20 October 201317 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Church caretaker, 32, died in police custody when officers tied restraining belt around his face

originally by: Mail Online
published: 7 October 2013

Four police officers are facing prosecution after a prisoner died in custody when a restraining belt was fixed across his face. Church caretaker Thomas Orchard, 32, collapsed in a police cell after the belt was fastened across his mouth to stop him from ‘spitting or biting’ following his arrest in October last year, it has been reported.

Mr Orchard, who suffered from schizophrenia, was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead on [10 October 2013] after a week in a coma.

15 October 201317 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Troy Davis and family live on in new book

by: The Peoples Voice
published: 5th October 2013

Jen Marlowe’s newest book, I Am Troy Davis, was published right around the second anniversary of Davis’s September 2011 execution by the state of Georgia. Davis was killed by lethal injection despite considerable evidence suggesting that he was innocent.

Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia. Years of appeals were unsuccessful despite significant doubts about his guilt.

Davis’s original trial was flawed, and most of the witnesses later recanted or contradicted their stories.

29 September 201317 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Two years after Troy Davis’ execution, our fight to end the death penalty lives

originally by: The Guardian
published: 21 September 2013

On 21 September 2011, the state of Georgia killed Troy Anthony Davis as the world looked on, aghast that Georgia was proceeding with the execution, overlooking a mountain of evidence that pointed towards Troy’s innocence.

While much of the world has moved on, we are still in the fight to end capital punishment. Those of us who loved Troy see this two-year anniversary as more than an opportunity to mourn the death of a good man. We see this day as a chance to reflect on what Troy posthumously achieved and the charge we must all take up in his name to end the immoral practice of the death penalty.

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