Latest news with #victimsFamilies
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Reading attack victim's father 'still chasing' government changes
The father of a man murdered in a Reading park said relatives of victims have had to "drag" governments to make meaningful Furlong's son James, David Wails and Joe Ritchie-Bennett were stabbed to death by Khairi Saadallah in Forbury Gardens on 20 June Furlong met home secretary Yvette Cooper and Home Office minister Dan Jarvis earlier this year and said the government was aware the men's families were "really not happy" with Home Office was approached to comment. Mr Furlong, from Liverpool, said he was "still chasing" details about how planned changes to the government's anti-extremism Prevent programme had improved an inquest into the three men's deaths, judge coroner Sir Adrian Fulford concluded their deaths were avoidable and found major problems with intelligence sharing between authorities. Saadallah and Southport killer Axel Rudakubana were both referred to Prevent before they committed their crimes."I have been very passionate about the fact that we need to be auditing any changes," Mr Furlong told BBC Radio Berkshire."We need to see that they are actually being effective. When we saw the incident in Southport, it threw us back to square one."Saadallah was given a whole-life term in 2021 after admitting murder and the attempted murder of three other men. Mr Furlong added: "If the families don't fight, nothing happens. It's only pressure from the families that means we ever get any change."It seems that we have to drag them screaming and kicking to do these changes."Counter Terrorism Policing, the Probation Service and Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust were among other organisations criticised for failing in the Saadallah Furlong, his wife Jan and other relatives and friends of the three victims will gather at events in Reading on Friday.A private memorial service at St Laurence's Church will be held from 18:00 BST. Gates will open in Forbury Gardens from 18:30 ahead of a civil memorial service there."We miss James so much. It's very difficult to put into words," Mr Furlong added."As much as we are celebrating James' memory and I like to celebrate him, it comes with terrible sadness." Mr Furlong's MP Paula Barker said Sir Adrian's conclusions must be implemented so his work is "not yet another report of this nature that sits on a shelf gathering dust"."The state does this all too often, and it fails to learn the lessons following the loss of life in entirely preventable circumstances," the Liverpool Wavertree representative added."We have witnessed repeated failings on behalf of Prevent that have resulted in other tragedies." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Jeremy Hunt: Lucy Letby's case must be re-examined
Jeremy Hunt has called for Lucy Letby's case to be urgently re-examined. The former health secretary, who held the post when the neonatal nurse carried out her crimes, said new evidence 'raises serious and credible questions' about her case. He added that questions around the safety of her conviction were not conspiracy theories from 'far-flung reaches of the internet' and said they needed addressing 'as a matter of urgency'. Letby, 35, from Herefordshire, was convicted for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. After she was sentenced to 15 life terms in prison, the Thirlwall Inquiry was launched to discover how she was able to commit the crimes. Many experts have since challenged the way evidence was presented to the jury during her trial, and a panel of world-leading experts have reviewed the medical notes and concluded that there were no malicious acts. Writing in The Daily Mail, Mr Hunt insisted he was not saying Letby was innocent, adding that the pain of the victims' families 'must also be at the forefront of our minds'. 'But most of all they deserve the truth,' he said. 'And recently some have begun to cast doubt on what actually happened. 'I have now read a wide range of expert concerns about the conduct of the Letby criminal case. 'They are not conspiracy theories dredged up from far-flung reaches of the internet.' Mr Hunt said the 'most disturbing' evidence was that of the 14 paediatric specialists, who ruled that the deaths or injuries of the newborns were down to natural causes or errors in medical care. 'Taken together – and it pains me to say it – this analysis raises serious and credible questions about the evidence presented in court, the robustness of expert testimony and the interpretation of statistical data. 'That is why I and parliamentary colleagues such as Sir David Davis now believe the time has come for these concerns to be addressed as a matter of urgency,' he added. Appearing at the inquiry earlier this year, Mr Hunt apologised to the families of Letby's victims and said her crimes had been committed 'on [his] watch'. Although her case has been referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), Mr Hunt warned that the organisation was 'hopelessly dysfunctional'. The body, which is responsible for investigating potential miscarriages of justice and the only one that can refer cases to the Court of Appeal, has made headlines for its mishandling of high profile cases such as that of Andrew Malkinson. The 59-year-old former security guard served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit as chances to free him were repeatedly missed, leading to one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Mr Hunt called for the CCRC to 'get its act together'. 'We owe it to the public, the families affected and the NHS to be absolutely sure that the convictions were sound, the process was fair and the evidence met the threshold we expect in any case – especially one of this gravity,' he added. 'Justice must be done and seen to be done. And that means the CCRC has to speed up their normally painfully slow process.'
Sky News
6 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
Air India crash: Frustration and anger growing as families wait for relatives' remains
There is frustration and anger among family and friends of the victims of the Air India crash. And it's growing - directed towards the administration. The wait under a searing summer heat at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad is agonising - the trauma compounded by the lack of communication and information. Rashid Hora has lost three family members, including his four-year-old niece, all British nationals from Gloucester. He tells Sky News: "Victims' families need confirmation, you've taken our DNA and how many have been matched, how many bodies have you identified? Tell us. "It's now over 48 hours and we have no information. Will they give us a body when it's decomposed, or give us someone else's body? "If they cannot cope, they should get some help from somewhere else." Mr Hora is not alone in this pain. Rafiq Menon has been camping here for days to collect the bodies of four members of his family, all British, who lived in London. Javed, 37, with his wife Mariam and their two children, five-year-old Zayn and four-year-old Amani, came to visit their grandmother for Eid. Eyes welling up, he tells Sky News: "With folded hands I request you to ask the officials, not me. There is no information from them. "It's been over 72 hours now, taken another 72 hours. But tell us. We are looking for our children, where are they, we want to know if they have found my children. "Tell us if you have them, don't torture us. At least tell us their bodies have been found. But they don't tell us anything." Mr Hora added that "the authorities have barricaded themselves inside and do not allow anyone in". Another member from his family says "there is no one here from the British High Commission to help us, hear us out - no one has even contacted us". Families have camped at the hospital for days providing DNA samples, which are being matched and it is painstakingly slow. Due to the nature of the crash, many bodies have been disfigured beyond recognition. Dr Rajnish Patel, a senior doctor of the B J Medical College, said: "The DNA of 11 victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad has been matched with their family members so far. "The process of matching DNA has to be done meticulously. It has legal and medical implications, so one can not rush through it." But families want regular communication and updates and, at this point in time, are anxious and vulnerable. The Air India plane failed to gain altitude after take-off and plummeted into the ground, erupting into a ball of fire. Fully loaded with fuel, the Boeing Dreamliner bound for London's Gatwick Airport crashed into a residential area, incinerating everything in its path. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and took stock of the situation. His government's civil aviation ministry is also looking to overhaul its safety policy. 0:58 At a press conference in Delhi, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said: "We do have a very strict protocol, robust protocol, which we follow every time. "But even when the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 series. "So from the [directorate general of civil aviation] we have also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes." On Saturday, there was an attempt to remove the tail of the aircraft embedded into the building into which it crashed. The cause of the crash remains unknown and investigators have begun the long and complex process of determining what went wrong. All this may be for the future. But for the moment, the victims' families want closure and dignity.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pulse survivors, families continue to visit site ahead of demolition
The Brief Survivors and victims' families are making emotional final visits to Pulse nightclub. The building will be torn down later this year to make way for a permanent memorial. City officials say the private visits are an important step in the healing process. ORLANDO, Fla. - Survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting and family members of the victims are making emotional visits to the site of the 2016 tragedy, as the city prepares to demolish the building to make way for a permanent memorial. What we know Survivors and family members of victims in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting are visiting the site one final time before the building is demolished. Over a four-day period, the City of Orlando expects about 250 visitors, including survivors, loved ones, and relatives of those killed. The visits are private and heavily emotional, with officials providing privacy through curtains and umbrellas as visitors enter. The backstory On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside Pulse, a popular LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring dozens more in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Since the attack, the building has stood largely untouched while plans for a permanent memorial evolved amid shifting proposals and community input. Timeline Family members of those killed began visiting the site earlier in the week, with survivors and their loved ones visiting on Thursday and Friday. The building is expected to be demolished later this year, though no exact date has been announced. Big picture view The visits mark a significant moment of transition for the community, as many visitors are seeing the building for the first time since the tragedy. City officials describe the experience as a step in the long, difficult healing process. A permanent memorial is in development, aiming to provide a lasting tribute to the lives lost and those forever affected. What they're saying Over the course of four days, city officials expect around 250 people — survivors, loved ones, and relatives of those killed — to take one final look inside the club. "It's been a very emotional journey," said Donna Wyche, who leads the City of Orlando's outreach and engagement efforts at Pulse. "Walking into there is going to spike their emotions. I mean, it's just the way it is." FOX 35 News witnessed bus after bus arriving at the site on Thursday. Officials said eight busloads toured the building that day, with another seven expected Friday. Thursday's visitors were mostly survivors — some of whom were injured during the attack—along with loved ones offering support. The day before, the city welcomed families of those who died in the shooting. "I think I got the answers I needed, and hopefully I can heal," one visitor said through tears. What's next The building is scheduled for demolition later this year, with plans underway for a permanent memorial to honor the lives lost and those whose lives were forever changed. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the City of Orlando.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
South Carolina executes a man serving death sentences in 2 separate murders
A South Carolina man sent to death row twice for separate murders was put to death Friday by lethal injection in the state's sixth execution in nine months. Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. He was executed for shooting a friend and then cleaning out his bank account in Horry County in 2005. Stanko also was serving a death sentence for killing his live-in girlfriend in her Georgetown County home hours earlier, strangling her as he raped her teenage daughter. Stanko slit the teen's throat, but she survived. The execution began after a 3 1/2 minute final statement where Stanko apologized to his victims and asked not to be judged by the worst day of his life. Witnesses could hear prison officials asking for the first dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital which was different from previous executions. Stanko appeared to be saying words, turned toward the families of the victims and then let out several quick breaths as his lips quivered. Stanko appeared to stop breathing after a minute. His ruddy complexion quickly disappeared and the color drained from his face and hands. A prison employee asked for a second dose of pentobarbital about 13 minutes later. He was announced dead about 28 minutes after the execution started. Three family members of his victims stared at Stanko and didn't look away until well after he stopped breathing. Stanko's brother and his lawyer also watched. Attorney Lindsey Vann, who watched her second inmate client die in seven months rubbed rosary beads in her hands. Stanko was leaning toward dying by South Carolina's new firing squad, like the past two inmates before him. But after autopsy results from the last inmate killed by that method showed the bullets from the three volunteers nearly missed his heart, Stanko went with lethal injection. Stanko was the last of four executions scheduled around the country this week. Florida and Alabama each put an inmate to death on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Oklahoma executed a man transferred from federal to state custody to allow his death. The federal courts rejected Stanko's last-ditch effort to spare his life as his lawyers argued the state isn't carrying out lethal injection properly after autopsy results found fluid in the lungs of other inmates killed that way. Also South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster refused clemency in a phone call to prison officials minutes before the execution began. A governor has not spared a death row inmate's life in the previous 48 executions since South Carolina reinstated the death penalty about 50 years ago. Stanko is the sixth inmate executed in South Carolina in nine months after the state went 13 years without putting an inmate to death because it could not obtain lethal injection drugs. The South Carolina General Assembly approved a firing squad and passed a shield law bill which allowed the suppliers of the drugs to stay secret. In his final statement, Stanko talked about how he was an honor student and athlete and a volunteer and asked several times not to be judged by the night he killed two people. 'I have live for approximately 20,973 days, but I am judged solely for one,' Stanko said in his final statement read by his lawyer. Stanko apologized several times to his victims and their families. 'Once I am gone, I hope that Christina, Laura's family and Henry's family can all forgive me. The execution may help them. Forgiveness will heal them.' Stanko ate his last meal on Wednesday as prison officials give inmates a chance to enjoy their special food before their execution day. He ate fried fish, fried shrimp, crab cakes, a baked potato, carrots, fried okra, cherry pie, banana pudding and sweet tea.
