April 30, 2014
Global TV News – Carey Marsden
First Nations community calls for help after string of youth suicides
In Neskantaga First Nation, a fly-in community 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, there has been a state of emergency for more than a year. Why? Seven suicides and 27 attempts over a single year in a school of 400 students. Officials say that the problem is the lack of the basic necessities of life. Former MP and Ontario Premier, now spokesperson for the issue, Bob Rae says there needs be response from all levels of government. http://globalnews.ca/news/1299917/first-nations-community-calls-for-help-after-string-of-youth-suicides
National Victims of Crime
Will Ottawa’s New Bill of rights brings a louder voice for crime victims?
Psychologist Lori Triano-Antidormi of Hamilton, ON, herself the mother of a murdered child, thinks that the new bill has certainly raised expectations but it is misleading the victims. “The conclusion she drew is that the more victims participate in the adversarial justice process, the more their recovery is at risk. The therapy she has done with crime victims reaffirmed her belief.” http://crcvc.ca/enewsletter/apr-14/story01.html
Toronto Star – Alex Boutilier
Government agencies seek telecom user data at ‘jaw-dropping’ rates
The federal privacy commissioner asked 30 telecom companies for information about government requests for data and nine replied, establishing some disturbing numbers for everyone involved. In 2011 alone, there were 1.2 million requests. The report does not identify the branches or agencies of government making the requests but David Fraser, a privacy lawyer with McInnes Cooper said: “The numbers that we had before today were incredibly vague; the numbers that we have now are unsettling.” http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/04/29/telecoms_refuse_say_how_often_they_hand_over_customers_data.html
Denver Post – Nancy Lofholm
Colorado counties closing jails to federal immigration prisoners
Five county sheriffs in Colorado are refusing to detain people with federal immigration holds alone against them. The changes are coming because judges in other states are saying that the local county does not have the authority or the mandate to hold these persons unless there are criminal matters at issue. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25662812/colorado-counties-closing-jails-federal-immigration-prisoners#ixzz30NQR84ft
ABC-on-line – Nick Grimm
Death row inmate dies from apparent heart attack after botched lethal injection in Oklahoma
The death penalty seems to be entering a new phase in the US following the heart attack death during the execution of Clayton Lockettt. About to be subjected to a triple drug cocktail, the man had only one and reacted badly, causing renewed questions around where the state found the drugs used and the constitutional issues of cruel and unusual punishment. (cf as well yesterday’s communiqué) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-30/oklahoma-halts-execution-but-inmate-dies-of-apparent-heart-atta/5420632 Related article: Deseret News – Richard Davis: Is the death penalty going away? http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865602070/Is-the-death-penalty-going-away.html Related article: Toronto Star – Bailey Elise McBride And Sean Murphy, Associated Press – Inmate’s botched execution inflames debate: ‘It was a horrible thing to witness’ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/04/30/inmates_botched_execution_inflames_debate_it_was_a_horrible_thing_to_witness.html Related article: Globe and Mail – Tu Thanh Ha Failed execution points to U.S. prisons’ scramble for new deadly drugs http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/failed-execution-points-to-us-prisons-scramble-for-new-deadly-drugs/article18336806
Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
Hearing the Evidence: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
Australia is currently holding an inquiry into the human rights of children held in immigration detention – about 900 at the moment. The Catholic refugee office is calling for a national inquiry on the impact of detention, especially long term detention, on the lives of parents and children held as a means of discouraging illegal migration. http://www.acmro.catholic.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105:hearing-the-evidence-&catid=55:newsletter-2013 Related article: Amnesty International – Nauru’s refusal of access to detention centre another attempt to hide conditions http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/nauru-s-refusal-access-detention-centre-another-attempt-hide-conditions-2014-04-29
Guardian (UK) – Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Iranian mother who spared her son’s killer: ‘Vengeance has left my heart’
The killer was on a chair with the noose around his neck when the victim’s mother asked for the noose to be removed. In Iran, the family of the victim can either take an active part in the execution or remove the death penalty. After a long struggle with vengeance, the victim’s mother herself removed the noose minutes before execution. The offender’s mother was moving to kiss the feet of the victim’s mother in gratitude, when the victim’s mother raised her up, later saying: “I didn’t allow her to do that, I took her arm and made her stand up … she was just a mother like me, after all.” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/25/interview-samereh-alinejad-iranian-mother-spared-sons-killer