28 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

NAACP invokes Troy Davis legacy in anti-death penalty drive

originally by: Blackstarnews.com
published: 23rd Jamuary 2012

Motivated by the tragic execution of Troy Davis in Georgia last September, the NAACP has renewed its fight to make the death penalty a part of America’s past. Over the next year, NAACP state representatives in several key states will urge their legislators to take the necessary steps to repeal the ultimate punishment.

“People in this country care about justice and fairness,” says Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the National NAACP. “Unfortunately, Troy Davis’s case and too many other cases in our country demonstrate that these elements are sorely lacking in the application of capital punishment in this nation. African Americans and the poor are disproportionately handed this extreme punishment for the same offenses as their wealthier or White counterparts.”

28 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Boy found unconscious at HM Prison Cookham Wood dies

originally by: BBC News
published: 26th January 2012

A 15-year-old boy has died after being found unconscious in his cell at a young offenders institution in Kent. The Prison Service said Alex Kelly had been identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm, but did not give details of the boy’s condition when he was found. Kelly was taken to hospital from HMP Cookham Wood, near Rochester, but he later died, a spokeswoman said.

He had been serving a 10-month sentence for burglary and theft from a vehicle. The teenager was found in his cell at about 20:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Staff tried to resuscitate him and paramedics attended before he was taken to hospital, but he was pronounced dead at 19:30 GMT on Wednesday.

20 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

18 years on: reflections on the Stephen Lawrence verdict

originally by: brap
published: January 2012

History will recognise that the indefatigable campaigning of Stephen Lawrence’s parents has done more to change this country than a mountain of race relations legislation. brap CEO Joy Warmington reflects on the lessons of the Stephen Lawrence murder.

I, like many others, waited with bated breath for the outcome of the Stephen Lawrence retrial – and felt a sense of immediate relief at the conviction of his killers. But now some of these immediate emotions have dissipated, I wanted to reflect on what this case has meant for the race equality movement and for wider issues of justice within our society.

Firstly, of course, we must be thankful that after longer than Stephen Lawrence himself lived, two of the teenager’s killers are now behind bars.