Tag: “Amnesty International”

Texas man released from death row


#deathpenalty

On Wednesday, Manuel Velez was released from prison having served 9 years in prison, 5 of them on death row.  The case reveals yet again the biased and unsatisfactory nature of the justice system in the #USA, and in particular the southern states such as #Texas.  He was sentenced to death for allegedly killing a 1 year old who was partially in his care.

No to the death penaltyThe case against him collapsed when the blood clot was found to have been established around 2 weeks before the child’s death but the jury was told that it occurred hours before thus putting Velez at the scene.  The case has all the familiar signs of previous miscarriages in the USA namely: partial evidence put to the court; evidence demonstrating innocence withheld by the police, and a plea bargain by the person likely to have committed the crime which incriminates the wrong person.  Also Velez is Hispanic and is described as ‘intellectually disabled’.  Finally, he was poorly served by his defence team who the court said ‘provided inadequate assistance to Velez’.

Governor Rick Perry is a strong believer in the death penalty and the following extract from an interview in Texas gives a flavour of that belief;

Like the vast majority of Texans, I believe the death penalty is an appropriate response for the most violent of crimes against our fellow human beings.  In fact, I believe capital punishment affirms the high value we place on innocent life because it tells those who would prey on our citizens that you will pay the ultimate price for their unthinkable acts of violence.

For those who head our criminal courts, serve on appellate bodies and the board of pardons and parole, and for the individual who occupies the office of governor, the power to make life and death decisions is the most sobering responsibility imaginable.

Both as acting governor and in my current capacity, I have always exercised this power with the gravity due such a life and death decision.    And I will continue to review each capital punishment case brought before me to ensure that due process has been served.

This presents a comforting picture not supported by the facts of this and other cases.  Once the deed is done of course, it cannot be undone.  If you are poor and black in states like Texas you will not be able to hire a top team of lawyers or any lawyer with trial skills.  Juries may be stacked.

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#stoptorture


At a conference held by Amnesty in London, one of the speakers was Prof. Malcolm Evans of Bristol University.  He spoke on the subject of #torture and its use around the world with the particular perspective of the UN Convention Against Torture [full title: Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatments or Punishment, SPT].

One of the problems with the issue of torture and its use is that many countries have signed up to abolish its use but nevertheless continue to practise it.  Another speaker pointed out that 155 countries have signed the protocol but as far as is known there are credible reports of its use in 141 countries around the world.  It’s easy when reading statistics sometimes for one’s eyes to glide over such figures.  But just ponder that figure -141 countries.

SPT gives the right of the UN to go to any country, which has signed the optional protocol, without prior warning.  It is the only UN body able to do this.  They are not there to investigate individual instances but to ‘get ahead’ of violations and to stop something from happening rather than holding individuals to account.

Their purpose is to get preventative safeguards established which include issues of legality, and knowing who is in detention.  They work alongside authorities and discussions are held, sometimes with people one would rather not have discussions with.

He made the point that it wasn’t just dictatorial regimes who engaged in this activity but that it was more a matter of how it has always been done.  There was a kind of routineness to it.  It was as much to do with corruption as anything else.  In trying to advance change, you have to work with what is practical to achieve and to establish relationships to achieve momentum.

He also raised the intriguing point that it was all very well writing to presidents and the like asking them to stop this practice, but since most of them had signed up not to do it anyway, how effective is that as a campaign method?

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David Cameron’s speech


October 2014

In his speech to the Tory party conference today, the prime minister David Cameron pledged to get rid of the Human Rights Act #HRA and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.  Problem?  Where is it?  A bit like Lewis Carroll’s snark, it is often spoken of but never actually seen.  It has been talked about off and on for around 7 years now but it still hasn’t seen the light of day.

David Cameron Photo, BBC
David Cameron
Photo, BBC

Second problem: how will it be any different to the HRA it will replace?  It will presumably contain many of the clauses about fair trials, no torture, knowing what one is accused of, no slavery, arbitrary arrest etc. etc. that are contained in the HRA.

It is likely that the ire is directed at some individual cases which get the tabloid press in a stew such as Abu Qatada.  The issue here of course was that he could not be deported because it was likely that either, he would be tortured or, evidence gained by torture would be used against him.

The problem is the same as it always has been with the act.  It is European and in the fevered atmosphere of anti-Europeanism stoked up by Ukip, anything from Europe is a bad thing.  The second problem is the media – or sections of it – who dislike the act and print all manner of misinformation and disinformation about its rulings.  They don’t like it because the question of privacy has a higher standing under the act than they would like.  As we have seen with News International – and are beginning to see with the Mirror Group newspapers – newspapers are sold by penetrating the private lives of the famous by a variety of dubious and illegal means.

The benefits of the act, such as that reported today of people in Essex who were able to use it to take action against the police, are seldom reported.

Unless we pull out of the Council of Europe, we will still be subject to the rulings of the European Court.  It is strange to report that with all the venom and anger directed against Strasbourg nearly 99% of cases applications against the UK are struck out.  That is because we have good legal systems here.  The HRA was brought in to stop the trail of people having to go to Europe to get justice.

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Stop Torture campaign


The local group will be manning a stand on 15 November to highlight the #stoptorture campaign which was launched by Amnesty in May this year.  The practice is alive and well throughout the world and Amnesty has recently ramped up its campaigning to stamp out the practice with the Stop Torture campaign.

'Waiting for the guards'
‘Waiting for the guards’

Ahead of its launch, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said governments around the world are “two-faced on torture” – prohibiting it in law, but facilitating it in practice”.

He added: “Torture is not just alive and well – it is flourishing in many parts of the world.  As more governments seek to justify torture in the name of national security, the steady progress made in this field over the last thirty years is being eroded.”

Stop torture will be a key part of the Amnesty display as part of the Magna Carta events at the Cathedral next year.

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Opening post


This is the first post to the Amnesty International Salisbury (United Kingdom) Group’s own web site. We will no longer be using the AIUK site – accessed at amnesty.org.uk/Salisbury – and you will in future be posted here.

Stonehenge

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