Latest news with #criminaljustice
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Wearing same clothes caught out Worksop shop thief
A shop thief has been jailed after he was found wearing the same clothes and trainers he had on during two separate break-ins in the space of five Pywell, 38, of Garside Street in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, gained entry to two town businesses and when he was arrested, he was wearing the same attire recorded in CCTV footage of the break-ins.A search of his home also uncovered a distinctive pair of orange gloves and a jacket used in one of the appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to two counts of shop theft. The court heard Pywell used a brick to smash through the door of Subway in Bridge Place on 18 April and stole money from the till and food from behind the 23 April, he entered B&M Bargains in Bridge Place and stole dog food and was sentenced to five months in custody but due to the activation of a previously suspended sentence, Pywell must now serve a total of 56 was also ordered to pay £470 in compensation.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- Health
- ABC News
Forensic Science Queensland director Linzi Wilson-Wilde suspended after 'contamination issues' identified
The director of Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ) has been immediately suspended by the state's attorney-general after "contamination issues" were identified. Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said she moved to immediately suspend the director, Linzi Wilson-Wilde, who was appointed in September 2024, pending a show cause notice for removal. "This action was taken following advice I received today that FSQ was placing a general pause on routine DNA testing after contamination issues were identified," Ms Frecklington said in a statement. Ms Frecklington's office could not provide any further details on the contamination issues. It is not known how long Dr Wilson-Wilde has to respond to the notice. FSQ is an independent statutory authority and forensic service provider, which supports the criminal justice and coronial systems with specialised services in forensic biology and forensic chemistry. Two commissions of inquiry, in 2022 and 2023, found serious failings over many years at the FSQ lab, including a "fatally flawed" automated testing method that might have seen offenders escaping conviction. More than 120 recommendations were made during the commissions of inquiry to address "disturbing and troubling" issues which have meant tens of thousands of samples may need retesting. Dr Wilson-Wilde became director in September 2024 after joining FSQ as interim chief executive in January 2023. Ms Frecklington said FSQ's pause in operations would be for a preliminary period of seven days followed by a review to determine the next steps. "The government has been advised FSQ will continue to progress urgent matters in a limited capacity during this time and that this can be done with appropriate controls," she said. Ms Frecklington said the government was "firmly committed to fixing the long-standing issues at Forensic Science Queensland". When contacted by the ABC Dr Wilson-Wilde declined to comment.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Lawyer who once defended drug kingpin 'El Chapo' questions critics of her judicial victory
Of the roughly 2,600 judges elected for the first time by Mexicans earlier this month, Silvia Delgado García received more attention than almost any other because she once helped represent drug kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. That single client in a nearly two decade career as a criminal defense attorney in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, made Delgado standout in the historic June 1 election, name recognition that may have helped her victory formally certified Thursday. Delgado won a spot as a criminal court judge in Ciudad Juarez in the June 1 election. At Thursday's ceremony, Delgado smiled, got emotional and received hugs. Speaking to reporters later, she said it was time for her defense work to stop being described as a 'tie' to the drug lord. She was just doing her job, she said. 'The only thing that we do is a job,' she said. 'The decision to enter in this electoral process was very simple: I wanted to strengthen my career helping the community. I've helped so many here, helping defend.' In 2016, Delgado García was a member of Sinaloa cartel leader Guzmán's legal team when he was temporarily held in a prison in Ciudad Juarez before being extradited to the United States. He was eventually tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. Some critics of electing judges, and a human rights litigation group called Defensorxs, had labeled Delgado García 'high risk' before the vote, because 'she defends alleged drug traffickers.' Hailed as a way to make corrupt judges accountable to the people and clean up Mexico's judiciary by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the historic elections that covered more than 2,600 positions ranging up to the country's Supreme Court, drew only a paltry 13% voter participation. Critics feared it would politicize the judiciary and offer organized crime an easier path to influencing judicial decisions. Mexico's governing Morena party was poised to gain control of the Supreme Court as a majority of the winners had strong ties to the party or were aligned ideologically. On Thursday, Delgado noted that she had been called out for petitioning the court that Guzmán be given a blanket in prison. 'Is it bad that if a person is not accustomed to the cold that he have a blanket?' she asked. 'I have been in the eye of the hurricane for that reason.'
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The UK must be able to kick out criminals
The Government's weakness in confronting the Pakistani state over its refusal to take back its criminal nationals has dealt a fresh blow to Sir Keir Starmer's floundering attempts to enforce the law. The ringleaders of the Rochdale grooming scandal lost appeals against deportation in 2018, but remain in the country today, with Islamabad claiming that their decision to renounce their citizenship means that it has effectively washed its hands of the matter. Or perhaps not. Interior ministry officials have suggested that if Pakistan's national airline PIA – suspended for safety reasons – were to be permitted to enter UK airspace again, then Pakistan might deign to take its criminals back. This should not be permitted to stand. These men cannot be allowed to escape the due punishment for their crimes, and Pakistan cannot be allowed to profit from charging an effective fee for their repatriation. Some 76,000 Pakistani nationals emigrated to Britain last year; 31,000 on work visas, 30,000 on study visas, and 15,000 through other routes. Given the scale of the flows it is vital we can remove those whose presence ceases to be conducive to the public good. Without this ability, they should not be allowed to come. If Pakistan intends to block deportations as a means to gain leverage in negotiations, then Britain should apply leverage to Pakistan. Unless Islamabad repatriates its offenders, then Sir Keir should start to limit the number of visas issued to Pakistani nationals, and suspend our £133 million in foreign aid payments into that country until its government changes course. These measures might seem like overkill for removing two serious criminals from Britain's streets. The broader point, however, is that we need to re-establish the principle that illegal migrants, criminals, and other unwanted aliens can be removed from this nation.
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women given life sentence in the UK
LONDON: A Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women in the UK and China was on Thursday (Jun 19) jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years. Passing sentence, UK judge Rosina Cottage said that to the world, Zou Zhenhao, 28, appeared "well to do, ambitious and charming" but this was in fact a mask hiding a "sexual predator". Zou was found guilty of 28 offences – 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of extreme pornographic images, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence. Over the course of the four-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence proving Zou was a serial rapist who used social media platforms and dating websites to target his victims. After inviting them to his apartment, he used drugs to incapacitate them before carrying out his attacks. Zou would secretly film these rapes using a mobile device and hidden cameras. Police officers found hundreds of videos of the attacks in London and China. "Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. His life sentence reflects the heinous acts and harm he caused to women and the danger he posed to society," said prosecutor Saira Pike.
