Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
The #minutes of the #July meeting are now available thanks to Andrew for preparing them. The item on the death penalty can be found elsewhere on this blog. The next meeting is in September. The picture shows Amnesty’s director Kate Allen speaking at the Cathedral sixth form conference as part of Magna Carta.
Willie Manning who has been on death row awaiting execution, has been exonerated. He was convicted of a murder in 1992 in #Mississippi but has protested his innocence ever since. There is a familiar story here in states such as Mississippi where to be poor and black is likely to lead to a conviction. It starts with jury rigging and a series of peremptory challenges to exclude black people from the jury. The jailhouse (prison) informant who alleged that Manning confessed to the murders has since recanted saying he was offered favourable treatment in return for the evidence. This is also an example of unreliable hair evidence being used to secure a conviction.
Officials refused to retest DNA and fingerprint evidence using modern techniques. Evidence favourable to his defence was withheld from the jury.
The Death Penalty Information Center in Washington DC is listing Manning as the 153rd death row inmate to be exonerated since 1973. They also note that the average time on death row to exoneration s 11.3 years.
One has to ask when it will be that it is realised the scale of mistakes will cause authorities and states to question the use of this penalty which cannot of course be undone. Amnesty is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all cases.
The monthly meeting took place tonight, Thursday 19 March at 7.30 as usual. It was held over from last week as we had the Cathedral lecture and service. A fuller report will appear soon.
It was announced in the Salisbury Journal this week that a group of students at Burgate School in Fordingbridge, Hampshire has won the Amnesty International Youth award for the ‘most committed’ category. Every congratulations from the Salisbury Group.
New link added to the list: Globalconsilium
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 23 trips to carry that many people.
We are sad to record the death of Helen Bamber #helenbamber who set up Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture following many years as a member of Amnesty International and later the Helen Bamber Foundation. The foundation helped many people who had suffered torture in various countries from which they had managed to flee.
The local group was privileged to hear Helen speak at one of its meetings some years ago. She will be sadly missed.
There was rejoicing when Aung San Suu Kyi was released from detention at her house in November 2010. It seemed at last that the political situation in Burma would improve and human rights and political normality would be established. The IDC report Development and Democracy in Burma’ showed that improvements have indeed taken place. Around 1000 political prisoners have been released; censorship has been reduced and trades unions have been formed.
This has led to a removal of controls put in place during the time of the general’s junta and trade links are being 
established. There has been a visit by Hilary Clinton and other politicians to the country. There is a sense that things have improved and we can now relax as far as human rights are concerned.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a little way from the truth and that there are still serious things going on in the country. Every quarter, the Foreign and Colonial Office publishes reports on ‘countries of concern’ and one such was for Burma in December last year. According to the Burma Campaign UK, the FCO is seriously underplaying the human rights in Burma in its effort to promote the country for trade and investment. One can see the attraction: Burma has the potential to be one of the richest countries in SE Asia with huge natural resources including the world’s largest source of teak and substantial oil resources. The Chinese are of course interested and will have no interest in the human rights issues, hence a desire to see UK businesses getting their foot in the door.
Specifically, Burma Campaign say that the FCO report;
Médecins san Frontières were forced to stop work in another troubled state Rahhine because of threats and violence.
A picture is created of the EU and the FCO keen to promote trade in preference to human rights and even decline to mention ‘Rohingya’ for fear of upsetting the government there.
This seems to follow the pattern of several countries in recent times. First there is concern expressed, sanctions are talked about and even imposed. Then something happens in the country and normality of a kind is established. There is a desire to establish contact and get things back to normal. Then the country is forgotten and disappears off the news pages and political agendas.
There is nothing wrong in establishing trade with countries like Burma and there is an argument that trade can do a lot to promote better understanding between nations. But Burma had to change its ways because it became more and more concerned that almost the only country willing to trade with them with no questions asked was China. It needed to get the support of the West for its technology and to reduce its dependence on one country. So the West still has leverage.
Campaigns against minorities are still being carried on and as far as the ethnic communities are concerned, it’s still business as usual. Let us not forget Burma.
For further information go to www.burmacampaign.org.uk
The group met yesterday for its regular monthly meeting and the following items were discussed:
Minutes will be posted here once they are received.
When we run campaigns to end the use of the death penalty, we get a variety of responses. Many people walk by not wanting to be involved. Some will come and readily sign the petition. A few will shout at us or say that they agree with the death penalty and want to see it reintroduced into the UK.
Glenn Ford at his release. Picture: AP
Quite apart from the moral case against the practice, the major problem is that mistakes cannot be undone. Once someone is executed, discovering that they were innocent is not a lot of use. Evidence of this is the recent release of Glenn Ford in Louisiana, USA, after having served 30 years in the notorious Angola Prison.
The case has all the familiar hallmarks of other people released in these circumstances. Firstly he was black and that is still a problem in the southern states. Secondly, the prosecution ensures that there is an all-white jury. Thirdly, the defence council is inexperienced and in this case, he was a corporate lawyer and it was his first time in front of a jury. Add in dodgy expert testimony and a man now known to be innocent spends 30 years of his life in gaol waiting to be executed. It now appears the key witness lied and she has admitted that and the Shreveport Times – Shreveport is where the murder was committed – reports that key evidence that would have exonerated him was withheld. This or other evidence, was discovered by a Sherriff’s investigator and led to his release.
Glenn goes adds to the list of 144 other people released from death row since 1973. Of course we cannot read across to this country the circumstances of the south in the USA. Even so, this should give pause for thought to those keen on a reintroduction of the penalty to this country. Recent revelations about the activities of the Metropolitan Police show that ensuring a scrupulously fair trial cannot be relied upon.
Amnesty is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all cases.
The current newsletter is available either in hard copy form at St Thomas’ church in Salisbury or alternatively, you can send a blog to this site with your address and one will be posted to you. You can open a pdf version below.
The newsletter is published quarterly and contributions, comments or letters are always welcome. If you make a comment here please say if you are happy for it to be used in the next newsletter. The next issue is in May.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 