Gina-Marie CheesemanPolice Officer to be charge with Manslaughter in Palm Island Death in Custody Case
January 26th 2007 13:34
Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley will face charges of manslaughter over the death in custody on Palm Island of aboriginal man Mulrunji Doomadge.
This follows a review of the Director of Public Prosecutions Leanne Clare’s decision to not taken any action against the officer following her own review of a Coroners report that had found he had caused the death of the man while in his custody.
Following outrage at the decision of the DPP by the Palm Island community, Indigenous leaders and the general public the state Government was given the opportunity to conduct an independent review of the DPP’s decision when she supplied the body of evidence to the Attorney-general.
The Attorney-general following a false start with his original appointed head of the review had retired NSW Chief Justice Sir Laurence Street appointed to review the decision and today announced that the Chief Justice had found there was sufficient evidence to charge and have the reasonable prospect of a successful conviction against Snr Sergeant Hurley.
The decision was received with predictable reaction with Aboriginal and civil liberties groups applauding the decision and the Police union expressing outrage at the prospects of one of their own being charged.
This will be the first time a police officer has been charged with a death in custody incident.
The finding of Sir Laurence Street is to be welcomed and there now appears the real prospect of relatives and friends of Mulrunji getting there day in court and for justice to be seen to be given to the Aboriginal community which is what they have been calling for ever since the DPP decision.
The problem though I suspect will be now that this process has taken such a long road to get to charges being laid that I think the Palm Island community and indigenous groups will accept no less then a guilty finding.
As most would be aware there will be a lot of very complex legal argument about providing a fair trial given the amount of publicity that has been generated by this issue as well as much argument as to what is and is not admissible evidence.
Had the DPP handle even her findings more sensitively or done what everyone had expected and allowed the incident to proceed down a trial path and allow the Palm Island community see the wheels of justice working with them rather then seemingly against them the expectation for a guilty verdict may not have been so paramount.
The Palm Island community and its supporters would probably have been more accepting of a decision that saw the Officer found not guilty due to a lack of admissible evidence or even a lack of strong argument to find him guilty.
The Street decision however can really do little to convince them that the Queensland legal system is not biased against them.
Let’s not forget it has taken an independent review from another states judicial officer to find that the DPP who represents the justice system in Queensland was wrong in her decision.
Furthermore the DPP stated before the review that despite the results her department could and would not prosecute Hurley if the review found that he should be charged.
This has left the Attorney-General to get the Crown Solicitor to handle the prosecutions.
It would appear that if Hurley was found not guilty by a jury or the case is thrown out due to a lack of admissible evidence before a jury even gets to participate the Indigenous community would have every right to point to this as just a continuation of a justice system that treats indigenous people as 2nd class citizens and that the courts are skewered against them.
The Queensland Government now face the prospect of dealing with mass unrest from the Police union now with Premier Beattie’s words sounding like the same ones he used for the indigenous community when the DPP’s original decision calling on them to accept the decision and to let justice take its course.
The DPP’s position is now also seemingly untenable and one wonders just how long it is before she will fall on her sword and resigns her position.
On top of this rejection of her findings in this case by the “Street review” which no matter which way you look at it does amount to a form of political interference and would appear to be a finding of no confidence in her original position Ms Clare has had several controversial decisions not go her way and would appear to now be a liability to her own department.
My personal hope is that the charges will be laid and that the trial will go to court and be heard by a jury and that those 12 people will weigh up the evidence without bias, fear or favour playing a part in their decision and that whatever the outcome justice is seen to be given to all parties.
There is one fact that is without any question and that is Mulrunji Doomadgee was arrested for a seemingly innocuous crime and was only a few hours latter lying dead in a prison cell with four broken ribs and his liver severed in two and it is this fact that must be explored and a plausible reason for this must be found and if it can be shown that this was done by someone then justice must be done.
At the end of the day though this is not a one-off event and injustice and inequality are a day to day fact of life for the indigenous community of Palm Island as well as for most indigenous Australians and this will not end with one Police officer being charged with manslaughter.
It will only come when governments and the greater public say no to his happening.
When we accept and acknowledge the wrongs of the past. Ask for forgiveness for these wrongs and with the guidance of Indigenous people help to restore dignity and pride in their culture and free them from the chains of our own cultures that we have shackled them with.
Until this happens the situation will not change.
This follows a review of the Director of Public Prosecutions Leanne Clare’s decision to not taken any action against the officer following her own review of a Coroners report that had found he had caused the death of the man while in his custody.
Following outrage at the decision of the DPP by the Palm Island community, Indigenous leaders and the general public the state Government was given the opportunity to conduct an independent review of the DPP’s decision when she supplied the body of evidence to the Attorney-general.
The Attorney-general following a false start with his original appointed head of the review had retired NSW Chief Justice Sir Laurence Street appointed to review the decision and today announced that the Chief Justice had found there was sufficient evidence to charge and have the reasonable prospect of a successful conviction against Snr Sergeant Hurley.
The decision was received with predictable reaction with Aboriginal and civil liberties groups applauding the decision and the Police union expressing outrage at the prospects of one of their own being charged.
This will be the first time a police officer has been charged with a death in custody incident.
The finding of Sir Laurence Street is to be welcomed and there now appears the real prospect of relatives and friends of Mulrunji getting there day in court and for justice to be seen to be given to the Aboriginal community which is what they have been calling for ever since the DPP decision.
The problem though I suspect will be now that this process has taken such a long road to get to charges being laid that I think the Palm Island community and indigenous groups will accept no less then a guilty finding.
As most would be aware there will be a lot of very complex legal argument about providing a fair trial given the amount of publicity that has been generated by this issue as well as much argument as to what is and is not admissible evidence.
Had the DPP handle even her findings more sensitively or done what everyone had expected and allowed the incident to proceed down a trial path and allow the Palm Island community see the wheels of justice working with them rather then seemingly against them the expectation for a guilty verdict may not have been so paramount.
The Palm Island community and its supporters would probably have been more accepting of a decision that saw the Officer found not guilty due to a lack of admissible evidence or even a lack of strong argument to find him guilty.
The Street decision however can really do little to convince them that the Queensland legal system is not biased against them.
Let’s not forget it has taken an independent review from another states judicial officer to find that the DPP who represents the justice system in Queensland was wrong in her decision.
Furthermore the DPP stated before the review that despite the results her department could and would not prosecute Hurley if the review found that he should be charged.
This has left the Attorney-General to get the Crown Solicitor to handle the prosecutions.
It would appear that if Hurley was found not guilty by a jury or the case is thrown out due to a lack of admissible evidence before a jury even gets to participate the Indigenous community would have every right to point to this as just a continuation of a justice system that treats indigenous people as 2nd class citizens and that the courts are skewered against them.
The Queensland Government now face the prospect of dealing with mass unrest from the Police union now with Premier Beattie’s words sounding like the same ones he used for the indigenous community when the DPP’s original decision calling on them to accept the decision and to let justice take its course.
The DPP’s position is now also seemingly untenable and one wonders just how long it is before she will fall on her sword and resigns her position.
On top of this rejection of her findings in this case by the “Street review” which no matter which way you look at it does amount to a form of political interference and would appear to be a finding of no confidence in her original position Ms Clare has had several controversial decisions not go her way and would appear to now be a liability to her own department.
My personal hope is that the charges will be laid and that the trial will go to court and be heard by a jury and that those 12 people will weigh up the evidence without bias, fear or favour playing a part in their decision and that whatever the outcome justice is seen to be given to all parties.
There is one fact that is without any question and that is Mulrunji Doomadgee was arrested for a seemingly innocuous crime and was only a few hours latter lying dead in a prison cell with four broken ribs and his liver severed in two and it is this fact that must be explored and a plausible reason for this must be found and if it can be shown that this was done by someone then justice must be done.
At the end of the day though this is not a one-off event and injustice and inequality are a day to day fact of life for the indigenous community of Palm Island as well as for most indigenous Australians and this will not end with one Police officer being charged with manslaughter.
It will only come when governments and the greater public say no to his happening.
When we accept and acknowledge the wrongs of the past. Ask for forgiveness for these wrongs and with the guidance of Indigenous people help to restore dignity and pride in their culture and free them from the chains of our own cultures that we have shackled them with.
Until this happens the situation will not change.
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