3 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty

originally by: BBC News
published: 3rd January 2012

Two men have been convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 18 years after he was stabbed to death near a south London bus stop. Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence. Scientists found a tiny blood stain on Dobson’s jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence. As he was led away, Dobson told the jury they had condemned an “innocent man”. Sentencing will be on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Panorama, Stephen’s mother Doreen said: “I don’t forgive the boys who killed Stephen. They don’t think they have done anything wrong.

1 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Capital punishment on the decline in Texas

originally by: Star-Telegram
published: 26th December 2011

The American public’s opinion on the death penalty has been changing steadily in the past 17 years. A 2011 Gallup Poll showed that 61 percent of people in the country favor capital punishment, down from 80 percent in 1994. A majority of Americans still believe that capital punishment is a justified and proportionate option for those who commit the most heinous premeditated crimes.

But they also believe that if the state is going to exact a punishment from which there is no turning back, the criminal justice system must be as fair as humanly possible.

And when jurors are given an effective alternative to a sentence of death — life without the possibility of parole — they use it.

16 December 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Government responds to UFFC custody death reform demands

The following are excerpts from the full letter from Nick Herbert
(Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice):
7th December 2011

Thank you for your letter of 28 October to the Prime Minister about the United Family and Friends campaign: Deaths in state custody. I am replying as the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice. I am sorry for the delay.

I can assure you that the Government regrets every death in state custody. The lndependent Police Complaints commission (IPCC) is a Non-Departmental Public Body, established in 2004 under the Police Reform Act 2002 to provide a specific service to the public on behalf of the Home office.

The lPCC is independent – by law – and they make their decisions independently of the police, Government, complainants and interest groups.