Civil liberties, justice, crime

On 9 August Michael Brown was shot as he walked down the street in his home neighbourhood in Ferguson Missouri, USA. Michael, a black 18 year-old with no criminal record, was shot with his hands up by white police officer Darren Wilson. Dorian Johnson, a friend who was with Michael at the time, described how a police car pulled up and an officer asked them to move onto the pavement. The officer pulled his car around to block the road, and tried to pull Michael into the car, at no point stating he was being arrested or giving any grounds for arrest. When Michael tried to run away he was shot...

The proposals by senior Tory politicians, clerics and police chiefs to trash civil liberties on pretext of the threat from the Islamic State movement in Iraq and Syria should be resisted as illiberal and even stupid. There is no doubt the Islamists of Islamic State are unpleasant, violent reactionaries. Some of the footage posted on You Tube — of murders and beheadings — is disgusting. IS is a real threat. It is also probable that some of the young British men and women who have left the UK to fight in Syria and joined the jihadist “cause” do pose a potential threat if they return to Britain...

Tories and Labour give Police more powers under the excuse of a terrorist threat. Download PDF

At a vigil to mark the three years since Mark Duggan was shot by police, Carole Duggan made an appeal for fresh witnesses to come forward. The Justice for Mark Duggan campaign made the appeal directly to the campaign, giving a campaign phone number on posters that have been posted around the area where Mark was shot. Carole Duggan said “If you don’t want to speak to the IPCC, who we know are not fit for purpose, we have a hotline number where you can speak to any member of the campaign.” There is good reasons for campaigns talking over evidence and witness reports together prior to going to...

Michael Brown, a black 18 year-old, was killed on 9 August by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was unarmed, making his way to his grandma’s house with a friend when, according to witnesses, a police vehicle pulled over and tried to drag him into the car. Brown ran away and was shot. He then raised his arms to prove he had no weapon and was shot twice more. The police on the other hand state that there was a “scuffle” which led to Brown assaulting a police officer, causing him to be shot “multiple times”. Tensions between the police and the local community rose during the following...

A lecture by Manning Marable. He is the author 'Race, Reform and Rebellion', and 'Beyond Black and White' Download PDF

Letters and debate from Workers' Liberty 25 Yes, I am a socialist! (Billy Hutchinson) Victor Serge was a revolutionary, but... Jail food is poison (Lauren Otter) But what is to be done about about Bosnia? (Amanda Sebestyan) Engels' Reflective materialism (Carl Rennet) Download PDF

There are 50,000 people in British prisons. Around 1/5 of these were convicted of crimes involving violence. Download PDF

Linda Evans and Colin Whitby, the two police officers on trial for the death of Joy Gardener were acquitted on Tuesday 13th June. Download PDF

On Monday 14 July, Lady Butler-Sloss resigned as the chair of an inquiry into the sexual abuse of children by MPs and other high-profile, powerful people in the 1980s. It was less than a week since she had been appointed. It is almost unbelievable that she had been appointed in the first place. Her brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general in the same period that is under question. Much has been made by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz, and others, of Butler-Sloss’s “integrity”. It is certainly right that she resigned, and that in...