Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Tall Man ~ Mulrunji's death...

These quotes are from the following article:

Justice Talk: Legal Processes and Conflicting Perceptions of Justice about a Palm Island Death in Custody by Janet Ransley and Elena Marchetti, AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS LAW REVIEW, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2008: 41-53.

'In November 2004, Mulrunji 1. a 36 year old Palm Island Aboriginal man, died in police custody. His death triggered a chain of events including community riots, the invocation of emergency powers and evacuation of white workers from the Island, and suicides by the deceased man’s teenage son and a key witness'.

'Most strikingly, 'Both pathologists gave evidence that the liver injuries suffered by Mulrunji were more commonly seen ‘in high speed road accidents, plane crashes, [and] falls from heights’. Although Hurley weighed more than 115 kg, compared to Mulrunji’s weight of 74 kg, both pathologists agreed that it was unlikely that such injuries would have been inflicted by a simple fall unless Hurley’s knee had struck Mulrunji in the abdomen. Neither pathologist was prepared to say whether, had the injuries been caused by a knee, they were caused deliberately or accidentally. They did rule out the possibility that the injuries had been caused by punches since there was no bruising to support such a claim. There was a suggestion that Mulrunji’s intoxicated state may have contributed to his death since ‘alcohol relaxes the muscle’s tone and that can make a person less conscious of the need to protect themselves in a fall’.

Senior Sergeant Hurley received considerable compensation 2. for the loss of his personal property in the riots within two months of that occurring, while the family is awaiting the outcome of a civil trial to receive any damages for Mulrunji’s death.'

1. Cameron Doomadgee's tribal name.
2. Chris Hurley received $102.995.00 in compensation.

See also:

HART, Naomi, Separating the inquest from the trial : the Mulrunji Case. INDIGENOUS LAW BULLETIN; 7 (10) January / February 2009: 23-26

WEBER, Leanne, Contemporary comments : bridges or bandaids? Another death in police custody reveals fatal flaws in Aboriginal liaison officer concept. CURRENT ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE; 19 (2) November 2007: 235-242

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