Australia: No compensation for wrongfully convicted woman

Rather extraordinary. Is it because she is black?

A Pilbara Aboriginal woman who spent more than two years in prison for murder before being acquitted of the crime will not receive any compensation for her wrongful conviction and incarceration. West Australian Attorney-General Jim McGinty told The Australian yesterday that he agreed with advice given to him by Solicitor-General Robert Meadows QC not to make any ex gratia payment to Jeanie Angel, now 47.

This follows a decision by West Australian police in January not to launch a cold-case review of the investigation into the killing of another itinerant Aboriginal woman, Jean Richards.

Ms Angel, who was found guilty by an all-white jury in Port Hedland in 1989 of murdering Richards, was subsequently acquitted of the crime in 1991. Ms Angel never received a formal apology nor compensation, and her four-year-old son, Wayne, died of a brain infection at Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital while she was in prison.

Through her Geraldton lawyer, George Giudice, Ms Angel has sought compensation from a succession of attorneys-general for a murder conviction that the Court of Criminal Appeal found was unsafe. When the Crown did not challenge Ms Angel's appeal, it conceded it "would be in a genuine quandary as to being able to prove beyond reasonable doubt who it was who caused the death of the deceased".

Ms Angel, while admitting she slapped Richards during an altercation, has repeatedly claimed she was bullied by detectives and hit over the head with an empty plastic cordial bottle during questioning, a claim vigorously denied by police. Police have acknowledged that it was not until after Ms Angel's acquittal that several other Pilbara Aboriginal women were identified as suspects in the case. Ms Angel was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Original report here






Mormon kids reunited with their parents

Now for the damages claims!



More than 400 children taken from a Texas polygamous sect will be returned to their families immediately, a court official said overnight, two months after they were seized over abuse allegations. A Texas judge ordered that the state's Child Protective Services (CPS) begin surrendering custody of the children to their legal guardians starting at 3pm GMT. The order requires that the children remain in the state of Texas, that the parents take parenting classes and cooperate with the ongoing investigation into charges of systemic sexual abuse among members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The judge also said CPS workers may remove the children for interviews if needed from the 1700-acre (690-hectare) ranch near El Dorado, in central Texas, and put no time limit on the ongoing investigation. "We wished it was a better order but, hey, get the mothers and children back - so we'll take it,'' sect spokesman Willie Jessop said about the court order, issued after three days of negotiations between the judge and hundreds of lawyers from both sides.

The order followed a Texas Supreme Court ruling last week that said the children must be returned to their parents, and that state child welfare officials had overstepped their authority when they took the 468 children. The ruling upheld a lower court's finding that Texas child welfare officials failed to prove the children were in immediate danger when they were taken from the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch.

CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam said the state was pleased by the judge's order because it allowed "a prompt and orderly'' return of the children. "The court's order ensures that the state's investigation of abuse and neglect continues with strong provisions in place to prevent interference and ensure compliance by the parents,'' she added.

Sect lawyer Mr Jessop urged the media pack covering the children's return to "be super-sensitive'' as they reunite with their mothers, adding that after two months of separation, "the toll on the children is showing.''

Texas police and welfare officials raided the reclusive sect's sprawling compound near the small town on April 3 and took the girls and boys into state custody amid allegations of systemic sexual and physical abuse. Officials said girls were being "groomed'' to accept sex with their middle-aged "spiritual husbands'' as soon as they hit puberty and boys were being indoctrinated to perpetuate the cycle of abuse.

Sect members believe that polygamy is a way to get to heaven. Despite the shocking allegations there have yet to be charges or arrests in the case. Police say the investigation is still underway.

Original report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)