7 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

The Stephen Lawrence case and another Injustice

originally by: Film Blog – guardian.co.uk
published: 5th January 2012

The news about the Lawrence verdict and sentencing took me back to the mid-1990s – the case has been hanging for such a shameful length of time – when we journalists stood around gaping at Paul Dacre’s sensational “Murderers” headline in the Daily Mail, and discussing what it all meant. (The paper challenged the five suspects to sue: did that mean sue for criminal libel? For which legal aid was available? Well, they didn’t sue.)

My next thought was to pick up the phone and call the film-maker Ken Fero, who, with Tariq Mehmood, directed one of the most sensational documentaries I think I’ve ever reviewed: the 2001 film Injustice: The Movie. This was about the extraordinary, continuing phenomenon of black and Asian people dying mysteriously in police custody without any prosecution being brought.

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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.

30 November 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Smiley Culture’s death in police raid does not justify charges, IPCC rules

originally by: The Guardian
published: 29th Nov 2011

Police have been criticised by an independent watchdog for a botched raid that led to the death of reggae star Smiley Culture, it was revealed on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) claim that Smiley Culture, otherwise known as David Emmanuel, died after stabbing himself through the heart during a drugs raid at his Surrey home on 15 March 2011.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) conducted an investigation into Emmanuel’s death. The summary of their final report – the coroner has asked that the full report is not made public or shared with Emmanuel’s family – condemns the raid as significantly flawed and compels the MPS to overhaul the way they plan and execute future drug seizures.