died in ICE custody at HCA Houston Healthcare in Conroe, Texas. He had been admitted into the Houston-area hospital for a heart-related condition, according to an ICE statement. Núñez was first arrested by ICE agents during an operation in Houston on 17 November and was eventually transferred to the Joe Corley processing center in Conroe.

On New Year’s Eve, ICE said, “he suffered multiple life-threatening medical emergencies, and HCA medical personnel moved him to the intensive care unit, where he remained until his death” . The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement to the Guardian: “We have maintained higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens – including providing access to proper medical care.” For many immigrants, the DHS said, “this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”

Read full article >

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29 January 2026

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28 January 2026

We Make Us Safe: What I saw in Minnesota

28 January 2026

Sliding Towards Authoritarianism?

20 January 2026

Inside The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 22:29:53 GMT

sourced from: Red Pepper Media

published: 13 January 2026

Image Credit: Naphtali & Associates

The friends and families of those who ‘died in custody’ in the UK, frustrated with the inability of reform to deliver justice, have established the People’s Tribunal on Police Killings . Bringing together over twenty families for a class action lawsuit against the police, it will be the first time families have initiated a group prosecution.

The tribunal renames these deaths ‘killings’, due to the systematic nature of the cases. They told me: ‘we need no more legislation, no more excuses, no more police training. The criminal law needs to be applied to police officers… we are abolitionist in our approach but in the meantime cops that kill should go to jail’.

The conversation centers around the People's Tribunal on police killings, scheduled for April 5th and 6th in London. Ken Fero and Samantha Patterson discuss the historical context of police killings in the UK, the personal impact on families, and the need for a tribunal as an alternative to the traditional justice system.

It is an anti-reformist position combined with a practical demand for justice. In line with this, the group is critical of various efforts to change the police through government reviews, inquests and improvements to police watchdogs, such as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Reforms to these institutions got them no closer to prosecutions, and often diverted them from justice.

The problem with reform

This problem came into focus after an internal report was released by the Metropolitan Police – ‘30 Patterns of Harm’. It argued racism was ‘built in’ the Metropolitan Police, which the police responded by promising to establish a government review followed by a process of reform.

The changes proposed by reviews like these are treated with extreme scepticism by the tribunal. One of the key members of the tribunal is Samantha Patterson, whose brother Jason McPherson ‘died’ on 18 January 2007.

Read full article >

Other Related News:

Dozens of families join plan for class action over UK police contact deaths

6 April 2025

The People's Tribunal on Police Killings - Day 1 (film: 7.5hours)

5 April 2025

INQUEST: Unlocking the Truth, Oral Histories Project

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 22:28:55 GMT

source: INQUEST

originally published: May 2025

Image Credit: Deborah Coles - INQUEST www.inquest.org.uk

The INQUEST Oral Histories Archive documents state violence, death and resistance in the UK since 1981 and explores over 40 years of fighting for justice through sound, image and print.

In the Archives you will find:

Timeline

Trace the history of state violence and how INQUEST has campaigned alongside bereaved families and others to push for change from 1981-2021. This interactive timeline maps a fragment of the people who have died, campaigning milestones and legal changes in our on-going pursuit of justice.

Case Profiles

Learn about some of the people who have died at the hands of the British state through policing, prisons and mental health services. Find out who they were, how they died and how their families have fought back. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

This selection of 40 people is a tiny sample of the 10,000+ cases INQUEST has worked on between 1981-2021.

Oral Histories

This collection of interviews preserves the voices and memories of key figures in the movement for justice and transformative change. They provide important context and personal memory to INQUEST’s archive.

With the support of On the Record and a team of mainly bereaved volunteers recorded oral history interviews with INQUEST staff members (current and former), family members, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians.

See the oral history interview with 4WardEverUK founder, Tippa Naphtali, here >

More about INQUEST here >

Drawing on four decades of campaigning and in conversation with those at the forefront of these struggles, hosts Lee Lawrence, advocate and son of Cherry Groce, and Lucy Brisbane from INQUEST, shine a light on injustice, amplify stories of resistance and explore the best way forward.

See previous article >

‘A Victim All Over Again’: The Mail trial and the murders of Stephen Lawrence and Daniel Morgan

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 22:27:44 GMT

source: Byline Times

published: 19 January 2026

Image Credit: Pong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whatever the outcome of the civil trial between various claimants and Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the newspaper group behind the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, the legal claims shed light again on what former prime minister Gordon Brown called “the criminal media nexus” — a circle of dodgy journalists and corrupt police officers circulating around the hub of the private detective agency Southern Investigations.

These horrific murders may seem like ancient history, but they are at the centre of astonishing legal claims against the UK’s largest newspaper publisher and owner of one of the world’s most-read online news websites, which is currently bidding to increase its hold on the British media by buying the Telegraph group.

The murders of Daniel Morgan and Stephen Lawrence took place six years apart, but only a few miles away from each other in south‑east London. And they are connected by more than just geographical proximity.

Both murder investigations were stymied by the same cartel of corrupt police officers with gangland affiliations, and ready access to the British popular press.

Anyone who saw the recent TV drama The Hack, or has followed the podcast Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder that I hosted and produced with Deeivya Meir ten years ago, will understand the centrality of Southern Investigations to the spread of the dark arts of “unlawful information gathering” (UIG) after one of its founders, Daniel Morgan, was slain with an axe in the car park of a Sydenham pub in 1987.

After Daniel’s murder, his co‑founder Jonathan Rees, and the man who took Daniel’s place, former “King of Catford” Detective Sergeant Sid Fillery, went on to turn Southern Investigations into the hub of the dark arts — bribing police officers, hacking phones and computers, blagging financial and medical records, impersonation, surveillance and intimidation .

Read the full article here >

IOPC Publishes police complaints statistics for England and Wales in 2024 / 2025

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:24:25 GMT

all credits: IOPC

originally published: 27 November 2025

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

Each year, The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) publishes statistics about the complaints that forces have logged. Their complaints statistics reports include information about the number and type of complaints made. They also set out how these complaints were subsequently dealt with, and include demographic data about who complained and who the complaint was about.

This report presents figures on complaints about the police in England and Wales for 2024/25. These complaints are made by members of the public about the service they have received from a police force. They are handled under the Police Reform Act 2002, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

Most of the data referred to in this report was recorded on police force IT systems and collected by the IOPC.

While data has undergone quality assurance checks, the statistics remain under evaluation until their quality, including their accuracy, reliability, and their value, is established and verified. Therefore they should be treated as experimental (see note below * ) to acknowledge that they should be interpreted with some caution and that further development and evaluation is currently taking place.

* The Office for National Statistics describes these as ‘a series of statistics that are in a testing phase and not yet fully developed’.

Read more here >

Download report here >

Renée Good deserved much better, and so did Samuel DuBose

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:25:19 GMT

source: Black Catholic Messengers

published: 14 January 2026

Image Credit: vudhikrai at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

On Jan. 7, Renée Nicole Good dropped her six-year old son off at his Minneapolis school for the last time. She brought him some stuffed play animals as a present, but did not live to deliver them.

In the aftermath of her senseless and tragic death , the news cycle was ruled by the lie that her killer—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross—shot her in self-defense as she supposedly attempted to run him over.

This asinine incident in Minneapolis instantly reminded me of another police killing, one with striking similarities, that I reported on in Cincinnati 10 years ago.

The officer involved in the killing of 43-year-old Samuel DuBose in July 2015 was a University of Cincinnati police officer named Raymond Tensing , 25, with four years of experience in law enforcement.

I covered that killing—a miscarriage of justice—for the Tennessee Tribune, the state's oldest Black newspaper, and the Cincinnati Herald, the city's weekly Black newspaper. A decade before, I was a courts and police reporter in Sandusky, Ohio, covering its police department—which acted more like an oppressive, occupying army.

A father of 13 children, DuBose was, like Renée Good, unarmed and sitting in his car, wearing his seat belt, when Tensing shot him in the head.

Read full article >

Tony Blair shielded troops from civilian or ICC trials in Baha Mousa killing, files reveal

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 23:41:16 GMT

source: The Final Call

published: 13 January 2026

Image Credit: Jsakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Newly disclosed government files show that former UK prime minister Tony Blair intervened to prevent civilian or international prosecution of British soldiers involved in the death of Baha Mousa, the Iraqi detainee killed in UK custody in one of the Iraq War’s most notorious abuse cases.

Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel receptionist and father of two, died on September 15, 2003 after being tortured for 36 hours at a British military facility in Basra. A post-mortem recorded 93 injuries on his body. Corporal Donald Payne later admitted to leading what soldiers called “the choir,” a coordinated series of punches and kicks inflicted on detainees.

The sustained abuse meted out to father-of-two Baha Mousa, 26, represented a "very serious breach of discipline" by members of 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR), the landmark inquiry found.

In a July 2005 memo, Blair’s private secretary for foreign affairs, Antony Phillipson, wrote to the prime minister that the case was likely to go to a court martial and that the attorney general retained the discretion to direct it toward a civil court if deemed appropriate.

Blair hand-wrote on the document that the case “must not” be handled by a civil court. “It must not!” the former PM wrote on top of this paragraph in the files released.

Read full article here >

Related News:

The brutal death of Baha Mousa

3 May 2013

Baha Mousa inquiry: 'Serious discipline breach' by army

8 September 2011

Ruth Ellis, hanged in UK was abuse victim and should be pardoned

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:36:44 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 22 October 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

The grandchildren of the last woman to be hanged in Britain are seeking a posthumous pardon, saying she was physically and emotionally abused by her partner before she killed him.

Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, was executed on 13 July 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely. She was hanged at London's Holloway Prison.

"We are determined to do what we can to right this historic injustice and honour not only Ruth but all victims of domestic abuse who have been let down by the criminal justice system," said her granddaughter Laura Enston.

Laura Enston grew up in a family haunted for generations by a murder and an execution. As the granddaughter of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, Laura’s life was never going to be straightforward.

Ellis shot Blakely outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, following a tumultuous relationship involving infidelity on both sides.

Ellis had an abortion, which was illegal in the UK at the time, and was physically abused by the racing driver - including being punched in the stomach during an argument that led to her miscarriage.

The British public was already questioning whether capital punishment had a place in 20th Century society and, two years after Ellis' hanging, legal changes saw diminished responsibility introduced as a defence.

The judge told the jury in her case to disregard the fact that the mother-of-two had been "badly treated by her lover" as a defence.

Read the full article here >

10 January 2026

The true story of Ruth Ellis and the hanging that rocked a nation

5 March 2025

Book - Ruth Ellis, My Mother: A Daughter's Memoir of the Last Woman to be Hanged

April 1995

US executions surged in 2025 to highest level in 16 years

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:23:14 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 31 December 2025

Image Credit: Falkenpost at www.FreeRangeStock.com

US executions have surged in 2025 to the highest level in 16 years, as Donald Trump's campaign to reinvigorate judicial killings, combined with the US supreme court’s increasing refusal to engage in last-minute pleas for reprieve, have taken a heavy toll.

A total of 47 men – they were all male – have been killed by states operating the death penalty in the course of the year. That was almost double the number in 2024, amounting to the greatest frenzy of capital punishment bloodletting in the US since 2009.

The dramatic jump in the practice of state killing will further separate the US from almost all other developed countries . Only Japan, Singapore and Taiwan have staged executions in recent years.

The increase in the US is all the more pronounced given the gradual decline in capital punishment that had been the prevailing wind in the US for most of the past two decades. It stands starkly discordant with the trend in public opinion.

Gallup, which has been taking the pulse of the American public’s views on the death penalty since 1937, found that this year 52% supported it for people convicted of murder – a 50-year low.

Most Americans under age 55 now oppose the practice.

Read the full article >

1 January 2026

Executions in Iran estimated to have doubled in 2025, report says

28 December 2025

State of the Nation: An evening with Akala (Birmingham)

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:22:40 GMT

all credits: B:Music

first published: December 2025

Image Credit: B:Music at www.bmusic.co.uk

Step into an unflinching night of truth, history and hope with one of Britain’s most formidable voices, Akala .

A BAFTA / MOBO award-winning hip-hop artist, best-selling author, historian and social entrepreneur, Akala has garnered a reputation for deftly unpacking the forces that shape modern British culture and politics.

Bringing together razor-sharp intellect, street-hardened honesty, and lyrical prowess, he will discuss the landscape at this critical inflection point — a Britain still haunted by colonial legacy, structural inequality and class divisions, but is it also a Britain capable of awakening, reimagining and real social change?

Drawing from his No.2 Sunday Times bestselling book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, his renowned musical, broadcast, academic and international cultural exchanges, Akala promises an evening of hard-hitting insights, deeply felt stories, sharp analysis and urgent calls for solidarity.

Featuring special guests – join us for an evening for the curious, sceptical or determined mind... this event promises to be an immersive exploration of the current State of the Nation.

Book tickets here >

Calls for 'The Right to be Forgotten' (criminal records)

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:21:52 GMT

source: Russell Webster

first published: 5 January 2026

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

A new (December 2025) briefing from Unlock , the charity which supports and advocates for people with criminal records to be able to move on positively in their lives, examines how the digital age has undermined the promise of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) and sets out reforms needed to protect the right to move on from a criminal record.

The briefing, entitled the Right to be Forgotten , shows how Employers, education providers and others can easily discover information online that they would not lawfully receive via a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) was designed for an analogue world in which criminal record information was accessed only through formal channels and with the individual’s knowledge and consent. Today, online news archives, search engines, social media and rogue “naming and shaming” sites mean that criminal records – including spent convictions – can remain searchable indefinitely.

Employers, education providers and others can easily discover information online that they would not lawfully receive via a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Indeed many people routinely Google the name of a new work colleague out of idle curiosity. For people with a criminal conviction, the digital world can make it almost impossible to leave behind earlier mistakes.

The report explains the DBS framework (basic, standard and enhanced checks) and shows that, in principle, how this system ought to balance safeguarding with rehabilitation. In practice, however, the availability of online information bypasses DBS safeguards, giving employers uncontrolled access to partial and often inaccurate criminal record data.

Many routinely conduct online searches – including via search engines, social media and AI tools – without a lawful basis or clear policy on how to handle any criminal record information they find. This creates serious risks of unlawful data processing under UK GDPR and systemic discrimination.

See full article here >

See the briefing here >

A U.S. History of Racial Injustice Daily Calendar from the EJI

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:14:32 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

first published: date unknown

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

Learn more about the history of racial injustice by checking out the Equal Justice Initiative's online calendar, which features a different historical event each day.

Included in the December calendar is the confederate veterans establishment of the Ku Klux Klan in 1865.

Help confront our history to overcome racial inequality.

About the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI):

The EJI is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons.

Read more here >

Gaza: The humanitarian response is ongoing despite restrictions

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 20:53:43 GMT

source: UN News

published: 24 December 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

Although “significant restrictions and impediments” continue to hamper humanitarian operations in Gaza, teams are still responding to the population’s needs, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Wednesday.

“As part of these efforts, the UN and its partners offload more essential supplies at crossings around Gaza every day,” it said .

On Monday, humanitarians offloaded nearly 4,000 pallets of aid at two border crossings – Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem in the southern Strip and Zikim in the north.

Around 65 per cent of the pallets contained food supplies, while 12 per cent carried shelter items. Another 12 per cent were water, sanitation and hygiene items, and 7 per cent comprised health and nutrition supplies.

The UN also attempted to coordinate five humanitarian movements with the Israeli authorities on Tuesday. While three were facilitated, one was initially approved but never received clearance to proceed, and another was cancelled by the organisers.

“As a result, teams could redeploy staff and carry out some of the planned collection of food and health supplies from Kerem Shalom crossing, alongside other missions in areas where coordination with the Israeli authorities was not required,” OCHA said .

Read full article >

Shackled, alone and scared: the grim reality for women forced to give birth in prison

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 01:00:10 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 18 December 2025

Image Credit: RDNE Stock project at www.Pexels.com

Dina Hernández was 35 weeks pregnant when she was arrested near her home in San Salvador in March 2024. The 28-year-old human rights activist, who was with her five-year-old son, was accused of “ illicit association ” with gang members and jailed without evidence.

Three weeks later, her family received a call from the prison authorities to collect the body of her newborn baby. The cause of death has not been investigated and the family has no idea what happened, or whether Hernández – who is believed to remain in prison – received any postnatal care.

Cases such as Hernández’s are far from uncommon in El Salvador’s prisons, and throughout the world. Pregnant women are often kept in deplorable conditions and denied medical attention; some miscarry, others go into labour and give birth alone in a cell. Some babies die behind bars.

“Prison is not a good environment for women, let alone someone who is pregnant,” says Sabrina Mahtani, a British-Zambian lawyer and member of Women Beyond Walls , a global collaboration dedicated to combating the over-incarceration of women and girls. “There’s so much research that shows how harmful it is.

“Many prisons were built with men in mind, so women were an afterthought. There are lots of issues around violence, a lack of resources, a lack of sanitation, overcrowding, but also a real lack of gender-responsive care.”

Read full article >

Undercover police inquiry hears that Met stopped disclosure of spying on Lawrence family

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:01:05 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 8 December 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

Senior Metropolitan Police officers stopped an undercover officer from revealing to the Macpherson public inquiry that the force had spied on the family of Stephen Lawrence during the 1990s, according to evidence heard by the Undercover Policing Inquiry.

Peter Francis, a former undercover officer in the Met’s Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), said he had ‘hostile and heated’ exchanges with senior managers after insisting the Macpherson panel should be told about the surveillance. He said he was warned that the consequences for him ‘would be bad’ if he continued to push the point.

Francis, who went public in 2013, told the inquiry that collecting intelligence on the Lawrence family and black justice campaigns became a central focus of his deployment. He alleged that a senior officer instructed him to gather anything that could be used to undermine the family’s campaign – a claim denied by the Met. Members of the Macpherson panel have previously said they received no briefing about undercover policing around the inquiry.

The inquiry also heard evidence about long-running SDS practices, including the use of the identities of deceased children for cover purposes. Francis said it was ‘standard practice’ to adopt a dead child’s identity and recalled being instructed to trawl graveyards for suitable names.

Officers routinely obtained birth and death certificates to support their identities, a practice that continued for almost three decades until records were digitised .

Read the full article here >

Film - UK Police Brutality: Sean Rigg's sister shares his story

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:46:28 GMT

source: The Decolonial Centre

published: 14 December 2025

Image Credit: Decolonial Centre

In this powerful episode of Decolonial Dispatch, host Mohammed dives into the critical issue of racism and police brutality, ignited by a recent BBC Panorama expose on police misconduct. Special guest Marcia Rigg, a key figure in the United Families & Friends Campaign , shares her deeply personal story about the tragic death of her brother Sean Rigg in police custody.

The Decolonial Centre (DcC) are a political education platform committed to spreading anti-colonial and decolonial perspectives on history, social theory, and current affairs. Operating from the historical epicentre of colonialism in Britain, the DcC is global majority-led and a project of the Pluto Educational Trust.

The episode covers the broader implications of institutional racism within the UK's law enforcement agencies, highlighting systemic failures and ongoing struggles for justice.

DcC‘s aim is to produce the definitive podcast series that brings together the anti-racist left. In a kitchen-table, bread and butter style approach. Each week they discuss one of the world’s most pressing global issues and with voices from the left who are championing change. They invite guests whose work, insights, or lived experiences resonate with the topics and themes being explored that week.

For one recently released episode, DcC invited Marcia Rigg, who spoke about the recently held remembrance procession in October honouring all those whose lives have been lost at the hands of police violence, the colonial genealogy of policing and the transformative justice in the wake of ongoing crackdowns in Britain.

The United Families & Friends Campaign is a coalition of families and friends of those that have died in the custody of police and prison officers as well as those who are killed in secure immigration units and psychiatric hospitals.

Just by shopping you can support the National Memorial Family Fund

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 02:05:54 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

republished: 9 December 2025

Image Credit: rawpixel at www.FreeRangeStock.com

You can now support the National Memorial Family Fund every time you shop online.

It’s really simple, and donors are not out-of-pocket!

You can easily help raise money for the fund simply by doing something that we all do on a regular basis… Our shopping for food, furniture, DIY, garden products, movies, clothing or items via over 8,000 brands including Amazon, Western Union, eBay and many other outlets.

Visit our Easyfundraising page for details and registration here: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/nationalmemorialfamily

"United to make a difference"

The National Memorial Family Fund is led by 4WardEverUK, in association with Naphtali & Associates, Catalyst 4 Change, Migrant Media and others.

How Easyfundraising Works!

When you use easyfundraising.org.uk to shop with any of their 4,000 retailers, the retailer makes a small donation to say thanks, and this gets transferred to your cause.

Just shop online as you would normally! You can also use the website or App to browse retailers. Then just click on the retailer you’d like to shop with. It’s simple, and you’ll help our cause.

Forgotten photos expose UK army abuses in Iraq

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 01:07:23 GMT

source: Progressive International

published: 1 December 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

Newly published photographic evidence, alongside archived testimonies from a public inquiry, documents a pattern of systemic abuse inflicted on Iraqi civilians by British soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment in 2003.

This abuse occurred with the knowledge and sanction of senior officers, who ordered that detainees be dealt with "harshly." Despite a public inquiry, there was a near-total lack of accountability, with almost none of the soldiers involved in these specific episodes facing prosecution.

A shirtless British soldier, clinging to the hair of an Iraqi man whose eyes and nose have been tightly wrapped with black gaffer tape.

A line of eight Iraqi men with sand bags over their heads, crouched in stress positions on a pavement as a soldier points at them from across a street.

These are among several images, published by Declassified today, which further document the abuse Iraqi civilians endured at the hands of British soldiers after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

They are being published as Iraqis go to the polls in a national parliamentary election where the incumbent prime minister has reiterated calls for Western forces to leave the country.

Some of the photos, taken in Basrain September 2003, show members of the local Garamsche tribe detained by British soldiers from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment who were ordered to round them up and deal with them “harshly.”

Less than a week later, soldiers from the same regiment would subject Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa and eight other detainees to “gratuitous violence”, including beatings, stress positions and episodes of sexual humiliation, a public inquiry later found.

Read full article >

How many women are in prison and on death row around the world?

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:44:05 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 27 November 2025

Image Credit: Naypong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

More than 733,000 women and girls are held in penal institutions globally, according to the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, either as pre-trial detainees or remand prisoners, or having been convicted and sentenced. The actual total is thought to be much higher, as figures for five countries are not available and those for China are incomplete .

Women are always a minority in national prison populations – only 2-9% on average – and in 2024 women and girls made up just 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their numbers are growing and at a faster rate than those of men.

Since 2000, the number of women and girls in prison has grown by almost 60% – nearly three times the increase in the male prison population of about 22%. The global female prison population increased by more than 100,000 in the 10 years to the end of 2020.

What is driving the increase?

Offences committed by women are often closely linked to poverty, and frequently a means of survival to support their family and children.

Research by Penal Reform International, Women Beyond Walls, and the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status found that laws criminalise acts of survival and that women are disproportionately affected because they are over-represented among the poorest sectors of society.

Read the full article >

27 November 2025

Women in Prison respond to women's prison population predicted rise of 16% by 2027

5 March 2025

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 2023

30 January 2025

Women in prison (The Prison Reform Trust)

Published 2025

Concern about epilepsy deaths in the UK's prison system

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:10:03 GMT

source: Russell Webster

published: 25 November 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at Pexels.com

A new (24 November 2025) Learning Lessons bulletin from the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman summarises research from PPO investigations from the past ten years where a prisoner’s death was caused by epilepsy or the prisoner was diagnosed with epilepsy. Our research found the care prisoners with epilepsy receive could be improved and highlights areas requiring further work.

Context and data:

To understand the learning from epilepsy-related deaths in prisons, the PPO team considered three categories of death types.

Group 1: Where the primary cause of the prisoner’s death was epilepsy (as recorded in the post-mortem) (25 cases).
Group 2: Where the secondary cause of the prisoner’s death was epilepsy (as recorded in the post-mortem) (12 cases).
Group 3: Where the prisoner was diagnosed with epilepsy, but their primary or secondary cause of death was not epilepsy-related (88 cases).

In the past 10 years, the PPO has investigated 125 deaths that fell into one of these three categories. For each group, the PPO report and clinical review was analysed.

Key findings:

The PPO research has identified the following areas that need to be explored further:

The number of SUDEPs is higher in prison than in the community.

It is estimated that sudden and unexpected deaths in epilepsy (SUDEPs) make up around 0.15% of deaths a year in the UK. From post-mortem reports of deaths in prisons from the past 10 years, 0.64% of deaths in prison were SUDEPs.

The diagnosis of epilepsy within prisons could be improved.

In 11% of the cases from group 1 and 2 (where the primary or secondary cause of death was epilepsy) the prisoner had not been diagnosed with epilepsy.

There is a lower remission rate in prison than in the community. 

From the 125 death investigations, the PPO found only 18% had not experienced a seizure in the past year, 56% had, and for the remaining 26% of prisoners it was unclear.

Read full article >

“A production line of pointlessness” - Children on custodial remand

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 23:48:24 GMT

source: Children's Commissioner

published: 11 November 2025

Image Credit: artur84 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Since becoming the Children’s Commissioner, I have travelled across the country meeting children whose lives are shaped by decisions made far away from them and those whose voices are rarely heard.

Time and time again, I have witnessed children being held on custodial remand, not because they pose the greatest risk, but because the system around them has failed. This report shines a light on one of the most troubling aspects of our youth justice system, the use of custodial remand on children.

Every child has the right to grow up safe, loved, and with the opportunity to thrive. Yet, for too many children, that promise is broken long beforehand.

Last year, 441 children who were locked up in custody awaiting their hearing did not end up receiving a custodial sentence. Another 168 children had their case dismissed altogether.

These are not harmless delays. Even a short spell in custody can be profoundly damaging to a child. From disrupting education, cutting them off from their family and community and sometimes entrenching the vulnerabilities that brought them into contact with the justice system in the first place. That experience leaves a mark, one that lasts long after their release.

What children tell me most about their time on remand is the uncertainty. Not knowing what the outcome will be or how long they will be held in custody. They describe feeling powerless, having to cope with waiting for decisions that are constantly delayed and beyond their control.”

Read full article >

View/Download Report >

Remembrance & Memorials : The people's poet, Benjamin Zephaniah

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:48:41 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

first published: 21 December 2023

Image Credit: Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Professor Benjamin Zephaniah

The following article is dedicated to Benjamin Zephaniah (cousin of Mikey Powell ), who died on 7 December 2023 aged 65. He died in the early hours of Thursday morning after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks before.

Brother, Tippa Naphtali , said; "To the world Benjamin was the renowned writer, poet, human rights activist, actor and outspoken critic of the state and social injustice and more'. To us, his family, he was also all of these things, but most important of all he was simply a son, brother, uncle or cousin - and we will miss him deeply.

"We've put together this collection of clips and stories to demonstrate the depth of respect which is held globally for Benjamin. His message and legacy will remain for generations, carrying on his work and influence in all spheres of cultural and social dialogue.

"With the greatest of respect dear brother."

Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has been remembered as a "titan of British literature" after his death aged 65. Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, UK, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write.

Benjamin Zephaniah: The People’s Poet

(by friend and comrade, Mukhtar Dar )

Benjamin Zephaniah was the living embodiment of the principles he championed—justice, equality, and humanity. His is a profound legacy for young people in our communities to emulate and follow, writes Mukhtar Dar, former member of the Birmingham Asian Youth Movement.

My journey with Benjamin Zephaniah began in the vibrant cauldron of ideologies that was Handsworth in the mid-1980s. As a member of the Sheffield Asian Youth Movement, I found myself immersed in the Black revolutionary politics that defined this hub, attracting artists, activists, and academics. It was here that I first encountered the magnetic presence of Benjamin Zephaniah.

In those tumultuous times, I was documenting the anti-racist struggles of Asian and African Caribbean communities, and in particular the Newham 7 and Newham 8 Campaigns — Asian youth who defended themselves and their communities against brutal racist attacks in East London. Benjamin and his brother Tippa Naphtali actively supported these campaigns, lending their voices through performances at fundraising events and, together with Tippa, and I, we engaged the crowd on the mic while playing drums during the weekly pickets of the trial outside the Old Bailey in London.

Life took me to Manchester and Liverpool, where I had the privilege of teaching art at the Centre for Arts Development Training. It was during this time that I discovered the personal connection—Amina, one of my students, of Pakistani background introduced me to her husband, Benjamin Zephaniah.

Read full article here >

Other Tributes & News:

1st Commemoration Event: We Remember Benjamin Zephaniah

2 November 2024

Obituary: Benjamin Zephaniah – the People’s Laureate

17 December 2023

RIP Professor Benjamin Zephaniah

December 2023

Poet who made the British establishment uncomfortable

16 December 2023

Benjamin Zephaniah was the heart and consciousness of Black Britain

8 December 2023

Benjamin Zephaniah: 'Everything about the man was grace and wonder'

7 December 2023

A sandy place, a recipe for a nation and a Christmas plea: three poems by Benjamin Zephaniah

7 December 2023

New ACLU report exposes systemic failures behind wrongful death penalty convictions

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 23:49:46 GMT

source: ACLU

first published: 19 November 2025

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The American Civil Liberties Union released Fatal Flaws: Innocence, Race and Wrongful Convictions today, a new report exposing how racism, human error, and systemic failures have made wrongful convictions, and particularly the wrongful conviction of Black men, an inevitable consequence of the death penalty system .

Fatal Flaws underscores the devastating and irrevocable human cost of a flawed system – one that robs people of decades of life while waiting for an exoneration, or in the worst of cases – costs innocent life. Despite growing public opposition to the death penalty, there have been more executions this year than any year over the past decade, including of people who had compelling innocence claims.

“Every wrongful conviction reveals not just individual failure, but the patterns of systemic injustice baked into the death penalty itself,” said Megan Byrne, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project. “The death penalty was built on a foundation of racism, and those roots still shape how it works today. When you combine that history with human bias and political pressure to reach convictions in high profile cases, it becomes clear why wrongful death sentences are not rare accidents, they’re the predictable result of a fundamentally flawed system that fails the accused and the community at large. The only way to prevent wrongful convictions is to end the death penalty once and for all.”

Since the modern death penalty era began in 1973, at least 200 people have been exonerated from death row across the United States. At least 21 others who were likely innocent have already been executed. The report examines the factors that led to these wrongful convictions and highlights the human stories behind them, including Glynn Simmons, who spent 48 years wrongfully imprisoned, the longest known wrongful incarceration in U.S. history.

Read the full article >

18 November 2025

Migrant workers’ mental health cannot remain as an afterthought

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 23:31:53 GMT

source: New Age

published: 20 November 2025

Image Credit: Alberto Lugli at www.FreeRangeStock.com

The mental health crisis of migrant workers is a dismal story that often remains little talked about although the impact is severe. Wage Earners’ Welfare Board statistics show that more than 20,000 Bangladeshis have died overseas over five years.

A staggering 31 per cent of the deaths are classified as ‘abnormal,’ an estimated 700 cases of which are suicide. The number of such deaths attributable to mental crises and suicides is likely to be much higher, as the country accepts the bodies without scrutiny or independent post-mortem examinations on repatriated remains.

Besides, many migrant workers, including females, return home carrying unbearable psychological wounds. The non-governmental organisation BRAC alone has received 150 deported migrant workers with acute mental health disorders in five years and its counsellors have supported more than 15,000 migrants experiencing mental distress.

Experts say that migrants are especially vulnerable to mental crises and feel distressed from the very beginning of the migration process. The distress begins from the moment a would-be migrant takes out high-interest loans to pay exorbitant migration fees and it only compounds abroad with low wages, unpaid wages, abusive employers, punishing work hours, poor living conditions and loneliness.

The mental health crisis is especially prominent for female workers, who usually remain trapped inside a house, enduring punishing work hours and abuse.

Read full article >

Memorial Family Fund MemberBASE, donor & membership portal

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:26:40 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

first published: 17 October 2025

Image Credit: Tippa.Naphtali at www.naphtaliassociates.org.uk

In 2023 The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) revamped their MemberBASE service, which combines contributions to the Fund with a number of extra benefits utilising the Stripe payment platform. Your support is needed - please help!

Visitors can register as FREE members, or be dual donor/members. ALL members have full control to manage and renew their subscriptions online. They can also book onto our events and other activities without leaving the member portal.

Find out more about 'MemberBASE' and register here:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/donor-members

New subscriber's are also auto-added to the NMPMFF news and events platforms, but have the option to cancel these if they choose.

The revamped donor platform gives you complete ( and flexible ) control over how you interact and support the work of the Fund. All of our 'Member Options' are flexible so you can dip in and out, increase or decrease your donations as you wish, and interact with other members as well as with the Memorial Family Fund staff and/or volunteers.

And all in one place!

Benefits to our donors and supporters:

Supporters can become FREE members ( no donation required )
Secure personal account showing all their activities and donations in one place
Single or multiple donor options with no long-term commitment
Real flexibility to adjust their donations plan if needed

and much more to come...

See full details here >

Police in England and Wales barred from blaming restraint deaths on ‘excited delirium’

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:11:33 GMT

source: The Guardian

originally published: 20 April 2024

Image Credit: IdeaGo at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4WardEverUK is republishing this article as affirmation that the police watchdog for England and Wales removed this controversial 'medical' term from its incident forms in 2024.

The police watchdog for England and Wales has removed a controversial medical term from its incident forms after claims it plays into racist stereotypes and detracts attention from police brutality.

Until now, police forces referring a death or serious incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have been given the option to tick “ excited delirium ” in a list of relevant factors.

The term has historically been used to describe people who are agitated or acting bizarrely, usually because of mental illness, drug use or both. Symptoms are said to include insensitivity to pain, aggression, increased strength and elevated heart rate.

But it is not a recognised medical condition, is rooted in pseudoscience and has been criticised for playing into racial tropes about superhuman strength, which campaigners say can lead to increased use of police force.

In 2021, excited delirium was mentioned in the trial of Derek Chauvin , the former US police officer found guilty of the murder of George Floyd . Police officers discussed whether Floyd might have excited delirium as they restrained him. It has also come up in police restraint cases in Britain.

Last month, an Observer investigation found excited delirium and the alternative term “acute behavioural disturbance”, as it is now more commonly known in Britain, had been cited as a cause of death, or a contributing factor, in IOPC reports and inquests in at least 44 police restraint death cases since 2005.

Read the full article >

22 December 2023

As foundation for ‘excited delirium’ diagnosis cracks, fallout spreads

13 December 2013

Ongoing issues with the diagnosis of excited delirium

3 August 2017

Staying safer from racist intimidation and attacks (Hackney Anti-Raids)

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:26:08 GMT

source: NETPOL

first published: 9 October 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

This is a guest post from Hackney Anti-Raids. You may also wish to read Netpol’s key safety advice for people joining anti-fascist protests .

There has been rising violence and intimidation from racist groups, particularly targeting refugees living in hotels across the country. Hackney Anti-Raids have pulled together some suggestions for migrants who might be faced with racist attacks as they go about their daily lives.

What to do if you are being filmed

Do not engage or have a conversation with the person filming you.
Do not answer any questions they ask you. They will often put the footage online, so try not to react and avoid arguing and fighting back
Try to cover your face
Tell them: ‘I did not give consent to be filmed. Please stop and delete it now’
Speak loudly, calmly, and confidently so others can hear you
Ask for help from bystanders if needed
Walk away. They may follow you, but try to ignore them
Walk into a public space like a shop or station or even a busy main road where people can help you
You can try filming too. It may help de-escalate the situation and provide evidence you need later

Useful resources:

If you are arrested, Hackney Anti-Raids recommend contacting Commons Legal for free advice and police station support. You can contact Commons Legal on 020 3865 5403.

If you need immigration advice, you can contact the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants on 020 7553 7470 or Praxis on 020 7749 7605.

Remember: Self defence is no offence!

See full article & resources >

New rules for police use of force ‘undermine the rule of law’ say campaigners

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:06:56 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 27 October 2025

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The government has announced new rules to increase protections for police officers facing misconduct hearings following recommendations from a review by Sir Adrian Fulford, former judge, and Tim Godwin, former police chief.

Misconduct hearings will now apply the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt rather than the civil test on the balance of probabilities. Officers will be assessed on whether they held an ‘honest belief’ that the use of force was necessary in a dangerous situation. Police officers often justify their use of force on self-defence. The new rules will make it harder to challenge that defence.

The changes are a result of the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba, and the unanimous acquittal of the officer involved, Sergeant Martin Blake. Kaba, 24, was shot dead in South London in September 2022 after the police blocked his car .

Blake was charged with murder but cleared by a jury last year, telling the court he believed his colleagues were in danger. The government said the case showed confusion in the disciplinary process and announced plans to raise the legal standard used in police misconduct cases.

Read full article >

Day Against Death Penalty ‘a chance to redouble efforts despite setbacks’

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 02:25:26 GMT

source: Vatican News

published: 10 October 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

On the World Day Against the Death Penalty [10 October], Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of the US-based Catholic Mobilizing Network, explores the many positive movements that have been made to abolish the death penalty, despite an uptick in executions this year.

By 2024, more than two-thirds of countries had abolished the death penalty—145 nations have now eliminated it either in law or in practice. Despite this progress, the number of executions recorded worldwide has increased, reaching 1,518 in 2024—the highest figure since 2015.

Countries such as China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United States account for the vast majority of these executions.

The World Day Against the Death Penalty, marked annually on October 10, offers an opportunity to assess the progress made in the global effort to end executions.

“In the United States,” explained Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) - an organization working across the U.S. to raise awareness against capital punishment - “we’re in the middle of the effort to end the death penalty.”

“About half of the states in the United States have the death penalty, and about half of them have repealed the death penalty and taken it off the books,” she said. “We are in the middle of, unfortunately, many executions right now in the United States. There's been somewhat of an uptick of executions and a regression. The political rhetoric of this time is difficult. We need to value the dignity of every human person. That includes people who are sitting on death row. So we will not give up this fight. And the progress that we've made has been hard won. We will move forward and continue in order to end the death penalty in the United States.”

Even on Friday, October 10, an execution is scheduled to take place in the US state of Indiana .

Read the full article >

'I think about how cruel and disgraceful what happened was' - Mother of Clinton McCurbin

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 21:51:23 GMT

source: Express & Star

published: 17 September 2025

Image Credit: Vlada Karpovich at www.Pexels.com

The mother of a Wolverhampton man who died in police custody nearly 40 years ago said that her faith had helped her to deal with the memories, but there was still anger and disappointment at what had happened to her son [Clinton McCurbin].

Esther McCurbin was one of the guests of honour at the “STOP! We Are Not the Police” conference at Wolverhampton Science Park on Tuesday (September 16), where it was officially announced that a campaign had been launched to acquire a new plaque to mark the 40th anniversary of her son Clinton's death.

The 24-year-old died from asphyxia when police officers tried to arrest him in full view of passing shoppers inside the glass-fronted former Next store in Dudley Street in Wolverhampton on February 20, 1987, after unproven allegations that a credit card had been stolen.

Ms McCurbin said that while faith helped her to deal with the death of her son, she was still angry at the circumstances behind his death, including no official apology, no public memorial, and no meaningful acknowledgement of his loss.

She said: "The memories of that day are not as strong now because I'm a Christian and I've learned to deal with certain things that I cannot fix and God was able to do the best for me and others, although when his birthday comes around, I do remember that."

Read the full article here >

September 2025

Wolverhampton campaign honours Black man who died in police custody 40 years ago

18 September 2025

Donkor, Kimathi - The Death of Clinton McCurbin (art/design item)

2022

Remembrance & Memorials : Cynthia Jarrett

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 21:10:18 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 12 January 2024

Image Credit: Valeria Boltneva at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Cynthia Jarrett

On 5 October 1985 four police officers went to search the home of Mrs Cynthia Jarrett, near the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham. Mrs Jarrett's son Floyd was in custody at Tottenham police station having given a false name when found in a car with an inaccurately made out tax disc.

The visit caused panic among some of the occupants, and in the furore Jarrett’s mother, Mrs Cynthia Jarrett, collapsed. She was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Mrs Jarrett collapsed and died of a heart attack during the search.

The Jarrett’s home was close to the Broadwater Farm Estate. The death caused tensions to mount. That period was in any case already tense. A week earlier in Brixton, a black woman named Cherry Groce had been shot by police during another raid and paralysed below the waist.

It began with a modest crowd of young men “demonstrating” outside Tottenham police station at the death of Mrs Jarrett. As matters escalated, two home Beat officers were attacked and seriously injured by a brick-throwing crowd, one of them having his spleen ruptured by a paving stone thrown onto his back when he had fallen.

Following a protest meeting where responsible community leaders proposing a motion of complaint were shouted down, a police inspector driving past the estate was attacked and had his car window smashed. A police van answering a 999 call was surrounded, attacked and severely damaged by a mob with machetes, bars and knives.

Download the full case profile here >

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Small gains in prison education at risk from budget cuts

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 20:32:01 GMT

source: Russell Webster

published: 29 September 2025

Image Credit: sakhon at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Each year the prison education statistics come out from the Ministry of Justice. And each year they tell a pretty familiar story of high levels of need that prisons are struggling to meet. This year’s statistics – which cover 2024-25 and only include public sector adult prisons in England – are no different, although they do show levels of participation rising slightly.

But they come at a key juncture for prison education, with new contracts about to come in and real concern about budget cuts.

Firstly, the statistics include the results of literacy and numeracy assessments that people sent to prison complete before they engage in education. As always, they show lower levels among people in prison than in the broader population, with the majority (69% in Maths and 65% in English) at Entry Level 1-Entry Level 3.

This is very slightly lower than last year – when the equivalent figures were 73% and 71% respectively – but still much, much higher than for the population as a whole (where the equivalent figures are 49% for numeracy and 15% for literacy).

Maybe most worryingly, 20% – nearly 10,000 people – were at Entry Level 1 for literacy, the lowest level in the assessment. The National Literacy Trust notes that adults below Entry Level 1 “may not be able to write short messages to family or read a road sign”. This shows how important it is to provide additional support, often one-to-one, for this group to enable them to, if nothing else, engage with the day-to-day prison regime.

Also important is the proportion of people who have a learning difficulty and/or disability (LDD). There is no overall figure on this for the prison population as a whole, but these statistics show that over half (57%) of people in prison who took an initial assessment and then enrolled on a course had an LDD. This again shows the importance of a personalised approach that takes into account these people’s specific needs.

Read the full article >

Remembrance & Memorials : Cherry Groce, 40 years on

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 23:08:29 GMT

all credits: Brixton Buzz

originally published: 24 September 2025

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Cherry Groce

Brixton House marked 40 years since the 1985 Brixton Uprising with the Cherry Groce Day on Sunday 28 September, a commemoration of Dorothy ‘Cherry’ Groce whose shooting by police sparked the unrest and galvanised a generation.

The day opened at 4pm with a devised performance directed by Sutara Gayle (aka Lorna Gee) and Adjoa Andoh, featuring young South London creatives exploring themes of justice, safety and belonging inspired by Groce’s story.

Cherry Groce memorial unveiled at Windrush Square. In the week Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd in the USA, which sparked the global BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement, this mother who was paralysed and died ten years ago is remembered.

Attention then turned to Lee Lawrence, Cherry’s son, who launched his new book 'The Colour of Injustice'. Blending first-hand experience with deeply researched history, the book traces racial injustice in Britain from the Mangrove Nine to Black Lives Matter. Journalist Nadine White will hosted a Q&A following readings from young people.

The evening celebrated Cherry’s enduring spirit through live music from Winston Reedy, Lorna Gee, Nathan Fagan Gayle, Reggae Choir, JayJay Born2Sing and Teshay Makeda, before an after-party hosted by Dark Crew.

The Cherry Groce Day formed part of Brixton House’s UPRISING Festival, a season reflecting on the legacy of the Uprising while amplifying contemporary Black British voices.

Read the full article here >

See 4WardEverUK Case Profile here >

25 April 2021

'The man who shot my mum is still living his life’: Cherry Groce's son on life after police brutality

5 September 2020

Cherry Groce: Mum's police shooting 'robbed me of my childhood'

1 July 2020

Cherry Groce inquest: family statement in full

10 July 2014

Immigration detention ends in provincial jails across Canada

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:46:46 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 19 September 2025

Image Credit: Nualpradid at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a major victory for migrant and refugee rights, on September 14, Ontario became the last province in Canada to block the Canada Border Services Agency from using provincial jails to incarcerate migrants and asylum seekers on administrative grounds.

The border agency said that “as of September 15, there are no people detained in a provincial correctional facility.”

Ontario historically had the largest number of immigration detainees in provincial jails, and scrutiny intensified after a 2023 coroner’s inquest into the 2015 death of Abdurahman Hassan revealed shocking conditions in those facilities.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International Canada launched the #WelcomeToCanada campaign in October 2021 to pressure provinces to end the practice. Since then, hundreds of advocates, lawyers, healthcare providers, and faith leaders , alongside people who had been in immigration detention as well as former cabinet ministers and dozens of leading social justice organizations , have called for an end to immigration detention in provincial jails. More than 30,000 people across Canada have written directly to authorities in support.

The use of provincial jails for immigration detention is punitive, inconsistent with international human rights standards , and devastating to people’s mental health.

A 2021 report documented that racialized people, and in particular Black men, are confined in more restrictive conditions and for longer periods than other detainees. People with disabilities also experience discrimination throughout the immigration detention process.

Read full article >

Birmingham pub bombings: PM pays tribute to families but fails to offer inquiry

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 23:14:09 GMT

source: The Herald (Scotland)

first published: 25 September 2025

Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sir Keir Starmer has said the families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings will “never be forgotten” but failed to commit to an inquiry into Britain’s biggest unsolved mass murder.

The Prime Minister said a new legacy scheme agreed with the Irish government meant that the atrocity could “now go into that system,” indicating it will be dealt with alongside other Troubles-era deaths.

Asked whether this made a full public inquiry more likely, he said reforms to the framework were designed to “get to the bottom” of “all” issues, including the Birmingham pub bombings.

Relatives of people killed in the 1974 attacks renewed calls for the probe “as a matter of urgency” last year ahead of the 50th anniversary of the killings.

Sir Keir said at the time that the Government was “engaging with the communities and campaigners” and would “come to a decision as quickly as we can.”

Speaking to BBC Midlands on Thursday, he said: “There has been engagement by the Government with those communities and of course what we’ve done, particularly in recent weeks and months, is to set up the new legacy arrangements, which we’ve now agreed with the Irish government and will now put through the necessary legislation and that means that this case can now go into that system and so we’ve made progress there.”

Pressed on whether an inquiry was in scope, the Prime Minister said: “Well, in my view it needs to go into the new legacy arrangements because they’re designed to get to the bottom of all the legacy issues including the Birmingham pub bombing and so that’s the route that this case should now take and I’m pleased that we’ve got the legacy arrangements in place.

“It’s something that hadn’t been done for many years but we’ve now managed to get them in the right place so we’ve made progress in that respect."

Read full article >

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The Hillsborough Law - what is it, and how did we get here?

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 23:09:01 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 15 September 2025

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

Ninety-seven people died because of the Hillsborough disaster. Hundreds more were injured. And there are many still living with psychological damage wrought by the stadium crush.

While this suffering springs from the day of the disaster - 15 April 1989 - it's been compounded by the prolonged struggle for justice since then.

Following the news that an agreement has been reached on the long-awaited introduction of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on Tuesday - commonly referred to as Hillsborough Law.

A terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

Inquests and trials

It took 27 years before a court finally ruled that those who died were unlawfully killed, and that the fans who were caught up in the crush bore no responsibility for causing it.

Those were amongst the findings of the second set of Hillsborough inquests, which finished in 2016 . The verdicts were marked with singing outside the coroner's court, as bereaved families and survivors celebrated a hard-fought moment.

They weren't to know that it would be nearly another decade before they had cause to celebrate again.

Read full article here >

last updated: 15 April 2024

Hillsborough Law to ensure truth never concealed by state again

15 September 2025

Hillsborough: Timeline of the 1989 stadium disaster

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Hillsborough Law Website

www.hillsboroughlawnow.org

Remembrance & Memorials : South Africa to reopen Biko inquest

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:08:09 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 13 September 2025

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Steve Biko

South African prosecutors will reopen an inquest into the death of the prominent anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko , nearly 50 years after he died in police custody.

Biko, the founder of South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement, died in a prison cell in 1977 aged just 30 , after being beaten into a coma by police who had arrested him nearly a month earlier.

The death sparked outrage across the world and he became an international symbol of the struggle against the race-based apartheid system that denied South Africa’s black majority political and economic rights.

Lumumba’s Africa explores the powerful legacy of Bantu Stephen Biko, the visionary leader behind the Black Consciousness Movement. Biko’s transformative ideas reshaped resistance in apartheid South Africa and continue to inspire generations.

“The main goal of reopening the inquest is to lay before the court evidence that will enable the court to make a finding … as to whether the death was brought about by any act, or omission, which prima facie involves or amounts to an offence on the part of any person,” the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.

The case will be reopened on the 48th anniversary of Biko’s death on 12 September.

A 1977 inquest accepted the police account that Biko sustained injuries when he hit his head against the wall and no one was prosecuted for the death.

Read the full article here >

See 4WardEverUK Case Profile here >

12 September 2025

Steve Biko: South African political leader

12 September 2025

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Twenty-Two Years On – Project HEAL film premier remembers Mikey Powell

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:32:08 GMT

source: National Memorial Family Fund

republished: 31 August 2025

Image Credit: Ken Fero at www.vimeo.com/migrantmedia

The 7th September 2025 will mark the 22nd anniversary of the brutal and needless death of father of three, Michael Lloyd Powell (commonly known as Mikey, and a cousin of the renowned late poet and writer, Dr Benjamin Zephaniah ) at the hands of West Midlands Police in Lozells, Birmingham. Mikey was experiencing a psychotic episode .

Mikey's 22nd year commemoration will be marked with a special screening of a Project HEAL film in his honour at a joint event to be held at Everyman Cinema in Birmingham on 7 September 2025. The film entitled 'Mikey, A Story by Tippa Naphtali', is one of the four docufilms in the Project HEAL series from Black Thrive Haringey . The film is a deeply personal and urgent story about injustice, grief, and the fight to heal.

In November 2023 an event, entitled 40:20:01, combined a celebration of INQUEST's 40th year , a dedication to Mikey's life, as well as the first ever National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund Annual Gala Activists Awards .

The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF)

is the main legacy to Mikey.

It is the first permanent national resource of its kind specifically for those affected by deaths and killings in custody or state neglect. The NMPMFF makes small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK to provide practical domestic assistance and campaign support. They also run (or are developing) a range of other support services for families, children and young people that are affected.

Since it was developed in 2015, the NMPMFF (working in conjunction with the United Families & Friends Campaign ) has awarded over £64,000 in grants and awards , and delivered several events including; 'Looking Back : Moving Forward' in Birmingham (September 2021), and 'Families Matter : Caring Matters' in Manchester (May 2023).

See other NMPMFF historic moments here >

See NMPMFF featured events here >

Family and Friends; (from Mikey's 10th Anniversary)

Mikey's Sister, Sieta Lambrias said; - “Whilst we appreciate the apology received by the WMP for the pain and anguish caused to my family as a consequence of Mikey’s death, we would be far more appreciative of an apology acknowledging that it was the actions of their officers that caused the death, as found by the inquest jury in 2009.”

Mikey's cousin, the late Dr Benjamin Zephaniah said; - “An apology for the death of my cousin ten years after the event is cold comfort. We have been asking questions for ten years, protesting for ten years, writing letters, and poems, and statements for ten years, but most of all we have been collectively grieving for ten years. What is important is that we let it be known that although we accept this apology, we are intelligent enough to know that it is just an apology, and it is not justice.”

Mikey's cousin, Joyce Springer-Amadedon said; - “From the beginning we thought we wouldn’t get a guilty verdict in the criminal courts, but we took it so far so that there would be some scrutiny, in particular for West Midlands Police, who have had a poor record in the past and need to be seen to be accountable. It was not just for us but for all the other families who don’t know how their loved ones came to die while in custody.”

Family supporter and radical filmmaker, Ken Fero said; - “Over the ten years of the struggle that this anniversary of the death of Mikey Powell marks it has been a real privilege to know and work with the family. Not only have they run an exemplary individual campaign on the legal and political fronts to get justice for Mikey, they have also worked to support other families that have experienced the brutality of a death in custody.

“They have shown resilience and insight and this has led to real change at different levels. What all families want when they lose a loved one under these circumstances is fairness in the justice system and for those responsible to be punished. 10 years on Mikey can be proud that the unrelenting daily work, particularly of his cousin Tippa Naphtali, has made sure his death wasn't in vain.”

For 2024 and beyond, Tippa Naphtali said;

"While we will never forget what happened on the night of my cousin, Mikey's, killing, but it is his life and how he lived it, that will continue to inspire us to develop mental health and wellbeing initiatives, and continue to fight for an end to deaths, killings and abuse at the hands of the state."

Read full report/see memorial gallery >

President Trump's aggressive death penalty push faces setbacks

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 23:15:07 GMT

source: Review Times

published: 23 August 2025

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

President Donald Trump's administration is faltering in its aggressive pursuit of the death penalty as it revisits cases in which predecessors explicitly decided against seeking capital punishment.

Since taking office in February, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against 19 people , including nine defendants in cases in which President Joe Biden's administration had sought lesser sentences.

But judges have blocked those reversal attempts for all but two defendants, most recently on Monday in a pair of cases in the U.S. Virgin Islands, showing the limits of the Trump administration's power to undo decisions in cases already well underway.

In pursuing capital punishment, the Justice Department is seeking to follow through on a Trump campaign promise to resume federal executions after they were halted by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The Republican president's Justice Department has accused the previous Democratic administration of supplanting “the will of the people with their own personal beliefs” in failing to seek death sentences in many cases involving horrific crimes.

Detailed opinions haven't been issued in the most recent two cases, which involve a man accused of killing a police officer in 2022 and two men accused of armed robbery and murder in 2018. But other judges who have rejected reversal attempts on constitutional and procedural grounds were blunt in their assessment of the Trump administration’s approach.

Read the full article >

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When Death Investigations go Wrong: New research reveals the risks of wrongful conviction

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 21:56:24 GMT

all credits: Innocence Project

published: 15 August 2025

Image Credit: mohamedhassan at www.FreeRangeStock.com

When a person dies under unexpected or suspicious circumstances, medicolegal death investigators, including coroners and medical examiners, are tasked with determining how and why.

But flawed investigations which are often the result of unconscious biases, a lack of standards, and insufficient training and oversight can deliver misleading and inaccurate findings that in turn may lead to wrongful convictions and leave victims’ families without justice.

At the latest Just Data: Advancing the Innocence Movement event hosted by the Innocence Project in June, experts unveiled troubling findings from an independent audit of Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), which reviewed deaths that occurred during or shortly after individuals were restrained, typically by law enforcement.

In 44 of the 87 cases, independent examiners disagreed with the OCME’s official manner-of-death ruling, including 36 deaths that reviewers deemed homicides but OCME had classified as undetermined, accidental, or even natural.

Reviewers also found that “excited” or “agitated” delirium — a controversial and discredited diagnosis often used to explain deaths in police custody — appeared in 42 of the cases, and was disproportionately applied to people of color. The use of this label obscures the true cause of death, shielding potential misconduct and preventing families from demanding accountability .

Read full article >

'People are angry': Behind the wave of asylum UK hotel protests

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 21:39:42 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 9 August 2025

Image Credit: pexels/duda

"We are not happy with these men in this hotel because we fear for our children," Orla Minihane tells me. "If that makes me far-right then so be it."

Orla has lived near Epping since she was a child and describes herself as a "very boring woman who has worked in the City of London for 25 years." Last year she joined Reform UK and hopes to stand as a local candidate for the party.

On a busy road leading to the Essex town, The Bell Hotel, now fortified, is one of more than 200 across the country where the government houses asylum seekers.

In the last month a series of protests, sometimes totalling several hundred people from both sides - and on one occasion up to 2,000 according to Essex Police - have taken place over the use of hotels for asylum seekers. About 20 more were planned for Friday and Saturday this week.

The latest round of demonstrations began at the 80-room Bell in July, after a man living in the hotel was arrested, and subsequently charged, with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and is in custody.

The case has sparked a wider conversation about the effect of housing asylum seekers in hotels in communities across Britain.

Read full article >

14 August 2025

A new way of thinking about empathy could cool Britain’s migration rows

13 August 2025

Opposing groups protest outside asylum seeker hotel

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Abuse of suspected migrants not an ‘innocent mistake’, says UK equality campaigner

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 02:29:59 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 13 August 2025

Image Credit: Alberto Lugli at www.FreeRangeStock.com

The vitriol faced by scouts and charity rowers mistaken for migrants was not an “innocent mistake”, a race equality campaigner has said, as she warned that toxic rhetoric could lead to more vigilantism and violence.

A wave of anti-migrant protests outside asylum hotels in recent weeks has been followed by growing reports of vigilantism, with people facing abuse after being mistaken for migrants.

Police have launched an investigation into an incident at a scout camp in Wales, where children were allegedly filmed and subjected to racial abuse amid unfounded speculation the site was being used to house immigrants.

Last week, Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe – formerly of Reform UK, now an independent – was accused of being part of a vigilante effort after he reported a charity rowing crew he mistakenly thought were possible “illegal migrants”.

“We’re in a really dangerous situation and the government really needs to step up to the challenge,” said Dr Shabna Begum, the chief executive of the Runnymede Trust.

“We’re in quite a desperate place of despair and gloom, and that breeds the division and type of activity that we’re seeing.

“We are looking at a really bleak future where, if the government doesn’t address some of the deep-seated inequalities in the country, we are likely to see more of these vigilante groups, which just breed more violence.”

Reports of a vigilante group in Bournemouth have been met with alarm. More than 200 residents have supposedly signed up to Safeguard Force, which claims it will carry out uniformed patrols in the seaside town to protect “women, children and the elderly”.

Begum said this type of behaviour had been triggered by a “breakdown of the social contract” and a failure of politicians to deal with economic deprivation.

“We know that vigilantism is not regulated, it’s not rational, it is an emotional reaction to a situation where people are feeling desperate and are feeling let down and are feeling angry,” she said.

Read full article >

Hiroshima anniversary: Ukraine and Middle East crises show world ignoring nuclear ‘tragedies’

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 22:21:51 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 6 August 2025

Image Credit: www.pexels.com

The mayor of Hiroshima has led calls for the world’s most powerful countries to abandon nuclear deterrence, at a ceremony to mark 80 years since the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb.

As residents, survivors and representatives from 120 countries gathered at the city’s peace memorial park on Wednesday morning, Kazumi Matsui warned that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East had contributed to a growing acceptance of nuclear weapons .

“These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,” he said in his peace declaration, against the backdrop of the A-bomb dome – one of the few buildings that survived the attack eight decades ago.

“They threaten to topple the peace-building frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct,” he added, before urging younger people to recognise that acceptance of the nuclear option could cause “utterly inhumane” consequences for their future.

Despite the global turmoil, he said, “we, the people, must never give up. Instead, we must work even harder to build civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished for a genuinely peaceful world.”

As applause rang out, white doves were released into the sky, while an eternal “flame of peace” burned in front of a cenotaph dedicated to victims of the world’s first nuclear attack.

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The growing global criticism of Israel’s starvation war in Gaza

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 22:24:39 GMT

source: Workers World

published: 28 July 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

It has become so increasingly clear that Israel is intentionally starving the nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza that even major corporate news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post and the British Broadcasting Corporation, are finally covering this crisis.

Over the last week, the Times and other big business media ran a photo of a Palestinian mother and her starving child on page one. That in itself is newsworthy after months of these media outlets ignoring the growing Israeli/U.S. genocide in Gaza.

But they have been pushed to do so by the increasing international opposition to this murderous siege, which includes a joint statement signed by ministers of 28 countries — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland — issued on July 21, telling Israel that the war on Gaza “must end now.” Many of these countries are considered allies of Israel.

In addition, at an emergency summit in July of the Hague Group in Bogotá, Colombia, a joint statement was announced with measures to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes in Palestine.

It was signed by Algeria, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. (Consortium News, July 19)

And a statement by over 115 charity and human rights groups citing evidence of “Israel’s use of starvation to inflict genocide against Palestinians” is the latest example of condemnation of Israel. (Associated Press, July 23) .

Read full article >

National Memorial Family Fund 10 years on, and our annual reports

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:05:38 GMT

source: National Memorial Family Fund

published: 2 August 2025

Image Credit: Michelle Kelly from www.afcscic.org

In September 2025 the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) will be proudly marking 10 years since its inception. On 7 September 2015, the twelfth anniversary of the death of Mikey Powell who was killed in the custody of West Midlands Police, campaigning news group 4WardEverUK , launched the National Family Fund Appeal .

The Fund was developed and constituted in conjunction with the Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign , The United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) and Migrant Media .

In May and June 2020, triggered by the controversial police killing of George Floyd , subsequent international protests, a tweet from Oonagh Ryder and further follow-up tweets by Lucy Brisbane McKay ( @lucybrisbane ) and others, we received over 900 single donations, and our monthly donors increased from a few dozen to over 100 .

What have we been up to!

In June 2020 we announced that after 5 years of fundraising, the first ever NMPMFF grant round opened for applications from affected families. Since then we have administered well over £64,000 in grants across the Family and Holiday, Crisis and UFFC Legacy Fund grant programmes .

From July 2020 we became formally incubated by West Midlands based social enterprise Catalyst 4 Change, thereby taking on its legal identity but maintaining our operational independence.

We have also been financially supported by The Edge Fund, Black Lives Matter UK, INQUEST and a number of smaller donors (Timespan, LV Insurance Services, Sony Music, Naphtali Associates etc), to fund our staffing and media costs, organisational development, and delivery of family social/support and awards events that were held in several cities across the United Kingdom.

For more details see dedicated pages:

Historic Moments >

Featured Events >

We have produced two comprehensive annual reports demonstrating how our funding and donations were utilised and which also included short and long term development and fundraising strategies and challenges.

In June 2025 we were pleased to announce that the National Lottery Community Fund (Awards for All) awarded £19,984 in grant funding to the NMPMFF to further the commitments from our Development Plans. The funding will be used to support NMPMFF's short-term sessional staffing costs, organising two national family support events over 12 months, and to offer personalised therapeutic interventions for families members before they enter crisis - this includes specific support for children, especially those who have lost one or more of their parents or carers.

However, we still face significant challenges!

Over the last 2+ years the NMPMFF has lost 80+ (60%) of our regular monthly donors leaving our grant reserves almost depleted. Also, in 2023 our core 2-year funding came to an end, seeing the loss of two of our key development and engagement staff members.

We are now being supported by Catalyst 4 Change to address this situation through a dedicated fundraiser, and will continue publicising the need to raise funds via our new MemberBASE and Easyfundraiser platforms.

We remain positive about the future development of our key programmes, and believe that the NMPMFF will only go from strength to strength.

One of the families we supported very recently said;

"I have been deeply touched by the support and generosity of you all. The grant really helped us to have a place of safety to retreat to at times when the inquest process became too much.

"On behalf of all of our family we thank you all sincerely. Please know that in the memory of Mikey Powell you are touching lives."

One in four women in the UK prison system are held on remand

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 22:09:00 GMT

source: russellwebster.com

first published: 23 April 2025

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Too many women are being remanded to custody, including those who are severely mentally unwell who should be receiving treatment in the community, according to a new briefing published today (23 April) by the Prison Reform Trust.

As of 30 December 2024, over a quarter (26%) of all women in prison were being held there on remand. This is despite the fact that almost nine in 10 women on remand are assessed as posing only low to medium risk of serious harm to the public, and the majority of women committing low level, non-violent offences.

The high level of multiple and often unmet need experienced by many women in the justice system is well documented and highlighted by the PRT briefing. Many women in prison are victims of more serious crimes than those they are accused of committing.

The past two decades have seen several key policy developments relating to women’s imprisonment which recognise the distinct and specific needs of women in the criminal justice system and call for a reduction in women’s imprisonment. However, the number of women in prison, especially on remand and on short sentences, has remained stubbornly high.

The PRT argues that moving beyond this status quo requires bold and creative thinking alongside sustained development and implementation of pre-existing strategies. The briefing sets out key facts and figures relating to women in the criminal justice system and highlights progress to date in implementing an approach which recognises women’s distinct needs.

Read full article >

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El Salvador: Police officers speak to Human Rights Watch on abuses

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 23:33:33 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 27 June 2025

Image Credit: Idea go at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Arbitrary Detention Based on Quotas, Fabricated Evidence.

This article includes:

Interviews with police officers and internal police documents reveal abusive practices that have led to arbitrary detention and abuse of power in El Salvador.
Their accounts provide a rare insight into how the Salvadoran police have fabricated evidence to fulfill arrests quotas, extorted innocent people, bypassed due process, and defied court orders.
Gang violence has decreased in El Salvador, but Salvadorans are not safe because they are exposed to abuses by the country’s unchecked security forces. Experience suggests the abusive behavior will only worsen and spread if police are not held strictly accountable.

Interviews with police officers and internal police documents reveal abusive practices that have led to arbitrary detention and abuse of power in El Salvador , Human Rights Watch said today.

Police officers told Human Rights Watch that many arrests during the ongoing “war against gangs” were the result of pressure on police officers to meet daily arrest quotas and were based on dubious or fabricated evidence.

They described arrests based on the fact that someone had a tattoo of any kind, on patently false information included in police reports, and on uncorroborated anonymous calls. The officers also described a climate of impunity that led some officers to demand bribes and, in some cases, demand sex from women in exchange for not arresting their relatives .

“President Nayib Bukele publicizes his security policies as a positive model for the world, but the police officers we spoke with tell a completely different story,” said Juanita Goebertus , Americas director at Human Rights Watch.

“Their accounts provide a rare insight into how the Salvadoran police have fabricated evidence to fulfill arrests quotas, extorted innocent people, bypassed due process, and defied court orders.”

Read the full article >

'Who bombed Birmingham' - Passionate demand for public inquiry into terrorist pub murders

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 23:32:00 GMT

source: Birmingham Mail

published: 9 July 2025

Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A public inquiry into the Birmingham pub bombings that killed 21 people must be held as a 'national act of conscience' and to ensure those responsible for 'failed investigations and denied justice' were held to account, a city MP has demanded.

Liam Byrne, Birmingham Hodge Hill and North Solihull MP, told the House of Commons that it was a 'travesty' that 'no one from the state has ever been held accountable for the failings' linked to the 1974 murders.

In response, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis promised that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was 'considering advice' on the request and would reply 'as soon as possible' to families.

But he also suggested that an inquiry into the 'brutal' bombings might alternatively lie within the scope of the independent commission for reconciliation and information recovery, which was currently looking into the Guildford pub bombings of the same year.

"I have full confidence that the commission would have sufficient powers, resources and expertise to support the families in the process of seeking answers to their questions," said the minister.

Speaking in Parliament, Wednesday, July 9, an impassioned Mr Byrne said: “We ensured that for the victims of Hillsborough, of infected blood, of Grenfell, Windrush and the Post Office Horizon scandal, we got to the bottom of just what happened so that justice was done.

"Are the people of Birmingham somehow less deserving of justice?"

He added: “A public inquiry is not just a legal tool. It is a national act of conscience. It is how we tell the victims and their families: you matter. Your loss matters. Your loved ones will not be forgotten.“And crucially, it is how we learn. Because if we cannot understand what went wrong, then we cannot promise it won’t happen again.”

Read full article >

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California's Death Row: Call for universal clemency from civil rights leaders

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 11:04:03 GMT

source: Vanguard News Group

first published: 27 June 2025

Image Credit: Dwight Tracy at www.FreerangeStock.com

With the sun high over the State Capitol, a coalition of California and national civil rights leaders gathered on Thursday, June 26, 2025, to deliver an urgent message to Governor Gavin Newsom: commute the death sentences of all 574 individuals currently on California’s death row.

Framed by banners calling for mercy and banners bearing the names and faces of those once wrongly sentenced to die, the rally brought together faith leaders, civil rights attorneys, disability rights advocates, and families impacted by the criminal legal system. Their demand was clear and unanimous — universal clemency.

California’s death row, the largest in the country and one of the largest in the world, has long been a symbol of what advocates described as systemic injustice, racial bias, and irreparable harm. Two-thirds of those sentenced to die in the state have been there for more than 20 years. Dozens have languished on death row for more than 40 years — many without legal representation for their capital appeals due to chronic underfunding and institutional delay.

“We are here because we know that we are in a moment where our values, our commitment, and our history of civil rights, human rights must shine through more than ever before,” said Pastor Mike McBride, executive director of LIVE FREE USA and lead pastor at The Way Church in Berkeley. “We have no moral authority to take the life of anyone. My faith tradition teaches me that God has no pleasure in the death of anyone, whether they be wicked or just. That is God’s decision alone.”

Calling on Governor Newsom to “meet us at the place of mercy and justice,” McBride reminded the crowd that California prides itself on progressive values and moral leadership. “Why would you want power, particularly the power to show mercy, and you don’t act on that power?” he asked..

Read full article >

Remembrance & Memorials : Eric Garner chokehold killing

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 23:43:04 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 22 June 2025

Image Credit: George Becker at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Eric Garner

Police chokehold kills father of six:

On Thursday 17 July 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six of Staten Island, went into cardiac arrest after officers attempted to take him into custody on charges of selling illegal cigarettes.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital approximately one hour later.

A video published by the New York Daily News apparently captures Eric's final moments. In the footage, a plainclothes officer tells him that he watched him sell cigarettes. Eric went on to deny this, saying: “I didn't sell nothing. Every time you see me, you want to harass me, you want to stop me.”

Eric Garner died at the hands of an NYPD officer after being taken down in what is now an illegal chokehold. His dying cry of "I can't breathe" became a slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Eric and the officer continue to quarrel, and then the officer reaches for Eric's hands in an attempt to place him in handcuffs but he resists, and another officer can be seen putting his arm around his neck and wrestling him to the ground. In the video, Eric repeats: “I can’t breathe, I can't breathe,” as more officers surround him and keep him pinned to the ground.

It was said that Eric Garner had been arrested more than 30 times, often accused of selling loose cigarettes bought outside the state. He resented the scrutiny by the police which he considered harassment. In 2007 he filed a handwritten complaint in federal court accusing a police officer of conducting a cavity search of him on the street, “digging his fingers in my rectum in the middle of the street” while people passed by.

Download the article here >

Getting food shouldn’t be deadly

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 23:17:04 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 13 June 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com

Footage of the newly opened Israeli-backed, US-supported aid distribution centers in Gaza is horrifying: Palestinians clamoring to get food; crowds being turned away; gunfire ringing out.

Israeli forces have in recent days gunned down Palestinians trying to secure food for their families and themselves, with at least 163 people reportedly killed.

Not only are these distribution centers deadly, but they fail to address the mass starvation taking place, which Palestinian officials have declared to be a famine. At least 60 children have already starved to death and the UN has declared that “Gaza is the hungriest place on earth.”

Rather than delivering food to the people who need it across Gaza, these distribution centers are furthering forced displacement, which some Israeli officials have already openly, unabashedly admitted is their ultimate goal.

But there is another way to get food to the people in Gaza: A humanitarian diplomatic convoy to break the Israeli-imposed siege of Gaza.

The current aid distribution centers came after more than 11 weeks of an Israeli-imposed total blockade on Gaza—no food, no medicine, just bombs and bureaucratic cruelty. The trickle of aid coming in has hardly made a dent. Mothers cradle skeletal infants and scour rubble for scraps. Fishermen are shot dead for casting nets, chronically ill patients left without access to medication. Aid trucks looted under the watch of Israeli drones.

This is not collateral damage – it is a deliberate strategy to create conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza in whole or in part. This did not just begin with the latest escalation – over 18 years of blockade on Gaza and 19 months of hostilities , Israeli authorities have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, including extermination, and acts of genocide.

Read full article >

Law Society urges government to invest in civil legal aid for a ‘fairer society for all’

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 22:51:54 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 12 June 2025

Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Law Society of England and Wales has called on the Government to invest more money in civil legal aid to ensure greater access for all.

In collaboration with the Legal Services Board and YouGov, the body recently found that 55% of adults experiencing domestic abuse cases did not receive any legal support. Of those who sought help, 54% were unable to access it. They have acknowledged governmental efforts increasing civil legal aid fees for housing and immigration, but still believes improvement is necessary across family law, community care, mental health, and other related areas.

The Law Society’s new legal aid desert map reveals that more than 42 million people in England and Wales, nearly 70% of the population, lack access to community care legal aid providers in their area.

The organisation’s president, Richard Atkinson, expressed his concern, saying ‘civil legal aid is a crucial service that protects people and communities and reduces the strain on other public services.

The Law Society is also asking for further reforms : reinstatement of early legal advice for separating families, guaranteed legal aid for both parties in family law cases involving abuse allegations, and increased legal aid fees for family law, mental health, community care, and other critical areas to attract legal aid providers. Finally, it advocates for a test for determining legal aid eligibility that does not exclude people living in poverty.

In support of the campaign, Atkinson claimed that by helping people face their legal challenges, they help individuals and ‘strengthen families, protect children and provide better care for people in our communities.

Read the full article here >

Time’s being wasted on politics of aid while deaths mount in Gaza, warns senior official

Sat, 24 May 2025 20:59:17 GMT

source: UN News

published: 23 May 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

The UN already has a proven system to deliver assistance to people in Gaza and will not take part in any plan that does not uphold universally established humanitarian principles, a spokesperson for aid coordination office OCHA affirmed on Friday.

“There's been so much time wasted talking about the various proposals and the various plans. In the meantime, people are dying and are left without aid,” Olga Cherevko said in an exclusive interview with UN News.

This week, UN agencies were able to bring limited amounts of food, flour and other items into Gaza after Israel lifted a nearly three-month aid blockade.

Ms. Cherevko said humanitarians were told this was a temporary measure until aid distribution is implemented through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an initiative backed by Israel and the United States.

The plan sees aid dispersed from four points south of the Netzarim Corridor, which is under Israeli military control, and involves the use of private US contractors.

She discussed this development, the positive impact of the trickle of aid allowed into Gaza, and the need to scale up efforts.

“There is a sense that some people feel like this is the end and that there is no turning back – and that they are just waiting to die,” she said.

Olga Cherevko: "We've been speaking about this and other proposals and plans. Our concerns are that any distribution of aid, any system that exists, needs to be in line with globally established humanitarian principles. And if it isn’t, it’s not something that we can be involved in.

" We have concerns about the scalability of this proposed plan, and about various other parts of it.

" The biggest issue is that we have a plan, and we have a system that we are using as we speak, and the system has been tried over various crises across the world. It has been proven to work, it has mechanisms to mitigate theft, to mitigate diversion and it ensures that it reaches people wherever they are. "

Read full article here >

Open Justice: Exorbitant court transcripts ‘a travesty of justice’

Sat, 24 May 2025 20:39:58 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 29 April 2025

Image Credit: Jack Moreh at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Sir David Davis has called the prohibitive cost of court transcripts ‘a travesty of justice‘ and made the case for them to be freely available as they are in some US states.

The former conservative minister who has been campaigning on behalf of Lucy Letby challenged the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood over an issue that has been highlighted by miscarriages of justice campaigners for years – see, for example the 2017 Open Justice charter to which the Justice Gap was a signatory and which featured in PROOF 2.

"When I asked for a transcript for a major trial recently Manchester Crown Court told me it was £100,000 – when I pressed them it went down to £9000, but it’s still way beyond the reach of most people,’ said Sir David, who was talking about his experience with the Letby trial.

"This is a travesty of justice.’"The Conservative MP went on to say; "other countries including American states have free transcripts available now. When is she going to sort this out?" he asked.

Shabana Mahmood said that the government was looking at introducing AI technology to provide a transcription service. "We hope to be able to find a model that gives us the requisite level of accuracy and the speed to be able to publish transcripts and to do so accurately."

Read the full article here >

Deaths in Custody and their Investigation in Scotland in 2024

Thu, 08 May 2025 23:25:49 GMT

source: SCCJR

published: April 2025

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

This publication by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research is the fourth annual monitoring report on deaths in custody in Scotland and their investigation.

It presents information about deaths in:

prison
police custody and contact
migration detention and asylum accommodation
detention or compulsory order under the Mental Health Act
children and young people in care
people with learning disabilities and autistic people living in hospital

Over the most recent year, at least 244 people in Scotland died in one of these settings of state control. This amounts to a total of almost five people dying each week.

The majority of these deaths will have no public investigation. We do not know the names, gender, ages, ethnicities of many nor the circumstances in which they died. Even where there is an investigation or review, it is not clear how or whether these contribute to accountability or prevention of future deaths. All prison deaths are mandated by law to have a fatal accident inquiry (FAI), yet this year Scottish prisons have seen a staggering increase in deaths this past year: 64 people died in 2024, compared to 40 the year before.

The aims of report are to answer these questions:

How many people die in state custody in Scotland?
What do we know about those who die?
How effective are investigations and responses to death?

The report was written by Sarah Armstrong, Linda Allan, Rachelle Cobain and Betsy Barks (all University of Glasgow) and Deborah Russo (Queen’s University Belfast).

Read the original article +Related Publications >

Study reveals record numbers are dying in Scottish prisons

Wed, 07 May 2025 23:47:22 GMT

source: SCCJR

published: 29 April 2025

Image Credit: sakhon at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A major new research study has found the number of people dying in prison has surged to a record number of 64 in 2024, a 60% increase on the previous year, making Scotland’s mortality rate among the highest in Europe.

The annual report, ‘Nothing to See Here? Deaths in Custody and their Investigation in Scotland in 2024’ which is published today (29 April) by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, looked into the number of people who had died while in prison, in police custody, a mental health facility, immigration detention centre and in care settings for looked after children and young people.

In total 244 people have died in Scotland while detained in custody or under the control of the state in 2024, equivalent to more than four deaths per week.

Most of these deaths (138) occurred among those detained on mental health grounds, 19 were after police contact and a further three in police custody, 16 children and young people died in care, three people died while detained in immigration centres, and one inpatient with learning disabilities died while living in hospital.

The research team led by Professor Sarah Armstrong at the University of Glasgow, made a series of worrying findings; the sharp rise in prison deaths being the most striking.

Professor Armstrong said: “Last year we reported there were 40 deaths in prisons in 2023 which has now surged to 64 in 2024. It is of real concern that the mortality rate in our prisons has more than doubled in the last decade and is now among the highest in Europe. When we looked at international comparators our death rates are more like Azerbaijan and Moldova, where torture and corruption have been documented, than England and Wales.”

Read the full article >

Why we need a ‘Human Rights Economy’ (Human Rights Watch)

Sun, 04 May 2025 21:04:10 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 31 March 2025

Image Credit: Engin Akyurt at www.Pexels.com

Since 2020, the five richest men in the world have doubled their fortunes while almost five billion people have become poorer. A growing sense of economic injustice and insecurity is contributing to the rise of authoritarian movements around the world. Meanwhile, the world is set to blast past global heating targets . But this is not inevitable. What if, instead, economic decisions were made with people and the planet at the center?

This is the idea behind the concept of a human rights economy, which means putting rights at the heart of economic policymaking.

The concept draws from the work of human rights scholars and organizations around the world, while supporting transformative economic approaches emerging from other movements, including climate justice, gender justice, and decolonization.

International human rights law guides how global resources should be used for everyone’s benefit while protecting the environment. It obligates governments to use the maximum of their available resources – individually and through international cooperation and assistance – to realize human rights.

This includes economic, social, and cultural rights, such as to health, education, social security, housing, food, and water, as well as the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

Read full article >

A Pennsylvania Supreme Court has denied Mumia Abu-Jamal’s latest appeal petition

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 03:10:18 GMT

source: San Francisco Bay View

published: 26 February 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

On March 26, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal permission to appeal a September 2024 Pennsylvania Superior Court denial of his latest petition to reverse his 1982 conviction. The Supreme Court ruling ends Mumia’s state court challenge at this time.

Mumia’s sixth petition was based on credible new evidence of prosecutorial misconduct — including Brady violations based on incentives given to the state’s key witnesses Cynthia White and Robert Chobert to give false testimony.

The new evidence, found buried in storage boxes in a remote area of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office and turned over to Mumia’s lawyers in December 2021 also included evidence of racial bias in jury selection, a Batson violation.

The evidence included handwritten jury selection notes from Assistant District Attorney Joseph McGill, at the time of Mumia’s original 1982 trial, detailing the impermissible strike pattern targeting eligible Black jurors over white jurors. It contained a handwritten note by alleged “eyewitness” Robert Chobert to ADA McGill after the trial demanding “his money” that Chobert said was promised to him .

There were also detailed memos tracking “eyewitness” Cynthia White’s other unrelated and future cases with notice from McGill requesting to be consulted if these cases came to court.

Other evidence disclosed since the initial trial but not allowed into court included several photographs taken by freelance photographer Pedro Polakoff the night of the shooting of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner on Dec. 9, 1981.

The photos, finally disclosed to the defense in 2007, proved Chobert was lying when he testified that his taxi was parked behind the police car driven by Faulkner. Another picture showed a policeman mishandling the alleged murder weapon. Without the opportunity for a new hearing, these are considered “inadmissible”.

Read full article >

28 February 2024

Mumia Abu-Jamal | Biography, Trial, Appeals, & Facts

Last Updated: 23 February 2024

Life in the Balance - The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Amnesty International Archives) pdf

February 2000

Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal arrested

9 December 1981

Jean Charles de Menezes’s mother says ‘everyone should watch’ TV drama of his killing

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 02:55:23 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 22 April 2025

Image Credit: Terence Bunch: www.terencebunch.co.uk

The mother of a man shot dead by police in a London Underground station after being mistaken for a terrorist has said “everyone should watch” a new dramatisation of her son’s killing.

Jean Charles de Menezes was shot seven times by two police marksmen in Stockwell tube station on 22 July 2005. De Menezes was wrongly identified as one of the fugitives involved in a failed bombing two weeks after the 7/7 attack in London, which killed 52 people.

Would-be suicide bombers had targeted the London Underground on 21 July but their devices failed to explode. De Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian electrician, was mistaken for one of the suspects because they were linked to the same block of flats.

Friends and family of Jean Charles de Menezes - the innocent man shot dead by police in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings - held a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of his death.

The family of the Brazilian electrician say they're still fighting for justice, and still want police officers to be prosecuted over the shooting.

Home Affairs Correspondent Nick Beake reports

No officers were ever prosecuted for the killing but the Metropolitan police was fined for breaching health and safety laws. The officer in charge of the botched operation was Cressida Dick, who became Metropolitan police commissioner in 2017.

The fatal shooting is the subject of a new four-part Disney+ drama starring Line of Duty’s Daniel Mays and Being Human’s Russell Tovey, airing on 30 April.

Speaking in London at a preview screening, De Menezes’s mother, Maria de Menezes, recalled the moment she learned of her son’s death nearly 20 years ago.

Read full article here >

Charity boss condemns planned anonymity for firearms officers accused of murder

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 02:27:33 GMT

source: Irish News

published: 22 April 2025

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New rules giving anonymity to firearms officers accused of murder put police above the scrutiny faced by the rest of the public, the head of the charity Inquest has warned.

The legal change, being put before Parliament this week, was first announced in the autumn after Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake was cleared of the murder of Chris Kaba.

Mr Kaba was fatally shot in Streatham, south-east London, in September 2022 after trying to ram his way past police cars that had blocked him in.

Deborah Coles, director at INQUEST, said: “Introducing a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers sets a dangerous precedent: that police officers are above the scrutiny faced by everyone else.

“It chips away at open justice and risks further eroding public trust in policing. There is no evidence to justify this sweeping protection, especially when courts already have powers to grant anonymity in exceptional cases.

“One rule for them and another for the public is not justice – it is impunity.”

Mr Blake was allowed to be named during his Old Bailey trial in the same way that any other suspect accused of murder would be, but orders were put in place banning the publication of his address or any description or photograph of him.

After the trial, it could be reported that Mr Kaba was a core member of one of London’s most dangerous gangs and was accused of being involved in two shootings in the six days before he was killed.

Read full article >

Unprecedented trial for apartheid atrocities opens in South Africa

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 16:34:28 GMT

all credits: Africa News

published: 19 April 2025

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A significant step by South Africa's legal system in confronting the atrocities of the country's dark political past. A judge this week approved the trial of two apartheid-era police officers for their involvement in the 1982 assassination of three student activists.

The prosecution is unprecedented.

Until now, no individual had been held accountable for the crime of apartheid.

The case centers around three young freedom fighters killed in an explosion in 1982. The victims were part of a resistance movement opposed to the apartheid regime which enforced White-only rule and domination over the Black majority.

Experts say the trial could open the door for others.

Also this week, South Africa reopened an investigation into the death Albert Luthuli, a former president of the African National Congress (ANC) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was killed in 1967.

The prosecuting authority seeks to have the findings of previous inquests into Luthuli overturned. The authorities at the time had concluded that Luthuli's death the result of an accident.

The development comes more than 30 years since South Africa became a democracy and after a Truth commission unearthed numerous atrocities.

Read full article >

19 April 2025

Albert Luthuli’s family speaks out on harassment after his death

19 April 2025

Why SA needs the Luthuli, Mxenge inquests – and more

19 April 2025

Palestine protesters are raging at the 'Teledyne' war machine

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:08:15 GMT

source: Socialist Worker

published: 12 April 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

Protests in West Yorkshire and elsewhere have mobilised against the Teledyne arms factory. Palestine solidarity rallies and marches took place across Britain on Saturday in a national day of action.

Over 25 protests raged against Israel’s genocide—and the Labour government’s complicity.

Over 300 people marched to arms manufacturer Teledyne in Shipley, near Bradford in West Yorkshire. Four Palestine Action activists occupied the roof of the factory last year, causing significant disruption. Police arrested the activists, but a court let them walk free .

After three months of destruction, displacement and the killing of Palestinians, we take a deep dive into the way the Gaza story has been covered.

Najam, one of the four arrested, told Socialist Worker, “The government is using the courts to intimidate us because they’re worried. We need everything—speakers, writers, poets, artists—and people who will take direct action.

“But direct action does not work without mass support—that’s why I’m back here today.”

Palestine activist Francesca told Socialist Worker, “I have just spent nine months on remand.

I took part in an action at Barclays in Leeds.

“This was a misuse of the rules which say remand should only be used in exceptional circumstances. The politicians are encouraging judges to punish activists who have not been found guilty of anything.

She added, “No one I met in prison should have been in there—Teledyne are the real criminals.”

Read full article here >

The firing squads return is a defeat for death penalty supporters

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:21:44 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 15 April 2025

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.pexels.com

South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi by firing squad on 11 April. Mahdi had been convicted and sentenced for the 2004 killing of an off-duty law enforcement officer.

One month before his execution, South Carolina put Brad Sigmon to death using the same method. He was the first person since 2010 to be killed by the firing squad. Both Mahdi and Sigmon chose the firing squad from a menu of three ways to die, the others being lethal injection and the electric chair.

Five days after Sigmon’s execution, Idaho became the first state in the country to make the firing squad its primary method for putting people to death. It is one of five states , along with Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, where it is an authorized execution method.

These developments suggest that death by firing squad is gradually returning to the capital punishment landscape in this country. But as Sigmon’s lawyer, after witnessing his execution, remarked : “It is unfathomable that, in 2025, South Carolina [or any other state] would execute one of its citizens in this bloody spectacle.”

But whether unfathomable or not, the return of the firing squad is, at best, a mixed blessing for death penalty supporters.

On the one hand, it allows death penalty states that have had difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs to get back into the execution business. South Carolina is one example of this development.

At the same time, the resurrection of the firing squad serves as a vivid and troubling reminder of the brutality of state killing. As such, it undermines the legitimating story of capital punishment in the United States .

Read the full article >

Britain is not a peacemaker in Sudan’s two-year civil war

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 23:54:42 GMT

source: Socialist Worker

published: 10 April 2025

Image Credit: www.pexels.com

The British state is trying to pose as a peace-maker in Sudan after nearly two years of war have torn the country apart.

The Labour government announced on Thursday that it will hold a conference in London on 15 April with foreign ministers from nearly 20 states. That will mark the second anniversary of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two warring factions, which are backed by imperialist and regional powers, drowned in blood the revolution that began in 2018 .

Britain has invited some of the powers arming the generals, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to a “peace conference”.

The move is another act of hypocrisy by the British state. Britain and the United States helped thwart the popular forces driving the revolution, and pushed for deals being done with the generals.

Scenes of horror stalk the streets of Khartoum in the wake of the SAF capturing the country’s capital on Thursday of last week.

The SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, formally declared that it had taken back the city last week. But this wasn’t a military victory over the rival RSF, which had agreed to withdraw its forces under SAF observation.

Read full article >

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21 March 2025

Remembrance & Memorials : The Police Bombing of MOVE HQ 1985

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 15:33:01 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 18 April 2025

Image Credit: YouTube: www.youtube.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Police Bombing of MOVE HQ

Eleven people, including five children, perished in a blaze after the state of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on a house owned by members of MOVE .

Sixty one houses burned to the ground on that infamous day, 13th May 1985. Ramona Africa, the only adult MOVE survivor of the siege, and relatives of slain MOVE members sued the City of Philadelphia for millions in federal court. Wilson Goode, mayor at the time of the bombing and the city's only black mayor, had been granted immunity from lawsuits in the case by U.S. District Judge Louis Pollack (who claimed the bombing was reasonable under the circumstances).

On 13 May 1985, Philadelphia police bombed the Move compound, killing 11 people, including five children, and destroying an entire neighborhood. The countercultural group lived communally and had a history of violent encounters with police.

Why did the City of Philadelphia drop a bomb on a row of houses and let the fire burn for over an hour? What led the city to commit acts of war upon its own citizens? Was the city - or even the federal government - determined to wipe out MOVE? To answer these questions, it is necessary to understand who MOVE is. While not all black, they all take the surname " Africa ." Some call them radicals, lunatics, or terrorists.

Download the article here >

Families of people who died in police custody lead the first People’s Tribunal

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 23:48:54 GMT

sourced from: The Voice Online

republished: 4 April 2025

Image Credit: Deborah Coles / INQUEST

Families of people who died in police custody in the United Kingdom held the first public People’s Tribunal on the 5th & 6th of April 2025 at Regent's University in Central London. The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings (PTPK) , is a collective of campaign groups of families whose loved ones have died in police custody.

The group is instigating the reopening of all of the several thousand deaths and initiating their reinvestigations. This international initiative with a 10-year plan of action is aiming to deliver the justice that every family affected by deaths in police custody has long campaigned for.

One long-term goal is to develop a global movement of people’s tribunals.

Last year, official statistics showed that the UK saw the highest number of deaths in or following police custody for 17 years.

Read full article / see videos >

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The state of women’s rights (worldwide)

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 23:46:19 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

first published: 7 March 2025

Image Credit: Jakayla Toney at www.Pexels.com

From the United States to the Democratic Republic of Congo, women and girls’ rights have suffered serious setbacks. Despite the challenges, there also have been improvements and victories. Today, for International Women’s Day, Human Rights Watch’s Women’s Rights Division Director Macarena Sáez speaks with Amy Braunschweiger about the best and worst of women’s rights last year, and what Human Rights Watch is focusing on in 2025 .

What went right in terms of women’s rights last year?

There are countries that lifted restrictions on women’s rights and have moved—albeit slowly—towards gender equality. You have Poland, where the new government that came to power in December 2023 stopped the previous administration’s trend of creating obstacles to abortion access. The country also expanded its rape law to recognize that sex without consent is rape. Previously, women and girls had to prove they resisted or fought their rapist.

In Mexico , states have been progressively decriminalizing abortion both through the courts and legislature, and last year its largest state, the State of Mexico, followed suit. This is good for millions of women and girls. Mexico also passed a constitutional amendment to guarantee equal payment and gender parity in federal and state government positions.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Chile has a new comprehensive law against gender-based violence . Importantly, the law includes “non-sexist education” as a component in combatting sexual violence.

To address the root causes of sexual violence, we have to educate children without using gender stereotypes and address social and cultural practices that enforce the idea that one gender is superior to another. Sexual and gender-based violence is still normalized in many spaces, and it’s through non-sexist education that young people can learn what consent means and what healthy sexual relationships look like.

Read full article >

Remembrance & Memorials : The Hillsborough Disaster of 1989

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:38:13 GMT

source: BBC News

originally published: April 2024

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

The Hillsborough Disaster

At Hillsborough, the lives of 97 people were cut short.

On the anniversary of the 1989 disaster [2024] we remembered those who died, through their families’ personal statements about them, as reported by David Conn.

Families of the 96 people who had died at Hillsborough at the time of the second inquest made powerfully moving personal statements about their loved ones to open the court proceedings, describing their personalities, achievements, passions; how loved they were, and how deeply they were missed.

As the jury return their verdict at the inquest into the lethal crush at Hillsborough in 1989, David Conn analyses the evidence with the help of recently released footage from the day, to build a picture of how 96 Liverpool supporters died at the Sheffield stadium, and how it has taken so long for the truth of their story to emerge.

The profiles [listed in the article] for each of those 96 people are reports on their families’ personal statements, and were written in 2016 shortly before the inquest concluded.

Andrew Devine died in 2021, and the coroner at his inquest ruled that he was the 97th person unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. The Devine family made a statement at that time, paying tribute to Andrew, which is reported in his profile.

Read full article here >

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Hillsborough disaster: dozens of police misconduct claims upheld

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Hillsborough Law is in chaos after Keir Starmer meeting with families is cancelled

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 23:18:46 GMT

source: Liverpool Echo

published: 27 March 2025

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

The promised new Hillsborough Law appears to be in chaos after a meeting between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the families of those unlawfully killed in the 1989 disaster was cancelled amid concerns about bill the government has pledged to bring in.

Families and campaigners are said to be deeply unhappy after a summit with the Prime Minister, scheduled for today, was scrapped. The meeting was due to address worries that the bill has been watered down and will not offer the crucial protections the families of the 97 have campaigned for over many years .

A terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

A Hillsborough Law is a package of new laws that aims to ensure other bereaved families do not go through the same painful experiences as those who lost loved ones at the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989. The bill is intended to include a statutory duty of candour on public servants, backed by criminal sanctions, to force them to tell the truth during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation.

The package also includes a provision for a parity of legal funding for ordinary people forced to take on large institutions following tragic events, so that bereaved families have access to public funding.

Read full article here >

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Hillsborough disaster: the 97 people whose lives were cut short

last updated: 15 April 2024

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8 April 2022

Hillsborough Law Now

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Remembrance & Memorials : Brian Haw statue unveiled in London

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 23:18:48 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 17 March 2025

Image Credit: Justice4Paps Campaign

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Brian Haw (peace campaigner)

A statue of peace campaigner Brian Haw has been unveiled in London. Mr Haw camped out in Parliament Square for nearly 10 years to protest against UK and US foreign policy. He was removed shortly before his death in 2011 aged 62.

The statue was unveiled facing the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth by three of his children on Sunday (16 March 2025).

Actor Sir Mark Rylance, who campaigned for the statue, admired Mr Haw and said he was inspired by his "bright sense of conscience". "His great call was to stop killing the children," said Sir Mark, who is a patron of the Stop the War coalition.

The actor added: "No matter what conflict we have as adults, they didn't create that conflict and we should find a peaceful way of resolving the conflict."

Brian had been protesting in Parliament Square since 2nd June 2001. Initially he was campaigning against the economic sanctions on Iraq and the bombing of the country by the US and UK.

Brian Haw: protesting to the end > See full Statue Unveiling video >

After moving from Redditch in Worcestershire, Mr Haw spent nearly a decade in Parliament Square surrounded by anti-war placards. He bellowed through his megaphone at politicians heading into work and became closely associated with dissent against the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The 72cm bronze statue, sculpted by artist Amanda Ward, sits at the School of Historical Dress just outside the one-mile radius exclusion zone of Parliament created in 2005 in an attempt by authorities to derail Mr Haw's protest.

Read full article here >

The total of self-inflicted deaths under IPP reaches ninety-four

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:18:41 GMT

source: Inside Time

published: 27 March 2025

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at Pexels.com

Four more prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences have taken their own lives, taking the total number to 94. Another 37 released IPPs took their own lives in the five years to April 2024, according to Government figures, as many struggle with the strict licence conditions.

On 9 February 2024 a prisoner serving an IPP sentence died at HMP Warren Hill in Suffolk. Another self-inflicted death took place at high-security HMP Frankland in Durham the following month. On 29 June, a man under an IPP sentence died at HMP Swaleside, and a fourth self-inflicted death was recorded on 29 October at HMP Wymott. Nine took their own lives in 2023, the highest annual total on record.

The architect of the sentence, David Blunkett, described the latest loss of life as a “terrible tragedy” which should focus minds on action to help IPP prisoners. He admits he regrets introducing the open-ended jail terms when he was home secretary in 2005. They were abolished in 2012 due to human rights concerns, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands without release dates, including for minor crimes, until the Parole Board says they are safe for release.

Successive governments have refused to re-sentence IPP prisoners, despite calls from the all-party Justice Select Committee UN special rapporteur on torture, amid high rates of suicide and self-harm. Labour peer Lord Woodley, whose private member’s bill for IPP prisoners to be re-sentenced will not succeed without government support, said: “Ministers accept the importance of resolving the IPP scandal but there is still a lack of bravery and common decency, with the government refusing to consider a re-sentencing exercise – widely seen as the only effective way to resolve this industrial-scale miscarriage of justice.”

Read full article >

Announcement of The PTPK’s first sessions to be held 5-6 April 2025

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 14:42:30 GMT

source: The PTPK

republished: 16 February 2025

Image Credit: Migrant Media

The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings has emerged as a radical grassroots initiative led by families of those killed by the police in the UK. With more than 2000 deaths at the hands of the police over the past 50 years there have only been four successful prosecutions that led to police officers being convicted and going to prison. This figure of ‘success’ is one of the lowest in the world. ( See full flyer here )

The disproportionate number of Black people killed represents the depth of racism that is ingrained in the police forces of the UK. Policing structures are corrupt and must be abolished. ( see full statement here )

The failure to prosecute successfully has led to the formation of the PTPK led by the United Families & Friends Campaign, Migrant Media, Black Lives Matter and 4WardEverUK.

Its aim is to radically challenge the existing structures and the ongoing collusion that had led to this failure of justice. The PTPK is led by families and friends of those killed by the police and volunteer investigators who do not have faith that the system will ever deliver justice.

We are instigating the reopening of all of the more than 2000 deaths and initiating their reinvestigations. These investigations will be led by lawyers from outside the UK supported by an international team of activists and academics. These will lead to other actions.

Read full article >

BOOKINGS

Affected families and guests are pre-booked.

See public bookings here:

www.eventbrite.com/e/the-peoples-tribunal-tickets-1250522579699?aff=oddtdtcreator

Remembrance & Memorials : The Sharpeville Massacre remembered

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:02:14 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 13 March 2025

Image Credit: YouTube

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

The Sharpeville Massacre

On 21 March 1960, 69 black Africans were killed and hundreds more were injured when police opened fire on peaceful protestors in the South African township of Sharpeville, south of Johannesburg.

Around 5,000 people had gathered at Sharpeville police station to protest against pass laws, which were designed by an apartheid government to restrict and control the movement of black Africans and force the segregation of South Africa along racial lines.

March 21, is marked as the International Day for the Elimination of Racism. We remember victims of the 1960, Sharpeville, Massacre, in South Africa. We hear the voices of survivors - of the peaceful protests, who stood up against racism.

Pass laws required all black men and women to carry identity documents with

them at all times; containing an employer’s signature to be renewed each

month, authorisation to be within particular white areas and certification of tax

payments. The law stated that anyone found in a public place without their

book would be arrested and detained for up to 30 days and those without an

employer’s signature could be herded off to “native reservations.”

The resistance against the carrying of the pass became an issue around which

the liberation movements mounted their campaigns.The African National

Congress(ANC) and a breakaway group from the ANC, the Pan Africanist

Congress (PAC), were both greatly motivated to end pass laws. They both

embarked on a feverish drive to prepare their members and the wider black

community for nationwide campaigns.

Download the article here >

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Debate on death penalty heats up

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 14:08:57 GMT

source: The Vindicator

published: 22 February 2025

Image Credit: Falkenpost at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro was asked for her reaction to two letters Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins sent urging federal and state officials to help restore Ohio’s ability to carry out executions, as the state faces renewed legislative efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Watkins, an advocate for capital punishment, has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to assist in overcoming legal and logistical hurdles to resume executions, which have been stalled for years.

Ohio has not carried out an execution since 2018, when concerns over the state’s lethal injection protocol led to a de facto moratorium.

In letters sent Feb. 12, Watkins praised President Donald Trump’s recent executive order lifting the federal moratorium on the death penalty and thanked Bondi for her efforts to revive federal executions.

He also urged Yost to collaborate with the governor’s office to establish a clear protocol for carrying out executions in Ohio, where 11 Mahoning Valley inmates remain on death row.

“We must have a plan of action in Ohio to restore justice and the death penalty for heartless killers, as other states and the federal government are doing,” Watkins said in his letters.

He emphasized the need to provide closure to victims’ families, citing cases like that of Trumbull County serial killer Stanley Adams, who is scheduled for execution in 2028, and Danny Lee Hill, whose execution is set for 2026 pending appeals.

Watkins’ push comes as Ohio lawmakers prepare to reintroduce a bill to abolish the death penalty, a measure that narrowly failed last year.

State Sens. Nikki Antonio and Steven Huffman are leading the effort, which has drawn criticism from Watkins and other prosecutors who argue that capital punishment is a necessary tool for justice .

Read the full article >

21 January 2025

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17 January 2025

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16 January 2025

Investigate Uzbekistan deaths, and serious injuries in custody

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 13:22:35 GMT

all credits: Human Rights Watch

published: 19 February 2025

Image Credit: Idea go at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Two men died in custody in Uzbekistan in recent days, and a third man is in the hospital unresponsive after police detained him, according to rights groups and local bloggers.

Abdurakhmon Tashanov, head of the human rights organization Ezgulik, reported that Muhammadkadir Pulatov , 21, died on February 14, 2025, in central Uzbekistan’s Almalyk prison. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, he died of a heart attack and acute pancreatitis. But Pulatov’s mother said she doubts the official version, explaining she saw her healthy son just two weeks prior. The prosecutor’s statement notes “the Tashkent Special Prosecutor's Office is conducting a pre-investigation.”

In a February 16 YouTube video , a local blogger reported that a young barber, apparently in good health, was detained at his workplace in Samarkand city by police on February 13. His mother in the video said she called her son on his mobile phone, but police answered and told her to go to the hospital. She found him there, unconscious. Police apparently gave her no information as to what happened.

On February 18, Vitaliy Ponamarev, a Russian human rights defender and Central Asia expert, reported that an imprisoned blogger named Mustafa Tursynbaev, from Uzbekistan’s autonomous state of Karakalpakstan, died on February 16.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Tursynbaev died in a Tashkent hospital days after part of a wall collapsed on him at a construction site, where he was working as a prisoner. The prosecutor’s statement notes “the Tashkent Special Prosecutor's Office is currently conducting an investigation.”

Read the full article >

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23 February 2025

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UN Rights Council launches Inquiry into atrocities in Eastern DR Congo

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:48:57 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 7 February 2025

Image Credit: worradmu at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The United Nations Human Rights Council today agreed by consensus to launch an urgent fact-finding mission and commission of inquiry into atrocities being committed by all parties to the armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo . The council reached its decision during a special session on the crisis, held at Congo’s request with support from 48 countries from all regions.

During recent fighting in North and South Kivu provinces, the Rwanda -backed M23 armed group seized control of the city of Goma from the Congolese army and its allied militias. Human rights groups, the UN, and the media have reported summary killings, rapes including gang rapes, looting, and unlawful forced labor and conscription.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern last week that the recent fighting “risks deepening … much further” the risk of conflict-related sexual violence, which has been “an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades.”

The commission of inquiry—which was called for by 79 Congolese, regional, and international rights groups —will investigate and report on abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law by the warring parties, collect and preserve evidence of international crimes, and identify those responsible for atrocities to support efforts to hold them accountable.

Read full article >

The role of Black-led organisations in supporting Black mental health

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 22:35:36 GMT

source: Taylor & Francis

published: 9 January 2025

Image Credit: Segopotso Makhutja at www.Pexels.com

The objective of this Black emancipatory action research project was to explore the role of Black-led community organisations in supporting Black mental health and wellbeing in the UK.

The framework application involved adequately compensating community organisations for their consultancy role; having ‘research conversations’ rather than interviewing participants; and focusing outputs on community benefit.

Eight individual and group research conversations took place with nine Black directors, employees and volunteers working with Black-led community organisations, aged between 19 and 62, living in the UK. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse conversations.

Conclusions

Black-led organisations play multiple roles in supporting individual and collective mental health, crucial for mediating the effects of racism and mitigating ethnic inequalities.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to both illuminate the critical role of community organisations in promoting Black mental health in the UK and to prioritise participant, and community, benefit throughout the research process.

Black mental health inequalities

In the United Kingdom (UK), people from Black communities have a higher prevalence of mental health conditions including depression, panic disorder and psychosis.

Higher rates of schizophrenia and suicide are found in Black Caribbean and African communities compared with South Asian, Chinese and white communities.

Despite worse mental health outcomes, evidence suggests that Black people are less likely to report or seek help for mental health conditions and when they do, are less likely to have their mental health conditions detected by health care professionals.

Black communities report experiencing racist mistreatment by mental health services. This leads to expectation of racist treatment, discourages early access, and leads to the perpetuation of mental health inequalities.

Read full article here >

The 'Black Voices on Policing Reports' have been published

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 21:38:48 GMT

source: Black Thrive Global CIC

first published: February 2025

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

Black Thrive Global (BTG) has announced the official publication of 'Black Voices on Policing', a series of reports produced by Black Thrive Global in collaboration with Psi. The work was delivered to the Mayor’s Office in the fourth Quarter of 2023 and has now been officially published this month.

This body of work gathers the experiences and ideas of London’s diverse Black communities on how to build a credible, representative, and impactful model of community-led scrutiny of policing. It represents a valuable contribution to the evidence base that has led to a Mayoral commitment to build a new model for police scrutiny, one that makes it easier for all Londoners to scrutinise police work and influence change.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, emphasised the importance of this work:

"This is an important body of work that represents a valuable contribution to the wider evidence base that has led to a Mayoral commitment to build a new model for police scrutiny... The Commissioner, the Mayor, and I remain more committed than ever to implementing a robust and transparent framework of community police scrutiny that is truly representative of London."

A summary of Black Thrive Global:

Since 2016 Black Thrive in Lambeth has been working with statutory and community partners to address the inequalities that Black people face throughout their lives which negatively impact their mental health and wellbeing, experiences, and outcomes. Black Thrive Global evolved from the work of Black Thrive Lambeth.

It was founded upon the common understanding that wherever Black people of African and Caribbean descent are located, detrimental outcomes persist. We determined that focused Black Leadership which facilitates systems change will transform the Black experience from surviving into thriving.

Read more here >

Coalition raise alarm over attempts to weaken police accountability

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 13:03:47 GMT

source: INQUEST

published: 10 February 2025

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

A coalition of organisations supporting victims of police violence are urging the Home Secretary to reject changes proposed by the police which threaten to reduce the level of scrutiny faced by officers involved in deaths and serious incidents.

INQUEST, alongside other specialist organisations including Liberty, Centre for Women's Justice and the United Friends and Family Campaign (UFFC), have written to Yvette Cooper to raise concerns about the ongoing Home Office Review examining the legal tests in two Supreme Court cases, which could reverse crucial decisions on police use of force and unlawful killing in inquests.

The letter highlights the concerns of families bereaved by police-related deaths and stresses that the changes under consideration would not only fail to address the real issues within policing but would also undermine public trust and allow police officers to avoid accountability. It is expected to report by the end of February .

The review was announced in October 2024 following the reaction by, and pressure from, police officers and their representatives to the criminal investigation and prosecution of the Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake, who fatally shot Chris Kaba on 5 September 2022.

Since 1990, only one serving police officer has been convicted of manslaughter and none for murder. Despite this, 2023/24 saw a 10% increase in police use of force and the highest number of police-related deaths for nearly a decade.

Read the full open letter here .

Susan Alexander, mother of Azelle Rodney, said: "Police officers repeatedly act as if they are above the law. But when they use force or kill, they must be held accountable like anybody else.

"It has been a long and emotional two decades since my son Azelle was killed by the police. Campaigning for answers and accountability has had a profound effect on my state of mind, my work, home, social and family life.

"We families engage in so many agonising processes to try and ensure that no one else has to go through what we’ve been through. What use are the countless recommendations that have come out of these if they are simply left to gather dust?

"Seeing the police and their representatives now once again invest their energy to try and weaken the ways in which we can hold them accountable is an insult. Instead, imagine how many lives could be saved and families spared if they focused on implementing change and listening to us families rather than continuing to shut us out."

Read full article >

CPS updates deaths in custody legal guidance

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 12:49:23 GMT

all credits: Crown Prosecution Service

published: 31 January 2025

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "Criminal prosecutions brought against police officers for actions taken in the course of their duties are extremely rare and these decisions are only made after careful consideration of all the relevant evidence and circumstances."

[He went on to say] "It is crucial that police officers are able to use their powers with legal certainty and clarity, always balanced with the public’s need to see the highest levels of scrutiny and accountability.

"At the request of the Attorney General, and to ensure the public can have confidence in the way the CPS reaches its decisions, I have now reviewed our relevant legal guidance in this area and made changes where relevant within the law.

“It is important to ensure the independence and quality of CPS guidance and decision making provides assurance both to police officers and the public in these complex cases which have profound implications for all those affected by them."

The changes also give some further clarity for the public and police on considerations prosecutors make with regards to police training.

As part of the review the CPS engaged with the National Police Chiefs Council, the Police Federation of England and Wales, the Police Superintendents’ Association, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, as well as other stakeholders.

Read full article >

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The long overdue pardon of Marcus Garvey

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 17:24:13 GMT

source: Counter Punch

published: 23 January 2025

Image Credit: artur84 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In [the] pardoning of Marcus Garvey , [President] Joe Biden did something that was long overdue.

Many today do not know who Garvey was or the grave injustice that was done to him.

Born in Jamacia in 1887, he was educated in London and worked for the African Times and Orient Review, a publication that highlighted Pan-African nationalism and influenced his thinking.

In 1914, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica, an organization that tried to achieve Black nationalist aims by celebrating African history and culture.

As one of his last acts in office, President Joe Biden issued a posthumous pardon for Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and generations of civil rights leaders. Advocates and congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey for years, with supporters arguing that Garvey's 1923 mail fraud conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the popular leader who spoke of racial pride and self-reliance.

Democracy Now!

Through the UNIA, Garvey pushed for a “back to Africa” movement, going so far as to create the Black Star Line to act as a Black owned passenger line that would carry patrons back and forth to Africa.

This was all derailed by the United States Government when he brought his ideas to America. The Black folks in this country were inspired by his message and began to organize around his ideas. To quell this, Garvey was charged and convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, a sentence that was later commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927.

Congressional leaders and civil rights advocates pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride.

Read full article here >

Six big immigration changes under Trump and their impact

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 17:48:27 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 25 January 2025

Image Credit: worradmu at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Since taking office on 20 January, President Donald Trump has announced a flurry of immigration-related executive orders, paving way for a widespread effort to crack down on undocumented migrants in the United States.

In more than 21 actions, Trump has moved to overhaul parts of the US immigration system, including how migrants are processed and deported from the US.

The White House has since publicised some of these efforts. On Friday, the new White House Press Secretary shared images of deportation flights being carried out by military cargo planes .

While Trump has promised "mass deportations" and arrests, it remains unclear how much of his plan is already being implemented.

Here is a breakdown of some of the significant actions taken by Trump on immigration in his first week, and how they compare to past policies.

Deportation of migrants

A cornerstone of Trump's immigration policy is removing unlawful migrants out of the US and the promise of "mass deportations".

To that effect, the defence department has said that it will provide military aircrafts to deport more than 5,000 people that have been detained by Border Patrol in San Diego and El Paso, Texas.

Read full article >

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‘We were betrayed’: families of apartheid victims sue South African government

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:52:40 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 23 January 2025

Image Credit: artur84 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lukhanyo Calata’s first memory of his father was the funeral. His mother sobbing, the earth beneath his feet shaking from the number of people gathered at the graveside, and the fear he felt aged three as the red box holding his father, Fort, was lowered into the ground.

Fort Calata was one of four men stopped at a roadblock in June 1985 by security officers. The Cradock Four were beaten, strangled with telephone wire, stabbed and shot to death in one of the most notorious killings of South Africa’s apartheid era .

In 1999, the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) denied six security officers amnesty for their role in the killings. They were never prosecuted and have all since died.

Now, as part of a group of 25 families and survivors of apartheid-era deaths and violence, Lukhanyo Calata is suing South Africa’s government for failing to bring his father’s alleged killers to court.

“Losing my father has impacted every fibre of my being,” Calata said. “We were ultimately betrayed by the people that we trusted to lead us into a new society.”

Calata’s case, filed at the high court in Pretoria this week, demands an inquiry to establish why there were no prosecutions. It also asks for 'constitutional damages' of 167m rand (£7.3m) to fund further investigations, litigation, memorials and public education.

Read full article >

2024 another record year for journalists jailed

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:40:53 GMT

source: Maktoob Media

published: 18 January 2025

Image Credit: franky242 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

China, Israel, and Myanmar emerged as the world’s three worst offenders in another record-setting year for journalists jailed because of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2024 prison census has found.

Belarus and Russia rounded out the top five, with CPJ documenting its second-highest number of journalists behind bars – a global total of at least 361 journalists incarcerated on December 1, 2024.

India had three journalists in custody, two of them Kashmiris arrested in 2023 against a backdrop of increased incarceration of journalists in the Muslim-majority region after the 2019 repeal of its special autonomy status.

The primary drivers of journalist imprisonment in 2024 – a year that saw more than 100 new jailings – were ongoing authoritarian repression (China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Belarus, Russia), war (Israel, Russia), and political or economic instability (Egypt, Nicaragua, Bangladesh).

Many of the journalists in CPJ’s 2024 census have been sentenced to spend significant parts of their lives in jail. Ten have been sentenced to life; one has been sentenced to death.

A total of 54 are serving more than 10 years; 55 between five and 10 years, and 62 between one and five years.

Read full article >

The Guardian view on capital punishment: an upsurge in executions should concern us all

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:27:33 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 12 January 2025

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The good news: Zimbabwe has just banned the death penalty . While it should remove an exemption clause, which might allow for capital punishment’s return were a state of emergency to be declared, the decision is another welcome step in the global journey towards abolition: 113 states have now banned executions.

The bad news is that fewer countries have been killing more people in the last few years.

Last May, Amnesty International recorded 1,153 executions in 2023, a 31% increase from the previous year and the highest level for almost a decade. (The figure is an underestimate since countries including China, believed to be the world’s largest executioner, do not publish data on the death penalty).

There was no letup in 2024. Iran reportedly executed more than 900 people . Saudi Arabia is believed to have killed another 330 , compared with 172 in 2023.

In the US, the toll was stable. But while more states have abolished capital punishment over recent years, there is a renewed push for executions in retentionist states. Three – Utah, South Carolina and Indiana – resumed killings last year after more than a decade.

Joe Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of 37 men under federal death sentences in December was welcome. He should have sent a still clearer moral message by doing the same for the remaining three, who committed terrorist or hate-motivated mass murder.

But the spur to his action was clear. Thirteen federal prisoners were executed in the first term of Donald Trump, a death penalty zealot – more than under the previous 10 presidents combined .

Read the full article >

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16 January 2025

Controversial restraint still used for mental health patients

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:08:21 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 29 December 2024

Image Credit: Mikael Blomkvist at www.Pexels.com

Mental health patients are being pinned face down by staff thousands of times a year, despite ministers and health experts repeatedly warning that it is dangerous.

Prone restraint, in which someone is held chest down to defuse an incident, has been a source of controversy for years and been involved in the death of a number of people with mental health problems .

In 2014 the then coalition government responded to widespread concern about its use when it acknowledged that it “can result in dangerous compression of the chest and airways and put the person being restrained at risk” and told mental health units in England to phase it out.

But new NHS figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that face-down restraint was used 5,247 times during 2023 and 3,732 times in the first 10 months of this year alone. “These findings are alarming,” said Danny Chambers MP, the party’s mental health spokesperson.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and Care Quality Commission, the NHS care regulator, both advise mental health care providers to avoid using prone restraint and, when they do use it, to do so for the shortest time possible.

Read full article >

Zimbabwe abolishes the death penalty (December 2024)

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:02:48 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

first published: 6 January 2025

Image Credit: Naypong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on December 31 signed into law the Death Penalty Abolition Act, which abolishes the death penalty for all crimes and provides that dozens of people currently under a death sentence in Zimbabwe will now be resentenced .

Passed by the Senate on December 12, the bill provides that “no court shall impose sentence of death upon a person for any offence” and “no sentence of death, whenever imposed, shall be carried out.”

Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told the BBC that the abolition of the death penalty was “more than a legal reform; it is a statement of our commitment to justice and humanity.”

Zimbabwe has not executed anyone since 2005, but it has continued to impose the death penalty in some murder cases.

At least 59 people were known to be under sentence of death in Zimbabwe at the end of 2023, Amnesty International reports .

The High Court must now resentence every person currently under sentence of death, taking all relevant circumstances into account—including each individual’s personal circumstances, how long they have been sentenced to death, and how they were treated while under a death sentence.

Read the full article >

'Long-awaited' day arrives with reform of controversial IPP sentences

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:01:29 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 23 November 2024

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

New provisions have come into force to end Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, described as the ‘single greatest stain on the criminal justice system’.

Almost 2,000 people serving controversial lifetime licenses will have their sentence terminated immediately. The measure applies to those who have been released for at least five years and who have been out on licence for two years.

The reforms were announced by the previous justice secretary, Alex Chalk, in an attempt to address the scandal of people languishing in jail indefinitely, despite in many cases not having committed serious offences.

IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 to keep offenders who were deemed dangerous detained beyond the end of their tariff (the minimum period they have to serve in prison). The sentence was abolished in 2012, but the abolition did not apply to those already serving it. As of July this year , 2,700 prisoners, 99% of whom are serving time beyond their initial tarriff, remain on IPP sentences .

These new provisions were introduced by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 and have come into force on 1st November, described as ‘a long-awaited day’ by the Howard League for Penal Reform .

Children serving the parallel Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentences will also benefit from the new provisions. Children who have been released for four years and have been on licence for two years will have their sentences terminated immediately.

Read full article >

The inquiry into community mental health services in the UK

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 23:57:01 GMT

source: NSUN

first published: 15 January 2025

Image Credit: Pixabay at www.Pexels.com

In December 2024, Parliament announced a new inquiry to examine the state of community mental health services (CMHS). The inquiry is currently accepting written evidence, the deadline for which is 4 February 2025.

The National Survivor User Network (NSUN) are working on their own submission, and will publish it when it is complete. The purpose of this article is to explain what the committee is, the purpose of the inquiry, and to offer support on submitting evidence.

The inquiry is led by the Health and Social Care Select Committee; one of many select committees through which Parliament can hold the Government to account.

How to submit evidence

Evidence should be submitted here , no later than 4th February 2025 . The submission page asks for your name, email address, and associated organisation (if applicable).

Evidence should be a single Word, OCT, or RFT document, which is less than 25MB, and contains no logos.

If you have trouble submitting online, contact the committee via email at hsccom@parliament.uk, or by phone on 020 7219 6182.

Who can submit?

You can submit as an individual, group of individuals, organisation, or group of organisations.

What happens to your evidence?

All evidence received will be published on the committee website, and will be publicly available, indefinitely. The only exceptions to this are if the committee decides not to accept your evidence (which they should tell you, via email), or if you explicitly request (at the time of submission) that your evidence remains anonymous (for example, if it contains extremely personal information about yourself or your family), though it cannot be guaranteed that your request will be accepted. Evidence may also be quoted in the committee’s report on the inquiry.

Read the full article >

Doorbell video recorded police fatally shooting man in Worcestershire

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:25:58 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 30 December 2024

Image Credit: Image Credit vudhikrai at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Doorbell video footage recorded armed police fatally shooting a man on Christmas Eve, the victim's family said.

Amid community calls for answers, the family of Marcus Meade shared the clip with the BBC showing loud bangs and flashes at an address on Fownhope Close in Redditch, Worcestershire. The 39-year-old is wounded off screen.

West Mercia Police said the shooting occurred several hours after officers attended in response to paramedics' concerns for the safety of a man with a knife, and added it had referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).

The force described the incident as "tragic" and said it could not comment further amid the watchdog's investigation.

Mr Meade, who according to his family had mental health problems, was described by his brother Jahziah Meade as an "incredible father, brother and friend".

"His absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives," he told the BBC.

Neighbour Marnie Crawford, who said she was a close friend of Mr Meade, described him as "gentle and kind" , and stated the incident had left his friends and family demanding answers.

Urging body-camera footage from officers who attended the scene to be publicly released, she said Mr Meade would only have been threatening to hurt himself during a mental health crisis, not others.

"He would never have attacked anybody with that knife - never," she said.

Read full article >

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8 January 2025

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8 January 2025

IOPC investigation into West Mercia Police fatal shooting in Redditch is progressing

3 January 2025

Remembrance & Memorials : Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:00:52 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 12 January 2025

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Jean Charles De Menezes

Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police on 22nd July 2005, who mistakenly linked him to the four attempted bombings of the previous day. He was shot at least eight times (at least 7 shots were to his head) at close range in Stockwell Tube station.

Initial reports claimed that wearing a heavy padded jacket he was chased by armed officers and gunned down in a Tube carriage after he allegedly refused calls to stop, and vaulted ticket barriers.

It later emerged that this account of what happened was far from accurate, and that the unsuspecting Jean Charles was restrained by a number of officers once seated on a train, and was shot several times to the head. This has prompted many questions from the family and supporters.

Friends and family of Jean Charles de Menezes - the innocent man shot dead by police in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings - have held a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of his death.

The family of the Brazilian electrician say they're still fighting for justice, and still want police officers to be prosecuted over the shooting.

Home Affairs Correspondent Nick Beake reports

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, amid calls for his resignation, was also quizzed about claims that Scotland Yard had resisted the launch of an independent probe into the shooting. Jean Charles' family accused Met police Chief Sir Ian Blair of lying about aspects of the shooting, and attempting a cover-up.

Jean Charles was born a Brazilian national in 1978. Originally from the town of Gonzaga, 500 miles northeast of Sao Paulo in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

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Funding gap for women’s centres will mean more prison sentences

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:19:48 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 22 December 2024

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

A £5m funding gap for women’s centres will lead to more women being imprisoned and derail government reform plans, experts warn.

Women’s centres work with thousands in crisis, playing a central role in keeping vulnerable women out of prison. But two significant streams of government funding will end in March 2025, even though ministers have announced plans to reduce the number of women being locked up.

The National Women’s Justice Coalition (NWJC), whose 26 member organisations provide services including intervention programmes and community sentences, has told the Guardian they face a deficit of at least £5.1m in 2025 – and need an extra £500,000 to meet the increase in employers’ national insurance . With about 50 women’s centres in England and Wales, the funding deficit across the sector as a whole is expected to exceed those figures.

“Demand is growing at the time we’re facing this cliff edge,” said Rokaiya Khan, the chief executive of Together Women, a group of seven centres that supported 3,800 women in Yorkshire last year. “I have seen over the last 12 months more women in crisis, more women presenting with more complex needs, more women in dire straits with housing … and violence against women and girls is on the increase .

“When there are gaps, more women get arrested and end up in prison and on remand. You’re paying £50,000 a year to keep them in prison, when with £5,000 we could support a woman and help solve the prison crisis.”

Read full article >

Spate of high-profile US death penalty cases fuels public outrage

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:18:24 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 19 December 2024

Image Credit: Donald Tong at www.Pexels.com

A spate of high-profile death penalty cases in 2024 have prompted an unprecedented outburst of public anger and frustration, as several condemned prisoners with credible claims of innocence have fought their pending executions in the court of public opinion.

Profound qualms about the reliability of death sentences have been raised over a number of disturbing cases this year. They include that of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, killed by Missouri through lethal injection in September despite critical doubts around the strength of his conviction and a massive public protest culminating in a petition signed by 1.5 million people.

Other searing cases included the Texas prisoner currently fighting execution for a conviction based on “shaken baby syndrome”, which many experts now reject as junk science, and Richard Glossip, whose 27-year struggle to prove his innocence has galvanized even pro-death penalty Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma to rally to his side.

The roiling of public outrage over condemned prisoners’ claims of innocence, and the protests that have erupted over the fairness of US capital punishment, are some of the headlines of the 2024 annual review of the practice by the authoritative Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) .

The report was released just hours before the final execution of the year was slated to be carried out in Oklahoma, where Kevin Ray Underwood died by lethal injection on Thursday morning.

Read the full article >

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Iranian women could face death penalty for defying new laws

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 04:20:08 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 11 December 2024

Image Credit: Sura Nualpradid at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Women in Iran could face the death sentence or up to 15 years in prison if they defy new compulsory morality laws due to come into effect this week.

New laws promoting the “culture of chastity and hijab” passed by the Iranian authorities earlier this month impose severe penalties for those caught “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing”, including fines of up to £12,500, flogging and prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years for repeat offenders.

Article 37 of the new law also stipulates that those promoting or propagating indecency, unveiling or “bad dressing” to foreign entities, including international media and civil society organisations, could face a decade in prison and up to £12,500 in fines.

Those whose conduct is considered by the authorities to amount to “corruption on Earth” could be sentenced to death under article 286 of Iran’s Islamic penal code.

Amnesty International said this legal provision in effect meant that women and girls sending videos of themselves unveiled to media outside Iran or “otherwise engaging in peaceful activism” may be sentenced to death.

The human rights group said the law also appeared to provide immunity for anyone who wanted to carry out their “religious duty” and enforce compulsory veiling on women. Anyone intervening or attempting to stop the arrest or harassment of woman and girls defying compulsory veiling could themselves be imprisoned or fined under article 60 of the new law.

Read full article here >

Daughter of jailed journalist continues fight for his release

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 03:36:26 GMT

source: VOA News

published: 21 November 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

Journalist Betlehem Isaak, the daughter of journalist Dawit Isaak — a dual Eritrean-Swedish citizen imprisoned without trial in Eritrea since 2001— accepted the 2024 Edelstam Prize on her father's behalf Tuesday during a ceremony at the House of Nobility in Stockholm.

The prize honors Dawit for his "outstanding courage" in championing freedom of expression.

The judges noted his commitment to advocating for democracy in Eritrea despite harassment, threats and repeated interrogations.

His punishment, his perpetual unlawful detention, never charged with a crime, defenseless and deprived of his basic rights without a trial, his de facto status of civil death, is untenable," said Caroline Edelstam, chair of the Edelstam Prize jury and co-founder of the Edelstam Foundation.

The loss of her father not only has brought pain but has also taught her resilience, Betlehem said. Speaking to VOA from Gothenburg, Sweden, ahead of the award ceremony, she said continuing her father's legacy is both a painful burden and a source of inspiration.

"Losing a parent as a 7-year-old little girl is, of course, very traumatic, " Betlehem said. "But it's also the strength I get from it today, and I really value it, even though I don't wish this on my worst enemies."

Read full article >

Campaigners renew plea for inquiry 50 years after pub bombings

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 03:15:46 GMT

source: Shropshire Star

first published: November 2024

Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Relatives of people killed in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings have renewed calls for a public inquiry “as a matter of urgency”, as they prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the IRA atrocities.

Julie and Brian Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine Hambleton died in the twin blasts, believe an inquiry could disclose new evidence capable of leading to a new investigation into the bombings.

Twenty-one people died and about 200 were injured on November 21 1974 when bombs exploded minutes apart in the Mulberry Bush, at the foot of the Rotunda building, and the Tavern in the Town in New Street, in what remains the worst unsolved terrorist atrocity committed in Great Britain.

Speaking near a permanent memorial to the victims outside New Street station, within sight of the Rotunda building, Julie Hambleton said of this week’s anniversary of the attacks: “Fifty years for us is just like last week, and for the survivors too, I would imagine that they re-live it in their sleep with nightmares.”

Ms Hambleton, who founded the long-running Justice4The21 campaign group with her brother, added: “It’s something that never goes away and something that you never forget. And that’s why our campaign exists, to be the voice of those who are not here to fight for justice and truth themselves.”

Asked what he remembers of the day of the attacks, Mr Hambleton, who dropped Maxine off in the city centre, said: “Unfortunately I could narrate every minute of that evening from the very moment my sister ironed me a shirt. I asked her if she could iron me a shirt and then I would give her a lift into the city centre, which I would have done anyway.”

Mr Hambleton became emotional as he added: “That’s what I remember, dropping her off. Seeing her get out of the car and walk away."

Read full article >

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Various dates (archived)

Services mark 50th anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:06:56 GMT

source: BBC News

first published: 15 November 2024

Image Credit: Birmingham Irish Association

Memorial services are planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings, in which 21 people died.

The bombs were detonated in the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town on New Street on the evening of 21 November 1974. An inquest in 2019 heard 220 people were injured in the attacks, but the perpetrators have never faced justice.

A memorial will start next to New Street at 13:45 GMT on 21 November, with a service at St Phillip's Cathedral, Birmingham.

What will happen during the memorial services?

Those attending the first service will gather at the tree sculpture memorial to the victims just outside New Street Station.

The event is for invited guests only and not open to the general public.

Pupils from Bishop Challoner Catholic College have been working on a song which will be performed during proceedings.

The Birmingham Irish Association , has also invited everyone to pause for a minute at 14:00 to remember the dead.

The later service at the cathedral is open to all and will feature prayers and hymns, led by the Bishop and Archbishop of Birmingham.

It will also be streamed online , external and on a screen outside.

Read full article >

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Post Event: Report on the Birmingham Pub Bombings 50th Memorial Service 2024

22 November 2024

BBC Local launches new podcast on the Birmingham Pub Bombings

1 November 2024

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21 August 2023

1st Commemoration Event: We Remember Benjamin Zephaniah

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 01:34:25 GMT

source: Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group

first published: 2 November 2024

Image Credit: Tippa Naphtali www.naphtaliassociates.org.uk

On December 7, 2024, led by his family, the heart of Newham and the literary world will unite in a powerful celebration of the life and legacy of the iconic poet, writer, and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, commemorating one year since his passing. ( the event flyer here ) .

We Remember Benjamin Zephaniah; 1958 to 2023 , to be held at The Arts Venue in Stratford, marks the first anniversary of Zephaniah’s death and will honour his extraordinary work and enduring legacy in the world of poetry, activism, and social justice.

Some Background:

Affectionately dubbed the ‘Bard of Stratford’, Zephaniah’s connection to Newham began in the late 70’s and early 80’s when he moved to the borough at the age of twenty-two and immersed himself in various community and social justice initiatives, including housing and food co-operatives. He was a Patron of the Newham Monitoring Project, Discover Children’s Story Centre, and Hibiscus Caribbean Elderly Association, and regularly taught at the Newham Black Performing and Visual Arts Workshop.

See 2024 Handsworth Park mural unveiling >

See the event gallery >

This special tribute event will feature readings of Zephaniah’s poems by renowned figures such as poet and children’s author Michael Rosen, and other influential artists, writers, musicians, such as Levi Tafari, The Riddim Squad and Zita Holbourne, as well as public figures, who will share their reflections on his influence.

There will also be an exhibition celebrating Zephaniah’s role as a pioneer in Black British culture and his contributions to human rights advocacy, alongside a range of stalls from community organisations and enterprises.

Read full article here >

Trump wants to expand the federal death penalty, setting up legal challenges in 2nd term

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 00:08:22 GMT

source: NBC News

published: 9 November 2024

Image Credit: Naypong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump signaled he would resume federal executions if he won and make more people eligible for capital punishment, including child rapists, migrants who kill U.S. citizens and law enforcement officers, and those convicted of drug and human trafficking.

“These are terrible, terrible, horrible people who are responsible for death, carnage and crime all over the country,” Trump said of traffickers when he announced his 2024 candidacy. “We’re going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” he added.

While it remains unclear how Trump would act to expand the death penalty, anti-death penalty groups and criminal justice reform advocates say they are taking his claims seriously, noting the spree of federal executions that occurred during his first term.

“We’re going to fight this tooth and nail, and we’re going to seek to uphold the constitutional principles that do not call for this expansion,” said Yasmin Cader, an ACLU deputy legal director and the director of its Trone Center for Justice and Equality.

At the tail end of Trump’s first term, 13 federal inmates were put to death — even as the pandemic led states to halt executions because of Covid concerns in prisons. The cases included the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly 70 years; the youngest person based on the age when the crime occurred (18 at the time of his arrest); and the only Native American on federal death row.

Read the full article >

Other News:

Burkina Faso wants to reinstate death penalty, government source says

9 November 2024

What does Donald Trump’s return mean for the death penalty?

7 November 2024

Do Americans really want to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants?

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 23:34:33 GMT

source: Forbes

published: 2 November 2023

Image Credit: worradmu at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Immigration is a key issue in the upcoming November 5th, 2024 vote. Polls indicate a significant shift in American public opinion has occurred, with most registered voters supporting measures that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

While Americans remain opposed to the construction of a border wall or the revocation of birthright citizenship, many now back a mass deportation plan aimed at removing over 11 million undocumented immigrants from the United States.

Former President Trump has pledged to carry out the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history," mobilizing large-scale raids and establishing new detention facilities to detain individuals awaiting deportation forcibly. In fact, recent surveys reveal that between 51 and 62 percent of Americans are now in favor of deportations, with some Latino and Hispanic voters also voicing support.

For the first time in modern history, such a vast deportation effort is no longer an outlying opinion but a mainstream stance in American politics.

However, public sentiment on immigration is far from cohesive and indeed, views are contradictory. A Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year found that while many Americans favor stronger enforcement, 59 percent of respondents—including a notable portion of Trump supporters—also support allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. legally.

Read full article >

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Not-guilty jury verdict in the murder trial of Met firearms officer who killed Chris Kaba

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 21:45:38 GMT

source: INQUEST

published: 21 October 2024

Image Credit: Image Credit Deborah Coles at INQUEST www.inquest.org.uk

A Metropolitan Police firearms officer has today been found not guilty of the murder of Chris Kaba. Chris, a 24 year old Black man, was fatally shot by Martyn Blake, a firearms officer from the Metropolitan Police on 5 September 2022 in Streatham, London. He was unarmed.

On 5 September 2022, Metropolitan police forced the car Chris was driving to stop believing it was linked to a firearms incident the previous night in nearby Brixton. The car was not registered to Chris and was not stolen.

The officers did not know who was driving the car. Chris was unarmed and had his hands clearly visible on the steering wheel. Blake rushed out of his car and within a few seconds shot Chris in the head.

During the trial, Martyn Blake described having seen Chris as a “Black male who looked comparatively young and athletic”. The prosecution argued that the trained firearms officer decided to shoot “precipitously” whilst the car was stationary and hemmed in at the back with no risk to anyone as the other officers were not nearby.

They also argued that Martyn Blake deliberately made false and exaggerated statements to create an element of danger that did not exist when he decided to shoot Chris.

Martyn Blake was charged with Chris’ murder by the Crown Prosecution Service on 20 September 2023. At no point did the defence put in an application that he had no case to answer for.

Today, the jury at The Old Bailey has found him not guilty.

Read full article >

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Met Police marksman cleared of murdering Chris Kaba as bodycam footage reveals moments before shooting

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Interview with Janet Alder: ‘I’ve dragged truth out of authorities… and I will never stop’

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 17:25:42 GMT

source: Socialist Worker

published: 14 October 2024

Image Credit: Peter Marshall at www.mylondondiary.co.uk

‘Me and my brothers came out of local authority care. We started our lives in the hands of the state, and two of us ended our lives at the hands of the state,” said Janet. “My family has been touched by every area of the state—the care system, the psychiatric system, the criminal justice system. And every time, it has let us down.

“My mum and dad came to Britain at the same time as the Windrush Generation . They came from Nigeria, expecting a better life. That’s how it was sold to my family.

“My mum had five little children. When it became too much for her to cope with, she had a psychiatric episode and her relationship with my dad broke down. Instead of helping her to separate from my dad and supporting her to care for her children, the state deported her. I have only ever seen a photo of her."

Christopher Alder was arrested on 1 April 1998 after an altercation outside a nightclub in Hull. Within a matter of hours, he was dead on the floor of Queen's Gardens Police Station.

In the moments before his death, CCTV footage taken from the custody suite showed laughing officers making monkey noises as they stood around the 37-year-old choking in a pool of his own blood.

“Us children were put into care. My youngest brother was just four months old.

The Hull Seaman’s and General Orphanage was actually a happy environment with lots of real care. But we were moved from there to a state care home with a very cruel regime. Us five plus six other children were placed there.

"We bonded because we faced mental and physical abuse. Staff lined us up to get the stick over our bare bottoms. I was questioning stuff, and I was more vocal, so I got the brunt of it. It was beyond anything children should go through. Later, I got hold of a document from that time that said ‘Janet will stand up for her brothers until the end’.

I was always looking out for my brothers."

Read full article here >

IOPC Publish custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2023-2024

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:54:41 GMT

all credits: IOPC

published: 17 October 2024

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

In October 2024 the Independent Office for Police Misconduct (IOPC) released details of their custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2023-2024.

The following content is transcribed from the IOPC website.

Deaths during or following police contact
"Published for the 20th year, the statistics provide an official record setting out the number of such deaths, the circumstances in which they happen, and any underlying factors. Figures across the different categories can fluctuate each year, and any conclusions about trends need to be treated with caution."

The report shows:

There were 24 deaths in or following police custody, an increase of one from 2022/23, and the highest figure since 2006/07:

Fifteen people were taken ill or were identified as being unwell in a police cell. Eleven were taken to hospital where they later died. Four people died in a police custody suite.
Six people were taken ill at the scene of arrest. Three people were taken to hospital, where they later died. Three people died at the scene.
Two men were taken ill in a police vehicle, and were taken to hospital where they died.
One woman died following release from police custody. Post arrest she had been taken to hospital for treatment for facial injuries and then returned to custody. She died three days after release .

Read more here >

Download report here >

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"I’m terrified I’ll be executed": Trump win could bring spree of death row killings

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 17:13:40 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 14 October 2023

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at www.Pexels.com

If Donald Trump wins the election, he is expected to pursue a spree of executions that could fast-track the cases of people on federal death row, and threaten the life of a man with a longstanding innocence claim.

Advocates for people on death row fear a second Trump term could be worse than his first, which saw an unprecedented 13 federal executions. Under Trump, more people incarcerated in the federal system were put to death than under the previous 10 presidents combined, a staggering number that raised grave human rights concerns .

Among those who were executed were people with intellectual disabilities. Defendants were deprived of opportunities to present new evidence . Some were killed after lawyers said the execution method was “tortuous”. In some cases, executions occurred over the objections of both victims and prosecutors .

Since his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Trump’s pro-death penalty rhetoric, which dates back to his 1989 campaign against the Central Park Five, has only escalated. He’s recently called for executions of “everyone who gets caught selling drugs” and has reportedly suggested government leakers should be executed for treason.

Last year, Rolling Stone reported, Trump allegedly floated bringing back firing squads and hangings and pursuing group executions and televised killings .

Read the full article >

Brixton prison ‘fundamentally failing’ as inspection reveals overcrowding and drug abuse

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:41:40 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

first published: 24 September 2024

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

In the most crowded category C prison in the country men are turning to drugs because they have ‘nothing constructive to do’.

In a response to the latest inspection of Brixton Prison, prison reform charity the Howard League have criticised the prison for locking men up "for hours on end’ in ‘dirty overcrowded cells’. Andrea Coomber, head of the charity, said: ‘If someone is sent to prison, we should do all that we can to support them to move on from crime and live healthily.

"Brixton is doing the opposite, with hundreds of men locked up for hours on end in dirty, overcrowded cells and turning to drugs when they should be getting training and employment."

In an inspection report released today, His Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) revealed despite holding men convicted of sexual offences, Brixton prison is failing to prepare prisoners for their release back into the community. It said there were no accredited offender behaviour programmes and this ‘hampered work to reduce risk’.

At the time of the inspection the employment hub and employment advisory board were closed, so no prisoners were being offered work placements, and none were being released on temporary license.

The overcrowding in Brixton means as many as 66% of prisoners share a cell designed for one person, and many were only allowed out of these cells for 45 minuted a day to shower and go outside.

Read the full article >

Justice secretary unveils plans to shut women’s prisons amid overcrowding crisis

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:41:33 GMT

source: The Independent

published: 24 September 2024

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out plans to slash the number of women going to jail and ultimately close women’s prisons amid an overcrowding crisis . She unveiled a new body, the women’s justice board, which will have the “ultimate ambition of having fewer women’s prisons” – potentially allowing them to be converted to male or mixed jails.

The prison population in England and Wales hit a r ecord new high a fortnight ago , with 88,521 people behind bars – but there are just 3,440 women in jail.

More than half – 55 per cent – are victims of domestic abuse, while two-thirds have committed non-violent offences. Ministers want to improve services like community support and residential women’s centres to provide an alternative to prison.

It comes after the government said thousands of inmates would be freed early in a bid to ease overcrowding.

In her speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool, Ms Mahmood said that when she took over the ministerial role, the crisis had been just “one bad day from disaster” .

“Within minutes, I was told our justice system was on the point of collapse,” she said. “Within weeks, our prisons would overflow. Had that happened, the consequences would have been apocalyptic."

Read full article >

Iran: 2 years on from Mahsa Jina Amini’s death, still no change

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:41:21 GMT

source: Human Rights Watch

published: 16 September 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

(New York) – Iranian authorities’ brutal repression against women has only continued in the two years since the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Jina Amini sparked nationwide protests, a dozen human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today.

Iranian authorities have continued their brutal repression of peaceful dissidents, civil society, women, and religious and ethnic minorities, while failing to hold those responsible for torture, rape, and unlawful killings accountable. The Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all the women human rights defenders imprisoned in Iran and end all systematic violence and discrimination against women.

“The authorities have failed to answer for the killing of hundreds and the arrest of thousands, and they have systematically continued their suppression of opponents, civil society, and human rights defenders,” said Nahid Naghshbandi , acting Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“A change in government and a new president have so far done nothing to alter the authorities’ repressive actions towards dissent.”

I ranian authorities have intensified their suppression of women in public spaces by reintroducing the morality police under the so-called “ Noor Plan ” and carrying out punitive measures, such as impounding vehicles of women not wearing the compulsory hijab.

A 'Bill for the Protection of Chastity and Hijab Culture' is on the verge of being approved by Iran’s parliament. If passed, this law will formalize the repression of women and girls who defy mandatory wearing of the hijab, significantly widening the gender gap.

Read full article here >

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'Hillsborough Law' on the table by anniversary says Prime Minister

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:41:10 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 27 September 2024

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Hillsborough disaster

"Hillsborough remains the UK's worst sporting disaster. Since then, many families and survivors have led a 30-year campaign to discover how and why they died."

A "Hillsborough law" will be introduced in Parliament before the next anniversary of the 1989 football stadium tragedy, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.

The Prime Minister announced that legislation would force public bodies to co-operate with investigations into major disasters or potentially face criminal sanctions, will be in progress before April 2025.

A terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

The prime minister said a "law for Liverpool, a law for the 97 that people shouldn't have had to fight so hard to get will be delivered" before the 36th anniversary.

The Hillsborough Law will introduce a legal duty of candour on public bodies. Officials or organisations that mislead or obstruct investigations could potentially face criminal sanctions.

Sir Keir will say he is honouring a commitment he made during a speech in Liverpool two years ago”

Read full article here >

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Analysis: Pat Finucane's inquiry adds to questions over legacy

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:40:48 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 15 September 2024

Image Credit: S ourced by 4WardEverUK

It is arguable that if the government has its way it may have just granted, in the case of Pat Finucane, the last public inquiry in respect of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The clue is contained in Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn’s statement to Parliament on Wednesday. In every other case, it seems the aim is to direct bereaved families to a new independent legacy body - but there’s a major problem.

It is struggling to gain support and credibility – and that, for the government, is an issue made more urgent and demanding by the establishment of the Finucane inquiry .

The week started with news that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) has had just 85 enquiries in its first four months.

So far, only eight of them will get investigation status .

For context, the ICRIR has a remit to examine many thousands of incidents between 1969 and the 1998 Belfast Agreement. This can, at the behest of bereaved families and victims, be anything from a straightforward request for information to a full-blown investigation.

Benn points out that the commission has powers “comparable” to those in the Inquiries Act to compel witnesses and secure documents from state bodies.

Its budget could be up to £250m and it can operate for five years or more .

Read full article >

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Remembrance & Memorials : Mikey Lloyd Powell

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 23:30:56 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 3 September 2024

Image Credit: Friends of Mikey Powell : www.mikeypowell-campaign.org.uk

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Mikey Lloyd Powell

Mikey’s cousin and prominent activist and social justice campaigner, Tippa Naphtali , previously wrote the following moving article to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his 2003 custody death - it remains relevant today:

"It was a lazy Sunday morning of 7th September 2003 when I received the devastating news from my sister that my cousin, Michael Lloyd Powell (known as Mikey), had died during a violent restraint by West Midlands police officers . This news was to mark the start of a 15-year journey that would have a significant impact on my life to this day.

"Mikey was a hard-working and loving father of three boys, and was well-known and respected in the local community. He was experiencing a severe psychotic episode when police officers were called by my distraught aunt, Clarissa Powell.

The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund was established in Mikey's memory to ensure that affected families or their campaigning groups across the United Kingdom can get access to small grants to provide practical domestic assistance, to further the work of their own campaigns or assist them in engaging in other local, regional or national campaigns, events and initiatives.

"After a brief verbal altercation, the attending officers drove a police car at Mikey knocking him down, then beat him with batons, CS gassed him, and violently restrained him . Knowing he was injured, they drove him to a police station not a hospital. He died of asphyxiation after been restrained face down on the floor of the police van."

When two worlds collide

"I had worked in the fields of mental health and police consultation in London for many years prior to my cousins’ death, and these collided tragically in September 2003.

"Such was the impact of his death, I made the decision to move back to my home town of Birmingham after 28 years living and working in London; so that I could be at the forefront of my family’s fight for justice, as well as to ensure changes were implemented in both policing and mental health practice. I was determined that Mikey’s life and death would be remembered with a lasting legacy."

Read the full article here >

Remembrance & Memorials : The Katrina Killings

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 23:30:51 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 3 September 2024

Image Credit: George Becker at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

The Katrina Killings

Police convicted of post-Katrina shootings:

A federal jury convicted five serving and former police officers in the deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina on 4th September 2005. Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man, was shot several times in the back and died at the scene. One of the officers, Kenneth Bowen, also stamped on him while he lay wounded.

James Brissette, 17, a high school student who friends said was nerdy and studious, also died on the bridge. Four others people from the same family were also wounded, one losing part of her arm.

Federal authorities had begun an investigation into the shootings on the Danziger Bridge shortly after a local judge dismissed murder and attempted murder charges against seven policemen in 2008.

The city descended into anarchy after the hurricane and the police were overrun. The four officers that stood accused of the shootings on 4th September 2005 were Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Former officer Robert Faulcon and Anthony Villavaso. They are also accused of obstructing justice, along with two other officers, Arthur Kaufman and Gerard Dugue.

Download the article here >

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“We killed him”: Jail officer pleads guilty in death of Alabama man

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 23:30:45 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

published: 12 October 2022

Image Credit: artur84 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Toshua Conner Jones, a former correctional officer with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office in Jasper, Alabama, pleaded guilty last week to federal charges stemming from the death of Anthony “Tony” Mitchell in 2023.

Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Jones for conspiring with other Walker County Jail staff to violate Mr. Mitchell’s constitutional rights by “depriving him of humane conditions of confinement including, but not limited to, adequate food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, and medical and mental health care,” which resulted in his death.

The plea agreement does not identify Mr. Mitchell by name, but Mr. Jones’s lawyer confirmed it relates to Mr. Mitchell’s death.

Tony Mitchell, 33, was arrested and taken to the Walker County Jail by sheriff’s deputies responding to a request for a mental health welfare check on January 12, 2023. In a detailed plea agreement entered last week, Mr. Jones says he and other correctional officers were told that Mr. Mitchell had shot at deputies.

Mr. Mitchell “could not walk or stand on his own” when he arrived at the jail, according to the plea. He was “disoriented, non-combative, and could not follow instructions,” so “helpless that he was not capable of undressing or dressing himself,” and it was “obvious to everyone” that he needed to be taken to a hospital.

Instead, Mr. Jones said officers put him in the drunk tank—'a cement box with a small grate on the floor' that “did not have a sink, a toilet, access to any running water, or a raised platform to be used as a bed” and was “notoriously cold during winter months and the temperature on the bare cement floor was even colder”—and denied him medical attention until the day he died two weeks later.

Read full article >

The EU continues to shift its dirty work of mistreating migrants

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 23:30:35 GMT

source: The New Arab

published: 2 September 2024

Image Credit: Public archive

While media and political attention is often focused on migrants’ deaths trying to cross the strips of sea at Europe’s borders, there is much less awareness about what happens in transit countries such as Niger, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and others.

A newly-published report by IOM, UNHCR and the Mixed Migration Centre describes an extremely grim situation for people on the move trying to reach Europe through the African continent. The report denounces the ‘unimaginable horrors’ experiences by refugees, including ‘death, SGBV, torture and physical violence, kidnapping for ransom, trafficking in persons, robbery, arbitrary detention, collective expulsions and refoulement .'

The EU frequently attributes the human rights abuses suffered by refugees and migrants in transit countries to the actions of human smugglers and traffickers. This narrative conveniently shifts the focus away from the EU’s role and responsibility: in reality, the EU member states’ border externalisation policies, which outsource border control to non-EU countries, are the main drivers of migrants’ abuse and exploitation.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum , approved by the EU Parliament earlier this year, embeds border externalisation as a core component of Europe’s migration policy. The mechanism is very simple: by offering financial aid and support, the EU expects transit countries to stop migrants before they make it Europe, preventing them from reaching European soil before they are able to lodge an asylum application.

Deals with third countries usually include provisions for setting up migration control centres, bolstering local coast guards, and implementing stricter border surveillance measures.

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UK riots: Why are far-right groups attacking immigrants and Muslims?

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 13:25:29 GMT

source: AlJazeera

published: 5 August 2024

Image Credit: pexels/duda

As riots continue to rage in the United Kingdom, hotels housing asylum seekers have been torched by far-right agitators. The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth, in northern England, was set alight.

Protests led by far-right groups have escalated into clashes with police in multiple towns, as a wave of unrest, fuelled by xenophobia and misinformation surrounding the tragic killing of three young girls in a stabbing incident, sweeps across the country. About 400 people have been arrested.

“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a televised address on Sunday. He has cast the riots as “organised illegal thuggery” by a minority of Britons .

In the grips of a sixth day of violence, Downing Street held a Cabinet Office briefing room (Cobra) emergency meeting.

Last week, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop at a community centre in Southport, England, three young girls were stabbed to death by a 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana. He was born in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, reportedly to Christian Rwandan parents.

False information on social media claimed the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.

Read full article >

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Self-harm in women’s prisons highlight mental health crisis

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 16:00:40 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 30 July 2024

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Incidents of self-harm among women in prison have reached record-high levels over the past 12 months, according to the latest Safety in Custody update from the Ministry of Justice.

The data reveals a stark increase in self-harm incidents by 29% in women’s prisons, with an ‘alarming rate of 341 incidents per 1,000 women .’ As stated in the report, the frequency of self-harm in women’s prisons is now more than eight times higher than in men’s prisons, raising serious concerns about the mental health support available to incarcerated women.

Sonya Ruparel, CEO of the charity Women in Prison (WIP), expressed deep concern over these findings as she stated, ‘seriously unwell women are being sent to prison when in fact they need medical or psychiatric support’ . Instead of being a place of rehabilitation, prisons are in fact ‘traumatizing women and creating mental health concerns.’

The voices of those who have experienced the system firsthand further emphasis the urgency of the issue. Nadia, who spent five months in prison waiting for her trial to begin, described her experience as akin to ‘walking onto the set of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.’

‘Many of the girls there should not be in prison, they need proper help,’ Nadia stated. Furthermore, Nadia recounted the screaming and banging at night leaving her petrified. Ultimately, Nadia reported that due to this experience, she now has PTSD.

Read full article >

Prisoner swap with Russia “offers a possible pathway” to peace

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:50:04 GMT

source: Democracy Now!

published: 2 August 2024

Image Credit: www.pexels.com

We speak with The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel about the prisoner swap between Russia, the United States and several other countries on Thursday that saw the release of 24 people, with 16 prisoners in Russia traded for eight Russian nationals held in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere.

It was the biggest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West since the Cold War era. Among those released are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. marine Paul Whelan and Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin who was in German custody after the 2019 killing of a Chechen dissident in Berlin, was also released and sent back to Moscow.

Vanden Heuvel says it was “an extraordinary swap” that could pave the way for more diplomacy to wind down the war in Ukraine. “Negotiations and diplomacy are not about capitulation. They're about improving the conditions of a world which is too militarized and at war.”

Read full article >

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Criminal Justice Reform (in the United States)

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:40:36 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

last update: July 2024

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country. Mass incarceration disproportionately impacts the poor and people of color and does not make us safer. EJI is working to end our misguided reliance on over-incarceration.

In the American criminal justice system, wealth—not culpability—shapes outcomes. Many people charged with crimes lack the resources to investigate cases or obtain the help they need, leading to wrongful convictions and excessive sentences, even in capital cases .

Racial disparities persist at every level from misdemeanor arrests to executions. The “tough on crime” policies that led to mass incarceration are rooted in the belief that Black and brown people are inherently guilty and dangerous—and that belief still drives excessive sentencing policies today.

More incarceration doesn’t reduce violent crime. Using prisons to deal with poverty and mental illness makes these problems worse. People leave overcrowded and violent jails and prisons more traumatized, mentally ill, and physically battered than they went in.

Today, nearly 10 million Americans—including millions of children have an immediate family member in jail or prison. More than 4.5 million Americans can’t vote because of a past conviction. And each year, we lose $87 billion in GDP due to mass incarceration .

Read full article >

Mumia Abu-Jamal speaks with student protesters on Palestine

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 11:25:38 GMT

source: Workers World

published: 10 July 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

The following is a report on video recordings between political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and five student activists from encampments for Palestine Liberation during a webinar July 3 titled “The People vs. the State.”

Shena Sood of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home pointed out that many of the students in the encampments had heard about Mumia there for the first time. She also said that Mumia’s failing health was due to medical neglect by the prison system as is true of many political prisoners.

Next came a brief statement by Johanna Fernandez of the Campaign and professor of history at Baruch College, of the City University of New York, who went over some of the legal chicanery committed by the state in originally convicting Mumia.

Fernandez shared a clip of Mumia speaking to the City College of New York student encampment. He sounded wonderful despite poor health. He said the students must speak out against the terrorism afflicting Gaza, “with all of your might, with all of your will … that it’s time right now, this day, hour, moment to be heard! … so the people of Gaza, Rafah, the West Bank can feel your solidarity.”

Mumia added: “It is not enough to demand ceasefire! Demand cease occupation!” The shrill prison recording sounded every three minutes throughout his talk. It only served to intensify his message.

Read full article >

NMPMFF have made major operation and structure changes

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 23:58:49 GMT

source: Memorial Family Fund

first published: 3 July 2024

Image Credit: Jack Moreh at www.FreeRangeStock.com

In a previous report the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund outlined why they would be making some significant changes to their grant making and administrative systems in 2024.

Some reasons for the change relate to significant drops in donor income in recent years, meaning that NMPMFF needed to manage limited finance resources very carefully, as well as overhaul their administration systems that were previously time-intensive and thereby prolonged the application process for all parties.

The NMPMFF will be discontinuing the Family Support Fund for the foreseeable future, and encouraging families to make more use of our low-cost online Give-Back Shop for more generalised items (such as t-shirts, campaign banners, online communications, training and other services).

The Crisis Family Fund will now be our principal grant programme.

Strict criteria will ensure that only those in genuine urgent need receive awards. The process will remain simple, with a quick turnaround. Administration for NMPMFF teams and Assessment Partners is minimal and there are no expectations on applicants to provide formal feedback.

The Holiday Awards Fund application process has been made simpler for applicants, meaning individual families can apply ( see previous process here ). Strict criteria will ensure that the recently bereaved, children/young people affected by delayed trauma, re-emerged trauma etc, receive priority. There are no rigid expectations to provide formal feedback.

Grants to be reopened:

The NMPMFF will be seeking to open the Crisis and Holiday Fund grants in August 2024, and also introducing their LIVE Q&A sessions online . They will continue to administer the UFFC Legacy Fund (in partnership with Migrant Media ) while resources are available.

Assessment Partners:

The NMPMFF have streamlined partner members and will be actively seeking to invite a range of new partners over coming months. The Assessment Partner support and promotions structure is crucial to the effective working of their grant programmes and other services .

Benjamin Zephaniah: The Brighter Flame exhibition celebrates poet

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 15:40:17 GMT

source: Colmore Business District

first published: 3 June 2024

Image Credit: Ruth Millington www.x.com/ruth_millington

This summer a special exhibition celebrating the life of Birmingham poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah will take place in the city centre. ( Exhibition Extended - See more here ) .

The outdoor exhibition called ‘ Benjamin Zephaniah – The Brighter Flame ’ will take place between July 5-31, 2024. Created with the support and acknowledgment of the Zephaniah family, the exhibition will feature more than 20 specially curated artworks displayed in cabinets located in Victoria Square, Birmingham, as part of the 100 Days of Creativity programme.

In addition, flags designed in his memory will fly high on Colmore Row, the heart of Birmingham, while a Q&A with David O Springer, Zephaniah’s brother, plus poetry recitals from spoken-word performers will take place at The Exchange on Broad Street.

Zephaniah was recognised as champion of the people and his death on December 7, 2023, aged 65, drew tributes from across the world.

See Handsworth Park mural unveiling >

Born in Handsworth and influenced strongly by what he described as ‘street politics’ and the music and poetry of Jamaica, Zephaniah was gifted an old typewriter as a child, which inspired him to become a writer. In recent years, the typewriter has been housed in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust and photographs of it will feature in the exhibition.

Through his work, Zephaniah was inspired by music, his lived experiences in Birmingham and his Barbadian-Jamaican heritage. In 2008, he was included in The Times list of Britain’s top 50 post-war writers and won numerous awards and honorary doctorates for his literature. Zephaniah also made numerous acting and media appearances, most recently as the preacher Jeremiah Jesus in BBC’s Peaky Blinders.

Read full article here >

200th death row exoneration shows capital punishment is ‘broken’

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 18:03:23 GMT

source: Catholic Herald

first published: 6 July 2024

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The US has seen the 200th individual on death row exonerated since 1973. The exoneration earlier this week has led to further calls from a Catholic organisation that advocates against the death penalty for an end to the “broken system of capital punishment” to ensure innocent people aren’t executed in the future .

“Because of the tireless efforts of faithful advocates and committed lawyers, 200 people have now been saved from the threat of execution after being sentenced to death,” Krisanne Valliancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilising Network, said in a 3 July statement.

“And while we praise God that these lives have been spared, we also remember the many individuals – both innocent and guilty – who did not, and will not receive the same grace, whose lives are discarded by a system determined to throw them away,” Valliancourt Murphy continued.

Larry Roberts was exonerated on 1 July after he was wrongfully convicted in the 1983 murder of a fellow prisoner and a prison guard at the California Medical Center in Vacaville, California. After 41 years, the California Attorney General’s office has has said it will not retry him after a US district judge granted Roberts a new trial, meaning he is in effect cleared of all charges and an innocent man.

Roberts’ exoneration is the third of 2024.

Kerry Max Cook was exonerated in June for the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards, who was found dead in her apartment in Tyler, Texas. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared Cook innocent of the crime for which he has spent nearly 20 years on death row.

In February, meanwhile, Daniel Gwynn had charges of first-degree murder, arson and aggravated assault that resulted in a death sentence dismissed. His sentence was related to the 1994 death of Marsha Smith, who was killed in a fire in west Philadelphia.

Read the full article >

Related News:

Death Penalty Laws By State 2024 Guide

17 June 2024

The death penalty (Amnesty International)

May 2024

‘How do I heal?’: the long wait for justice after a black man dies in police custody

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 15:42:20 GMT

all credits: The Guardian

published: 18 June 2024

Image Credit: Idea go at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the early hours of Sunday 3 July 2022, two men, 300 miles apart, died after contact with police. One man was in Cornwall, and the other in Nottingham. Both men were unarmed, and had not harmed anyone. Both men were terrified; both had struggled with drug addiction; both were in the midst of a psychotic episode. Both were black. Both had called the police to help them.

Godrick Osei was 35 and a father of two. At around 2am, he placed two calls to his sister from his partner’s flat in Truro. He was in a paranoid state, and claimed men with guns were in the flat. Then he jumped out of the window, taking his partner’s phone. He rang the police himself, and said he was being chased by armed attackers.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall police found him at 2.30am: he had entered a care home and was hiding in a staff bathroom. His family, who have viewed the police bodycam footage, said that officers forced their way into the cubicle where he had hidden because he was so terrified, and a number of them restrained him. He died less than an hour later.

That same morning, in Nottingham, police arrived at the home of Kaine Fletcher to detain him under the mental health act. Fletcher, a 26-year-old father of two, was restrained by officers and later taken to hospital. Within a few hours, he was dead.

These deaths are part of a larger pattern: official data shows that black people die at twice the rate of white people in similar encounters with police. The role of racism in these cases is fiercely contested by the government and the police, but there is an explanation for the disproportionality.

The common thread in almost all such cases is an exaggerated perception of the physical threat posed by the victims, even when they have called the police themselves, as Osei and Fletcher both had. Instead of being treated as the victims of a medical emergency, they were met with force – treated “like a criminal”, in the words of Kaine Fletcher’s father.

Read the full article >

IPP prisoners taking desperate action in the face of ‘torture’ sentence

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 15:35:36 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 18 June 2024

Image Credit: radnatt at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

An IPP prisoner undertaking a second brutal hunger strike, and one who set himself on fire in an attempt to take his own life have raised fresh concerns about the sentence described as ‘a stain on the criminal justice system’.

Yusuf Ali was given an IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentence over 14 years ago after injuring another prisoner, with the sentence stating he must serve a minimum of three years. He remains in prison after five failed bids for parole.

Ali undertook a hunger strike at the end of last year, protesting his treatment under this cruel sentencing regime. Sir Bob Neill, former chair of the justice select committee, spoke about his case in the house of commons before parliament was dissolved.

He said: ‘This desperately sad case unhappily demonstrates all the harms that the justice committee reports warned that IPP sentences cause… Any new government should act swiftly to erase this stain on our justice system.’

Mr Ali’s mother spoke to the Independent about the ordeal, saying when she visited him in January after the first hunger strike, he looked ‘like bones on the floor’.

She criticised the fact that despite IPP sentences have been outlawed, those still serving them have not been resentenced: ‘IPP has been outlawed now. It’s against the law. So anybody who is on an IPP needs to be reviewed.’ Ali started a second hunger strike at the end of May .

Read full article here >

Other News:

IPP causes suicides, says Ombudsman

11 September 2023

Highest number of IPP deaths since sentence introduced in 2005

11 September 2023

IPP By Numbers (UNGRIPP)

Rolling updates

Supreme Court ruling weakens protections to defendants sentenced to death

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 15:31:59 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

first published: 11 June 2024

Image Credit: Sura Nualpradid at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a 6-3 decision on May 30, the Supreme Court deviated from its own precedent and practice to uphold an Arizona man’s death sentence despite a federal appellate court ruling that his trial lawyer was ineffective in violation of the Sixth Amendment.

Danny Jones was accused of killing three people during an attempted theft in 1992. Arizona prosecutors sought the death penalty. Mr. Jones, who said his drug use led to the offense, could not afford to hire an attorney. A public defender who had been an attorney for only about three years and had never been a lead attorney on a capital case was assigned to represent him.

A long line of precedent flowing from the Court’s 1986 decision in Strickland v. Washington establishes that defense attorneys have a constitutional duty to investigate and present evidence of mitigating circumstances to the sentencer in a capital case.

But Mr. Jones’s lawyer did not investigate potential mitigation evidence until after the jury had already convicted him of capital murder.

He never hired a mental health expert and failed to request neurological or neuropsychological testing until the day of the sentencing hearing, even though he knew that Mr. Jones was “oxygen-deprived at birth and had a lithium deficiency—a condition linked to serious psychiatric disorders” and that “he was medicated for mood disorders, had attempted suicide and had been admitted to a mental hospital,” Courthouse News reports .

Mr. Jones was sentenced to death. On appeal, he argued that he had been denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed and reversed his death sentence, finding that the public defender’s performance was deficient and there was a reasonable probability that Mr. Jones would not have been sentenced to death if his lawyer had presented available evidence about his mental health .

Read the full article >

Netpol Solidarity – launch tools for resisting police surveillance

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 15:37:41 GMT

source: NETPOL

first published: 14 June 2024

Image Credit: Pong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today sees the launch of Netpol Solidarity , a series of new resources for movements, organisations and individual campaigners concerned about the increasing impact of surveillance on their rights to protest and organise.

Each resource is accessible, focuses on key information rather than thousands of words of guidance and is designed primarily for campaigners to access on their phones.

It covers many of the common questions Netpol is asked for advice and guidance on. We intend to keep working with protest movements to provide information on new and emerging challenges.

This project emerged from workshops at Netpol’s Movement Gathering in November 2023, which involved organisers from different campaigns and legal support groups covering Scotland, Wales and England.

What Netpol Solidarity covers

The resource is divided into three areas:

surveillance at protests (for individuals seeking to resist police surveillance when taking part in a demonstration).
developing a security culture (aimed at helping groups understand and resist police surveillance and also deal with media intrusion).
understanding police tactics (on the ideas and tactics underpinning police surveillance on campaigners).

The threat of intrusive police surveillance is, in Netpol’s experience, often overlooked by protest movements, even though intelligence-gathering has long been recognised as having a potential “chilling effect” on whether people feel able to go out and demonstrate.

See full article & resources >

The People's Tribunal on Police Killings callout to affected families

Fri, 31 May 2024 05:24:39 GMT

source: The PTPK

first published: 19 April 2024

Image Credit: J M Moore

The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings are making a national call out to any families whose loved ones have died at the hands of the police or after contact with the police.

The Tribunal has been established to unify the struggles taking place, create a platform for justice and take direct action.

For more information visit www.peoples-tribunal.org/about

The PTPK is run by families for families, and we are reaching out to any families that want to get involved in the Tribunal as it moves into the next stage either as a participant, organiser or supporter.

If you are interested please contact tribunalpeoples@gmail.com

All communications are held in strict confidence.

Crisis in UK prisons revealed by new investigation

Thu, 30 May 2024 05:20:06 GMT

source: OpenDemocracy

published: 6 May 2024

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

When Dr Maria Leitner arrived at HMP Styal to serve a four-and-a-half-year sentence in 2018, she was handed a Hello Kitty T-shirt, a pair of leggings and a “pretty rough pair of trainers”, which she would go on to wear every day for the next 18 months. “By the time winter came, they were full of holes,” the 56-year-old told openDemocracy. “My feet were regularly wet.”

FLeitner’s experience was not unusual. A charity worker told this website of seeing women in prison wearing “flip flops in the snow” , while the official prison inspectorate reported in November 2023 that “many women” in HMP Peterborough could not go outside to exercise “because they did not have a coat, jumper or appropriate footwear.”

The ill-fitting clothing given to inmates is just one of several stark revelations uncovered by openDemocracy’s investigation into the state of England and Wales’ 117 prisons, which house some 87,000 people.

Our analysis of prisoner survey data and reports by the inspectorate reveals widespread and systemic failings in safety, hygiene, healthcare, violence and release planning. We found:

More than half of inmates feel “unsafe” in 35 prisons
Nearly one in ten prisoners reported being physically assaulted by staff members
A quarter of inmates reported threats or intimidation from fellow prisoners, with a further 13% reporting physical attacks
A quarter of prisoners are held in Victorian facilities, where many do not have access to any in-cell sanitation and are forced to use bins as makeshift toilets
7% of prisoners said their time in prison made them more likely to offend
In 26 prisons, fewer than 80% of prisoners are able to shower every day

Read full article >

Catalyst for emancipatory practice for birthmothers affected by trauma-based addiction

Wed, 29 May 2024 21:00:55 GMT

source: Tina's Haven

published: May 2024

Image Credit: Truth & Justice 4 Tina

"In Love and Anger" is a report of an action research-based study of the pioneering Tina’s Haven pilot project, delivered in East Durham during 2022 and 2023. Twenty-eight women in addiction recovery participated in the Tina’s Haven pilot project, the majority were birthmothers severed from their children. Full Report / Executive Summary

This study emerges within the context of:

Marginalised and vulnerable females in the North East being found 1.7 times as likely to die early than in England and Wales as a whole; and the average age at death falling by ten years, from 47 to 37.
Mortality rates from drug poisoning decreasing for males and increasing for females in 2022; and drug related deaths in the North East being consistently the highest of any English region for ten consecutive years.
The North East, having the highest number of children in the care system, 113 per 10K; 1.6 times the national average.

The intention of the Tina’s Haven project is to develop a transferable model of holistic and emancipatory praxis, that will bring about self-empowerment and solidarity among birthmothers severed from their children by trauma-based addiction.

Read full article here >

Black inmates suffer botched executions at twice rate of Whites

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:22:06 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 18 April 2024

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

Black incarcerated people have been subjected to prolonged and painful botched executions in the US at more than twice the rate of white death row inmates, a new study has found.

While glaring racial disparities have long been visible in US capital punishment, the report from the international human rights group Reprieve finds that the inequities exist even inside the death chamber.

It reveals a shocking racial disparity in the rate of botched executions in which lethal injections went awry, both nationwide and in individual death penalty states.

Reprieve analyzed all lethal injection executions between 1976, when the US death penalty was restarted after a brief pause, and 2023. It chronicled 73 confirmed botched procedures – a shocking figure in itself given the suffering that prolonged and flawed executions can cause despite the promise of a “humane” death made by advocates of lethal injections.

When looked at through a racial lens, 8% of executions of Black people were botched (37 times out of 465 executions), compared with 4% for white people (28 out of 780).

The Reprieve report has attracted congressional interest. Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senior senator from Massachusetts, said the findings “underscore the racial injustice of capital punishment and is yet another reason Congress must abolish the death penalty once and for all”.

Cory Booker, the Democratic junior senator from New Jersey, called on the Biden administration to do more “to address the devastating harms of capital punishment”. He urged the justice department to enforce laws governing the drugs used by states in lethal injections. .

Read the full article >

Other Related News:

States botched more executions of Black prisoners. Experts think they know why?

18 April 2024

Reprieve report finds that racial inequality extends to the death chamber

18 April 2024

Racism and the Execution Chamber

23 June 2014

The fire this time: Mass movement for Palestine on US campuses

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:20:58 GMT

source: Socialist Worker

published: 27 April 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

A militant movement for Palestine is spreading across campuses in the US .

Protests, occupations and encampments have spread to more than 40 campuses after students at Columbia University and Barnard College took action.

The occupation at Columbia was still standing strong after ten days on Friday, despite the police trying to smash up the encampment.

The protests have forced university management to enter negotiations with students, who are pushing for the university to divest from all companies that fund and support the Israeli apartheid state .

After three months of destruction, displacement and the killing of Palestinians, we take a deep dive into the way the Gaza story has been covered.

“We want to stay visible,” said Columbia student protester Mahmoud Khalil. “The university should do something about what we’re asking for, about the genocide that’s happening in Gaza. They should stop investing in this genocide.”

The movement is gathering steam fast, with students on more campuses springing into action every day.

In New York, hundreds of protesters set up an encampment at Gould Plaza at New York university earlier this week. They ignored orders from university bosses who said they’d face punishment if they stayed.

As cops tried to remove them from Gould Plaza, they chanted, “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest.”

Read full article here >

The corporations that are raking billions off of refugees' plight

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:18:04 GMT

source: Fair Planet

published: 16 April 2024

Image Credit: SurasakiStock at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As populist rhetoric globally advocates for reducing the "burden" of taxpayer money spent on managing asylum seekers, private corporations are reaping billions in profits from government contracts. Advocates are raising alarms about the rapidly deteriorating conditions for asylum seekers within this system.

Agnes Tanoh enjoyed a successful career in her home country, Ivory Coast, as the chief personal assistant to the first lady. But when civil war broke out following the 2010 elections, she and her colleagues faced persecution and were forced to seek asylum immediately.

Having supported her children's education at British universities and with fond memories from her visits to the UK, Tanoh chose to seek asylum in the country where her daughter lived. But Tanoh’s image of the UK as a beacon of freedom and human rights was shattered when she was unexpectedly detained at the police station where she went to report herself and request asylum.

With nothing on her but the clothes she wore and no further explanations, she was put in a van with tinted windows and after a long journey was admitted to the notorious Yarl’s Wood detention centre.

During Tanoh’s detention, she discovered that the centre was privately run. In a conversation with FairPlanet, she revealed that private corporations managed every aspect of the system, including the guards, the van drivers transporting asylum seekers, catering, housing and even deportation flights.

Read full article >

Other Related News:

UK passes bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda: What’s next?

23 April 2024

Removing barriers to the power of lived experience

17 April 2024

Birmingham MP's demand Pub Bombings inquiry at 'grim milestone'

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:14:34 GMT

source: Birmingham Mail

first published: 19 April 2024

Image Credit: 9comeback at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Birmingham MPs are calling upon the Government to hold an inquiry into the Pub Bombings atrocity amid the 'grim 50 year milestone.' Recalling the 21 innocent victims, they collectively requested the Home Secretary carry out a section 1 inquiry into the deadly terror attack of 1974.

Their calls come amid an ongoing campaign for "truth, justice and accountability", with many of the MPs involved for several years. With families still left with no justice five decades on, they say an inquiry is needed to finally provide answers, but also to ensure the same "could not happen again."

In the letter, which emerged tonight, the group of MPs wrote: "We, the MPs for the City of Birmingham, are writing to you to request as a collective that you hold a section 1 inquiry into The Birmingham Pub Bombings 1974 pursuant to the Inquiries Act 2005.

"This is a campaign for truth, justice, and accountability, many of us have been involved with for many years, including the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Andy Street.

"We must recall the names of the 21 innocent people victims murdered on the streets of our city."

"This year we will commemorate this loss of life and the terrible tragedy that happened in our city as we reach the grim milestone of 50 years passing since the atrocity. Still the families of these Birmingham citizens have been left with no justice for the loss of their loved ones, and no answers into the systematic failings and concerns surrounding how this tragedy was handled for decades after the event.

"It is our belief that this request for a section 1 statutory public inquiry is needed to, not only provide much needed truth, justice, and accountability for the families of the 21, but also to ensure learning for our state bodies that the same could not happen again."

Read full article >

Other Related News:

PROOF launch: ‘It’s so easy to convict someone for a crime they have not done’

19 April 2024

Police reinvestigation of Birmingham pub bombings has failed, families told

21 August 2023

Birmingham pub bombing inquests (and more)

Various dates/years

‘Major’ Benjamin Zephaniah mural has unveiled at Birmingham park

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 17:11:38 GMT

Above you can see Just one of many images from the unveiling of Benjamin's public mural, which took place on Sunday, 14 April 2024. ( see more here )

This one features members of his family, artist Bunny Bread key organiser Dawn Carr, Friends of Handsworth Park, and Black History Walks Network . ( Watch Video )

See post-event article here >

More images and updates to follow on this website and also on the Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group Facebook page and website - Watch this space!

Original pre-event feature:

source: Birmingham Mail

first published: 27 March 2024

Image Credit: Black Heritage Walks Network

A major new mural commemorating the life and activism of Benjamin Zephaniah will be unveiled in April at Handsworth Park, celebrating the poet’s ‘extraordinary legacy.’ The new artwork, commissioned by Black Heritage Walks Network , celebrates Zephaniah’s stature as ‘a prophet and a role model for all.'

See April announcement here >

The unveiling ceremony will take place at the Sons of Rest building in Handsworth Park from 3pm on Sunday 14th April 2024. All are welcome!

Peaky Blinders poet and star Zephaniah, from Handsworth, died aged 65 in December 2023 after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Writers, poets, musicians and politicians posted tributes to Zephaniah on social media following the news.

Benjamin Zephaniah recites his poem Soho Road for a TV show about his youth.

The new mural will fill one side of the Sons of Rest building in Handsworth Park with an unveiling ceremony taking place on Sunday 14th April 2024.

The designers of the mural say the new artwork will celebrate Zephaniah as ‘The People’s Champion’ of the area.

The new mural will be completed by internationally renowned artist Bunny Bread. Dawn Carr, local historian of Black History Arts & More worked closely with the artist, the local community and Benjamin’s family to make the project happen.

Read the full article >

Other Related News:

Press Release from Black Heritage Walks Network

26 March 2024

New mural to be unveiled in Birmingham dedicated to the late Benjamin Zephaniah

1 April 2024

A new mural celebrating the life of ‘Prophet’ Benjamin Zephaniah to be unveiled in Birmingham this April

27 March 2024

Netpol Protests Advisory: Get organised to defend dissent

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 15:50:33 GMT

source: NETPOL

first published: 2023

Image Credit: Jakayla Toney at www.Pexels.com

New sweeping anti-protest laws have come into force, through the Public Order Act (May 2023) and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (April 2022) . Many of the new powers are poorly defined, with the Home Secretary having powers to regulate the meaning of “serious disruption.” In practice, the police themselves will often be able to decide when and how to impose conditions, opening the door for widespread abuse.

This means that protesters, especially if they are near a business or a public building, may find themselves facing threats of arrest in circumstances that they have not previously encountered.

It’s vital that we resist these new police powers. Netpol will support grassroots groups as they face these new police powers, working to provide information and resources and looking for ways to challenge the policing of demonstrations in the courts and on the streets.

A last-minute concession offered by the government was for the Home Secretary to “prepare and publish a report” on the way new powers are used.

But with so much confusion from police, government and officials on how the new powers will be used, we need to build up our own body of evidence on the way police powers are misused and freedom of assembly rights are violated.

Know Your Rights for everyone!

New police powers were introduced primarily to disrupt and further criminalise campaigners who use direct action or civil disobedience tactics, which can mean something as simple as blocking a road.

This means groups who adopt these tactics need to ensure, before organising a protest, that they know what these changes to the law mean.

You may also want to arrange to have Legal Observers at your demonstration and have conversations in your group about what to do if someone is arrested.

Read full article >

An historical look back at Ohio’s 'Black Laws'

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 17:10:18 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

published: 1 April 2024

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels

Ohio had barely entered statehood in 1803 when thousands of Black Americans began arriving there from the South. Many were escaping to this “free” state from enslavers in Virginia and Kentucky, just across the Ohio River.

Some people even swam across the mile-wide river, or walked across its ice in winter, believing that freedom and opportunity awaited them on the other side. Abolitionism had many supporters in Ohio. Cincinnati, along the river, had a growing Black community. Ohio’s Black population quintupled between 1800 and 1810, from a little over 300 people to nearly 1,900 .

But most of the white men who wrote the state’s 1802 constitution and its earliest laws came from Virginia and other “slave” states. Many had been enslavers before moving to the Ohio Territory, where slavery was outlawed. The document they drafted did not change that, but it took away a right Black men had had in the Ohio Territory before statehood—the right to vote. And that was only the beginning.

To stop Black people from moving to the state, the all-white state legislature approved “An Act to Regulate Black and Mulatto Persons” in 1804, and amended it three years later, stripping Black residents of their rights in the courts. Starting April 1, 1807, Black people in Ohio were barred from testifying in any case, civil or criminal, in which one of the parties was white. Ohio’s “Black Laws,” as the measures became known, gave white supremacy priority over justice.

A system of targeted laws

Ohio’s discriminatory laws restricted all aspects of daily life for Black residents in the state.

Black residents had to register with the county clerk within two years of arriving in Ohio, pay a fee of 12 1/2 cents, and obtain a court order attesting to their being free. They had to be able to produce this proof of freedom at any time .

Read full article >

‘It’s a Death Zone’: How Israel Destroyed Gaza’s Healthcare

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 17:09:10 GMT

source: TRIBUNE

published: 28 March 2024

Image Credit: Jack Moreh at www.FreerangeStock

Medics tortured and executed, operations without anaesthetic, patients dying from starvation. Gaza's medical workers speak to Tribune about Israel's apocalyptic war on healthcare.

It’s a death zone,’ said Athanasios Gargavanis, a trauma surgeon for the World Health Organisation, upon reaching the now defunct emergency department of Nasser medical complex. There were dead bodies in corridors, no tap water at all and no electricity beyond a small backup generator. At least eight patients had died due to a lack of oxygen.

This was the grim outcome of Israel’s brutal siege on the barely functioning hospital in the Southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. Two weeks earlier, 14-year-old Ru’a Atef Qadeeh was shot dead by Israeli snipers in front of the Hospital gate while desperately trying to fetch water from a nearby location. A further twenty-one Palestinians in the vicinity of the besieged hospital were killed by Israeli snipers in the days that followed .

Four Western-based doctors who have worked in Gaza hospitals in recent months have confirmed that the healthcare system in the war-ravaged enclave has essentially collapsed.

During a raid on the hospital, medical staff were interrogated, and more than seventy healthcare workers were reportedly detained by Israeli forces. ‘I have lived three days of hell, along with my patients’, said one surgeon. ‘What happened to doctors, patients and internally displaced people here is unbelievable, even in your worst nightmares.’

Doctor Ahmed Moghrabi, who was forced to leave Nasser Hospital in the middle of the night with his family, described families being chased by Israeli military dogs as they evacuated.

Read full article here >

Other Archive News:

Blinken puts pressure on Middle East countries to contain Gaza conflict

7 January 2024

Visiting Rafah crossing, progressive US senators say Israeli inspections slowing aid deliveries to Gaza

6 January 2024

Disputed terms ‘deflects attention’ in deaths following police restraint

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 17:05:19 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 19 March 2024

Image Credit: Peter Marshall - www.flickr.com/photos/petermarshall

A recent investigation by the Observer has revealed widespread use of disputed medical terms, ‘Acute Behavioural Disturbance’ (ABD) and ‘Excited Delirium,’ in explaining deaths following police restraint incidents in the UK. [ See ‘Outdated and offensive’: police in England and Wales barred from blaming restraint deaths on ‘excited delirium’ ]

Further concerns have been raised about the disproportionate application of these terms to black individuals, exacerbating existing inequalities in the use of coercive measures.

Despite being rooted in pseudoscience and rejected by medical experts, these terms continue to be employed by authorities, raising concerns among campaigners who argue they perpetuate racial stereotypes and obscure police accountability.

ABD and excited delirium are often used interchangeably to describe individuals exhibiting agitation or bizarre behaviour, often attributed to mental illness or drug use. Symptoms include insensitivity to pain, aggression, and elevated heart rate.

While authorities claim these terms aid in identifying individuals in need of medical assistance, critics argue they serve to deflect attention from police actions and responsibilities in restraint-related deaths.

Read the full article >

Other Archive News:

End the use of “excited delirium” as a cause of death in police custody

12 March 2022

Excited delirium: valid clinical diagnosis or medicalized racism?

6 April 2021

Forensic Science Regulator: The use of ‘excited delirium’ as a cause of death (PDF file)

Published in 2020

How “excited delirium” is misused to justify police brutality

10 August 2020

Excited delirium: Medical emergency – not willful resistance

10 July 2015

Zarah Sultana: Islamophobia used to demonise Palestine solidarity

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:47:43 GMT

source: TRIBUNE

published: 28 February 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

"Get the f*** out of my country. You don’t belong here. No Muslims do."

That was the opening of an email I received the other day. I have had to get used to things like this. My first death threat came through just a few weeks after I became the youngest ever Muslim MP. So I have more reason than most to take MPs’ safety seriously. And to be crystal clear, no-one should have their safety threatened or be subject to unacceptable abuse.

But I am concerned that the debate about public engagement with MPs is being used by some as a pretext to demonise the Palestine solidarity movement, whipping up Islamophobia in the process. After the farce in Parliament last Wednesday, Suella Braverman wrote that "Islamists are now in charge" of Britain.

Later that day, Robert Jenrick told the House of Commons that "we have allowed our streets to be dominated by Islamist extremists." And Lee Anderson took to the airwaves, saying "Islamist have got control of Sadiq Khan, they’ve got control of London… He’s given our capital away to his mates."

After three months of destruction, displacement and the killing of Palestinians, we take a deep dive into the way the Gaza story has been covered.

When these Conservatives depict the Palestine solidarity movement as ‘Islamist’, they seek to portray it as violent and extreme. They suggest this unprecedented public mobilisation for Palestine is alien and undemocratic. Unfortunately for them, the demands of the Palestine solidarity movement — an immediate ceasefire and an end to the slaughter in Gaza — are supported by a large majority of the British public, as opinion polls repeatedly show .

And contrary to what they suggest, the hundreds of thousands of people who have exercised their democratic right to demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestine people come from all walks of life.

Read full article here >

Other News:

Blinken puts pressure on Middle East countries to contain Gaza conflict

7 January 2024

Visiting Rafah crossing, progressive US senators say Israeli inspections slowing aid deliveries to Gaza

6 January 2024

The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy website has launched

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:53:40 GMT

source: Memorial Family Fund

published: 26 February 2024

Image Credit: Pexels / Duda at www.Pexels.com

The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy (BZFL) Group website has been launched.

The group was founded by Benjamin’s siblings in January 2024.

The BZFL Group is an Unincorporated Association supported by The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund and news/campaign group 4WardEverUK.

Benjamin’s remaining siblings are Velda White (twin sister), Millicent Springer, Joyce Springer-Amadedon, Tippa Naphtali, Mark Springer, Paul Springer and David Springer. Other extended family members will be involved at various stages of delivery and management of the association.

The family are determined that in their own way, they want to do their bit to ensure that Benjamin’s legacy will always be celebrated and recognised, and to work with various parties to co-organise a series of national and international events and projects towards this aim.

The family summary:

Benjamin’s sister Joyce said; “it’s a privilege to be part of our family’s joined-up effort to remember and celebrate our amazing Benjamin and to act as a sounding board and reference point for others who wish to do the same.”

Several members of Benjamin’s family members have a long history of providing community and faith-based services to support some of the most vulnerable people in society. Like Benjamin, we are shaped by our shared lived experience and are passionate about many of the things Benjamin stood for and spoke out about.

‘It runs in the family it would seem.’

See their ‘Mission’ page where you can find out more about the aims, mission and plans of the Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group.

Biden backed off a pledge to abolish the federal death penalty

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 13:02:46 GMT

source: Associated Press

published: 27 February 2024

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As he prepared to take office three years ago, Joe Biden’s incoming administration considered a host of possible options to fulfill a campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty.

One idea was an executive order, according to people familiar with the matter. But the White House did not issue one or push for legislation in Congress. Six months later, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal capital punishment to study the protocols used to execute people, a narrower action that has meant no executions under Biden. The Justice Department has since pushed for the death penalty against the suspects charged with mass shootings in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Biden doesn’t discuss the death penalty much today. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, consistently vows in campaign speeches to seek execution for drug dealers as part of a national crackdown on crime.

Capital punishment hasn’t shaped a U.S. presidential race since 1988 when Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis was criticized for offering little emotion when asked during a debate if he’d favor the death penalty for the perpetrators if his wife were raped and murdered.

But the issue could quickly return to the national spotlight if Trump retakes the White House and hustles to resume federal executions as he has repeatedly promised. That’s left some Biden supporters frustrated he hasn’t done more to prevent a future president from resuming executions, especially considering Trump pushed through 13 in his final six months in office .

Read the full article >

21 July 2023

Biden’s Justice Dept. keeps hard line in death row cases

26 March 2023

(In Conversation) Assassination attempts on Mumia Abu-Jamal

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 20:38:10 GMT

source: San Francisco Bay View

published: 26 February 2024

Image Credit: Sura Nualpradid at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

[The following are] excerpts from Guerrilla Intellectual University’s interview with Pam Africa, Noel Hanrahan and Ricardo Alvarez on Feb. 12, 2024, by Kalonji Jama Changa and Joy James.

Kalonji Changa: [We have on Guerrilla Intellectual University] the founder of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pam Africa; Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, physician to Mumia; and the founder of Prison Radio, attorney Noel Hanrahan. Good to have you all [share important information about Mumia Abu-Jamal].

Noel Hanrahan: Mumia Abu Jamal has been in prison now for 42 years. He survived three execution attempts: one on the streets of Philadelphia in 1981 and two literal execution warrants. [It] has been a real struggle for Mumia to communicate with us and to maintain his health. In the last eight years, Mumia has had many health struggles. We as a community have rallied to make sure that Mumia Abu Jamal has survived, just like we rallied when he was under an execution warrant.

Noel Hanrahan also said; "He had [severe] hepatitis C, which there was a cure for, [but] the prison was preventing him from getting [the medicine] … [M]obilization literally made sure that Mumia was given that life-saving cure in 2017. Then he had double bypass heart surgery in 2021. He is suffering from a number of medical conditions."

Pam Africa: Mumia has a tendency to not talk about himself when he’s damn near dying.

He wanted to talk about other things, but there was no conversation to be had there except his [deteriorating] health. You know what he wants to talk about? He’s doing a new book, ' Beneath the Mountain: An Anti-Prison Reader .'

Ricardo Alvarez: I frame any discussion of a medical consultation with Mumia in the context of “What is torture”? A medical consultation with a brilliant public intellectual, a political prisoner … in prison by virtue of what he says, and not what he did … in this context, to do a medical consultation with Mumia in captivity means that there are nuances to words that he says that cue me into concern. One of the words he said, as it relates to the extent of his skin condition, is that it was [is] “unstable.”

Read full article >

28 February 2024

Mumia Abu-Jamal | Biography, Trial, Appeals, & Facts

Last Updated: 23 February 2024

Life in the Balance - The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Amnesty International Archives) pdf

February 2000

Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal arrested

9 December 1981

Remembrance & Memorials : Trayvon Martin

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:17:15 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 25 February 2024

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Trayvon Martin

This was the statement made by Trayvon Martin’s family on the Change.org

petition website – March 2012:

On February 26, our son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked to a family member's home from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy.

He was only 17 years-old.

Trayvon's killer, George Zimmerman, admitted to police that he shot Trayvon in the chest. Zimmerman, the community's self appointed "neighborhood watch leader," called the police to report a suspicious person when he saw Travyon, a young black man, walking from the store. But Zimmerman still hasn't been charged for murdering our son.

Trayvon Martin's older brother has spoken of his grief at the teenagers death, and admitted: "I kind of still don't believe it."

Jahvaris Fulton also said that the fact that George Zimmerman has not been charged for killing Trayvon "sends the wrong message", and insisted that "there should be an arrest" in the case.

The group added that; “the fight for justice continues.”

Trayvon was our hero. At the age 9, Trayvon pulled his father from a burning kitchen, saving his life. He loved sports and horseback riding. At only 17 he had a bright future ahead of him with dreams of attending college and becoming an aviation mechanic. Now that’s all gone.

When Zimmerman reported Trayvon to the police, they told him not to confront him. But he did anyway. All we know about what happened next is that our 17 year-old son, who was completely unarmed, was shot and killed.”

Download the article here >

Eurotunnel was ‘a picture of war’ amid dozens of migrant deaths

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 01:27:35 GMT

source: OpenDemocracy

published: 6 February 2024

Image Credit: Alberto Lugli at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Despite fences and even moats, dozens of people have died trying to get to the UK via the Eurotunnel. Omid Jamil Ali never saw England. The 21-year-old Kurd left Sharbarza in northern Iraq in August 2001, hoping to reach the United Kingdom. He crossed into Iran and then into Turkey, reaching Italy less than two weeks after his departure. From there he went to Calais.

It was the end of his journey. He died on 18 October 2001 after a fall near the Channel tunnel.

He is one of 391 migrants who died on the border between the UK, France and Belgium between 1 January 1999 and 1 January 2024, and whose lives and deaths are recounted in this series.

Young men searching for a future

On the French side, the Eurotunnel site covers more than 650 hectares, forming a rail loop that extends north and west into the rocky coastline of the Calais region. The embarkation terminal for trucks and cars is located in the commune of Coquelles, while the tunnel starts a little further on, at Peuplingues.

“Shortly before entering, the trains are forced to slow down,” said Arun Kundnani, a researcher who documented Ali’s death.

Positioned on a bridge overlooking the tracks, Ali waited for the right moment to leap onto a moving train. “He jumped onto a wagon, but fell when the train accelerated,” Kundnani said. His body wasn’t found until it reached Folkestone on the English side.

Read full article >

Police brutality against striking miners and Orgreave cover ups

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 12:32:58 GMT

source: Socialist Worker

first published: 29 January 2024

Image Credit: Mike Bird at www.Pexels.com

The new Channel 4 series 'Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain' lays bare the police brutality and corruption at the heart of the “Battle of Orgreave”—a confrontation provoked by bosses and the Tory government.

Also see 'Miners’ Strike 1984 viewers draw parallels with Mr Bates Vs the Post Office' >

The series details new footage showing orchestrated police violence as well as miners speaking publicly for the first time about the injustices they faced.

The first episode totally misses the mark by suggesting that viewers should feel sorry for the scabs. But the second episode covers Orgreave with much more accuracy.

Striking coal miners turned up at Orgreave coking plant to picket on 18 June 1984 and were faced with terrible police brutality under the encouragement of Margaret Thatcher’s government .

The plan was for miners to hit steel production and go on the offensive. For the government it was an opportunity to crush the striking miners and prove that industrial resistance was hopeless .

Read full article >

Launch of the Benjamin Zephaniah Legacy memorial calendar

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 22:02:17 GMT

source: Memorial Family Fund

first published: 30 January 2024

Image Credit: Pexels / Duda at www.Pexels.com

The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund have launched the Benjamin Zephaniah remembrance calendar on behalf of his family.

The calendar will be populated over coming weeks and months and will feature national events that were, or are due to be, held to remember Professor Benjamin Zephaniah who sadly died on 7 December 2023 aged 65.

"The family actively encourage independent events as well as those they may collaborate with. Where possible, they would be happy to send along family representatives."

If you already have an event scheduled, let us know here:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/submit-event-zephaniah

The people's poet, Benjamin Zephaniah

See the recent article from Benjamin's family on 4WardEverUK, View it here >

The family are meeting on 10th February to consider offers to host events that have come in from Birmingham, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham etc.

These offers range from local councils, individuals, businesses, charities, universities, schools and more! 'Keep an eye on our news for updates.'

Other Tributes & News:

Obituary: Benjamin Zephaniah – the People’s Laureate

17 December 2023

RIP Professor Benjamin Zephaniah

December 2023

Poet who made the British establishment uncomfortable

16 December 2023

Benjamin Zephaniah was the heart and consciousness of Black Britain

8 December 2023

Benjamin Zephaniah: 'Everything about the man was grace and wonder'

7 December 2023

A sandy place, a recipe for a nation and a Christmas plea: three poems by Benjamin Zephaniah

7 December 2023

Can you donate goods or services to the Family Fund Give-Back shop?

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 21:54:00 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

first published: 30 January 2024

Image Credit: rawpixel at www.FreeRangeStock.com

The Two-Way Give-Back-Shop’ was launched by the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) in August 2021 with support from the United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC). Products or services in our shop are offered to affected families at heavily discounted prices.

The NMPMFF needs your help to expand the goods and services on offer to affected families!

They'll purchase your goods, or you can donate them:

The guidelines for purchased goods are set out on the main page here .
Details on how to donate goods or services are set out on the donors page here .

Families can visit the shop to access NMPMFF's products here:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/give-back-shop

Families claim products or services:

Once purchased families are put in touch with the vendors direct (where applicable) to claim their purchased products or services. See vendors expression of interest page >

Note: Families will be provided with a unique reference code to redeem a voucher from our service vendors and product providers… It’s simple!

Not only is this an easy way for our registered family applicant members to find interesting, ethical and grassroots products & services all in one place, but they will also be able to find practical items such as web design, t-shirt printing, leaflet & logo design, greeting cards, mental health and other training, clothing & accessories and more!

See general grants awarded by the NMPMFF here >

The shocking surge in Britain's policing of innocent Black children

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 12:01:02 GMT

source: Lee Jasper Official Blog

first published: 6 January 2024

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

The news that there has been a 13% increase in the last year in the stop and searches of Black children will come as both horrifying and devastating news to many in Britain's Black communities and beyond.

Recently published Home Office data revealed that in the last year, we have seen a massive ramping up of racial profiling and targeting black children by British police forces across the UK and, in particular, London at the hands of the Metropolitan Police.

And the terrible news is these figures are rising, and child arrests are becoming increasingly violent.

In addition to this worrying new trend, London-based youth charity Redthread has publicly expressed its concerns after youth workers reported seeing increased incidents of black children, particularly black boys, arriving in hospital A& E departments after suffering from Taser injuries, head injuries, memory loss and trauma resulting from violent arrests.

The majority of these arrests have led to no further action. In other words, most children are innocent of any crime .

Read full article >

The death penalty in the U.S. is dying – but it is not dead yet

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 01:34:41 GMT

source: Workers World

first published: 19 January 2023

Image Credit: Donald Tong at www.Pexels.com

It is a slow and painful death, but executions in the U.S. are going to die! The death penalty is gasping its last breaths as even Republicans are condemning it these days.

The big picture of capital punishment is that the United States is moving away from the death penalty. Here are some new facts:

For the first time in the U.S., a majority of people believe that the death penalty is applied unfairly, according to an October 2023 Gallup Poll
Twenty-six states, a slim majority, have either abolished the death penalty (23) or have a moratorium on executions in place (3)
In 2023, only five states conducted executions and seven states imposed new death sentences, the lowest numbers in 20 years
There were three people exonerated on death rows in 2023, bringing the total number of exonerations to 195 since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976

Texas was one of just five states to carry out executions in 2023, but led the country with eight people put to death. The other four states were Alabama (2), Florida (6), Missouri (4) and Oklahoma (4).

Even in Texas, which leads the U.S. with total 586 executions, change is coming. Death sentence convictions have fallen from a high of 48 in 1999 to three people sent to death row by Texas juries in 2023. Convictions with a death sentence have been in single digits for the past nine years in Texas.

Virginia made history in 2021 when it became the first former Confederate state to abolish the death penalty. Now two other former Confederate states, Kentucky and Missouri, along with Ohio, have bills to abolish the death penalty before their legislatures .

Read the full article >

NYPD Victim Families to Eric Adams: Don’t Veto Justice Reforms

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 01:32:49 GMT

source: The Intercept

published: 18 January 2024

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Mayor Eric Adams publicly opposed City Council bills passed last month to beef up police accountability and ban solitary confinement.

A small group of organizers rallied outside of New York City Hall on Wednesday to call on Mayor Eric Adams not to veto a series of bills that would ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails and increase oversight over police stops and searches .

The push by grassroots reform groups to ban solitary confinement comes in response to a surge in recent years of deaths in city jails, including several cases of people who had been detained in solitary confinement. Families of people killed as a result of stops by New York Police Department officers have also urged the mayor to sign the policing measures into law.

Advocates and officials working on the reforms expect Adams, who has publicly opposed the bills, to veto at least two of the measures this week. He has until Friday to do so, or the measures will pass into law.

The battle pits a pro-police mayor, an NYPD veteran himself, against a progressive City Council, which approved the three bills last month by large margins during its last meeting of 2023 . The fight is the latest in a well-trod pattern of centrist Democrats or Republicans fighting back against popular and democratically enacted welfare reforms. In New York, City Council leaders and members said they have the votes to override the mayor’s veto .

Read full article >

South Africa puts Israel on trial before the world

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 01:27:49 GMT

source: Workers World

published: 17 January 2024

Image Credit: James Barker at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No matter the judges’ decision on the historic complaint brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court under the auspices of the United Nations, by the South African government against Israeli genocide in Gaza on Jan. 11, the hearing itself will have everlasting political ramifications worldwide.

The 84-page document includes devastating, factual evidence on the heinous terror that Gazans have experienced since October 7 and continue to experience at this writing. As of Jan. 14 — 100 days since the genocide began — the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that close to 24,000 people have been slaughtered, with 70% of the victims being children and women. Over 60,000 people have been wounded. Countless thousands more Palestinians have been buried under rubble caused by indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes. More than 2,000 massacres have been carried out, wiping out whole Palestinian families and bloodlines. (Resistance News Network) .

Most of these horrific statistics have either been minimized or censored altogether by the Western corporate media since October 7. This, amongst other reasons, is why the South Africa complaint is so timely and significant.

In its introduction presented to the ICJ, South Africa states, “The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip (‘Palestinians in Gaza’).

Read full article >

Related News:

World Report 2024: South Africa

2024 - publish date unknown

South Africa brought the case, but one man dragged Israel into the dock at The Hague – Benjamin Netanyahu

12 January 2024

Remembrance & Memorials : The New Cross Fire

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:07:37 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 13 January 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

The New Cross Fire

The New Cross Fire was a devastating house fire which killed 13 young black people during a birthday party in New Cross, southeast London on Sunday January 18, 1981.

The black community were shocked by the indifference of the white population, and accused the London Metropolitan Police of covering up the cause, which they suspected was an arson attack motivated by racism; the protests arising out of the fire led to a mobilisation of black political activity. Noone has ever been charged in relation to the fire.

In January 1981, a house fire claimed the lives of 13 young black people in New Cross, London. The cause of the fire remains a mystery and still no one has been held accountable for the deaths.

The party was a joint birthday celebration for Yvonne Ruddock (who died) and Angela Jackson (who survived) and was held at 439 New Cross Road, going on throughout the night. There was a fairly high degree of racial tension in the area and far right groups including the National Front were active; there had been early complaints about noise from the party. The initial police suspicion was that the party had been bombed either as a revenge attack or to stop the noise.

On the Sunday after the fire (January 25), a mass meeting was held at the Moonshot Club in New Cross, attended by over a thousand people. The meeting concluded with a march to the scene of the fire and a demonstration there, which blocked New Cross Road for several hours. The New Cross Massacre Action Committee was set up and organised weekly mass meetings in New Cross which saw increasing participation as the police investigation announced that there was no evidence of arson and that the fire was believed to be accidental.

Download the article here >

Other News:

Family and friends reclaim the story of the New Cross fire

23 December 2022

1981 New Cross fire which killed 13 ‘wasn’t racist attack,’ survivor says amid new fears over prison confession

2 November 2021

Forty years on from the New Cross fire, what has changed for black Britons?

17 January 2021

1981: Nine die in New Cross house fire

unknown publication date

Remembrance & Memorials : Who Killed Colin Roach?

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:33:32 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 12 January 2024

Image Credit: Valeria Boltneva at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Colin Roach

Colin Roach, aged 21 years, died in January 1983 after receiving a fatal gunshot wound in 1983 while he was in the custody of Stoke Newington police station, London.

He is alleged by the police to have shot himself in the mouth.

Authorities alleged that he had committed suicide after entering the Stoke Newington Police Station. Many believed that there was reason to doubt this story and instead argued that Roach was murdered by police.

Benjamin Zephaniah's poem about Colin Roach who died of a gunshot inside Stoke Newington police station on 12th January 1983.

The police surgeon who was called to Roach's corpse in the foyer of the police station said that the body position was inconsistent with suicide. The shotgun with which he was killed could not be fitted into the sports bag Roach had with him, not even when broken down.

No fibres from the bag were found on the gun and no oil from the gun was found in the bag. When a shotgun is used for suicide the recoil damages and sometimes breaks the trigger thumb. No injury was found to Roach's hand at all. The recoiling gun will normally hit a wall or floor very hard but no marks from this were found in the police station foyer or on the gun butt.

Download the article here >

Other News:

Benjamin Zephaniah on how Colin Roach’s death inside Stoke Newington Police Station sparked a movement 35 years ago

23 January 2018

Zephaniah Remembers Colin Roach pdf

unknown publication date

Today in London policing history, 1983: Colin Roach dies in Stoke Newington Police Station

unknown publication date

How Israel will fight Gaza genocide accusations in The Hague

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 04:47:18 GMT

source: POLTICO

published: 5 January 2024

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

Back in November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the far-right and religious nationalists in his coalition government to pipe down and “be careful with their words” when talking about their desired outcomes for the war on Hamas.

“Every word has meaning when it comes to diplomacy,” he said at a Cabinet meeting, warning that speaking out of turn harms Israel’s international legitimacy.

Netanyahu’s plea for circumspection was triggered by a series of contentious public remarks made by hard-liners in his government, hinting at the possible annexation of the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of Palestinians from the coastal enclave.

After three months of destruction, displacement and the killing of Palestinians, we take a deep dive into the way the Gaza story has been covered.

And these off-the-cuff, ill-judged comments will now complicate Israel’s defense before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which has scheduled a hearing next week on the genocide accusations South Africa has lodged against Israel.

Just days before Netanyahu’s appeal, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter appeared to relish the idea that this war was “Gaza’s Nakba” — the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” which is commonly used to refer to the flight and expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war .

Read full article here >

Other News:

Blinken puts pressure on Middle East countries to contain Gaza conflict

7 January 2024

Visiting Rafah crossing, progressive US senators say Israeli inspections slowing aid deliveries to Gaza

6 January 2024

Can Russia be defeated? Why the West must face reality in Ukraine

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 04:06:33 GMT

source: Democracy Now!

published: 4 January 2024

Image Credit: www.pexels.com

As Ukraine and Russia complete an exchange of nearly 500 prisoners amid ongoing hostilities, American news outlets are reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be open to ceasefire talks behind the scenes.

But in Moscow, “That’s not how we see it,” says Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School and the great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. “Putin has been quite clear from the beginning that Russia is going to achieve all its goals,” and, despite international sanctions, the majority sentiment in Russia is that even ceasefire negotiations will result in the country ending the war “on stronger terms,” Krushcheva says.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: On Wednesday, Ukraine and Russia exchanged nearly 500 prisoners in the largest prisoner swap since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago. Two hundred and thirty Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged for 248 Russians. The United Arab Emirates helped mediate the deal. This comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired 500 missiles and drones against Ukraine in just five days. Zelensky spoke Tuesday night.

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY: [translated] Since the beginning of today, there have been almost 100 missiles of various types, and the trajectories have been specifically calculated by the enemy to cause as much damage as possible. This is absolutely conscious terror.

Read full article >

Other News:

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 683

7 January 2024

Russia and Ukraine are both running out of munitions - but one has a significant advantages

6 January 2024

From Gaza to Ukraine, brute force threatens to triumph in 2024

6 January 2024

Highest number of Indigenous prison deaths since records began

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 21:06:18 GMT

source: National Indigenous Times

published: 15 December 2023

Image Credit: Sira Anamwong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2022-23 was the deadliest year on record for First Nations people in prison, with a new report leading to increased calls by human rights campaigners to reduce incarceration numbers Australia wide.

21 First Nations prisoners died whilst incarcerated between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, the highest number since 1979-80. Of these tragic deaths, 11 people were unsentenced at the time of their death, they hadn't been found guilty of a crime.

Co-chair of Change the Record, Narungga Woman Cheryl Axleby, says "discriminatory" policies see Indigenous people arrested at "extraordinary" rates.

This has resulted in First Nations people dying in prisons and jails in numbers that have failed to rescind .

I n the 32 years since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC), there have been at least 556 Indigenous deaths in custody.

"Racist, law-and-order politics and policies cost lives," Ms Axleby said.

"Our communities have endured too much loss. Every death in custody is an unspeakable tragedy for that person's family, friends and community."

This year alone has seen 19 Indigenous deaths in custody – with a further 32 in 2022. They include Cleveland Dodd, 16, who died after being found in his cell at Unit 18 in the adult Casuarina prison; and Jeffrey Winmar, 28, who died in the aftermath of his arrest in suburban Melbourne.

The statistics form part of the latest numbers from the Australian Institute of Criminology and are designed to reveal full transparency around Indigenous deaths in custody .

Read full article >

Report: Structural racism behind disproportionate Taser use

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:31:26 GMT

all credits: The Justice Gap

published: 15 December 2023

Image Credit: mohamedhassan at www.FreeRangeStock.com

A new study by the College of Policing exposes racial disparities in the use of Tasers, caused not by individual officer bias, but structural and institutional racism.

The study highlights that black individuals are over four times more likely to be subjected to Taser use. Contrary to initial perceptions, the report suggests that individual officer decisions are not the leading cause of this racial disparity.

The report identifies key factors, emphasizing how and where officers are deployed as crucial elements. Officers are more frequently dispatched to higher crime areas, characterized by acute poverty and larger ethnic minority populations, contributing to the disproportionate use of Tasers .

The Taser saw a significant increase in deployment, from just under 17,000 times in 2017-18 to 34,276 times by 2021-22. The number of officers equipped with Tasers has also risen.

Critics argue that the weapon, firing a 50,000-volt electric current, poses serious risks and should be curtailed or banned. Inquest juries have connected Taser use to fatalities, such as the deaths of Jordan Begley in 2013 in Manchester and the death of Marc Cole in 2017 in Falmouth . This raises questions about its safety and appropriateness in policing.

The study recommends radical reforms in police training, emphasizing de-escalation skills over Taser use. It calls for a re-evaluation of when Tasers should be deployed and suggests an institutionalized approach that needs addressing.

Report Co- author Dr Ben Bradford emphasises the need to discover whether and how to alleviate ethnic disproportionality. He said: "If this is not possible, then there must be fundamental questions about the continued use of the weapon, at least in its current form.”

Read original article >

40-20-1 Event: Celebration, Memorial & Gala Campaigner Awards 2023

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 00:04:08 GMT

provided by: Memorial Family Fund

published: 7 December 2023

Image Credit: Charmaine Burton

This article is dedicated to Benjamin Zephaniah (cousin of Mikey Powell), who died on 7 December 2023 aged 65.

He died in the early hours of Thursday morning after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

The first National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) Annual Gala Dinner & Campaigners Awards for 2023 (in conjunction with INQUEST ) took place on 25 November 2023 at the Legacy Centre, Birmingham, and combined three significant events in-one.

The full pre-event article can be seen here >

The event was a huge success with over 150 people in attendance from locations all over

the country. These included affected families, campaigns, voluntary and statutory organisations, regulatory bodies and solicitors firms. See the event programme here >

Tippa Naphtali, NMPMFF founder and Development & Fundraising Manager, said;

"While we will never forget what happened on the night of Mikey's killing, it is his life and how he lived it, that will continue to inspire us to develop mental health and wellbeing initiatives for those affected by state custody deaths and killings, and we will continue to work with others for an end to deaths, killings and abuse at the hands of the state."

Read the full article / see gallery here >

The activists campaign awards went to 16 recipients

in the following categories:

Mikey Powell Youth Action Award
Pauline Campbell Systems Change Award
Gilly Mundy Family Advocacy Award
Joy Gardner Arts & Education Award

See the full award list here >

S ee the National Memorial Family Fund's historic moments!

Read full details here >

Remembrance & Memorials : The case of legendary, Nelson Mandela

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 11:53:05 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 4 December 2023

Image Credit: Valeria Boltneva at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, into a royal family of the Xhosa-speaking Thembu tribe in the South African village of Mvezo, where his father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa (c. 1880-1928), served as chief. His mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was the third of Mphakanyiswa’s four wives, who together bore him nine daughters and four sons.

After the death of his father in 1927, 9-year-old Mandela (then known by his birth name, Rolihlahla) was adopted by Jongintaba Dalindyebo, a high-ranking Thembu regent who began grooming his young ward for a role within the tribal leadership.

'Free Nelson Mandela' by The Specials became the undisputed international anthem calling for the release of the anti apartheid freedom fighter, who helped bring an end to apartheid and became (and remains) a global advocate for human rights.

The first in his family to receive a formal education, he completed primary studies at a local missionary school. A teacher dubbed him Nelson as part of a common practice of giving African students English names. He went on to attend the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Healdtown, a Methodist secondary school, where he excelled in boxing and track sports as well as academics.

Read the original article here >

See 4WardEverUK archives here >

Other News:

Nelson Mandela Foundation

Formally 'Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund'

Nelson Mandela memorial: Obama lauds 'giant of history'

10 December 2013

Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dies aged 95

6 December 2013

The capital punishment debate that is now unfolding in Jamaica

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:07:40 GMT

source: Jamaica Observer

published: 19 November 2023

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at www.Pexels.com

When my father was born the Nazi party was already in charge of Germany. It was a political movement that preached racial superiority, intolerance, and open violence towards minorities.

During the lifetime of my cousin, who is only five years older than I, blacks in the United States could not legally vote. That right only became guaranteed after the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

In my lifetime, blacks in South Africa were not allowed to vote, participate in political representation, or move freely across their own country. That only ended when I was an adult in 1993 with the end of apartheid, and I am a middle-aged man.

The point I am trying to make is that equality and justice are relatively new realities, comparatively speaking, about 60 years old in mass application and in total application about 30 years — the market being when the South Africa apartheid Government was removed. That was the world's last rogue State.

So this is really recent when you consider that man has occupied this planet in our present form for about 12,000 years.

True justice is new, and more importantly, fragile. It is very dependent on the judiciary to be fair, logical and genuine.

In recent times there have been calls by political leaders, to include Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Senator Saphire Longmore, to resume capital punishment. This is significantly motivated by the recent violence against children.

The justice system knows that it is not perfect — none is. That's just life. No system is perfect .

Read the full article >

Launch of the 'Unlawful Killing' INQUEST Podcast 2023

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 11:48:21 GMT

source: INQUEST

published: November 2023

Image Credit: Wasi Daniju at www.manifestingtheunseen.com/wasi-daniju-1

Every year hundreds of people die preventable deaths at the hands of police, whilst in prison, or in the care of mental health services in the UK. Some of the names you’ll know. Most of them you won’t.

Bereaved families are left fighting for answers, demanding justice, and campaigning for change, in a system that is stacked against them.

If you are a bereaved family member and would like support from INQUEST, see their help and advice pages for more information.

Unlawful Killing is made in partnership with INQUEST and Aunt Nell . Produced by Leila Hagmann and Naomi Oppenheim. Consultant Producers Tash Walker and Adam Zmith.

This podcast is part funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Hodge Jones & Allen . Oral histories supported by OnTheRecord . Music by Dave Okumu .

See full detaile here >

40-20-1 Event: Celebration, Memorial and Gala Campaigner Awards 2023

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 01:24:45 GMT

source: National Memorial Family Fund

published: 12 November 2023

Image Credit: Friends of Mikey Powell

The first National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) Annual Gala Dinner & Campaigners Awards for 2023 (entitled 40-20-1) will take place on 25 November 2023 at the Legacy Centre, Birmingham , and combines three significant events in-one as follows:

40 years celebration of INQUEST's services
20 years since Mikey Powell's death in custody
1st year of the Annual Activists Awards

About The NMPMFF:

On 7 September 2015, the twelfth anniversary of the death of Mikey Powell who was killed in the custody of West Midlands Police, campaigning news group 4WardEverUK, launched the NMPMFF in collaboration with the Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign, United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) and Migrant Media. Founders also acknowledged the late campaigner, Pauline Campbell.

It is the first permanent national resource of its kind specifically for those affected by deaths and killings in custody or through state neglect.

The NMPMFF make small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK to provide practical domestic assistance and campaign support, and also run (or are developing) a range of other support services for families, children and young people that are affected.

See other NMPMFF historic moments here >

See our first major annual report >

About INQUEST:

INQUEST is the only charity providing expertise on state related deaths and their investigation to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies, the media and parliamentarians.

Their specialist casework includes deaths in police and prison custody, immigration detention, mental health settings and deaths involving multi-agency failings or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question.

INQUEST’s policy, parliamentary, campaigning and media work is grounded in the day to day experience of working with bereaved people. Employing an integrated model, this brings together casework support, family participation, identification of thematic trends, statistics and analysis

that feeds into the organisation’s work on campaigning, information sharing and policy as well

as parliamentary work.

Team Statements:

Tippa Naphtali, Development & Fundraising Manager, said;

" 4WardEverUK , the first organisation that was set up in remembrance of Mikey, has adopted a mission that is inspired by Kwame Nkrumah's words - which we wholeheartedly support."

‘We face neither East nor West; We face forward. All men of goodwill, organize, organize, organize. We prefer self-government in danger, to servitude in tranquility. Forward ever, backward never. '

Tiphany Springer, Engagement & Support Administrator said;

“My role is to support applicants when applying for support grants or accessing our other services, and I also undertake central administrative tasks, assist with organising our events and activities.

“This event is important as it will recognise the work of families and campaigners that have put their all into bringing about systems change and supporting victims of state violence and injustice.

“I hope that the National Campaigners Awards gains more and more exposure as that, in turn, leads to more exposure for individual campaigners and for families that sometimes feel alone and unheard. When these families benefit from our support and attend our events, they realise that they're not alone and that there's a whole community ready to stand behind them.”

Maia Watkins, Awards Marketing & Publicity Assistant, said;

“My role is to organise and distribute marketing and social media publicity for the annual awards events.

“These annual events will help to raise more awareness around the issues of injustices, the effects of racism and police or state brutality, whilst also recognising families, individuals and organisations that have been affected by this and have effectively campaigned for change.

“The NMPMFF National Campaigners Awards will bring more light to the works of so many who have made a positive change in society with regards to seeking justice.”

Nehanda Sankofa, Awards Venues & Activity Co-ordinator, said;

"This event is extremely important because it acknowledges those who work tirelessly for justice of those affected by deaths in custody.

"I think that amidst pain it is important to celebrate and show appreciation for the strength and courage to fight, and I am proud to be a part of this celebration.

"In the future I hope to see the NMPMFF National Campaigners Awards be a leader in celebrating those who stand for justice, and we can hold a bigger Gala each year around the country."

Tippa Naphtali speaks – A Legacy for Mikey Powell

Read full article here >

See NMPMFF milestones:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/historic-moments-for-the-nmpmff-2018-to-2023

See ’40 years of INQUEST:

www.inquest.org.uk/Listing/Category/40-years-of-inquest

A Legacy for Mikey Powell:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/two-decades-on-a-continued-legacy-in-remembrance-of-mikey-powell

Get in touch with the National Memorial Family Fund

Voicemail: 0843 289 4994

Email: enquiries@memorialfamilyfund.org.uk

UFFC 2023 Annual remembrance rally and protest in solidarity

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 22:28:56 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: 4 November 2023

Image Credit: J M Moore

This year, on Saturday 28 October, UFFC joined thousands of people protesting the Israel/Gaza conflict in solidarity with bereaved families whose loved ones have died in custody demanding justice. Again this year UFFC also showed solidarity with a simultaneous march and protest with fellow campaigners in Scotland.

The event has taken place every year in London since 1999. The group is made up of bereaved families and others affected by deaths at the hands of United Kingdom police, in prisons, in immigration systems, and psychiatric custody.

A recent quote from a UFFC spokesperson;

“A number of documentaries and radio chat shows have also highlighted disturbing growing public concern in mental health and policing.

“High profile Inquests continue to give rise to disturbing accounts given by state officials, which are implausible and/or improbable. Imminent Inquests will no doubt hear further implausible accounts.

“However, the deaths still continue with no accountability and the result is that deaths in custody are at an all time high. Countless years of unnecessary lengthy investigations continue to stifle justice to the families. The Hillsborough disgrace echoes year after year, case after case. Injustices as in the cases of Joy Gardner, Christopher Alder, Brian Douglas and Mikey Powell, to name but a few, are inhumane. Yet the British government refuses and/or is unwilling to give justice where it is blatantly due.”

The fight continues…

Other Related News:

See the Preventable Deaths Tracker here >

It lifted my grieving heart to join crowds in London on the March for Palestine. We need more of them

16 October 2023

Millions throughout the world protest Israeli war crimes

16 October 2023

Green & Black Cross: publish Guide to the Public Order Act 2023

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 10:55:19 GMT

all credits: Green & Black Cross

published: October 2023

Image Credit: Idea go at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Public Order Act 2023 has received a lot of attention for the impact it will have on activists in England and Wales. This guide is designed to help you understand the law as it is written.

It is hard to know exactly how the measures will impact protesters until more time has passed.

If you are arrested or threatened with arrest under any section covered here, please let Green & Black Cross know by calling the Protest Support Line on 07946 541511 so they can better understand how these changes are being used.

PLEASE NOTE: At the time of writing, a chunk of the Act is not yet in force, meaning it cannot be used unless and until it is ‘commenced’ in Parliament.

Green & Black Cross said; “We’ve noted this next to each heading where it applies, and will try to update the guide as this changes. To be sure if this has changed when you’re reading this, visit the legislation website .

Read original article >

30+ signatories call for a rethink of UK’s approach to responding to mental health crises

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 21:07:43 GMT

source: LIBERTY

published: 31 October 2023

Image Credit: Segopotso Makhutja at www.Pexels.com

Liberty, along with over thirty organisations and individuals working on mental health, the criminal justice system, racial justice and civil liberties, has called for a rethink of the UK’s approach to responding to mental health crises.

The statement’s release coincides with the cut-off point at which the Metropolitan Police, under a new ‘right care right person’ policy, will stop responding to mental health calls unless there is seen to be a threat to life.

Signatories including the National Survivor User Network, INQUEST, and the United Families and Friends Campaign, as well as bereaved families of people who have died at the hands of the police or in mental health settings, welcome the news that police will have a reduced involvement in mental health calls.

They note that police interactions can be extremely harmful and even deadly for a person experiencing mental health crisis, particularly people of colour.

At the same time, they say that current mental health provision is failing people, and that a new approach is needed which centers community care and tackles the root causes of mental ill-health and distress.

From November, as announced by Sir Mark Rowley earlier this year, the Metropolitan police will stop responding to mental health calls except where there is seen to be a threat to life.

Read full article >

Emergency medical association rejects ‘excited delirium’ - USA

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 05:39:21 GMT

source: CNN News

published: 12 October 2023

Image Credit: Kelly Lacy at www.Pexels.com

An emergency physicians group is disavowing “ excited delirium ,” a controversial term that some police officers, clinicians, medical examiners and court experts have used to explain how an agitated person could die in custody through no fault of any force used to subdue them.

Dr. Michele Heisler, medical director for Physicians for Human Rights, says that the American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) move will take excited delirium off the table in court cases. “This is the final professional medical or psychological or psychiatric association to repudiate the term,” she said.

Excited delirium has been described by other medical associations as “associated with racism” and disproportionately used in the deaths of Black people. It was cited in one of the most high-profile cases of recent years: the death of George Floyd in 2020.

ACEP’s Board of Directors confirmed Thursday that its 2009 white paper on excited delirium syndrome is “outdated and does not align with the College’s position based on the most recent science,” according to a statement on the organization’s website.

“The term excited delirium should not be used among the wider medical and public health community, law enforcement organizations, and ACEP members acting as expert witnesses testifying in relevant civil or criminal litigation,” the statement says.

This decision officially withdraws the board’s approval of the paper.

Read the full article >

Other Related News:

End the use of “excited delirium” as a cause of death in police custody

12 March 2022

Excited delirium: valid clinical diagnosis or medicalized racism?

6 April 2021

Forensic Science Regulator: The use of ‘excited delirium’ as a cause of death (PDF file)

Published in 2020

How “excited delirium” is misused to justify police brutality

10 August 2020

Excited delirium: Medical emergency – not willful resistance

10 July 2015

New Research: Deaths and abuse in UK immigration detention

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 20:38:08 GMT

source: PHYS.ORG

published: 12 October 2023

by Blerina Kellezi, The Conversation

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The death of 39-year-old Frank Ospina , a Colombian man in immigration detention in the UK, shocked his family. Ospina was awaiting deportation, and his mental health appeared to deteriorate rapidly. He is thought to have taken his own life in March 2023.

"I study trauma in the aftermath of war and conflict, and have researched what life is like for the thousands of people in immigration detention in the UK. For me, Ospina's death is a horrific reminder of how detention centers are failing to meet the complex needs of the people in them."

Last year, more than 20,300 people were held in immigration detention, which includes both immigration removal centers (IRCs) and short-term holding facilities . People may be detained while awaiting their identity or claims to be established, or to be deported .

A 2017 BBC Panorama investigation into Brook House immigration removal center near Gatwick airport was a rare look at the conditions in these facilities. The revelations prompted a public inquiry, which has now been published , revealing many serious incidents over a four month period in 2017, including 'credible evidence' of breaches of human rights law.

Read full article >

MPs and peers call for ‘a stop’ to facial recognition surveillance

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:35:20 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 6 October 2023

Image Credit: Pong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dozens of cross-party MPs and peers have joined a campaign for an “immediate stop” to the use of live facial recognition surveillance by police and private companies.

The former cabinet minister David Davis, the Liberal Democrats leader, Sir Ed Davey, the Green MP Caroline Lucas and the former shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti are among 65 members of the House of Commons and House of Lords to call for a halt to the technology’s use .

The campaign is spearheaded by the privacy advocate Big Brother Watch and is also backed by 31 groups including Liberty, Amnesty International and the Race Equality Foundation.

Police have deployed live facial recognition at large-scale public events, including King Charles’s coronation.

The statement said: “We hold differing views about live facial recognition surveillance, ranging from serious concerns about its incompatibility with human rights, to the potential for discriminatory impact, the lack of safeguards, the lack of an evidence base, an unproven case of necessity or proportionality, the lack of a sufficient legal basis, the lack of parliamentary consideration, and the lack of a democratic mandate.

“We call on UK police and private companies to immediately stop using live facial recognition for public surveillance."

Read full article >

Republican-Led Oklahoma calls for death penalty moratorium

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 21:03:47 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

first published: 6 October 2023

Image Credit: sakhorn38 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

An expert panel told Oklahoma lawmakers on Thursday that the state should pause executions until fundamental problems in its death penalty system are addressed. “Whether you support capital punishment or oppose it, one thing is clear,” Judge Andy Lester testified. “From start to finish, the Oklahoma capital punishment system is fundamentally broken.”

Mr. Lester, a former federal magistrate judge and general counsel for state lawmakers, chaired an independent, bipartisan review commission that investigated capital punishment in Oklahoma after a series of botched executions led to a court-ordered moratorium in 2015.

In a nearly 300-page report , the commission unanimously recommended that the moratorium should stay in place until problems ranging from faulty evidence, false testimony, unreliable eye witnesses, withholding of exonerating evidence, and the misuse of jailhouse informants to failed execution protocols are addressed.

But none of the commission’s more than 40 recommendations has been followed, Mr. Lester told lawmakers, and the system remains badly broken, even as executions have resumed.

“It is so broken that we cannot know whether someone who has been condemned is actually deserving of the ultimate penalty the state can impose,” he said.

Read the full article >

Proposed police reforms are ‘a license to kill’, claims INQUEST

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 20:08:24 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 26 September 2023

Image Credit: Worradmu at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

INQUEST has stated that proposed reforms to investigations of police misconduct amount to ‘a license to kill’, in response to comments made by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Home Secretary in the wake of murder charges for the officer who shot Chris Kaba.

The decision of the CPS to bring a murder charge against the officer responsible for the shooting has been met with protests by Metropolitan police firearms officers who surrendered their weapons. The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, called for a review of armed policing.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley welcomed the review’s potential to ‘ address a number of imbalances’ in the way police officers are held to account for decisions to use force.

They include a call to increase the standard of proof required to find unlawful killing in inquests and inquiries, along with increasing the threshold at which the Independent Office of Police Conduct could launch criminal or misconduct investigations.

In response, Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, emphasises that ‘accountability for officers involved in wrongdoing and deaths is exceedingly rare’ even when there is ‘clear evidence of disproportionate, dangerous and unnecessary use of force.’

Read the full article >

Other Related News:

Statement read out at opening of inquest into the death of Chris Kaba

4 October 2023

Chris Kaba: High-profile fatal police shootings in the UK

25 September 2023

The Endless Campaign by Ken Fero

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 10:10:18 GMT

source: Ken Fero: Migrant Media

published: 9 September 2023

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The British media went into overdrive last year to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We were subjected to 24/7 reporting led by the BBC lamenting this ‘loss’ and urging the people of the UK, the Commonwealth and even the world to mourn the death of someone who, to some of us, was a symbol of white supremacy and is the head of a police force that kills with impunity.

Just two days before the death of this nonagenarian a young black man, Chris Kaba , was executed by officers of the Metropolitan Police force. On the 5th September 24 year old Mr Kaba, a musician who was expecting his first child, was shot dead by armed police officers in South London. A family went into mourning. A child will never know their father .

The British media did not afford Mr Kaba, or his family, the same respect or the same resources that it would unleash for their departed Queen, who died a lot more peacefully, three days later. Instead sections of the media went into the usual overdrive, questioning Mr Kaba’s past as they do in every case of this nature.

What we saw was the tactic of ‘blaming the victim’, a deflective technique used by media that Edward Said outlined so brilliantly when writing about how Palestinians are blamed for their own death at the hands of the Israeli armed forces to justify their own violence .

How fast was Mr Kaba driving? Did he have a gun or not? (He didn’t.) How violent were the lyrics of his music? These highly speculative questions were designed to do one thing alone in our minds, deflect the violence away from the officer that pulled the trigger and try to justify the actions of the state.

The family of Mr Kaba continue to undertake a long and tortuous journey within the British judicial system as they seek answers and justice. They may get the first but the second is more elusive.

Out of more than two thousand deaths at the hands/in the care of the police since the first recorded policing death of David Oluwale there have only been three successful prosecutions of police officers for these killings, those of Henry Foley , Dalian Atkinson and Sarah Everard .

This means that the family of Chris Kaba only have a 0.15% chance of success, but of course they will not give up as the many hundreds of families whose loved ones have died in police hands have shown through endless individual and joint campaigns over the last 40 years.

Read the full article here >

Indefinite sentences should be suicide risk factor, says watchdog

Sat, 16 Sep 2023 12:26:42 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 9 September 2023

Image Credit: radnatt at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Indefinite prison sentences should be considered as a potential risk factor for suicide, the prisons and probation ombudsman has said.

It follows the highest number of self-inflicted deaths by prisoners on indefinite sentences since they were introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2005. In 2022, there were nine self-inflicted deaths of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences.

The sentence, known as Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), was introduced in 2005 by the Labour government for offenders who were considered a risk to the public, but whose offences did not merit a life sentence. IPP was so controversial that it was abolished in 2012, though not for people already serving a sentence.

As of 30 June 2023, there are still 2,909 IPP prisoners in England and Wales, more than half of whom (1,597) have been recalled to custody.

IPP prisoners are reportedly two-and-a-half times more likely to self-harm than the general prison population. As of December 2022, there have been 78 self-inflicted deaths since the sentences were introduced in April 2005.

In a Learning Lesson Bulletin published on Friday, the prisons and probation ombudsman, Adrian Usher, said: “A prisoner’s IPP status should be considered as a potential risk factor for suicide and self-harm.

Read full article here >

See the Preventable Deaths Tracker here >

Other News:

IPP causes suicides, says Ombudsman

11 September 2023

Highest number of IPP deaths since sentence introduced in 2005

11 September 2023

IPP By Numbers (UNGRIPP)

Rolling updates

Iran's women a year after Mahsa's death : 'I wear what I like now'

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:48:41 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 15 September 2023

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

A young woman walks down a street in Tehran, her hair uncovered, her jeans ripped, a bit of midriff exposed to the hot Iranian sun. An unmarried couple walk hand in hand. A woman holds her head high when asked by Iran's once-feared morality police to put a hijab on, and tells them: "Screw you!"

These acts of bold rebellion - described to me by several people in Tehran over the past month - would have been almost unthinkable to Iranians this time last year. But that was before the death in the morality police's custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been accused of not wearing her hijab [veil] properly.

The mass protests that shook Iran after her death subsided after a few months in the face of a brutal crackdown, but the anger that fuelled them has not been extinguished. Women have just had to find new ways to defy the regime.

A Western diplomat in Tehran estimates that across the country, an average of about 20% of women are now breaking the laws of the Islamic Republic by going out on to the streets without the veil.

"Things have changed so much since last year," a 20-year-old music student in Tehran, who we are calling Donya, tells me over an encrypted social media platform.

She is one of the many women who now refuse to wear the veil in public.

"I still can't believe the things I now have the courage to do. We've become so much bolder and braver.

"Even though I feel scared to my bones whenever I walk past the morality police, I keep my head up and pretend I haven't seen them," she says. "I wear what I like now when I go out." But she quickly adds that the stakes are high, and she is not reckless. "I wouldn't wear shorts. And I always carry a headscarf in my bag in case things get serious."

Read full article here >

Other News:

One year on: Iran steps up police presence for anniversary of Masha Amini's death (video)

15 September 2023

Iran threatens crackdown on anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death - but some refuse to be silenced

15 September 2023

Painful restraint to be banned in some UK children’s prisons

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:05:59 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 22 August 2023

Image Credit: RobD at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Staff working in children’s prisons are to be banned from using techniques that deliberately cause pain, except in emergency scenarios to save life or to prevent life-changing injury.

The new Ministry of Justice policy for England and Wales, which follows a review completed by the now chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, in 2020, will be effective from February 2024. It states that it is “never acceptable to deliberately cause pain when a non-painful alternative can safely achieve the same objective”.

In his review Taylor criticised the restraint regime (known as MMPR – minimising and managing physical restraint), saying: “I believe that this places the use of pain-inducing techniques on a spectrum that makes it an acceptable and normal response rather than what [it] should be, the absolute exception.” Taylor said MMPR “has contributed to the overuse of these techniques that I so frequently witnessed during this review”.

Three official methods of pain-inducing restraint are still in use in children’s prisons, involving the infliction of severe pain to the area below a child’s ear (“mandibular angle technique”), thumb (“thumb flexion”) and wrist (“wrist flexion”). But the MoJ has conceded that a fourth technique (“inverted wrist hold”) causes “considerable pain and discomfort” and agreed to recategorise it after Taylor’s review concluded that it had “become a pain-inducing technique in all but name”.

Staff will only be allowed to use techniques that deliberately cause pain when they are responding to a situation where someone’s life is threatened “or there is risk that they will suffer a significant or life changing injury”. The policy document states that any time an “emergency intervention technique” is used it must be reported to the Youth Custody Service and that staff “will be expected to be fully accountable for the action taken”.

Read full article >

Six shocking ways refugees & asylum seekers mistreated in 2023

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 11:39:17 GMT

source: The Global Citizen

published: 24 August 2023

Image Credit: worradmu at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Imagine being forced to flee your home and everything you know, making the perilous journey to safe shores only to be marched onto a “ floating prison ” where, days later, Legionella, a potentially deadly bacteria, is found in the water system. Or imagine escaping the threat of gang violence with your family only to be ripped away from them by border officials .

Or try imagining running for your life with only the possessions you can carry only to be assaulted and robbed by the very people who are meant to give you asylum.

These are just a handful of some of the stories that have taken place so far this year around the world .

At the end of 2022, as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and climate-change induced natural disasters, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimated that globally over 108 million people around the world were forcibly displaced, almost 20 million more than the previous year.

In 2022, Eritrea crossed the threshold of 501,000 refugees, meaning that almost 14% of the country’s population have been displaced due to violence and political instability. The humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic reached its tenth anniversary in 2022, a period marked by bouts of sectarian violence that have displaced nearly 2 million people .

Over 4 million South Sudanese have been forced from their homes. Over 12 million Syrians remain forcibly displaced in the region. The list, unfortunately, goes on.

Read full article >

‘Inhumane’ NHS fees that left 900+ migrants without treatment

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 08:20:42 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 20 August 2023

Image Credit: akiraone at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hundreds of migrants have declined NHS treatment after being presented with upfront charges over the past two years, amid complaints the government’s “hostile environment” on immigration remains firmly in place.

Data compiled by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act shows that, since January 2021, 3,545 patients across 68 hospital trusts in England have been told they must pay upfront charges totalling £7.1m. Of those, 905 patients across 58 trusts did not proceed with treatment .

NHS trusts in England have been required to seek advance payment before providing elective care to certain migrants since October 2017. It covers overseas visitors and migrants ruled ineligible for free healthcare, such as failed asylum seekers and those who have overstayed their visa. The policy is not supposed to cover urgent or “immediately necessary” treatment. However, there have been multiple cases of people wrongly denied treatment.

Dr Laura-Jane Smith, a consultant respiratory physician and member of the campaign group Medact, said: “I had a patient we diagnosed as an emergency with lung cancer but they were told they would be charged upfront for treatment and then never returned for a follow-up.

"This was someone who had been in the country for years but who did not have the right official migration status. A cancer diagnosis is devastating. To then be abandoned by the health service is inhumane.”

Read full article >

Black Lives Matter: Activist puts Aboriginal justice on the agenda

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 13:21:54 GMT

source: Sydney Criminal Lawyers

published: 8 August 2023

Image Credit: Sira Anamwong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At inception, NSW law enforcement had a focus on quelling First Nations resistance to British takeover of Indigenous land, and, over 230 years later, an excessive and overtly brutal focus on those who never ceded control to the Crown continues to be a key preoccupation of NSW police.

The Redfern Legal Centre released figures just last week that underscore the heightened focus the NSW Police Force takes towards First Nations, as, over the four years to June 2022, 45 percent of all state law enforcement use of force incidents involved Indigenous civilians .

That this figure is disproportionate in nature becomes all the more apparent, when taking into account that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living within the borders of NSW only make up 3.4 percent of the overall state populace.

And at a time when NSW police excessive use of force is being scrutinised, due to a string of lethal taserings and shootings since May, it must be remembered that the ease officers take to the application of physical force is much more laxed, when the recipient is an Indigenous individual.

The struggle for justice

For almost a decade now, Dunghutti activist Paul Silva has been at the forefront of the struggle for First Nations people to have their rights upheld to the point that law enforcement and corrections can no longer brutally harm or even kill them with impunity.

Silva began campaigning for First Nations justice, after his uncle, 26-year-old Dunghutti man David Dungay Junior, had his life literally forced out of him by a group of specialist Long Bay prison guards, who were called upon to prevent the diabetic inmate from eating a packet of biscuits .

Read full article >

IOPC Publish custody deaths statistics for UK 2022-2023

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:04:00 GMT

all credits: IOPC

published: 28 July 2023

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

In July 2023 the Independent Office for Police Misconduct (IOPC) released details of their custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2022-2023.

The following content is transcribed from the IOPC website.

Deaths during or following police contact
"Police forces have a statutory duty to refer all incidents involving a death or serious injury to us. Each year, we publish data showing how many people have died after contact with the police."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) today published its annual report on deaths during or following police contact in 2022/23 .

Published for the 19th year, the statistics provide an official record setting out the number of such deaths, the circumstances in which they happen, and any underlying factors. Figures across the different categories can fluctuate each year, and any conclusions about trends need to be treated with caution.

The UK Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

See the IOPC Publications library - click here

See IOPC Research and statistics. They produce a range of statistical information and research about the police complaints system and the levels of public confidence in it - click here .

Amongst others, report shows there were 23 deaths in or following police custody, an increase of 12 from 2021/22, and the highest figure since 2017/18:

Eight people were taken ill or were identified as being unwell in a police cell. Five were taken to hospital where they later died. Three people died in a police custody suite
Twelve people were taken ill at the scene of arrest. Eight people were taken to hospital, where they later died. Four people died at the scene
One man was taken ill in a police vehicle, and was taken to hospital where he died
One man died following release from police custody. The man had been taken to hospital after being charged and remanded
One man died after leaving police detention. His body was found after going missing from hospital while still in the care of police and awaiting a mental health assessment

Read the full article here >

Download the report here (via 4WardEverUK) >

Other Related News:

‘Significant’ increase in deaths in police custody in the UK, 2022-23

28 July 2023

The No More Deaths Campaign from INQUEST

July 2023

See the Preventable Deaths Tracker here >

‘Significant’ increase in deaths in police custody in the UK, 2022-23

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 01:55:03 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 28 July 2023

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The number of deaths in or following police custody in England and Wales has increased significantly , doubling in 12 months to the joint-highest level in the past 16 years, the police watchdog has said.

Figures from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) showed the number of deaths surged past the 10-year average as it increased from 11 in 2021-22 to 23 the following year .

“Sadly, we have seen a significant rise this year in the number of deaths in or following police custody, up to 23 from 11, and the highest figure recorded for five years,” said the IOPC’s acting director general, Tom Whiting.

“While last year’s figure was particularly low, the fact we have seen a sharp reverse is concerning and raises challenges which spread well beyond policing.”

The figure is the highest since 2017-18 when there were also 23 fatalities. The worst year was 2006-07, when 27 deaths were reported. The average number of deaths in a year during the past decade was about 16.

Of the 23 people who died in or following police custody, 22 were men and one was a woman. The age range varied from 20 to 93 years old, with 19 victims being white, two black, one of mixed ethnicity and one Asian. The absolute numbers of deaths meant no meaningful comparison with the racial and ethnic mix of the general population could be drawn .

Read full article >

LGA: The police mental health service withdrawal is too quick

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:20:25 GMT

source: LocalGov

published: 26 July 2023

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

Local authority leaders have raised concerns that plans for police to stop attending mental health incidents, as set out in the National Partnership Agreement, are ‘being rolled out too quickly’.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said police were stepping back without adequate ‘local engagement and partnership working’, creating a risk that other agencies would be unable to pick up increased demand.

The agreement will mean the police do not attend mental health incidents, unless there is a ‘significant safety risk’ or crime involved, and instead refer them to a partner agency.

An agreement signed today (26 July) means the policy will begin in England, while forces in Wales work with the Welsh government to draw out a plan.

According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the policy could save a million police hours each year.

President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Lade Smith, said it was ‘no secret’ that the police were ‘under an incredible amount of pressure, whilst at the same time being chronically underfunded’.

Police withdrawal posed a ‘real danger’ to patients, Dr Smith added. Rachel Bacon, NPCC lead for mental health, said: ‘I do want to reassure our communities that the police will always be here to protect you and will always attend incidents where there is a threat to life.’

Read full article >

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3 February 2023

Family of world’s longest-jailed journalist still battling to free him from Eritrean prison

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:19:02 GMT

source: The Globe & Mail

published: 28 July 2023

Image Credit: franky242 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It was an ordinary Sunday morning in 2001 when two large men, wearing similar suits, arrived at the entrance of a home in Eritrea. A young girl named Betlehem opened the door. The two men asked to see her father.

Her father, Dawit Isaak, politely invited the men to join the family for breakfast. Betlehem, who was seven at the time, remembers vividly what happened after the meal: “They said, ‘We have to go.’ And they took my father.”

More than two decades later, Mr. Isaak remains in prison in Eritrea. Nobody has seen him for many years. He has never been granted a trial. He is believed to be one of the world’s longest-imprisoned journalists, and a symbol of the crushed freedoms under Africa’s most repressive regime.

This week, a report by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s working group on arbitrary detention said Mr. Isaak’s long imprisonment was a violation of international covenants.

It expressed “utmost concern” over his 22-year detention “without any prospect of trial” and voiced alarm over reports of his deteriorating health and the torture he has allegedly suffered in jail. It called on Eritrea to disclose details of his situation – including his exact location, which remains unknown to this day.

Mr. Isaak, who was also a playwright and novelist, had always dreamed of freedom and democracy in his homeland. The small country in the Horn of Africa had fought tenaciously to secede from Ethiopia, finally winning independence in 1993.

He became the co-owner of Eritrea’s first independent newspaper, called Setit. But the newspaper was targeted by a harsh crackdown in 2001 when it dared to publish an open letter criticizing the government.

Read full article >

5,900 Texans have died in custody since 2016, new data shows

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:17:49 GMT

source: CBS News

published: 17 July 2023

Image Credit: Sourced by 4WardEverUK

It has been nearly seven years since Tony Timpa died in the custody of Dallas police, and on Monday, a civil case against four officers was delayed.

Timpa was one of 627 people to die in state custody in 2016. Since 2016, there have been more than 5,900 in-custody deaths in the State of Texas.

That number includes any inmate death at a jail or prison, as well as when a person is being arrested.

An analysis by the nonprofit Texas Justice Initiative shows that the majority of these deaths were from natural causes or illness. Seven-hundred-and-sixty-nine of them were homicides and 290 were accidental.

Most happened at medical facilities, but 1,020 happened inside a jail or prison, and 731 happened at the scene of a crime or an arrest.

Zooming into North Texas, there have been 373 in-custody deaths since 2016 in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis and Tarrant counties. Of these, 34% were classified as homicides.

Learn more about in-custody deaths in Texas here .

Read full article >

Related News:

Data from Texas Justice Initiative

(publish date unspecified)

Some states resuming capital punishment after 'the year of the botched execution'

20 July 2023

Video: Oklahoma death row prisoner’s case reignites debate over capital punishment

23 July 2023

10 Black political prisoners who transformed the fight for freedom

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:15:34 GMT

source: NewsOne

published: 13 July 2023

Image Credit: Vlada Karpovich at www.Pexels.com

The recent passing of Mutulu Shakur , a prominent figure in the Black liberation movement, has brought attention to other Black political prisoners and their commitment to fighting for justice.

Shakur endured over 36 years of imprisonment before his release due to declining health. He remains part of a list of notable Black individuals who fought relentlessly for the rights and liberation of their communities. Similar to Shakur, other political prisoners still face or have faced immense challenges and sacrifices. This is due to their dedication to challenging systemic oppression and advocating for social change.

It’s their commitment and resilience in the face of adversity serve as a testament to their determined spirit. Their stories inspire and remind us of the ongoing struggle for justice and equality in our society.

What is a political prisoner?

A political prisoner is someone who is imprisoned because their actions or beliefs contradict those of their government. Defining this term can be challenging since it encompasses a wide range of cases. They often fight for social change and are seen as symbols of resistance against injustice.

Political prisoners face unjust practices: false charges, manufactured evidence, unfair trials, denial of bail or parole. These tactics aim to hide their status as prisoners of conscience and suppress their activism. The arrest and trial of political prisoners may appear legal, but the underlying motive is to ultimately silence their voices.

In many cases, these actions constitute human rights violations, yet political prisoners persist in their fight. Despite adversity, they embody the enduring spirit of resistance against oppressive systems.

Political prisoners today…

In this ever-so interconnected era, the power of social media knows no bounds. Media has been a major key in shedding a light on stories. The power of sharing stories and taking action, helps apply the pressure. From hashtags, to campaigns, and viral posts, social media serves as a catalyst. Igniting the flames of awareness regarding the pervasive injustices endured by political prisoners across the globe.

Read full article >

Preventable Deaths Tracker (learning to prevent future deaths)

Sat, 08 Jul 2023 19:51:59 GMT

source: Preventable Deaths Tracker

first published: June 2023

Image Credit: Jack Moreh at www.FreeRangeStock.com

One in five deaths are preventable every year. But, less than 1% have a coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths report (PFD) written.

PFDs are written by coroners and sent to individuals or organisations that have the power to act. Those that receive PFDs must respond to the coroner within 56 days outlining actions taken, proposed or provide an explanation for inaction.

However, there is no mechanism to ensure that responses are received, actions are taken, and lessons are learnt to prevent future deaths.

The Preventable Deaths Tracker is trying to change this.

See the database here >

The team

This project was founded by Dr Georgia Richards in 2020 with support from a team of academics, clinicians and coroners from the University of Oxford, the University of Birmingham, and London.

The team has been undertaken research on coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) and acted as expert witnesses in coronial courts and other legal cases related to PFDs for decades.

Preventable Deaths Tracker's work

"Our work spans three areas, including 1) research, 2) education, and 3) communication.

"We design studies to answer important questions for public health and safety. We write scientific reports and academic publications, with more than 20 published to date.

"We conduct training for users of the Preventable Deaths Database, the writing of PFDs, and advise on digital processes to improve the PFD system."

Read full article here >

Humberside mental health model to form basis of new agreement

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 22:53:33 GMT

source: College of Policing

first published: 3 April 2023

Image Credit: renjith krishnan at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

An approach has been developed by Humberside Police to ensure people who call the police get the best support and service. They identified that before the introduction of Right Care Right Person (RCRP), the force was deployed to an average of 1,566 incidents per month relating to issues such as concerns for welfare, mental health incidents or missing persons.

The force was concerned that by attending these incidents, they were not providing the most suitable intervention to vulnerable members of the public who required specialist support. This was putting both the public and their officers at more risk. It also meant they were not responding to the public in the most effective manner.

The high level of deployments was also impacting on the force's ability to attend calls for service that did require a policing response. For example, where a crime had occurred or where there was a risk to life.

Humberside Police made the conscious decision to go back to basics and concentrate on the core policing duties, as set out by Sir Robert Peel. These still form the basis of policing in the UK today. The core duties under common law are:

preventing and detecting crime
keeping the King’s peace
protecting life and property

Following this decision, Humberside Police sought legal advice to understand where duty of care responsibilities lie and where other agencies would be more appropriate to attend calls for service. This advice was used as a basis to support the development of the RCRP initiative.

RCRP is a programme of work that has been carried out over a three-year period involving partners in ambulance, mental health, acute hospitals and social services. These partnerships ensure RCRP can achieve its aim to provide the best care to the public by ensuring the most appropriate response to calls for service. This reduces stress on the police and health agencies responding to these requests.

Read full article here >

Deaths in custody: UN expert says silent global tragedy cannot go on

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 20:43:28 GMT

source: United Nations

first published: 26 June 2023

Image Credit: Pixababy www.pexels.com

GENEVA (26 June 2023) – A UN expert today urged States to respect and protect the lives of all those deprived of liberty and step-up efforts to eradicate the scourge of deaths in custody.

“Tens of thousands of prisoners die every year around the world, although the exact numbers are unknown due to the prevailing inadequacies in recording, investigating and reliably reporting these deaths,” said Morris Tidball-Binz, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in his report to the Human Rights Council.

“Globally, victims often belong to the most economically and socially marginalised sectors of society, which helps to explain the invisibility of the phenomenon,” he said.

Focusing on the phenomenon of deaths in prisons, the report aims to make these deaths visible and help eradicate a largely preventable global tragedy. It sheds light on the global phenomenon of deaths in custody in the criminal justice system, from the moment of arrest, including pre-trial and post-conviction.

“States have a duty to respect and protect the fundamental right to life of those deprived of liberty,” Tidball-Binz said. “Most of these deaths should simply not happen.”

He made recommendations, based on international standards, best practices and concrete examples from different regions, for effective investigation and prevention of all deaths in custody, including reducing imprisonment, improving prison conditions, addressing the needs of vulnerable individuals [etc].

Read full article here >

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France riots: Why are police using guns during traffic stops?

30 July 2023

Race Today archive to chronicle lives of black Britons online

2 March 2023

I Can’t Breathe: Race, death & British policing (from INQUEST)

20 February 2023

IOPC Publish custody deaths statistics for UK 2021-2022

September 2022

UN call to end ‘impunity’ for police violence against black people

28 June 2021

Event : Still No Joy - the struggle for justice memorial, 30 years on

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 09:48:43 GMT

source: Migrant Media

first published: 20 June 2023

Image Credit: Zenia at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Joy Gardner

Migrant Media and a host of other campaign and social justice organisations are to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Joy Gardner .

Joy was brutally killed by the Metropolitan Police during a deportation attempt alongside immigration officers in 1993. This event will honour the struggle for justice by her family.

Download or view event flyer here >

Graeme Burke was five when his mother died after police bound her head with tape. It was early morning when five men and women burst into 5-year-old Graeme Burke's home.

Officers cornered and grabbed his mother, crashing through the furniture, forcing her face down on to the floor. They sat on her body, they bound her hands to her side with a leather belt and manacles, they strapped her legs together and wound yards of surgical tape round her head.

At some stage, one officer took Graeme into another room - but he could still hear his mother's cries.

He never saw her alive again.

After a trial, the officers involved were reinstated and not disciplined. The Police Complaints Commission investigation file remains a secret.

Joy's and other families, along with representatives of the organisation INQUEST which examines deaths in custody, met Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, to press their case.

Joy's Mother, Myrna Simpson said;

"They may want us to forget what happened. But we won't. I will fight for

justice till the day I die."

Read full article here >

Other News:

Joy Gardner: killed in police custody

3 July 2020

IRR Report : Justice delayed is justice denied

8 August 2013

YouTube Videos:

Memorial Fund 'Families Matter : Caring Matters' event report

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 15:18:20 GMT

provided by: Memorial Family Fund

published: 7 June 2023

Image Credit: Tippa Naphtali/4WardEverUK

This event took place in Manchester on 27 May 2023 and was a free family only entertainment, socialising pampering event for those affected by deaths in custody. It consisted of a 3-course meal and beverages, pamper zones, arts & wellbeing stalls, resident DJ and local performing artists. This event was essentially all about respite, entertainment, fun and pampering.

The event opened with an appreciation to the families and introduced the Family Fund team to attendees, with each team member outlining their roles. Thanks were also extended to the attending stallholders, performers and the venue.

The event also screened a short spoken word film from George the Poet, an honest, compelling piece to mark the upcoming 6th anniversary of the Grenfell fire in London . The event attendees marked a 72 second silence in remembrance of each of the victims.

Family Fund founder Tippa Naphtali said; "We wanted to ensure that this was not just yet another event where families were being asked to retell the stories of what happened to their loved ones, and thereby reliving their trauma. Instead, this was all about kicking back, having fun, and enjoying the company of others with lived experience and making connections."

A buffet of great food was also provided, and everyone ate together giving families, performers and the Fund team a chance to mingle and enjoy themselves over a tasty feast. The food was delicious and came in abundance, so many attendees were able to take containers home.

There was also a raffle where families won some really cool prizes that were taken from the Family Fund Two-Way Give-Back Shop .

Families and other attendees could also treat themselves to pampering activities which included face painting, t-shirt printing, nail & lash treatments, canvas painting and fun exercise sessions in the lovely sunshine. Other stalls included some impressive handmade children's clothes, jewellery, accessories and hand drawn art works.

Read full article/see gallery here >

The Grenfell tragedy : Marking the sixth anniversary in 2023

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:56:57 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 11 April 2023

Image Credit: 9comeback: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

The Grenfell Fire

More than 900 bereaved family members, survivors and local people who were [directly] affected by the devastating Grenfell Tower fire have agreed on a settlement of their civil claims arising from the blaze.

The fire at the residential tower block in west London killed 72 people in June 2017. Those who took part in the legal claim were represented by 14 firms that have stressed the agreement does not affect the long-running public inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, which is looking into the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the blaze.

It has yet to publish its report.

The agreement will also not affect the potential for any criminal charges to be brought in the future.

The group added that; “the fight for justice continues.”

In a statement, the firms involved said: “The settlement is completely independent of, and has no impact upon, the ongoing public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which is due to publish its report in 2023, or the ongoing criminal investigation where it is anticipated that the Crown Prosecution Service will make a decision on whether to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for the fire after publication of the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.”

“In those respects, the BSRs’ [bereaved family members, survivors and local residents] fight for justice continues.

“Finally, it should be recognised that no amount of damages could ever be sufficient to properly compensate those affected by the fire.”

Read full article here >

Other News:

Grenfell Tower site update (HM Government)

May 2023

St. George's Park hosts Grenfell Memorial Cup 2023

May 2023

Grenfell: System Failure review – sobering unpicking of a tragedy

24 February 2023

Grenfell Tower fire - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction

(date unknown)

Grenfell Timeline

(date unknown)

Paris Garden renamed after custody death victim Mahsa Amini

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:30:42 GMT

all credits: Iran Wire

published: 24 May 2023

Image Credit: Pexels/Duda

Authorities in the French capital have renamed a garden after a young Iranian woman whose death in police custody in September last year sparked months-long anti-government protests.

“In tribute to this Iranian Kurdish student who died at the age of 22 after being arrested by police for having worn her hijab improperly, the Jardin Villemin [garden] was renamed “Jardin Villemin – Mahsa Jîna Amini,” the town hall of Paris’s 10th district said on its Twitter account on 23 May 2023.

Anger over Amini’s death in Tehran prompted Iranians to take to the streets nationwide to demand fundamental economic, social and political changes.

The security forces have unleashed a brutal clampdown on the women-led protest movement, killing more than 520 people during demonstrations and unlawfully detaining over 20,000 others, activists say.

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

Read original here >

A new ITV series drama, ‘Ruth’ the last woman to hang in the UK

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 08:13:19 GMT

all credits: DEADLINE

published: 13 June 2023

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at www.Pexels.com

Bohemian Rhapsody star Lucy Boynton is to headline an ITV series about [ Ruth Ellis ] the last woman to hang in the United Kingdom.

Boynton will play Ruth Ellis, a nightclub hostess who was hanged at the age of 28 after fatally shooting her abusive lover David Blakely. Famous hangman Albert Pierrepoint carried out the death sentence at Holloway Prison in 1955.

The four-part series is made by ITV Studios-backed Vera producer Silverprint Pictures. It is written by Kelly Jones (The Long Call, Des) and based on Carol Ann Lee’s biography A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story.

Ruth is told over two parallel timelines , with one half of the story following Ellis’ entry into a dizzying upper-class London and her ultimate downfall. The other follows John Bickford, Ellis’ lawyer, as he unravels secret truths about the case that remained hidden for decades.

Kate Bartlett and Antonia Gordon are the Executive Producers for Silverprint. Angie Daniell is the Producer and Lee Haven Jones (Passenger) directs.

Ruth was commissioned for ITV by Polly Hill and Huw Kennair Jones. The series is produced in association with ITV Studios, which will handle global distribution.

Read full article here >

Memorial Family Fund member platform relaunched

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 16:58:01 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

published: 3 June 2023

Image Credit: StuartMiles at www.FreeRangeStock.com

The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) has revamped their MemberBASE service, first introduced in July 2021, which combines contributions to the Fund with a number of extra benefits utilising the Stripe payment platform.

Read more about 'MemberBASE' and register here:

www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/donor-members

Visitors can register as FREE members, or be dual donor/members.

ALL members have full control to manage and renew their subscriptions online.

They can also book onto our events and other activities without leaving the website.

New subscriber's are auto-added to the NMPMFF news and events platforms, but have the option to cancel these if they choose.

The revamped donor platform gives you complete (and flexible) control over how you interact and support the work of the Fund. All of the 'Member Options' are flexible so you can dip in and out, increase or decrease your donations as you wish, and interact with the Memorial Family Fund staff and/or volunteers. And all in one place!

Benefits to our donors and supporters:

and much more to come...

Benefits to the Memorial Family Fund:

Important Notes: If existing donors choose to use MemberBASE option they may want to cancel any current donations in PayPal to avoid duplication.

The standard PayPal donation method will remain available until December 2024.

"We look forward to having you on board"

Please contact the Fund if anything is unclear!

Remembrance & Memorials : The case of George Stinney Jr

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 16:23:18 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 26 May 2023

Image Credit: SOMMAI at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

George Stinney Jr

In June 1944 14-year-old George Stinney Jr became the youngest American executed in the 20th century. In the court case which sealed his fate, it took 10 minutes to convict him by an all-male, all-white jury.

George was subjected to hours of interrogation without his parents or an attorney present, and no African-Americans were allowed in the Courthouse. The entire trial, including the jury’s deliberations, lasted less than 3 hours. It took 70 years after his execution to exonerate him. George was sentenced to the electric chair.

George was arrested in March of 1944 for the murder of two young white girls.It all started when the two girls, in the racially segregated mill town, set out on a springtime hunt for maypops. They were 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and her friend, 7-year-old Mary Emma Thames. They strolled past the busy lumber mill and there they spotted two black children ahead; George and his little sister Amie.

It was reported that Betty June and Mary Emma paused near them asking where to find maypops. George and Amie didn’t know. The girls walked on. George and his sister were considered to be the last people to ever see the girls alive.

The two girls were found on March 23, 1944 laid next to each other, badly beaten by a railroad in a watery ditch on the ‘black side’ of the town. There were no signs of a struggle when Dr. Asbury Cecil Bozard examined the bodies, but it was clear they’d met cruel and violent ends.

Mary Emma had a jagged, two-inch long cut above her right eyebrow and a hole boring straight through her forehead into her skull. Betty June suffered at least seven blows to the head, so punishing, the doctor noted, the back of her skull was “nothing but a mass of crushed bones.”

Download the article here >

Other News:

See 4WardEverUK archives here >

Inside the execution of 14-year-old George Stinney Jr

28 February 2023

George Stinney Jr: Black 14-year-old boy exonerated 70 years after he was executed

18 December 2014

An Undying Mystery: George Stinney

(date unknown)

YouTube Videos:

Execution in South Carolina: 14-Year-Old George Stinney Convicted in 1944
14 year old George Stinney Executed - True Stories (caution: distressing footage)

Remembrance & Memorials : The case and legacy of George Floyd

Wed, 24 May 2023 09:36:20 GMT

all credits: Houstonia

published: 27 February 2023

Image Credit: 9comeback at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

George Floyd

George Floyd’s Legacy Lives. George’s brother, Philonise Floyd and his wife, Keeta, have created a nonprofit ( PAKFISC )to support their community and honor George’s memory.

Third Ward neighborhood, where George Floyd’s family once lived, you can see the communal ties in real time. At the corner of Tierwester and Winbern Streets, adjacent to their now-condemned childhood home, lies the George Perry Floyd Jr. mural emblazoned on the side of Scott Food Mart, known to the locals as the “blue store.” Cars honk, and passersby stop to shake the hands of George’s older brother, Philonise Floyd, and his wife, Keeta, as a sign of respect and reverence.

George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, at the hands of the Minneapolis police, led by officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Chauvin and three other officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane, have all been charged and sentenced: Chauvin for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, and the other three for violating Floyd’s civil rights. To the general public, justice may have been served; however, the Floyds say that it doesn’t come close.

“It can never be justice because I can’t get George back,” Philonise said. “Life is priceless. My brother was murdered. It is a death sentence for my family and I.”

Read the original article here >

See 4WardEverUK archives here >

Other News:

Observing George Floyd Day 2023

23 May 2023

Rise and Remember: George Floyd Global Memorial

May 2023

George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life

16 July 2020

Former Cop Jacqui Hames speaks out about Daniel Morgan's murder

Fri, 12 May 2023 12:36:01 GMT

source: ByLine Investigates

[republished] originally published: 19 June 2020

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames believes that no one will ever be found guilty of the murder of Daniel Morgan. Still unsolved, the case holds the dubious record of the most investigated homicide in British criminal history.

But Hames told Byline Investigates: “In terms of someone being found guilty, there won’t be.”

The ex-Metropolitan Police officer was speaking ahead of a new, in-depth Channel 4 documentary, 'Murder in the Carpark,' which examines the conspiracy from all sides.”

Hames [appeared in the second episode of the three-part series.] She said that the films shed new light on the affair, enabling viewers to “draw their own conclusions,” about what happened.

Morgan was murdered in a pub car park in South London 33-years-ago, and was found with an axe embedded in his head.

He had been probing police corruption, in the run-up to his death, whilst struggling to get to the bottom of shady business dealings, that were going-on behind his back.

Morgan co-owned a private investigations firm in Croydon, South London .

Read the full article >

Remembrance & Memorials : The case of Aiyana Stanley-Jones

Fri, 12 May 2023 10:57:40 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 12 May 2023

Image Credit: George Becker at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Aiyana Stanley-Jones

7-year-old Aiyana Jones was asleep on a living room sofa when she was shot once in the neck after a Detroit Police Special Response Team executed a no-knock search warrant at a two-unit flat in Detroit shortly after 12:30am on 15th May 2010.

Aiyana’s father, Charles Jones, said; "I saw them (police) running with my daughter out of the house. They had my mother on the floor, and they just kept me there for like two hours, I knew it was bad.” He went on to say; "Her blood was everywhere and I was trying to stay calm, but nobody would talk to me. None of them even tried to console me''.

According to police, as police officers entered the home there was a struggle with the child's grandmother, Mertilla Jones, who grabbed for an officers gun before it accidentally discharged. The bullet struck and killed Aiyana. Authorities have claimed the gun was fired by accident.

One witness, Terrance Echols, 28, said he was in his home, across the street when he heard a 'bang.' He ran upstairs, "and I heard people yelling, 'You killed a 7-year-old girl. You killed the girl" .

Southfield attorney Geoffery Fieger, representing the family of Aiyana said, shortly after the shooting, he had obtained video footage of the incident. He claimed that it was shot by the A&E crime reality show The First 48, and shows that at least one shot was fired after police threw a stun grenade into the home.

Download the article here >

Other News:

See 4WardEverUK archives here >

YouTube Videos:

Remembrance & Memorials : The case of activist, Pauline Campbell

Thu, 11 May 2023 11:46:14 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK Writers

published: 12 May 2023

Image Credit: Valeria Boltneva at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Pauline Campbell

Pauline Campbell was found dead on 15th May 2008, lying on the grave of her daughter Sarah who had tragically died in January 2003 whilst in HMP Styal.

4WardEverUK set up a website in memory of Pauline shortly after her death, and maintains this site in her honour and to ensure that stories related to the deaths of women and young girls within the prison and psychiatric system were kept in the public eye.

Tippa Naphtali, of 4WardEverUK and The Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign said; “Pauline was the type of person that if you only ever met her once, you would be sure never to forget."

“Pauline's presence had a more worrying connotation for Government officials and departments and authorities within the prison and mental health service, and she became a most forceful and articulate thorn in their side forcing home the message that deaths in the prison and psychiatric system simply had to be addressed.”

Read the original article here >

Other News:

Obituary Pauline Campbell

16 May 2008

INQUEST statement on the death of Pauline Campbell

15 May 2008

Sixty second interview with Pauline Campbell

26 January 2005

Justice in a time of austerity - a series from the Justice Gap

Wed, 10 May 2023 12:17:38 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: March 2019 to June 2021

Image Credit: cooldesign at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"We wanted to reshare this series of articles produced by the Justice Gap, as they remain even more relevant today in the ever-present shadow of the cost of living crisis."

It has been five years since the government introduced the most savage cuts to the legal aid scheme since it was introduced after the second world war. By 2020 the government expects to have cut the Ministry of Justice's budget by 40% since 2010.

In this new series, we aim to bring to light the experience of people as they go through our justice system. Over the next 12 months we will be conducting interviews around the country.

"We will also be talking to the organisations that help the people find their help."

This project is a collaboration between Jon Robins of the Justice Gap and Dr Daniel Newman of Cardiff University supported by the City law firm Ashurst and the barristers' chambers Garden Court. It is not just about the state of ‘access to justice’ but it's about the precarious reality of the poor and not-so-poor in our society .

See all the articles in the series here >

Washington has abolished the death penalty

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 15:16:58 GMT

source: Equal Justice Initiative

published: 26 April 2023

Image Credit: Falkenpost at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill on Friday that officially removes capital punishment from state law. Senate Bill 5087 removes state laws that have been held unconstitutional by the Washington Supreme Court.

In 2018, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional “because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.”

The court evaluated evidence of racial bias in the state’s death penalty, including an exhaustive statistical study showing that Black defendants were four and a half times more likely to be sentenced to death than similarly situated white defendants.

The death sentences of eight people who were then on Washington’s death row were vacated as part of the court’s decision.

But the decision did not prevent state lawmakers from proposing new death penalty laws, and the state’s old capital punishment statute remained on the books.

Read the full article >

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Washington’s unconstitutional death penalty law stricken from the books

24 April 2023

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21 April 2023

Washington state officially abolishes death penalty

21 April 2023

How to make capitalism ungovernable – a Workers World commentary

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:43:15 GMT

source: Workers World

published: 28 April 2023

Image Credit: LaiTsan Chan at www.Pexels.com

Every year, Mumia Abu Jamal’s birthday is observed by the most militant and politically advanced workers around the world. This year there were demonstrations in London, Paris, Berlin, Juarez, Mexico, Houston, Sacramento, California, Los Angeles and, of course, in his hometown of Philadelphia.

This year, these protests calling for Mumia’s release coincide with powerful worker uprisings in France against pension cuts and the ongoing occupation of the Weelaunee Forest in defense of the land Georgia officials have staked out for “Cop City.”

While there may not be as many burning patrol cars and precinct buildings as there were in 2020 following the police lynching of George Floyd, it’s clear that the fiery spirit that ignited at the start of this decade isn’t dying out any time soon.

The movement to free Mumia has likewise birthed generations of freedom fighters. And like the former apartheid government of South Africa, the dying white-supremacist empire in the U,S. cannot survive the release of their most prized political prisoner.

The path of Mumia’s freedom struggle is paved with stepping stones from each victory won for prisoners along the way. The fight to get Mumia the treatment for hepatitis C that he contracted in prison, for example, was a historic win for prisoner health care across the country .

Read the full article >

Other News:

Celebration for Mumia’s birthday in Philadelphia

25 April 2022

Houston activists say: “Free Mumia Now!”

25 April 2022

Stephen Lawrence’s legacy honoured at memorial 30 years on

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 22:30:45 GMT

source: The Independent

first published: 22 April 2023

Image Credit: Zenia at www.Pexels.com

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Stephen Lawrence

Stephen Lawrence’s mother said his “ story remains as important and relevant as ever ”

as a memorial service was held in central London to mark the 30th anniversary of the teenager’s death.

The murder victim’s family gathered for the anniversary at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also attended. Sir Keir made a short speech and read a poem by Maya Angelou at the request of Stephen’s mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

The anniversary comes after Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for failings in the aftermath of the killing, with the force’s response to the investigation being branded institutionally racist in the 1999 Macpherson Report .

Stephen was stabbed to death on April 22 1993 in an unprovoked, racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London, after he was set upon by a gang of white youths shouting racial slurs and brandishing weapons.

The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-old’s five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.

Read full article here >

Other News:

Stephen Lawrence: 30 Years On

( Watch on BBC iPlayer )

After his murder, Stephen Lawrence came to symbolise so much. But he was also my little boy

22 April 2022

Stephen Lawrence remembered 30 years after murder

22 April 2022

YouTube Videos:

Janet, the sister of Christopher Alder on 25 year fight for answers

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 21:50:31 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 30 March 2023

Image Credit: Peter Marshall at www.mylondondiary.co.uk

More than a decade after his death in police custody, the body of former paratrooper Christopher Alder was discovered lying in a mortuary. At the same time, in a grave bearing his name lay the body of a 77-year-old woman.

No-one has ever been held responsible for either incident. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of his death, Mr Alder's sister, Janet, spoke to the BBC about the psychological toll of her battle for truth and accountability .

Christopher Alder was arrested on 1 April 1998 after an altercation outside a nightclub in Hull. Within a matter of hours, he was dead on the floor of Queen's Gardens Police Station.

In the moments before his death, CCTV footage taken from the custody suite showed laughing officers making monkey noises as they stood around the 37-year-old choking in a pool of his own blood.

It was more than 10 minutes before he received any help from those charged with keeping him safe.

A quarter of a century on, and after countless efforts to get to the truth of what happened, Janet Alder continues to feel anger and frustration.

"I've been on an emotional roller coaster for years," she says.

"I've spent a lot of my years feeling rage and I'm just questioning myself - whether it's really happened - or questioning my sanity.

"I feel isolated from the world out there."

Read full article here >

Pregnant women in UK jails, 7 times more likely to suffer stillbirth

Sun, 02 Apr 2023 22:21:17 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 25 March 2023

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Women in prison have a seven-times higher probability of suffering a stillbirth than those in the general population – an increase from a five-times higher probability since the data was last collected two years ago – the Observer can reveal.

Figures obtained through freedom of information requests sent to 11 NHS trusts serving women’s prisons in England also showed that for the years 2020-22, 25% of babies born to women in prison were admitted to a neonatal unit afterwards – almost double the national figure of 14%.

Meanwhile, 12% of babies had a low birth weight, compared with 6.5% among the general public. Stillbirths were at a rate of 27.1 per 1,000 births compared with 4 per 1,000 for the wider population. This is up from a rate of 20.9 compared with 4.2 for the period 2015-2019. On average, there were 29 pregnant women in prison during 2021 and 2022 and 50 births to women spending time in custody over the same period, according to Ministry of Justice figures. Of these, 94% (47) took place in a hospital and three occurred either in transit to hospital or within a prison.

Birte Harlev-Lam, executive director at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said the “shocking” statistics should jolt the Prison Service and government into action.

“It is a national scandal that women are still giving birth in prison, and it’s a practice that needs to stop,” she said.

Last year, the RCM was among those to sign an open letter to the Sentencing Council calling for a review of sentencing practices for pregnant women."

Harlev-Lam said the “potentially fatal impact” of a custodial sentence should be taken into consideration.

Read full article >

Biden's Justice Dept. keeps hard line in death row cases

Sun, 02 Apr 2023 22:20:59 GMT

source: Associated Press

published: 26 March 2023

Image Credit: Naypong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rejon Taylor hoped the election of Joe Biden, the first U.S. president to campaign on a pledge to end the death penalty, would mean a more sympathetic look at his claims that racial bias and other trial errors landed him on federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana.

But two years on, Justice Department attorneys under Biden are fighting the Black man's efforts to reverse his 2008 death sentence for killing a white restaurateur as hard as they did under Donald Trump, who oversaw 13 executions in his presidency's final months.

“Every legal means they have available they’re using to fight us,” said the 38-year-old's lawyer, Kelley Henry. “It’s business as usual.”

Death penalty opponents expected Biden to act within weeks of taking office to fulfill his 2020 campaign promise to end capital punishment on the federal level and to work at ending it in states that still carry out executions. Instead, Biden has taken no steps toward fulfilling that promise.

But it's not just inaction by Biden. An Associated Press review of dozens of legal filings shows Biden’s Justice Department is fighting vigorously in courts to maintain the sentences of death row inmates, even after Attorney General Merrick Garland temporarily paused executions. Lawyers for some of the over 40 death row inmates say they've seen no meaningful changes to the Justice Department's approach under Biden and Trump .

Read the full article >

Other News:

Why are US lawmakers debating to bring back firing squads as a method of capital punishment?

24 March 2023

Idaho lawmakers approve bill that could allow firing squad executions

20 March 2023

New event date – Families Matter : Caring Matters (Manchester)

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 01:09:47 GMT

source: National Family Fund

published: 3 February 2023

Image Credit: Tippa Naphtali

Postponed in 2022, this FREE Manchester event consisting of a 3-course meal and varied beverages, pamper zones, arts & wellbeing stalls, resident DJ and local performing artists; has now been rescheduled for 27 May 2023.

This family-only event is essentially all about respite, entertainment, fun and pampering.

The event is the second of three previously funded (pre-pandemic) by The Edge Fund . The hugely successful first event, Looking Back : Moving Forward , was held in Central Birmingham in September 2021 coinciding with the eighteenth anniversary of Mikey Powell's death.

This event will also acknowledge the sixth anniversary of the tragedy and the victims of the Grenfell fire in London. The event attendees will mark a 72 second silence in remembrance of each of the victims.

This event is being delivered in association with 4WardEverUK and Migrant Media , and is also supported by Naphtali Associates and Catalyst 4 Change CIC .

Book your tickets here >

Bookings open @ 8:00am on 3 April 2023

Only families directly affected by state custody deaths and killings can attend!

View or download the event flyer & programme >

Activities will include:

Short film and tribute to the Grenfell fire victims
Three-course meal and beverages
Resident DJ throughout the event
FREE prize raffle draw
Pamper zones and stalls (head massage, nail painting, arts & crafts etc)
Live entertainment from local talent

Travel costs reimbursed:

Families that attend from outside of Manchester will have reasonable travel and accommodation costs met by the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund.

Update: What has BLMUK done with the money?

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 01:07:11 GMT

source: BLMUK

published: 6 March 2023

Image Credit: www.ukblm.org

BLMUK started in 2016 as a loose network of activists who wanted to respond to escalating racist violence from the British state.

"Our first action, #Shutdown took place on Friday 5th August 2016 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the murder of Mark Duggan. Dozens of activists in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Nottingham organised shutdowns of transport hubs, including Birmingham and Heathrow Airports to sound the alarm on racist state violence in the UK."

"Since then we have continued to organise for Black liberation. We have worked with other collectives such as Wretched of the Earth to focus on climate justice for the global majority and the successful Against Borders for Children campaign which stopped the UK government’s efforts to create a children migrant database . "

BLMUK volunteers donate their time doing administration, community organising, communications and whatever else is needed, which includes raising some funds to support the organisations work.

"Until 2020, our previous efforts raised around £8,000, so when we launched our UKBLM fund in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, we were overwhelmed with the incredible support we received across the UK and beyond.

"From birthday gift donations to school groups running events, it was inspiring and encouraging to see so many from all backgrounds work for Black lives in the UK."

Read the full article >

Delve into 40 year history – the INQUEST archive is now open

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 02:01:59 GMT

source: INQUEST

published: March 2023

Image Credit: INQUEST at www.inquest.org.uk

The INQUEST archive is now available to access at the Bishopsgate Institute . On Saturday 11 March the public were able to see the archive in progress and hear from Celia Stubbs and Marcia Rigg about their ongoing fight for truth, justice and accountability. Find out more here .

For over 40 years, INQUEST has fought alongside families affected by state related deaths to shine a light on the state’s darkest corners and challenge the unjust systems that enable these deaths.

Now, thanks to a brilliant team of volunteers, they are sorting through decades of documents and collecting materials from bereaved families, campaigners and supporters to create a public archive of commemoration and resistance. They are in the process of creating and depositing the archive at the Bishopsgate Institute, who will provide public access to over 40 years of documentation around state-related deaths, family campaigns, and crucial political and legal changes.

The world-renowned Bishopsgate Institute archives and special collections document the experiences of everyday people, and the extraordinary individuals and organisations who have striven for social, political, and cultural change. Home to the archives of individuals and organisations who have fought to make a better world, from Bernie Grant (one of the UK’s first Black MPs) to Unite Against Fascism and Wages for Housework, there is no better place for the INQUEST archive.

Bishopsgate welcomes researchers and anyone who is interested in learning more about the history it has to offer. As a reference library only, books and other materials may only be consulted on site.

Everyone is welcome to explore the INQUEST archive in progress, come and see what’s already part of Bishopsgate’s collection, from posters and campaign flyers to abolitionist magazines and press cuttings .

BLMUK gives £350,000 in funding for black-led organisations

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 10:00:03 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 5 March 2023

Image Credit: Jakayla Toney at www.Pexels.com

Black Lives Matter UK have released a further £350,000 in funding to black-led organisations and campaign groups across the country, bringing the total money redistributed since 2020 to more than half a million pounds.

BLMUK received £1.2m in donations from over 36,000 people following widespread protests [ following George Floyd's killing ] during the summer of 2020.

In what is described as one of the largest investments in anti-racist and black-led community organisations in nearly four decades, a further 17 groups have now received money in BLMUK’s second round of funding

The organisation said it donated to groups that stood “shoulder to shoulder” with its goals of ending the hostile environment and border controls, defunding the police in favour of investing in communities, transforming education, and supporting black arts and culture, amongst others.

The organisation released £169,733 to different campaign groups in 2021, as well as a further £40,000 donation to the United Friends & Families Campaign , which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody. Another £10,000 was donated to “urgent” campaigns.

In total, BLMUK has given £569,733 in funding and donations so far .

Read the full article >

Race Today archive to chronicle lives of black Britons online

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:51:01 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 2 March 2023

Image Credit: Migrant Media

The archive of a magazine chronicling the lives of Britain’s black community during the 1970s and 1980s will be available online for the first time.

Race Today magazine, first launched in 1973, combined radical journalism with campaigning zeal to shine a light on the issues affecting Britain’s black communities, as well as providing insight and commentary on politics in Britain and abroad.

The wide-ranging magazine included interviews with political figures such as the newly elected black MP Bernie Grant and members of the British Black Panther party, stories on deaths in custody and racist murders, political commentary on protest movements abroad, such as John La Rose on “insurrections” in the Caribbean, as well as cultural pieces, including reviews of books, art exhibitions and theatre productions.

"The archive is the first time that all past editions will be accessible in a single place and that a significant period of British history will no longer be overlooked,” Leila Hassan Howe, who was the magazine’s last editor, said.

Race Today’s most notable campaign was to bring the New Cross fire to prominence. The tragedy, in which 13 young black people between the ages of 14 and 22 were killed in January 1981, was a hugely politicising moment for the black community as a result of the lack of attention it received from politicians and the media .

Read the full article >

Home Office pay asylum seekers £1 p/hr to work in detention

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:23:00 GMT

source: The Justice Gap

published: 1 March 2023

Image Credit: Public archive

New data obtained under a Freedom of Information request has provided fresh evidence of government exploitation of asylum seekers.

Documents seen by openDemocracy , an independent media platform, claim to demonstrate that asylum seekers in detention centres run by Home Office contractors are paid £1 an hour as a fixed rate to carry out work. The wages are funded by the Home Office but paid to detainees by the private contractors that run the detention centres. This has not changed in line with inflation.

Detainees are currently exempt from minimum wage legislation. This policy has been in force since 2006 and was previously challenged under judicial review unsuccessfully in 2019 at the High Court. The following year, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal.

Records under Freedom of Information requests reveal that detainees carried out 215,000 hours of work in 2022. Campaigners argue that centres rely on detainees working to ensure that they properly function.

The roles vary but include: cleaners, welfare buddies, kitchen assistants, barbers, laundry orderlies, painters, gym orderlies and shop assistants. The work has been described by one detainee as “like slave labour”. Such roles are voluntary .

Read the full article >

I Can’t Breathe: Race, death & British policing (from INQUEST)

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 15:43:35 GMT

source: INQUEST

first published: 20 February 2023

Image Credit: 4WardEverUK

In ‘I can’t breathe’: Race, death and British Policing, INQUEST investigated the processes, procedures and evidence base of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the coronial system to examine how accountability for racism is delivered.

INQUEST found a system which works against delivering accountability, that appeared blind to the evidence and where racial discrimination was not addressed meaningfully.

The report features new data and analysis. It includes powerful interviews with expert human rights lawyers who are members of the INQUEST Lawyers Group, and five bereaved family members who have been through the legal processes.

See executive summary here >

Read original article >

Western powers are avoiding the big question about Ukraine

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 15:17:40 GMT

source: Politico

published: 21 February 2023

Image Credit: James Barker at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Joe Biden's double bill in Kyiv and Warsaw this week is good political optics on the first anniversary of the worst war in Europe in 80 years. Presumably not by anyone’s design, this scenic coupling also usefully clarifies the stakes for the region and the hard choices before the U.S. and its allies in the coming months.

For nearly the entirety of the previous two centuries, Poland sat precisely where Ukraine does now — on the front line of Europe’s defining clash between autocracy and liberalism, waged with the force of ideas and, as often, troops and armor. Poland was on the losing side most of that time. Its fate wasn’t settled until it ended up in the so-called West and its elite clubs, NATO and the EU, some two decades ago. Ukraine faces a similar predicament: It’s not clear where Ukraine fits, and the West hasn’t decided how hard to fight for it.

In its time, the “Polish question” tore Europe apart. When the Poles started an uprising against Russia in 1830, after partitions had erased their country from the European map a generation before, Tsar Nicholas I laid out the choice: “Poland or Russia must now perish.” Free Poland and authoritarian Russia couldn’t coexist. Nicholas put down the Polish insurrection, consigning Russia — as the Russian writer Peter Chaadayev, who saw the uprising firsthand, wrote — to “her own enslavement, and the enslavement of all neighboring peoples.” A century later, Hitler started World War II to enslave his eastern neighbors; after Yalta, Stalin got Poland and the region as his prize.

Read full article >

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Zelensky mourns 'all the killings' ahead of war anniversary

23 February 2023

Led By Donkeys, protestors paint Russian embassy road in Ukrainian flag colours

23 February 2023

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 362 of the invasion

20 February 2023

Dissent Episode Five: The death penalty, deadlines, and DNA

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:58:48 GMT

source: The Intercept

published: 15 February 2023

Image Credit: Falkenpost at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Rodney Reed has been on death row since 1998 for the killing of a 19-year-old woman named Stacey Stites. Although Texas prosecutors said the case was open and shut, Reed has consistently maintained his innocence. Over the years, dozens of witnesses have come forward with evidence that undermines the state’s case, casting serious doubt on whether Reed is actually guilty.

But Texas has refused to conduct DNA testing that could put lingering questions to rest. This week on Dissent, host Jordan Smith is joined by Intercept senior writer Liliana Segura to discuss the Supreme Court’s review of the case.

Segura was in Washington, D.C., for the oral arguments, which focused on whether the statute of limitations for DNA testing has run out. Although it may seem like a straightforward question, it’s anything but — and the court’s decision could have life-or-death consequences for defendants seeking to prove their innocence.

Jordan Smith: I’m Jordan Smith, a senior reporter for The Intercept. Welcome to Dissent, an intercepted miniseries about the Supreme Court.

Frank Somerville [KTVU Fox 2]: New at 10, in San Francisco tonight, a candlelight vigil was held in support of Rodney Reed. He is a Texas death row inmate who was granted a stay of execution.

Victor Blackwell [CNN]: After more than 20 years on death row, Rodney Reed’s case is getting a second look.

Amy Goodman [Democracy Now!]: Reed’s attorney says a new investigation has uncovered evidence Stites was actually killed hours before state prosecutors claimed. The new timeline appears to implicate her fiancé Jimmy Fennell, a white former police officer, now in prison for sexually assaulting a woman .

Read the full article >

Sharpton warns failure addressing police brutality will lead to deaths

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 11:41:22 GMT

source: The Mirror

first published: 7 February 2023

Image Credit: Pexels at www.FreeRangeStock.com

Civil rights veteran Reverend Al Sharpton has warned that police brutality incidents such as the recent killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis officers could happen in the UK without policing reforms.

Father-of-one Tyre, was tasered and brutality beaten to death following a traffic stop on January 7, 2023 and six officers have now been fired with five being charged with his murder.

Now Reverend Al Sharpton who attended the 29-year-old's funeral alongside US Vice-President Kamala Harris says that “systemic racism” and a “culture of policing that produces brutality” needed to be addressed.

He stated that without doing so, tragedies like that of Tyre who died in hospital three days later could happen in Britain.

Reverend Al Sharpton said: “The failure to address systemic racism in UK policing and the culture of policing that produces brutality against our people will only lead to more incidences like the tragedy of Tyre Nichols”.

Read full article >

Abigail's 30th Birthday Fundraiser for the Memorial Family Fund

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 13:11:30 GMT

source: Karen Clare, Mother of Abigail Clare

published: 3 February 2023

Image Credit: Justice for Abigail Clare

"I was first introduced to The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund by my INQUEST caseworker.

I tragically lost my daughter Abigail aged 27 to suicide in April 2020, the beginning of the first Covid lockdown. Abi died in a psychiatric hospital whilst under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act.

Her death has had a devastating affect and life will never be the same.

"In the subsequent two years, I have been successful in gaining two very generous grants from The Memorial Family Fund. This enabled me to attend a meeting with Nadine Dorries, (previous Member of Parliament for suicide prevention) and her team. The surplus money was spent on lanyards promoting a charitable bursary fund I had set up in memory of my daughter, Abigail's Army; Daisy Fund .

"The following year due to the generosity of a second grant, I was able to attend the two week inquest into Abi's death which took place 60 miles away from my home.

"To attend such a hearing, to read a post-mortem and watch CCTV of my daughter’s last hours was a crucifying experience but was made more bearable by knowing I could stay in a hotel each night and not have to negotiate the three hour round trip home every day."

"It has been a privilege to have been able to say thank you for the kind and generous financial support I received from the Memorial Family Fund. When I lost my daughter in detention, I believe I became part of a ‘family’ of others who have gone through similar heartbreaking situations. I believe we have to support one another and hopefully this donation will go some way in doing this."

Tippa Naphtali, Development & Fundraising Manager, said;

“Everyone at the NMPMFF wholeheartedly thanks the family and also Doughty Street Chambers for this wonderful gesture and contribution to the Family Fund - this will very much help in our continued efforts to support affected families in the UK.

“This is by far the largest single donation from a family campaign to the Fund since its inception in 2015, and again we echo the family’s statement that we must all stand together and support one another in order to provide collective help and assistance.”

See NMPMFF grants awarded here >

The Justice for Gaia manifesto has been launched (August 2022)

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 12:31:17 GMT

source: Justice for Gaia

first published: August 2022

Image Credit: Justice for Gaia

The Justice for Gaia manifesto, which puts forwards demands around policing, mental health and social support, was created because lives like Gaia’s are still being risked and lost because of outdated policies, devastating funding cuts and a toxic culture of misogyny within many of our public services.

The manifesto emerged from what we learned during the inquest into Gaia’s death, as well as talks with leading womens’ rights organisations, mental health experts and disability rights campaigners about what needs to change to save lives like Gaia’s. We are demanding that survivors get the support they deserve and that their voices are heard so we can all live in safer and fairer communities.

See the manifesto details here >

Also see Gaia’s Guide

Designed to help loved ones when someone goes missing, Gaia’s Guide is the resource we wish we’d had then. It provides step-by-step guidance on how we did it. It covers everything from how to organise a search and engage the public to dealing with the press and police.

The guide is free to download here

“When Gaia went missing I didn’t know what to do, none of us knew what to do. We knew with public backing and attention the police would have to do something but I didn’t know how to get the word out. If it wasn’t for Marienna and all the volunteers I think we’d still be searching. We want to offer the guide so families know what to do. When someone you love disappears it’s hard to even think straight. Hopefully Gaia’s Guide will help.”

Gaia’s twin sister, Maya Pope-Sutherland

Leeds bridge remembering police race harassment victim opened

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 23:38:45 GMT

source: BBC News

published: 26 January 2023

Image Credit: 9comeback at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

David Oluwale

A new bridge honouring the legacy of a man who died after being racially harassed by police officers has been officially opened in Leeds. The David Oluwale Bridge, which spans the River Aire, was formally opened at a ceremony earlier [today].

Mr Oluwale, from Nigeria, was last seen fleeing police in April 1969 and he was later found drowned in the Aire. The council said the bridge was a symbol of ambition and commitment to diversity and inclusion in Leeds.

Mr Oluwale's body was found in the river after he had been targeted by officers because of his mental health, homelessness and race, the council said.

The new pedestrian bridge, which is between Sovereign Street and Water Lane, was both a physical link and metaphorical bridge between the present and future of Leeds as a city, the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA) said.

Emily Zobel Marshall, DOMA's co-chair, said:

"The new David Oluwale Bridge is deeply symbolic.

"It is a physical emblem of our commitment to confront historic institutional failings and prejudices which led to the death of an innocent man, as well as a representation of renewal; of our commitment to aim for a future where people from all cultural and economic backgrounds are made to feel safe and welcome in Leeds."

Read full article here >

Texas death row inmates sue state over ‘brutal’ solitary conditions

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:38:27 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 27 January 2023

Image Credit: Jimmy Chan at www.Pexels.com

A class action suit has been brought on behalf of the 185 male prisoners on death row in Texas, accusing the state of violating the inmates’ constitutional rights by holding them in permanent solitary confinement in some cases for more than 20 years.

The state’s prison authorities are alleged to be inflicting “cruel and unusual punishment” on the men in breach of the eighth amendment of the US constitution. The lawsuit describes how the prisoners are held in “devastating conditions” in isolation for up to 23 years without pause, with almost 80% of the death row occupants having been in solitary for more than 10 years.

“The conditions on death row in Texas have been characterized as some of the most brutal death row conditions in the country. The plaintiffs are seeking relief from conditions that have been described as torture,” said Pieter Van Tol of the global law firm Hogan Lovells which filed the suit on behalf of the men in a federal court in Houston on Thursday.”

Texas is facing mounting challenges to its widespread use of solitary confinement. The state currently houses more than 3,000 prisoners in solitary, and sits at the top of the league table in the US for the number of prisoners it has detained in isolation for more than 10 years (more than 500).

Scores of Texas prisoners in general population have entered the third week of a hunger strike protesting against being confined in solitary. They are objecting to being segregated in isolation cells because of alleged association with prison gangs, with no assessment of their risk to themselves or others .

Read the full article >

The US supreme court’s shift towards capital punishment

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 14:25:40 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 12 January 2023

Image Credit: Donald Tong at www.Pexels.com

On Monday, the US supreme court issued an order in the pending execution of Robert Fratta, a former police officer from Houston who was sentenced to death for the 1994 murder-for-hire of his estranged wife.

Lawyers for the condemned man had petitioned the court in a last-ditch effort to save his life. They argued that critical evidence at his trial given by a key witness had been tainted, as she had been encouraged under hypnosis to change her testimony.

The supreme court’s order was brief and blunt, eviscerating in 23 words any hope of a reprieve: “The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the court is denied.”

No explanation. No ambiguity. No way back.

On Tuesday, Fratta, 65, who had long claimed he was innocent, was injected with lethal drugs in Huntsville, Texas, and pronounced dead at 7.49pm.

The supreme court’s refusal to engage with Fratta’s last petition was more than a one-off. Since the court moved sharply to the right with Donald Trump’s appointment of three new justices, its default position has been to allow executions to proceed even in cases where serious constitutional issues are at stake .

Read the full article >

A new website for 2023.. we have downsized but also improved!

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 02:26:44 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: January 2023

Between November 2022 and January 2023 the 4WardEverUK website underwent its fourth and final comprehensive upgrade since its first launch in 2006. The website underwent a significant downsize in relation to its content and frequency of output, whilst retaining crucial popular archived resources.

This redevelopment was made possible by generous donations of resources and time that was offered from our two key partners, Naphtali Associates and First Stop Web Design .

Our primary domain remains as www.4wardeveruk.org and you can also access the website with secondary domains, www.4wardever.org.uk & www.4wardever.org.

So why the change?

There are a number of key influencers of this change which includes:

Human resources capacity

Over the years since the development of 4WardEverUK in 2006, we have gradually focussed more of our time into the area of developing and collaborating with various parties to provide direct support services (e.g. The National Memorial Family Fund , Red Alert HELP , The Peoples Tribunal , Catalyst 4 Change , The Mentoring & Advocacy Support Hub (M.A.S.H) and others. This was always part of out long-term plan.

Keeping vast resources updated

The 4WardEverUK website contained a vast array of resources and information. Ensuring that this all remained up-to-date and relevant took an awful lot of time, and that time was increasingly difficult to find given our small and intermittent volunteer capacity. Also, the availability of information on the web has progressed significantly since our launch, when this was not the case.

We have kept the Red Alert HELP! DIY Portal and transferred key resources over during the upgrade.

Website performance and maintenance!

We previously used the hosted WordPress platform for the 4WardEverUK website, and as good as this is, the platform also takes up a great deal of maintenance time. Once again, given our current human resources capacity and focus on direct service provision, it was increasingly a challenge managing these performance issues. We have now switched to the Duda platform which has significantly improved performance and a much reduced maintenance load on our small team.

So what’s new on 4WardEverUK?

The new upgraded website has a refreshed interface and contemporary look as well as a number of other changes including:

Website content

We have reduced some of the previous content, only retaining that which was most popular with our visitors and which are core to our mission and purpose. In our main menu some previous items were not migrated including ‘Publications’, ‘Film Library’, ‘Appeals & Petitions’, and ‘Around the UK/World.'

The website will however (over due time) include featured or links to third party sources in these discontinued genres.

Navigation menu

The menu structure is now simpler to navigate and lighter in its content, but retains our most popular and mission-driven topics such as 'Case Profiles', Legal Help & Research', 'Galleries' and 'Useful Links' etc.

See more from home!

Our new homepage has more previews and links to core page content visible to visitors. Snippets of recent news items are also displayed in a new panel.

Faster and less clutter

The new website has faster page load times and has been tested on all popular web browsers. We have further reduced clutter in the new design which is much easier on the eye. With larger print throughout the website, our visually impaired users will find the content much easier to read.

Responsive Design

This website is responsive – which means it should adapt to meet the screen-size when viewed on tablets and other mobile devices. ( Read more here )

Integrated e-Newsletter

We post broad areas of news consistent with our purpose in regular bulletin alerts and e-Updates as well as through our social media channels. We will be further developing the system as time goes on, and hope that our subscribers find the content of our newsletter useful and informative.

Accessibility

We have taken all steps within our means to ensure the new website broadly complies with W3C standards and with The Equality Act ensuring that people with disabilities will be able to use the site and have the same access to content and resources as any other visitors. This is an area of ongoing development that 4WardEverUK will be committed to indefinitely.

If you have any queries regarding our content:

Contact 4WardEverUK via enquiries@4wardever.org.uk

For website technical issues or errors:

Contact First Stop Design via enquiries@firststopwebdesign.net

We would like to thank all of our volunteers (past and present) readers, contributors, donors and supporters that have assisted 4WardEverUK over its 17 year history.

NMPMFF's new Holiday Scheme plans are announced for 2023

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 02:22:34 GMT

source: Memorial Family Fund

first published: 28 December 2022

Image Credit: www.pexels.com

With thanks to a previous donation of £10,000 from the United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) and Migrant Media (through the Legacy Fund) , the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) is poised to launch the Holiday Scheme Initiative in the Spring/Summer of 2023 supporting children, young people and families.

Families and campaigns can apply to a designated fund which will:

Award fixed-amount grants for group outings/holidays and short breaks
Consider group applications made up of minimum pre-set number of affected adults, children and young people
Ensure applicant groups are not all from a single family/campaign
Encourage participation jointly with other families/campaigns in their region
Include NMPMFF Assessment Partners as eligible applicants

The NMPMFF is also integrally involved with initiatives such as Red Alert HELP!, The United Families & Friends Campaign, Black Lives Matter UK, The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings, and others, all seeking to challenge injustice and influence structural change reform.

Read the full details and apply here >

Ken Fero of Migrant Media said;

"The public awareness and support after the killing of George Floyd had strengthened this initiative which goes directly to improve the lives of families impacted by state violence in the UK. We support this important grassroots initiative and urge others to join. When the state fails us, the people must act"

Tippa Naphtali, founder of the NMPMFF said;

"The ongoing pain of affected families often gets lost in the equally important work of campaigning and lobbying of the state. We are extremely grateful for the support of the UFFC Legacy Fund which will help us launch one of our key aspirational initiatives"

The Family Fund Holiday Scheme Initiative

From the Spring of 2023 the NMPMFF provided resourcing for respite breaks, group outings and short holidays tailored for children, young people and families affected by custody deaths and killings. These can include river and coach tours, activity and theme parks, and self-catering breaks in some of the UK's areas of outstanding beauty.

Working closely with Family Contact Groups throughout the country, the NMPMFF will consider applications for a range of social activities that are requested, designed and delivered by the applicants in UK-wide localities. Resources will be made available to successful applicants to help cover the costs of their respite breaks, group outings and short holidays.

Some basic criteria and conditions will apply.

About United Families & Friends Campaign:

The United Families & Friends Campaign (aka UFFC) is a coalition of those affected by deaths and killings in police, prison and psychiatric custody, supports others in similar state institutions. Established in 1997, UFFC supports families of people from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds across the United Kingdom.

About Migrant Media:

Migrant Media was established in 1989 and is a collective of radical film makers working in documentary film production. They are media producers and activists embedded within communities of social and political interest and change. Their work has a focus on race and class with a central narrative of defiance and resistance.

Download the Press Release:

Word version | PDF version

Just by shopping you can support the National Memorial Family Fund

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 23:11:59 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

first published: 28 December 2020

Image Credit: rawpixel at www.FreeRangeStock.com

You can now support the National Memorial Family Fund every time you shop online..

It’s really simple, and donors are not out-of-pocket!

Visit our Easyfundraising page for details and registration here: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/nationalmemorialfamily

"United to make a difference"

The National Memorial Family Fund is led by 4WardEverUK, in association with Migrant Media, the United Families & Friends Campaign and others.

How Easyfundraising Works!

When you use easyfundraising.org.uk to shop with any of their 4,000 retailers, the retailer makes a small donation to say thanks, and this gets transferred to your cause.

Just shop online as you would normally! You can also use the website or App to browse retailers. Then just click on the retailer you’d like to shop with. It’s simple, and you’ll help our cause.

They could not breathe: The families of British men who have died in police custody

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 10:46:48 GMT

source: The HuffPost

first published: 29 April 2021

Image Credit: Wasi Daniju www.wasidaniju.com

1,784 people have died in England and Wales after contact with the police since 1990 – yet no officer has been held to account.

The CCTV footage shows a man face down on the floor of a police station, handcuffed and unresponsive, as he gasps for breath.

Officers are heard laughing and joking while making monkey and chimpanzee noises, apparently unmoved by the desperate plight of the man in front of them.

To this day, Christopher Alder’s sister cannot understand how Humberside Police stood by, ignoring her brother’s need for help and mocking him as he died. “They never even gave him a chance,” she says.

“They saw me and my family as just Black people that didn’t deserve any respect whatsoever. Christopher didn’t deserve any respect – he was Black, it didn’t matter. And, you know, the whole system has done it.”

Christopher, a father and former British Army paratrooper who had served in the Falklands, had been assaulted at a nightclub earlier that evening.

Janet has spent decades trying to piece together the events that followed, leaving her brother unconscious on the floor of the custody suite with his trousers around his knees.

Read full article >

4WardEverUK’s Tippa Naphtali, said;

“This is a powerful and comprehensive piece on custody deaths/killings and the National Memorial Family Fund. We are very grateful to Emma Youle (Special correspondent, HuffPost UK) and the families that participated.”

‘That’s What They Do To Us’

Benjamin Zephaniah On His Experiences Of Police Racism

The poet reveals his own long history of being unjustly stopped by police and speaks about his cousin Mikey Powell’s death in custody.

It is striking how many different tales the poet Benjamin Zephaniah can tell about being stopped by police. Recounted in the deft storytelling voice that has won him a remarkable literary career, the famous writer goes over a succession of incidents ranging from the bizarre to the brutally cruel.

New BBC Radio 4 Broadcast: What Happened to Ricky Reel?

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 14:09:01 GMT

source: BBC Radio

published: November 2022

Image Credit: SOMMAI at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Was Ricky Reel killed in a racist attack and can his mother reignite an investigation into her son’s death, 25 years after it happened? Ameet Chana finds out.

A quarter of a century ago, Ricky Reel was on a night out with friends in Southwest London. Seven days later his body was found in the River Thames. His mother, Sukhdev Reel, has always maintained her son was killed in a racist attack.

The family discovered the boys had been racially abused that night, leading to a fight between the friends, and two white youths. Sukhdev is still campaigning for the Metropolitan Police to re-investigate her son’s death.

The actor and presenter Ameet Chana goes back to find out what happened to Ricky Reel and {to} see if Sukhdev can find the answers she desperately wants. Ameet was cast in a reconstruction of Ricky’s last night for a BBC documentary in 1998, and it’s a case that has stayed with him. “I support the call by the family of Ricky Reel and the Justice for Ricky Reel Campaign for the police to review the case of Ricky Reel afresh including a review of forensic evidence in the light of recent technological advances. Please sign the Petition and share.”

Listen to the programme here >

Silence is not an option – book launch in parliament

In this new book Ricky’s mother, Sukhdev Reel, tells the powerful and moving story of Ricky’s life and her family’s struggle for justice.

On 14 October 1997 Ricky Reel went missing following a racist attack in Kingston upon Thames. His three friends, who had also been racially abused, were able to regroup but Ricky never did. Seven days later Ricky’s body was found at the bottom of the River Thames, just metres away from where the boys had been abused. He was only 20 at the time.

Ricky had everything to live for. He was on a work placement in Central London, doing a Computer Science Course at Brunel; he had good friends and a loving family. He loved life and had his future mapped out.

25 years later, no one has been charged with his death.

Review the book and order here >

UN call to end ‘impunity’ for police violence against black people

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 10:06:13 GMT

source: The Guardian

first published: 28 June 2021

Image Credit: Aloïs Moubax at www.pexels.com

A UN report that analysed racial justice in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd has called on member states including the UK to end the “impunity” enjoyed by police officers who violate the human rights of black people.

The UN human rights office analysis of 190 deaths across the world led to the report’s damning conclusion that law enforcement officers are rarely held accountable for killing black people due in part to deficient investigations and an unwillingness to acknowledge the impact of structural racism.

The 23-page global report, and its accompanying 95-page conference room paper, features seven examples of deaths involving police, including the case of Kevin Clarke , who died after being restrained by officers in London in 2018.

A jury at Clarke’s inquest, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2002, found the police’s inappropriate use of restraints contributed to his death.

Other case studies include Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos and João Pedro Matos Pinto in Brazil; George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the US; Janner García Palomino in Colombia; and Adama Traoré in France.

Read full article >

The UK charity INQUEST said;

“The office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) have today published a damning report (attached) calling for immediate, transformative action to uproot systemic racism in the UK and internationally.

“The report examines the deaths of Black people (or in their language, people of African descent) at the hands of police around the world. It was informed by the testimony and experiences of bereaved families internationally, including the family of George Floyd. In the UK, the family of Kevin Clarke took part in the consultation process, along with Marcia Rigg, the sister of Sean Rigg.

“INQUEST gave written evidence to the report and worked closely with the team behind it. We made an effort to reflect the broad concerns of the families we’ve worked with, and try to ensure these concerns were raised at an international level. We think the report is incredibly strong.”

See INQUEST’s evidence and background >

You can see a short summary of the report here >

FREE and subsidised websites developed for affected families

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 01:54:10 GMT

source: 4WardEverUK

published: September 2022

Family Web Pages is a FREE or subsidised service provided by 4WardEverUK in association with First Stop Web Design for affected families and campaign groups.

Family Web Pages (FWP) is a free or subsidised website design & media service for families. It was driven by our own experiences of deaths in custody, and the difficulties of getting engaged with the wider public to tell our own story in place of the distorted information often put out by the Press. FWP has already assisted a number of families both in the UK and abroad.

The background

As part of our ongoing commitment to support families affected by custody deaths and abuses through exposure to the public, In November 2005 we launched the volunteer-led ‘Family Web Pages Collective.’

Family Web Pages was developed as an offshoot of the campaign group, 4WardEverUK which was set up by Tippa Naphtali after the death of his own cousin, Mikey Powell , whilst in police detention in Birmingham.

Our Aim:

Design services provided to affected families are always FREE (or subsidised by the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund ) from the Family Web Pages Collective.

There may be some charges payable to third parties if a site requires a unique web address, email account or other related bespoke services.

We will set up your pages using online resources or blog pages. These third party resources are usually free, Internet-based and can be managed from any PC or hand-held device.

View the service page & portfolio here >

Who gets believed: Abuse in the UK's mental health services

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 01:24:45 GMT

source: NSUN

first published: 31 October 2022

Image Credit: Pixabay at www.Pexels.com

In the past couple of months, we have seen exposures of a culture of abuse in mental health services. First there was BBC Panorama’s undercover investigation at the Edenfield Centre , a secure psychiatric hospital run by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

This was followed by a Channel 4 Dispatches programme which aired footage captured secretly by a healthcare assistant at two mental health hospitals run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. And most recently, an investigation by The Independent and Sky News reported systemic abuse of patients in units run by the Huntercombe Group , a private company which was responsible for at least six children’s mental health hospitals over the last decade.

These investigations have all reported the physical and emotional abuse, bullying, humiliation of patients by staff, and an excessive use of restrictive and coercive practices such as restraint and seclusion. They follow countless similar investigations and news stories of failings in care across other hospitals under other Trusts.

People on the receiving end of this abuse have spoken out about it for decades. Claims that the investigations are “shocking” are insulting. They give the impression that these are isolated or unique incidents, that it is a case of “a few bad apples”; as if we haven’t heard account after account of abuse in mental health services ( and of exclusion from them ), such as those published in Asylum Magazine, as if the friends and families of people who have died in custody , including mental health detention, haven’t been marching for over twenty years.

We need to have a conversation about who gets believed: a conversation about power, the systematic silencing of survivor testimony, the weaponisation of mental ill-health, trauma, and distress to discredit and further coerce people who talk about or raise complaints about their experiences of abuse in mental health services.

Read the full article >

National Family Fund: Get new badges and support the fund

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:19:53 GMT

provided by: Tippa Naphtali

first published: 4 January 2020

Image Credit: www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk

Get your Family Fund badges! When you purchase your badges all the proceeds of sale will go to the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) to support families that have been affected by custody deaths throughout the UK.

The NMPMFF is also closely involved with initiatives such as Red Alert HELP!, The United Families & Friends Campaign, Black Lives Matter UK, The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings and others, all seeking to challenge injustice and influence structural change reform.

Badges Cost £2.50 + UK Postage

Important Note: Please provide a postal address + postcode on the PayPal checkout page. Your badge(s) will then be dispatched by 1st class UK post normally within 7 days of receiving your payment (subject to bank holidays).

The NMPMFF is the only organisation nationally that occupies this space, and are therefore absolutely unique and bespoke!

You can find out more about the history and purpose of the National Family Memorial Fund by watching this short video .

Black deaths in UK prisons are among most violent and neglectful

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:38:08 GMT

source: The Independent

published: 12 October 2022

Image Credit: artur84 at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The deaths of Black and mixed-race people in UK prisons are among the most violent and prevalent, a charity has warned. In a new report, Deaths of racialised people in prison 2015 – 2022 , INQUEST has revealed new Freedom of Information Act data, which shows 2,220 people died in prison between January 2015 and December 2021.

The highest number of prison deaths among racialised groups were among Black and mixed-race people (136) which researchers, say “evidences the role of institutional racism in the prison estate”.

The report further examined the “preventable and premature” deaths of 22 racialised people in prison, some of which were found to include the inappropriate use of segregation, racial stereotyping, the neglect of health and bullying.

Deborah Coles, executive director of Inquest, said: “The failure of post-death investigations to examine the potential role of racism or discrimination in deaths renders racialised issues invisible. As a result, the opportunity to acknowledge and address racial injustices and inequalities is lost.

“The decision to imprison the people featured in this report ended up being a death sentence. Imprisonment is ineffective in reducing crime and instead perpetuates harm and violence, with racialised and marginalised groups worst affected.”

Read full article >

See the INQUEST article here >

NMPMFF presents its inaugural Annual Report for 2021-2022

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 12:20:12 GMT

source: NMPMFF

published: 1 October 2022

Image Credit: Stuart Miles at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The National Memorial Family Fund are proud to present their first full annual report of its activities between 2021 and 2022. The 1 September 2022 marked 7 years since the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) was founded, and just over 2 years since their first ever funding round .

Founder, Tippa Naphtali, said; “We are the only organisation nationally that occupies this space, and are therefore absolutely unique and bespoke”.

The Fund is the first permanent national resource of its kind for those affected by deaths in custody, making small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK to provide practical domestic assistance, to further the work of their own campaigns or to assist them in engaging in other local, regional or national campaigns, events and initiatives.

A key supporter of the NMPMFF, Ken Fero of award winning Migrant Media said;

“The public awareness and support after the killing of George Floyd [in 2020] had strengthened this initiative which improves the lives of families impacted by state violence in the UK. We support this important grassroots initiative and urge others to join. When the state fails us, the people must act in unity”.

In April 2021 the NMPMFF announced ambitious plans for the future . This report provides details of what the Fund was able to achieve with the grant aid, donations and voluntary input they have received, as well as several significant developments over the past year, and their continued work against a 5-year plan and other developments including;

Core and project funding from Black Lives Matter UK and the national charity, INQUEST
Their mix of income generation and appeals for new donors to support their work
Outline of the establishment of the Annual Gala Dinner & Awards initiative as part of a wider set of aspirational projects
New central and project management and coordination salaried and sessional staff members
A feature on their inaugural event, ‘Looking Back Moving Forward’ held in September 2021
Launches of the Crisis Fund, Legacy Fund and Two-Way Give-Back eShop
Updates on grants and gift schemes awarded to affected families

The report also sets out their income & expenditure for 2022-2023, their forward thinking Work Plan and a summary of NMPMFF partners, collaborators and donors.

The Fund is already making a practical difference to families and their campaign groups that need financial and wellbeing support during their long struggles for justice lasting decades in many cases.

It is their absolute and undivided commitment that this work should be continued indefinitely, and will maintain their current momentum in this respect. Download the Annual Report here >

IOPC Publish custody deaths statistics for UK 2021-2022

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:46:04 GMT

all credits: IOPC

published: September 2022

Image Credit: Freerange Stock Archives at www.FreerangeStock.com

In September 2022 the Independent Office for Police Misconduct (IOPC) released details of their custody deaths statistics for England and Wales 2021-2022.

The following content is transcribed from the IOPC website.

Deaths during or following police contact
Police forces have a statutory duty to refer all incidents involving a death or serious injury to us. Each year, we publish data showing how many people have died after contact with the police.

Our report provides a definitive set of figures for England and Wales. It gives an overview of the nature and circumstances in which the deaths have happened. Read the most recent statistics on deaths during or following police contact (PDF format).

See the IOPC Publications library - click here

See IOPC Research and statistics. They produce a range of statistical information and research about the police complaints system and the levels of public confidence in it - click here

The UK Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

You can read our news release on the latest statistics here and our Director General’s comments on the release .

Download the report here >

Event Report : Official unveiling of the Cherry Groce Memorial

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 09:16:47 GMT

source: The Cherry Groce Foundation

first published: 25 April 2021

Image Credit: Cherry Groce Foundation

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Cherry Groce

At long last The Cherry Groce Foundation unveiled the Cherry Groce Memorial on Sunday, 25 April 2021. The structure was designed by world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye OBE .

Cherry Groce was shot in 1985 and two years later there was a trial. The result of that trial was that the police were found not guilty. “There was no responsibility or accountability for what had happened… it was like my mum got shot in the line of duty,” her son Lee explained.

Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions the Foundation had only issued limited personal invites to the official guests, but the unveiling was streamed live so that any members of the public could take part in this historic moment.

4WardEverUK’s Tippa Naphtali, said;

“The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund was very happy to make a recent donation towards the memorial appeal. This will be a fitting tribute to both Cherry Groce and the Foundation that was established in her name”

Big respect to Lee Lawrence his family and supporters for this momentous achievement and lasting legacy… ‘onward ever’.

Speaking to The Voice, Chair of the Cherry Groce Foundation and son of Ms. Groce, Mr. Lee Lawrence said;

“I feel that now she can be rested. We can release her, she can be free because we’ve done everything we can in our power to honour her and allow her legacy to live on.”

Lee Lawrence is the award winning author of ‘ The Louder I Will Sing ’ his biography and Lee has been fighting for justice since the day his mother passed away. Read more here >

Complimentary Event : Together We Rise

There was a complimentary event held called “Together We Rise” in conjunction The Voice Media Group in the afternoon from 4pm to 6pm. See original event flyer here >

A Foundation spokesperson said: “It’s unfortunate that we are not able to have the big community celebration that was planned, however we will be planning something in the near future. In the meanwhile, thank you all for your ongoing support and we will continue to update you on the progress of the Cherry Groce Foundation education programme.”

You can contact the Foundation via info@cherrygroce.org

Gaia’s Guide launched by campaign group: In tribute to Gaia Pope

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 08:31:30 GMT

source: Justice for Gaia

first published: November 2020

Image Credit: Justice for Gaia

Thanks to the community organising efforts led by friends and family, Gaia Pope’s story made the national news headlines, and hundreds of people joined the search, and thousands more took action in an enormous grassroots effort to find her.

The guide is free to download here

Gaia’s twin sister, Maya Pope-Sutherland

“Gaia’s guide is an amazing resource, not only because it’s so informative but because it’s been made with such thoughtful consideration towards the missing person themselves as well as those affected. What a great thing for her family to want to do to help others.”

Jane Hunter, Senior Research & Impact Manager at Missing People

Read full article here >

Other News:

Search officer ‘disciplined’ as we call for wider change and mark 4 years

26 November 2021

Update: Inquest dates & potential new evidence

5 March 2021

Ultraviolence: the shocking, brutal film about deaths in police custody

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 02:12:04 GMT

source: The Guardian

published: 12 October 2020

Image Credit: Simon Howden at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It has taken 19 years for Ken Fero to complete the follow-up to INJUSTICE , his unforgettable film about deaths in police custody. But perhaps the surprising thing is that he finished it at all.

Yet Fero is now back with Ultraviolence, another collaboration with Mehmood and their film-making collective Migrant Media. Like INJUSTICE, it does far more than documenting deaths in police custody.

It follows the families who have lost loved ones on their heroic, if thwarted, fights for justice. We witness the horror of their loss, see them build up hopes of justice, and gradually see that hope pricked. Nearly all the victims are people of colour – a reminder that Britain has been every bit as contaminated by police brutality over the decades as the US.

INJUSTICE started with the death of a Nigerian asylum-seeker, Shiji Lapite , in 1994. Lapite, 34, died in a police van shortly after being detained by two plainclothes Metropolitan police officers who claimed he had been acting suspiciously.

At his inquest, PC Paul Wright described holding him in a headlock while PC Andrew McCallum admitted he had stood up and twice kicked Lapite in the head, “as hard as I could”, claiming he was using reasonable force to subdue a violent prisoner. One of the officers described Lapite as “the biggest, strongest, most violent black man” he had ever seen. Lapite was 5ft 10in.

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Ken Fero : Ultraviolence

“The silence over the police killings of Black people is now broken. Since 1969, over two thousand people have died at the hands of the police in the UK. Shootings, chokeholds, batons, gassing, suffocation, restraint and brutal beatings are some of the methods used.

The numbers of deaths is escalating. Inevitably police officers involved are not convicted for these killings.”

Biden signs reform executive order on George Floyd’s anniversary

Wed, 25 May 2022 19:14:02 GMT

source: The Express & Star

first published: 25 May 2022

Image Credit: Dwight Tracy at www.FreerangeStock.com

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at reforming policing practices on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd .

The order creates a national registry of officers fired for misconduct and encourages state and local police to tighten restrictions on chokeholds and so-called no-knock warrants. It also restricts the transfer of military equipment to law enforcement agencies and mandates all federal agents wear activated body cameras.

Biden had been pushing Congress to pass more comprehensive police reform legislation, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. But after the legislation failed to garner bipartisan support, the White House began crafting its own action last year. Biden called again on Congress again to take action before signing the order.

“I know progress can be slow and frustrating, and there’s a concern that the reckoning on race inspired two years ago is beginning to fade,” Biden said.

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26 May 2022

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25 May 2022

Mourn Justice on the Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death, too

25 May 20228

David Oluwale : The first recorded victim of racist policing

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 01:49:37 GMT

source: ITV News

first published: 17 April 2019

Image Credit: SOMMAI at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

David Oluwale

Today [17 April 2019] marks the 50th anniversary of what racial justice campaigners have described as one of Yorkshire’s most shameful episodes.

Nigerian immigrant David Oluwale had come to Britain to work, at 19 years old sailing into Hull on a cargo ship. But mentally ill and vulnerable he ended up homeless in Leeds.

Mr Oluwale never settled, and spent his time in and out of prison, on the streets in Leeds City Centre, and at the infamous High Royds psychiatric hospital in Menston.

After his release he was targeted by two Leeds Police officers and was systematically beaten right up until his death in 1969. Since his death he’s been held up as the first victim of racist policing, an immigrant from Nigeria who was easy prey.

The 38-year-old Nigerian immigrant has become a part of Leeds. When he was buried – the only people there to mourn were the undertakers. His death burns deep into the conscience of this city.

In April 1969, Oluwale was seen running towards the River Aire. He was holding the back of his head with his hands. On 4th May his badly beaten body was pulled from the water.

His death brought an end to his torment but it marked the beginning of one of the most shameful periods in the history of the police in Leeds.

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Visit the 'Remember Oluwale' website here >

The key events surrounding the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 03:29:29 GMT

source: The Express & Star

first published: 18 November 2020

Image Credit: 9comeback at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Birmingham Pub Bombings

21 people were killed in the bombings in 1974.

Here is a timeline of events related to the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974:

– November 14 1974: Bomber James McDade, 28, a lieutenant in the Birmingham IRA, is blown up planting explosives at the Coventry telephone exchange.

– November 21 1974: Fearing violent disorder between pro and anti-IRA factions, 1,600 West Midlands Police officers are deployed to Coventry and Birmingham airport for McDade’s funeral transportation to Belfast. It leaves just 15 officers on duty at Birmingham’s two city centre stations that night – among them just six uniformed constables.

– 8.11pm: Ian Cropper, a telephonist at the Birmingham Post and Mail, receives a call. A male Irish voice tells him: “There is a bomb planted in the Rotunda and there is a bomb in New Street… in the tax office. The code word is Double X”. The line goes dead and Mr Cropper calls the warning in to police.

– 8.14pm: The central police control room notifies officers on the ground in Birmingham city centre to head to the Rotunda and New Street.

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Families of the victims of the bombings are calling on the government to launch a public inquiry into the atrocity, on the 50th anniversary of the attacks, as ITV News' Ben Chapman reports.

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30 October 2025

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15 November 2024

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24 October 2020

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21 November 2018

Mumia Abu-Jamal remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s visit

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 20:35:34 GMT

source: DemocracyNOW!

first published: 28 December 2021

Image Credit: Al Jazeera

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Bishop Desmond Tutu

Mumia Abu-Jamal remembers South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday at the age of 90. Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting to end apartheid in South Africa.

In 2007, Tutu visited Mumia when he was still on death row. “His spirit reflected a giant,” says Abu-Jamal. “He struggled for change with his prophetic voice, his sweet humor, his deep love and his boundless sense of compassion”

Mumia said: “Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1931-2021. Almost a century ago, a little African boy was born to a small family in a small town where gold mining was the chief industry. The town was Klerksdorp, in what was then called the Transvaal.

“Father was a teacher, and a young boy wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. But the politics of white supremacy, known by the term “apartheid,” prevented him from making that choice. That policy, developed by the National Party after it won election in 1948, passed a law called the Bantu Education Act of 1953, legalizing racial segregation in schools.

“That state decision forced Desmond Mpilo Tutu to change from teacher to preacher. A new history was written. Desmond Tutu studied, graduated and was ordained an Anglican priest, and again, a steady climb in the church hierarchy, being named its archbishop in 1986, the archbishop of Cape Town.”

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Other News:

Remembering Desmond Tutu

28 December 2021

Desmond Tutu’s daughter recalls ‘proudest’ day he saved man from being burned alive

28 December 2021

Video: Mumia Abu-Jamal remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s visit on death row

28 December 2021

Search more here >

The forgotten history of the slave who fought for women’s rights

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 19:20:17 GMT

source: Ammo.com

first published: 31 October 2022

Image credit: www.youtube

From all of our hundreds of Remembrance Calendar entries, we particularly feature certain cases that were of notable historical significance.

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth was a lot of things. She was a slave. A mother. A wife. An activist. A preacher. A woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in, regardless of the consequence. A woman who spoke her mind, even when everyone around her disagreed.

Filled with such courage and bravery, she could see the potential of liberty for all, even when faced with adversities far worse than people see today. Sojourner Truth was never a victim of circumstances, even though they were bleak for much of her life. When life knocked her down, she’d get back up, ready to fight again.

She lived by her own standard, even though it was considered radical. She didn’t care. She was here to speak her truth, which she never failed to do. Even her self-given name says as much. Her name, “ Sojourner ” means to “to stay awhile,” combined with Truth.

To stay awhile in truth. To stand in truth.

Many would say that’s exactly how she spent her life.

Sojourner Truth: From Slavery to Freedom

Sojourner Truth was brought into this world a slave named Isabella Baumfree around 1797. Born on a plantation about 95 miles north of New York City, Belle only spoke Dutch until she was nine years old when she was sold, along with a herd of sheep, for $100. She would be sold two more times by the age of 13, when she found herself owned by John Dumont and his second wife, Elizabeth.

Truth was not treated well as a slave and would recall her owners as cruel and punitive. At 18, she fell in love with a slave boy named Robert, who was owned by a neighbor. When his owner found out the boy was in a relationship with a slave from a different master, he was severely beaten, and Truth never saw him again. It’s believed that her first child, James, may have been Robert’s.

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INJUSTICE screening: National Family Fund fundraiser

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 22:53:59 GMT

provided by: IWOC

published: November 2018

Image Credit: UFFC www.uffcampaign.org

On Monday 17 December 2018 IWOC London and friends hosted a screening of INJUSTICE – Ken Fero’s award winning documentary about the struggles for justice by the families of people that have died in police custody.

Visit INJUSTICE Film Here >

“The event was free with donations collected for the National Family Memorial Fund , coordinated by 4WardEverUK.”

The event raised over £300 towards the National Family Fund.

The fund will make small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK to provide practical domestic assistance, to further the work of their own campaigns or to assist them in engaging in other local, regional or national campaigns, events and initiatives.

You can find out more about the history and purpose of the National Mikey Powell Family Memorial Fund by watching this video .

About The IWW/IWOC:

" The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is a revolutionary union founded in 1905 that has a rich and proud history, organising workers into revolutionary ‘industrial unions’ along the supply chain of their industry.

"Our union organises all workers and unemployed workers of all wages, jobs, colours, religions, genders, ages, cultures, politics and other differences. Everybody is welcome and involved."