The Maguire 7 all served their sentences apart from Guiseppe Conlon, who died in prison in 1980. In 1991 the Court of Appeal quashed their convictions after it ruled the evidence was unsafe.
When Patrick was arrested, a policeman turned to him and whispered: ‘By the time you get out of prison, you’ll be an old man. And you’ll not see your mum and dad again.’
‘That was the moment my childhood ended,’ Patrick says. The Telegraph online article 28th April 2010 Richard Holt
Convicted in 1974 at the age of 25 of a number of bombings – of the National Defence College in Buckinghamshire, a coach on the M62 motorway and Euston Station in London – Judith Ward was released from prison when her conviction was quashed on 11 May 1992. She has since written a book: Ambushed – My Story.
The appeal court was told the original trial had not been informed of Ward’s history of mental illness before her arrest and her possible unfitness to plead. Neither the court nor her family were told of a suicide attempt while Ward was in custody.
The appeal court was told Ward had changed her ‘confession’ several times, and police and the prosecution had to select parts of her statements to construct a plausible version. The prosecution also concealed other important facts from the defence.
As well, evidence from discredited forensic scientist Frank Skuse had been important to her conviction. Innocent online article
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. George Orwell
I have no particular love for the idealised ‘worker’ as he appears in the bourgeois Communist’s mind, but when I see an actual flesh-and-blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on. George Orwell, Fighting in Spain
‘I get it,’ said the prisoner. ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop, eh?’
‘If you like.’ said Vimes. ‘But we're a bit short staffed here, so if I give you a cigarette would you mind kicking yourself in the teeth?’ Terry Pratchett, Night Watch
A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of green paper. Derrick Jensen, Endgame vol I: The Problem of Civilisation
There is something about the state putting the power to bully into the hands of subnormal, sadistic apes that makes my blood boil. Gore Vidal, Death in the Fifth Position
Most middle-class whites have no idea what it feels like to be subjected to police who are routinely suspicious, rude, belligerent, and brutal. Benjamin Spock
‘I know, Ma. I’m a-tryin'. But them deputies – Did you ever see a deputy that didn’t have a fat ass? An’ they waggle their ass an’ flop their gun aroun’. Ma,’ he said, ‘if it was the law they was workin’ with, why we could take it. But it ain’t the law. They’re a-working away at our spirits. They’re a-tryin’ to make us cringe an’ crawl like a whipped bitch. They’re tryin’ to break us. Why, Jesus Christ, Ma, they comes a time when the only way a fella can keep his decency is by takin’ a sock at a cop. They’re working on our decency.’ John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Until you guys own your own souls you don’t own mine. Until you guys can be trusted every time and always, in all times and conditions, to seek the truth out and find it and let the chips fall where they may – until that time comes, I have the right to listen to my conscience, and protect my client the best way I can. Until I’m sure you won’t do him more harm than you’ll do the truth good. Or until I’m hauled before somebody that can make me talk. Raymond Chandler, The High Window
The use of non-lethal weapons such as tasers and LEDIs may not necessarily reduce the number of civilian casualties, they have been largely accepted as the humane alternative to deadly force because they make the use of force appear far less dramatic and violent than it has in the past.
Contrast, for instance, the image of police officers beating Rodney King with billy clubs as opposed to police officers continually shocking a person with a taser. Both are severe forms of abuse. However, because the act of pushing a button is far less dramatic and visually arresting than swinging a billy club, it can come across as much more humane to the general public. This, of course, draws much less media coverage and, thus, less bad public relations for the police. John W Whitehead, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging Police State
Remember, the police are neutral – they hate everybody. J G Ballard, Millennium People
If I win and get the money, then the Oakland Police department is going to buy a boys’ home, me a house, my family a house, and a Stop Police Brutality Center. Tupac Shakur
I think the police are gangsters. Don of Craigtown, Jamaica
The Number One issue at that time was police brutality. So by the time you get to the early sixties you had an environment that was ripe for riot, and that is exactly what happened. Alex Alonso, street gangs online
In south-central Los Angeles on April 29th 1992 one of the worst race riots erupted in American history. The trigger was the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King. Gangland s1e5: Race War, History 2007
It’s lucky I knew that cop. So he cut me a favour. The Sopranos s2e3: Toodle Fucking-Oo starring James Gandolfini & Lorriane Bracco & Edie Falco & Michael Imperioli & Dominic Chianese & Steven van Zandt & Tony Sirico & Robert Iler et al, Tony to Meadow, HBO 2000
This is sick. You think they’d be out arresting dope dealers. The Sopranos s3e5: Another Toothpick, Carmela in car
Fuck you, copper. I know my rights. The Sopranos s5e3: Where’s Johnny? Uncle Junior
Oh man, the police, man, they just, they crooked. The police: the police are the real criminals. Dip, Gotti Boy, New Orleans
Casso was not about to go down quietly ... Two high-ranking NYPD detectives were on the Mafia payroll. Bringing Down the Mob
Caplan confirmed that former detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were on the Mafia payroll for almost ten years. They had even committed murder for the Mob whilst on duty. ibid.
November 6th 1990: the two detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, men sworn to protect and serve, were in fact hired guns for the Mafia. And possibly the most corrupt cops in NYPD history. Mobsters: Mafia Cops, FYI 2010
Gambling was a key racket for the Eppolitos. ibid.
Stephen Caracappa – a tight-lipped cop with a killer instinct. ibid.
As partners in Brooklyn’s robbery squad Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were a winning combination. Together they were also dangerous. ibid.
Using their badges to lure a man into a Mafia hit – performing this service for mobster Bert Kaplan. ibid.
Eppolito and Caracappa funnelled secret police intelligence to their bosses back in the Mob. ibid.
Guilty on all counts. ibid.
The police are there in our community not to promote our welfare or for our security and our safety but they are there to contain us, to brutalize, to murder us. Huey Newton, Oakland Black Panthers
Police Captain Linked With Drug Rackets. The Godfather II 1974 starring Robert De Niro & Al Pacino & Robert Duvall & Diane Keaton & Talia Shire & Morgana King & John Cazale & Marianna Hill & Lee Strasberg et al, director Francis Ford Coppola, The Sun front page
The police have been cracking down on most of our operations. ibid. Tom to Don
Cops kill cops they can’t trust. We can’t turn it in, man. American Gangster 2007 ***** starring Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe & Chiwetel Ejiofor & Cuba Gooding jr & Josh Brolin & Ted Levine & Armand Assante & Yul Vazqez & Ruby Dee et al, director Ridley Scott, partner to Crowe
The cops seize it, arrest everyone, then they start taking it out of the evidence room ... They live off it – our dope. ibid. bloke at table to Frank
You think you’re going to Heaven because you’re honest. But you’re not. You’re going to the same Hell as the crooked cops you can’t stand. ibid. ex-wife to Crowe
I’ve been paying off the police since I was ten years old. ibid. Frank to fellow gangster
Frank and Richie’s collaboration led to the convictions of three quarters of New York City’s Drug Enforcement Agency. ibid.