A mutual support group for relatives and supporters of people convicted for a crime of which they are innocent, and whose case happened in the West Midlands area. It is open to all relatives, friends and supporters of those who have been wrongly convicted |
Wrongfully Imprisoned - Campaigns Currently Supported by WMAI | |||||
Victor Nealon | Norman Grant | Hyrone Hart | Warren Slaney | Mohammed Arif | Justice 4 Jass |
Garry Crtichly | Jaslyn Smith | Lee Mockble | Ricardo Morrison | Emma Bates | Martin Foran |
63 Victims of West Midlands Serious Crime Squad | |||||
Falsely Accused | About WMAI | Campaign Guide | Sentences/tariffs | Resources | Joint Enterprise |
CCRC Refers the Sentence of David Pleasants to the Court of Appeal The Commission decided to refer Mr Pleasant's sentence to the Court of Appeal because it believes that there is a real possibility that the court will amend the sentence. ECtHR Adjourns 2,354 Prisoners' Voting Rights Cases The European Court of Human Rights has decided to adjourn its consideration of 2,354 applications against the United Kingdom concerning prisoners' right to vote pending before it. In its first judgment against the United Kingdom regarding prisoners' right to vote, Hirst v. the United Kingdom (no. 2) (74025/01) of 6 October 2005, the Grand Chamber of the Court found that a blanket ban preventing all convicted prisoners from voting, irrespective of the nature or gravity of their offences, constituted a violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to free elections) to the European Convention on Human Rights. It did not give any detailed guidance as to the steps which the United Kingdom should take to make its law compatible with Article 3 of Protocol No.1, emphasising that there were numerous ways of organising and running electoral systems and that it was for each Member State of the Council of Europe to decide on its own rules. In its Chamber judgment in Greens and M. T. v. the United Kingdom (60041/08 and 60054/08) of 23 November 2005, the Court again found a violation of the right to free elections, as the Government of the United Kingdom had failed to amend the blanket ban legislation. The Court held that the Government should bring forward legislative proposals to amend the law and to enact the legislation within a time-frame decided by the Committee of Ministers, the executive arm of the Council of Europe, which supervises the implementation of the Court's judgments. The Government were granted an extension of time pending proceedings before the Court's Grand Chamber in an Italian case concerning prisoners' right to vote (Scoppola v. Italy (No.3) (126/05), Grand Chamber judgment of 22 May 2005). The Committee of Ministers has been following the UK Government's progress in complying with the Court's rulings. On 22 November 2012, the Government published a draft bill on prisoners' voting eligibility. The draft bill includes three proposals: (1) ban from voting those sentenced to four years' imprisonment or more; (2) ban from voting those sentenced to more than six months; or (3) ban from voting all prisoners (i.e. maintain the status quo). The Committee of Ministers is overseeing the progress of this draft bill. It has decided to resume consideration of the case at the latest at its September 2013 meeting. In view of the Committee of Ministers' decision, the Court decided to adjourn its consideration of the pending applications against the United Kingdom concerning prisoners' right to vote until, at the latest, 30 September 2013. In the meantime, it has invited the Committee of Ministers to keep it regularly informed of progress. 4 West Midlands Police officers arrested in Kingsley Burrell investigation MOJUK welcomes the arrest of the four West Midlands police officers involved in the death of Kingsley Burrell by the IPCC, the four officers refused to be interviewed by the IPCC. Will the IPCC now arrest the 31 members of the Metropolitan police force who had some connection with the Mark Dugan murder who also refused to be interviewed by the IPCC. Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), 22 March 2013 Four West Midlands Police officers have been arrested today by investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as part of its investigation into the death of Kingsley Burrell. The four police constables were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and misconduct in a public office after refusing to be interviewed by the IPCC last month. They were arrested on arrival by arrangement at a police station in the West Mercia area today (Friday 22 March). They are being interviewed under criminal caution by IPCC investigators. The officers were due to be interviewed by the IPCC on 20 February but, after initially attending the agreed location, left the premises before interviews could take place. Mr Burrell's family have been told of today's developments. The IPCC's independent investigation into the death of Kingsley Burrell is well-advanced and is expected to conclude shortly. A final investigation report will be compiled and a decision taken as to whether to refer a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. The four officers, who placed Mr Burrell while under restraint into a seclusion room at a mental health unit in Birmingham, have previously been interviewed by the IPCC under criminal caution. A further ten police officers have been interviewed as witnesses during the course of the investigation. At the request of the IPCC, an investigation into the involvement of non-police personnel is being carried out by Dorset Police. Mr Burrell died in hospital on 31 March 2011. In all over 100 witness statements have been obtained from police officers, medical professionals, ambulance staff and members of the public as part of the IPCC investigation. A number of reports from medical experts have also been gathered. The IPCC also established a community reference group to assist its investigation, made up of community representatives to whom updates have been provided. Campaign for Justice for the 21 victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings A mother of one of the victims was taken to the morgue and asked if she could identify her daughter Maxine : She was shown two bodies at the morgue. Their injuries were such that it was almost impossible to know what gender they had been some hours earlier. Neither of these were her daughter. There was one more body to be identified, this unfortunately was Maxine. Due to the severity of her injuries the mother was only able to identify Maxine by her finger nails (she used to bite them) and a little ring she always wore. Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, Johnny Walker, Hugh Callaghan, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power, who came to be known as the Birmingham Six, they were jailed for life in August 1975 for the bombings. All six had their convictions overturned in 1991. 22 years after their release and 38 years since the bombing still no answers or anyone brought to justice for the bombings Aims & objectives of the Justice for the 21 campaign: To get the authorities to do the job they should have done nearly four decades ago. That is, to find and bring to justice the mass murderers of those killed in the Birmingham Pub Bombings. Please if you are so minded sign our petition: We the petitioners, call upon the UK Government to: 'Implement a fresh inquiry to establish the truth in order to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for the worst outrage on British Mainland in the 20th century in respect of the memory of the 21 innocents who were slain in the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings' You can add your name the petition <http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/42684>here . . . . Lots more information on our blog Email: justice4the21@hotmail.co.uk |