Breaking News

 

Lex Wotton... convicted of 'rioting with destruction' over the 2004 Palm Island uprising. LEX WOTTON TRIAL: Jury returns GUILTY verdict Saturday, 25 October 2008 12:06:46 PM By Chris Graham IN BRISBANE NATIONAL, October 25, 2008: An all-white jury has returned a verdict of GUILTY in the trial of Palm Island man Lex Wotton on the charge of 'rioting with destruction'. Late last night, the jury delivered its verdict to a Brisbane District courtroom packed with media and friends and family of Mr Wotton. Mr Wotton was charged after the November 2004 uprising on Palm Island, in which a police station, adjoining courthouse, a police residence and a vehicle were destroyed by fire. The uprising occurred after the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee, a 36-year-old Palm Island man who had been arrested for public nuisance by Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, the officer-in-charge of the Palm Island police. Within an hour of his arrest, Mulrunji lay dead on the floor of a police cell, a victim of massive internal injuries, including a ruptured spleen, four broken ribs and a liver that had been 'almost cleaved in two' from a huge compressive force. A subsequent coronial inquest found that Snr Sgt Hurley was responsible for the death. It also uncovered numerous breaches of procedures by Queensland Police in the ensuing investigation. The community erupted on November 26 - a week to the day after the death - after they were told at a town meeting than a pathologist's report had found Mulrunji's death was an accident. • MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW Printer Friendly Version  Email Story to a Friend Submit Letter to Editor