Why ?????

[bazwillrun]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2423840/Judge-takes-unprecedented-decision-hold-moments-silence-Mark-Duggan-start-inquest-shooting-police.html

An absolute disgrace.

This judge should be reprimanded.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "It would have been more fair for you to attack Gromit rather than youngmafbog, since it was he who accused the police of murder, but then that would have been like criticising one of your own and that would never do."

When I last checked, I didn't actually require guidance from you on to whom I should address my posts - i am sure you would not appreciate the same being offered to you.

I have not 'attacked' anyone, I asked a question, and i am sure youngmafbog is capable of answering or not as he chooses.

I do not have any of 'my own' on this site or anwhere else.

So - in conclusion - if you wish to post a sideswipe at me for something I haven't done, and infer that I side with anyone when I have not said so, let me save you some valuable time - don't bother!

[bazwillrun]

"Plus it is not unprecedented, a quick google search shows many instances of a minutes silence being held at hearings. "

what, for members of gun toting, drug peddling members of notoriously violent gangs ?

[ChillDoubt]

OK then, I'll say it.

It would appear that the Judge has kowtowed to the request of Duggan's family for no other reason than (not wishing to incur the ire of his family and wrath and accusations of the wider black community) the colour of his skin.

There we are, pachyderm mentioned.

[Zacs-Master]

Typical DM article. 'Unprecedented' in the headline becomes diluted to 'highly unusual' in the first para. Which is is? Journalism for unquestioning sheep.

[jim360]

No, baz. But for people who have died.

For all that Duggan may have been a gang member, and dealing with drugs, and may have been wielding a gun at the police -- we don't know all of this. That is (at least some of it is) what the inquest is aiming to find out.

[hc4361]

ChillDoubt, his mother is white, I think. Do you think that made a difference?

[ChillDoubt]

hc4361,
Rio Ferdinand's mum is white. Rio still refers to himself as black though.
Do you believe there would have been the same amount of rioting and disorder if Duggan had been Caucasian?

[hc4361]

This thread isn't about the riots though. Do you think the judge was influenced by the white mother who asked for the moment's silence, or the fact that the deceased was mixed race?

Personally, I don't think it made a jot of difference to the judge.

[jim360]

Probably there would not have been -- but then again, would the police have been as likely to shoot him dead in the first place if he were Caucasian?

The whole thing is a mess and inevitably one side or the other in any debate of this nature is guilty of racism: either in the first instance by reacting more violently against Black/ mixed-race people, or by assuming that "white man shoots black man" is always entirely down to race and never anything else. One way or another, it's clear that we have major problems of racism in this country still, and they need to be addressed.

[Zacs-Master]

I don't see the point of debating one case which isn't, as the DM seemed to claim, unprecedented. If (and I haven't researched this) there are cases where a minutes silence was held for a white person, the OP is a little spurious.

[ChillDoubt]

This thread isn't about the riots though. Do you think the judge was influenced by the white mother who asked for the moment's silence, or the fact that the deceased was mixed race?
------------------
You've answered your own question. The judge was doubtless mindful of what ensued after his death. The fact that his mother was white made no difference at the time, but the local community saw it as an 'armed police shoot local black man' scenario, not armed police shoot mixed race male.

[Zeuhl]

The 20 seconds was recognising the loss of a young life

Are all Coroners supposed to make a value judgement on the merits or demerits of that life before they begin?

based on what?

who next?

a young person with mental illness who commits suicide

'she's ok, she was very good to her mother'
or
'no 20 seconds for them, they were a bit of a druggy'

a young person run over by a car

'no 20 seconds for them, they were a on bail'

The most impartial thing is either do it for anyone or for no one

[Gromit]

Duggen's death was very similar to that of Azelle Rodney.

// In July 2013 a judicial inquiry found that the Authorised Firearms Officer who fired the fatal shots [ at Rodney ] had "no lawful justification" for opening fire. The case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to determine whether a prosecution should be launched. //

The Duggen inquest verdict will be interesting. It will hopefully clear up all the lies that the police spun afterwards.

[craft1948]

"The Duggen inquest verdict will be interesting. It will hopefully clear up all the lies that the police spun afterwards."

So you've an open mind then Gromit?