If you are part of an organization, you share the responsibility for the actions of that organization. The higher up the organization you are, the more responsibility you share. This is 'collective Karma.' If you are an MP in a government whose policy is killing people by the thousand, you carry a share of responsibility for those deaths and the misery associated with them. The so-called 'austerity' programme of the Conservative Party of Britain has been linked to thousands of premature deaths in the UK. Has Derek Thomas MP ever expressed any concern over this? Has he ever lifted a finger to oppose this policy of death-by-attrition? If so, I'd sure like to hear about it...
Email To: Derek Thomas MP for St Ives and Scilly 26:2:2019
Dear Derek
Re: AUTOMATIC LEGAL AID FOR STATE-BEREAVED FAMILIES
Is it fair that families of those killed by police have to go through an agonizing process of form-filling and means-tests to apply for legal-aid when in these circumstances a policeman or woman accused of killing a citizen automatically gets the best barristers to represent them at the cost of thousands of pounds of tax-payer-s money~
Surely not -
I wonder if you will support a move to bring equality - compassion and proper justice to this situation~
There is now an active campaign to grant the same automatic legal representation to State-bereaved families as is enjoyed by police who take lives - Surely it is a matter of basic justice that traumatized families should get the same degree and quality of assistance as police constables who take lives -
I ask you sincerely to lend your strongest support to this campaign and to show your support for justice in our land-
In view of the critical situation the Earth now faces due to man-made climate breakdown and the associated extinction event unfolding daily around us I recently contacted my MP in an open letter to the local paper - The Cornishman - asking for his response to the crisis -
Here-s the original letter:
Open letter to: Rt Hon Derek Thomas MP -
29-11-2018
CC: The Cornishman newspaper
Dear Derek
I am sure you are aware of the recent announcement by the IPCC that the governments of the world have a mere twelve years in which to drastically reduce carbon emissions for there to be any chance of keeping global temperature-rise to one and a half degrees -
I am sure you have also heard of the predicted consequences of failure to do this -
Currently around 200 species are becoming extinct per day in what scientists have declared to be the greatest extinction-event since a meteorite wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago - Since 1970 we have lost half of the wild animals on earth as well as vast amounts of forest and wilderness -
In view of this emergency in which we find ourselves I would be very grateful to know what steps you - as political representative of this south-western part of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles - are taking to address this situation and press for the reduction of carbon-emissions and other forms of pollution in this area -
My view is that we should all do whatever we can to prevent this this Mass-Extinction-Event from drastically degrading the world that our children will inherit from us -
Obviously - sitting in the House of Commons - you are in a far stronger position to influence our climate and nature-protection strategy than the average citizen and I welcome hearing your response to this emergency -
With best wishes -
Jeremy Schanche
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A couple of weeks later I received a reply from Derek Thomas which follows below in full:
----------------------
Dear Jeremy
Thank you for this email. You are absolutely right to raise this. The IPCC report must sharpen our minds to this issue. There is no doubt in my mind that one of our first duties is to care for the natural environment and behave in a way that does not compound the current challenges.
Your email is timely, not least because in November I met with the Chair of the Campaign for Rural Cornwall to engage his organisation’s advice and expertise regarding how we can sensitively respond to the needs of our community such as providing housing, infrastructure and improvements to mobile and broadband connectivity. I also met with the RSPB in October to see some of the work they have been doing to protect and encourage natural habitats in West Cornwall. This was prior to a Parliamentary debate and second reading of the Agriculture Bill. I argued that we must support the few small farms that remain to support sustainable food production and environmentaly-friendly farming.
On Friday I met with a local environmental campaigner as we are working together to develop ideas with my Cornish colleagues towards a self-sufficient Cornwall as far as energy is concerned. This is something I’ve been keen to do for several years. I am also the Parliamentary representative in Cornwall for the wave and tidal renewable energy sector and we hope to meet with the Minister in the new year.
My view is that we must address our ‘leaky’ homes and reduce the use of carbon fuels in transport as an urgent priority in the UK. This is something I’ve persisted with here in Westminster. However, this is not enough to effect change around the world. I see the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as the most useful agreed priorities for the developed world both to address inequality around the world and address the problem of harmful emissions, unnecessary waste and harmful industrial practices. I’m sure you are aware of the SDGs but if not they are worth investigating. To support these goals I communicate the priorities with our schools and find opportunities for the Government to be held to account for their progress in meeting the goals they have signed up to on behalf of the UK.
I appreciated your constructive email Jeremy and apologise for the delay in responding.
Regards
Derek Thomas MP
For West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (St Ives)
Derek Thomas with Teresa May - Prime Minister of Britain
On 19th December 2018 my letter was printed in The Cornishman newspaper - I hope this goes some way towards raising people-s awareness of the extreme urgency with which we need to transform our entire way of life if we are to have a healthy planet to pass on to our children -
Open letter to: Rt Hon Derek Thomas MP - 29-11-2018
CC: The Cornishman newspaper
Dear Derek
I am sure you are aware of the recent announcement by the IPCC that the governments of the world have a mere twelve years in which to drastically reduce carbon emissions for there to be any chance of keeping global temperature-rise to one and a half degrees -
I am sure you have also heard of the predicted consequences of failure to do this -
Currently around 200 species are becoming extinct per day in what scientists have declared to be the greatest extinction-event since a meteorite wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago - Since 1970 we have lost half of the wild animals on earth as well as vast amounts of forest and wilderness -
In view of this emergency in which we find ourselves I would be very grateful to know what steps you - as political representative of this south-western part of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles - are taking to address this situation and press for the reduction of carbon-emissions and other forms of pollution in this area -
My view is that we should all do whatever we can to prevent this Mass-Extinction-Event from drastically degrading the world that our children will inherit from us -
Obviously - sitting in the House of Commons - you are in a far stronger position to influence our climate and nature-protection strategy than the average citizen and I welcome hearing your response to this emergency -
The State kills "for you" but arrogantly refuses to discuss it with you - MPs work "for you" but won-t talk to you - Llanelli cops think it fine to chop off a man-s fingers - they are confident they will get away with it as they think they are above the law - in effect they are - Meanwhile in Florida schizophrenics walk in chains - blood and puss dripping from their shackle-ulcers - 21st century treatment of the mentally ill in the World-s richest country - Even in the sleepy Shyre of Cornwall the police kill with impunity - ignoring international law - with collusion from ignorant MPs and a corrupt IPCC - In the religious sphere we find rampant abuse of the innocent - A simple request to a Christian Bishop and a Buddhist Lama for a statement against this class-predation is not deemed worthy of response - hunger-strike or no hunger-strike - Such is the World today - Enjoy!
To make your Souvenir Chapbook edition of The Limpet 187 just copy it into a document and print it out - Then fold longwise - then crosswise through centre and again through quarters - Then cut out dotted area in centre and fold into your wonderful pocket-sized edition of The Limpet - Cornwall-s notorious home-made human rights paper - If you fold it right you-ll have the pages in numerical order! Enjoy The Limpet - please print some out and share with your friends -
To: The Editor etc - The Cornishman newspaper - Please consider printing this in the letters section thank you -
Open letter to: Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer - Devon and Cornwall Police 4:3:2017
Re: The Death of Marc Cole -Falmouth - UNCAT
Dear Chief Constable Sawyer-
Four days after Marc Cole was killed by Falmouth Police taser in May 2017 I wrote to you requesting clarification on the legal status of the taser weapon - As I have been pointing out to the British government and police for eight years now the UN declared the taser x-26 a weapon of torture in violation of the UNCAT back in 2007 - To this date I have never received a satisfactory response from any representative of the government or police - You responded to my letter by sending it to the IPCC as a complaint!
My Conservative MP Derek Thomas promised me on youtube to look into the UNCAT back in 2016 but he has never responded over this and refuses to respond to me or represent me at all -
I asked you to liaise with the British government and the UN to clarify the legal status of the Taser X-26 Stun Gun - You have now told me you are passing this matter to a Superintendent to deal with - This is not satisfactory as a Superintendent lacks the authority required to liaise with the government and United Nations -
Since I have been campaigning against tasers I have watched the death toll grow from just one in Britain to over ten - Andrew Pimlott was burned to death in a taser-incident in Plymouth and now Marc Cole from Falmouth is also dead for no justifiable reason whatsoever -
Since I am the main anti-taser activist for this area and you are the main policeman I suggest you rise to my challenge - if you really represent open - transparent and democratic policing as you claim - and meet me in the arena of public debate - An unedited youtube interview would easily clarify this legal and moral problem for the public - You can hardly expect the police to start using lethal weapons on the streets of Britain without some kind of open public discussion of it -
I have no legal training and am a busker by trade - I challenge you to debate me on taser and UNCAT -
Marc Cole was the first person in Cornwall to die from a police taser stun-gun - This publication is dedicated to him and all those around the world killed - tortured and traumatized by tasers - a weapon the United Nations designated as an instrument of torture in contravention of the United Nations Convention Against Torture over ten years ago! The RESIST CARDIAC ARREST CAMPAIGN has been trying to get answers from the British government and police about the UNCAT and taser for eight years and what follows is the latest attempt to get legal clarification on this lethal problem from Cornwall-s chief of police:
Marc Cole
Public Message To: Shaun Sawyer - Chief Constable of Cornwall and Devon Constabulary 24th February 2018
Re: Death of Marc Cole by Falmouth Police - UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE - Illegality of Taser stun-gun - Lying MP Derek Thomas etc
CC: Diane Abbot - Shadow Home Secretary -
Alison Drive - Police and Crime Commissioner - Devon - Cornwall and Scillies
Clare Moody - Member of European Parliament
Amnesty International - London
Dear Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer - I wrote to you on 27th May 2017 requesting that you clarify the legal position of the stun-gun X-26 manufactured by Taser International and increasingly carried and used by British police - You didn-t respond to my letter but rather passed it to the IPCC who of course took no action and also failed to respond to the legal matters I have raised - I would like to ask you again to clarify the law over stun-gun usage on humans - In 2010 I made an extensive study of the above phenomena and also started questioning the British government and police about the law and tasers - To this day I have never had a satisfactory response - or even a genuine response at all from the government or police except for an admission from the now disgraced Tory cabinet minister Damien Green who agreed with me in a letter that the taser is indeed a lethal weapon - despite the multi-billion dollar campaign of Taser International to suppress any such legal argument even by suing coroners who had linked stun-guns to deaths by cardiac-arrest! Against such a background I spent years having my letters on stun-guns being ignored by three separate British governments two Chief-Constables and various other police-people - and two MPs - my current Conservative Party MP Derek Thomas has maintained an almost total boycott of me and in effect I have no official political representation - However on one rare occasion Derek Thomas gave me a filmed interview in which he promised to investigate what I had told him about the UNCAT - that it has never had Article 22 ratified by Britain and this is the loophole that allows British police to ignore the UN and effectively use stun-guns to torture and kill British citizens with no democratic mandate to do so - On 27th May - four days after the death of Marc Cole by Falmouth police taser - I wrote to you - the Chief of Police for Cornwall and Devon - stating that the UN had declared taser-usage constituted torture in 2007 and asked you to explicate this situation - I formally requested that you as part of your duty as Chief Constable talk to the UN and get clarification from them and our British Government on the legal status of stun-guns - Since I have been informed by the UN that the British government can-t deal with taser-torture cases from British police due to the non-ratification of Article 22 - and since Derek Thomas refuses to do his well-paid duty and communicate with his constituents - or raise the life-and-death issues he has promised to raise with the government - I see no option but to repeat my request that you yourself respond over this as head law-man for the west-country - Surely if the UN is saying taser-usage contravenes the UNCAT and an MP has promised - on youtube - to raise the issue in parliament but is lying about this intention - then I would contend that this issue lands squarely on the desk of the presiding Chief Constable of the area in which the man - Marc Cole - was killed - After all - you are the highest Commanding Officer for the entire local jurisdiction - you are head of law and order and you have another death on your hands - I ask you again to talk to the UN and the British Government about the legal status of the Taser X-26 stun-gun in view of the Deaths of Marc Cole - Andrew Pimlott and all the others killed and the children electrocuted with these weapons - Specifically I ask you to look into the UN-s findings and declarations regarding Lisbon November 2007 and the case of police torture-slaughter in the cells over there in Portugal - This is when the UN made their declaration about the X-26 contravening the United Nations Convention Against Torture and obviously the UN will be able to provide you (and the British Government) with the paper-work on this - I-ve been telling the British police and government that taser is an illegal weapon of death and torture since 2010 - Having provided legal argument supported by the United Nations - the Green Party and Mebyon Kernow I say to you Mr Sawyer will you please communicate with me fully on these matters - Preferably before the next person having a wobbler on the street is slaughtered with 50-000 volts - Sincerely - Jeremy Schanche - RESIST CARDIAC ARREST
Previous correspondence from me to Chief Constable Sawyer - all unanswered:
Public Message To: Chief Constable Sean Sawyer, Cornwall and Devon Police, 27th May, 2017
Dear Chief Constable,
Since 2010 I have been attempting to get the British authorities to uphold the law regarding torture, namely the UNCAT. I have had communication with your predecessor, the former Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary; Andrew George MP; Derek Thomas MP; various members of the British Government and police. I have a written admission from a cabinet minister that stun-guns are indeed lethal, despite contrary claims by the manufacturer.
Since a young man has just died having been shot with a stun-gun by Cornish police in Falmouth, I thought I would point out to you that the use of the taser x-26 and similar weapons is illegal.
An MP recently let me know that this fact is virtually unknown in the House of Commons. However, it is know to some, including the Prime Minister, the Law Lords and the United Nations. Taser usage became illegal in Britain in 2007, following the UN declaration in Lisbon. The fact that this change in the law has not filtered through the British Government to the Cornish police in no way diminishes the legal reality of the situation. I believe ignorance of the law is not a recognized defence.
I understand that the UN Committee Against Torture can not order the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary to cease using their illegal weapons of torture, and I also understand the mechanism by which the British Government avoids its legal obligation to uphold the UNCAT. I know this from having communicated directly with the United Nations in Geneva myself. The reason I took a complaint to Geneva was because Falmouth police (who have just been involved in a taser-killing) (and also shot dead a man who had an air-gun) were torturing a handcuffed man in the street with a taser. Since Penzance police falsely told me they could not take my complaint, I took it to Geneva, that being the obvious route to justice which was not available in this jurisdiction. My communication with the UN in Geneva explicated for me the mechanism of deception by which the British government(s) since Thatcher in 1985, have been evading their responsibility to uphold the UNCAT by failing to ratify Article 22.
As a result of the continuing illegal use of stun-guns in Cornwall and Devon, resulting from the British government and police failing to properly engage with my legal objections to this weapon's deployment, constables of our local force recently burnt a disturbed young man to death by electrocuting him when he was doused with petrol - proving they were incapable of following the basic guidelines that are supposedly taught to ensure the 'safety' of this weapon.
We now have a second disturbed man apparently killed by an illegal stun-gun in Devon and Cornwall. I know other injuries were involved in this case, but it seems highly likely that the stun gun was a major contributory factor.
Have the Devon and Cornwall police been warned that the batteries in their weapons are known to be carcinogenic, and highly dangerous if damaged? Since this warning comes in printed form with each new weapon, I trust you have put the safety of the constables first and informed them of the carcinogenic nature of their weapons. Failure to do so would seem to be placing their health in jeopardy unnecessarily.
If you have any doubt about the validity of what I am imparting to you, then I request that in your role as head of law and order in Cornwall and Devon that you please contact the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva and request them to inform you of their judgement given in Lisbon in 2007. I believe they will make it clear to you that the UN's Investigative Committee has indeed defined the said weapon as an instrument of extreme pain and torture, likely to cause death. They recommended its use be discontinued instantly as it was in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Please verify this information for yourself and liaise with the British Government and respond to me on this (preferably before anyone else is killed in the street with one of these weapons.)
It is my informed belief that Great Britain is in breach of UNCAT by our continued use of taser and similar weapons. I have informed the government and police of this many times and have never received a satisfactory response from any official, clarifying the government and police's position in law. It is my belief that Britain's continuing breach of UNCAT has led directly to the deaths of Andrew Pimlott in Plymouth and Marc Cole in Falmouth as well as numerous other deaths in Britain. Politicians who have evaded discourse on this issue bear some responsibility for these deaths. Derek Thomas has broken a public promise to me over this and failed to raise the matter of UNCAT ratification with the British Government. I believe Mr Thomas is criminally negligent in this regard and I will be proceeding against him.
I have informed you of the law, as I see it and am sincerely asking for remedy by the steps mentioned above. I am extremely distressed that a human life has been taken, I believe unnecessarily and this is a crime against nature.
I trust you will respond promptly to me and engage with me, over this point of law, and over this wasted human life.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche
Newlyn, Cornwall.
--------------------
Marc Cole
Public message to: Chief Constable Sean Sawyer, Devon and Cornwall Police Headquarters, Exeter, Devon. 1st June, 2017
Re: The killing of Marc Cole by Falmouth Police, 23rd May, 2017
Dear Chief Constable Sawyer,
It is my understanding that usually when the police kill someone, the family is offered the chance to speak with a Liaison Officer. To the best of my knowledge, no such offer has been made to the Cole family. Would you please take appropriate action on this?
I gather that it is your policy to conceal the identity of officers who kill citizens - we can all see why. I'd like to ask you whether the constable(s) involved in this latest killing have been suspended, if so are they still being paid? What is the current employment status of the constables involved in the killing of Marc Cole?
Sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche
--------------------
So much for our open and transparent democracy where the police are public servants who police by consent - taking their instructions from our government who represent us and uphold international law for us - Anyway here-s the article I wrote to start my campaign against stun-guns in 2010 -
50,000 (fifty thousand) volts into a human, from a taser, yet the authorities still quibble over 'cause of death' in so many cases! Vacillation by politicians of the Big T'ree (Lib-Lab-Con have all evaded discussion on the status of the UNCAT,) has contributed to ongoing deaths and torture on adults, the vulnerable and the young, by police taser in the UK. The Green Party and Mebyon Kernow have both given me statements saying they support my assertion that taser violates UNCAT. Conservative Member of Parliament Derek Thomas in particular has been lying to me and dodging this issue for nearly a decade now, as is the Tory way...
The recent death of Falmouth man Marc Cole (30) brought the issue of taser back into stark focus here in Cornwall - Marc was the first person in Cornwall to die after being hit by a police stun-gun.
After Falmouth police repeatedly tortured Stefan Naumczyk with a stun-gun during a 'royal street-party,' I tried to register a complaint of torture. He was stunned, cuffed, then stunned again, in front of a large crowd. This constitutes torture - in my book, and also in the book of law... The police's lying response to me that they could not hear my complaint eventually led me to communicate with the U.N. in Geneva, which is how I discovered that Britain had not ratified Article 22 of the UNCAT which would have allowed UN Investigators into the realm. Thanks for the tip, Falmouth Police, I'd never have found out without you!
Due to corruption at all levels in the British State, my MP has totally failed to fulfill his on-camera promise to raise the UNCAT Article 22 Ratification issue with the British Government. This has stalled any progress on the issue and been a major contributory factor in the unlawful slaughter of Marc Cole by these policemen. My MP, Derek Thomas, also claims to be a Christian, but won't lift a finger to save an old man, a British citizen proven innocent, from dying of flesh-eating bacteria in a vile foreign jail, namely Krishna Maharaj, who languishes in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Soft-Tipped, a.k.a. Dum-Dum Rounds, a.k.a. Hollow-Tipped Bullets have been banned in warfare by international law since at least World War One. That didn't stop police in Falmouth, Cornwall from slaughtering Antony Kitts with one, back on 10th April, 1999. These rounds cause massive internal damage, because they expand as they go through a person, thus ripping out a much bigger tunnel than a typical bullet. Not legal to use on enemies in wartime, but legal for the British Police to use for culling troublesome citizens in the streets.
"The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use," the UN Committee said in a statement, November 2007.
My letter of 13th June, 2017, to the Commanding Officer of Police for Cornwall and Devon, UK:
Public message to:Chief Constable Shawn Sawyer, Cornwall & Devon Pol., Mrs. F.Wills, Complaints Dept., 13.6.2017 RE: RESIST CARDIAC ARREST CAMPAIGN / ILLEGAL INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE & DEATH
C.C. United Nations, Geneva; Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party Leader; Richard Burgon, Shadow Minister of Justice; Dick Cole, Mebyon Kernow; Andrew George; Julie Girling MEP; Danette Chavis, National Action Against Police Brutality and Murder; Amnesty International; The Guardian newspaper, The Independent Newspaper, The Cornishman newspaper; BBC Radio Cornwall; etc.
Dear Chief Cons.Sawyer and Mrs F.Wills,
I am rather surprised to receive a letter from you asking why I am unhappy with police using stun-guns on humans when your constables have recently burned a man to death in public and now slaughtered another young man in the streets of Falmouth, Cornwall.
Strange as it may seem to some, the average citizen is not too happy with cops that publicly burn citizens to death with illegal weapons of torture or kill people with 50,000 volts when they are having emotional crises.
I've requested that you seek clarification with the British Government (if we have one) and the United Nations, as the rightful, lawful and legal authorities who can clarify the legal status of the x-26 stun gun for you.
You have not responded to me, Chief Constable.
Please do so urgently.
I shall be further clarifying my complaint to you in writing within your statutory complaints period of three weeks.
Further to my original communique, would you please inform me whether Marc Cole's bereaved and grieving family have been offered a Liaison Officer from your department yet? This question was not answered by you.
Please let me know as soon as possible what the United Nations and the British Government have told you about the X-16 being defined in international law as an INSTRUMENT OF TORTURE by the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Lisbon in 2007.
Please do not ignore this communication but respond to it fully in accordance with your lawful responsibilities.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Sch@nche
Newlyn, Kernow, Britain.
When I wrote to Chief Constable Sean Sawyer about the above, he passed it the IPCC - this is their response.
The IPCC is the 'Independent Police Complaints Commission,' which, I have to say, has a notorious record for either bungling investigations, or basically functioning as the police's alibi-department. A frequent technique of the police is to use the IPCC as a kind of shield, granting them protection and an aura of 'justice.' The so-called 'watch-dog' lives in a kennel adjoining the police-station and seems to live on scraps thrown to it from said building.
I believe that Marc Cole's family had an experience when they contacted police about Marc's death, only to have the matter described as a 'complaint' and referred to the IPCC, who did not respond satisfactorily. The same thing happened to me when I approached Cornwall's Chief Constable about the matter recently. I pointed out the matter of the UN's ruling in 2007 that taser-usage constituted torture, and asked him to liaise with the government and the UN. He did neither, but merely referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who responded in an unsatisfactory manner. They even said that I had not been affected by the killing of Marc Cole - how can anyone assume that?
There are ways to approach a person in emotional crisis, even in danger, that de-escalate and calm the situation. This takes a basic understanding of human psychology, in which our constables urgently need to be trained to avoid further unnecessary killings. Rather than 'portable electric-chairs' that zap the recipient with 50,000 or more volts, better to issue cudgels to the constabulary, for surely two big strong cops with broom-sticks could easily floor a citizen who's out of order and borderline violent, without inducing cardiac arrest and putting a temporarily unruly citizen and father of young children into a permanent grave.
Tasers are undemocratic, murderous, torturous, illegal cattle-prods that have no legitimate, or even vaguely legal, human use. They also cause cancer in those who use them, as found by the State of California. It's time for genuine debate on how society protects itself from violence, without going to the other extreme and taking the current 'overkill' approach. I appreciate the protection of the police in this quasi-free society and am under no illusions about street violence, but I contend that if policing is claimed to be done by consent, then that claim has to be proven by those who make it, if they wish to retain the 'democratic' image.
Jeremy Sch@nche, 26..9.2017
Marc Cole of Falmouth.
Derek Thomas MP lies on camera about protecting the People from state-torture. Good old tories!
Things got a little ugly there for a while... and we started getting crazy headlines about farm-yard goings-on amongst the Conservative Party, hence Derek's Pig-Gate Denial in which he said he had no interest....
Defend Human Rights This is the poster that went up around all the country lanes of St. Buryan when Derek and Co. were still threatening to remove the Human Rights Act.
Derek Thomas MP challenged on Fox-Hunting - he says the issue should be decided on principle - it already was - I asked him which principles it should be decided on - I never found out... which principles, Derek?
Derek Thomas - Exterminator! Reynard the Fox is argued over by me and Derek, in an early encounter. Right-wing politicos in Britain always threaten to 'bring back fox-hunting' - it's guaranteed to cause a storm of protest (which I endorse) but is also a great diversionary tactic. While we're all off chasing the fox, the Tories are looting the town.
Introducing Derek.... this was in the early days of our romance, before we started taking each other for granted. Even then, I had a hunch he wouldn't be right for me.
Derek on film: We finally got to have our 'little chat'...
Derek lies to me about the United Nations Convention Against Torture:
Derek Thomas' disgraceful record on Human Rights is reflected in this letter to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall police about the tragic and unnecessary police-killing of Marc Cole, a 30 year old man in Falmouth on 23rd May, 2017.
This London cabbie has got a message for you young voters out there who would like some clarity on what it's all about.... believe me, this guy's got the knowledge.
Some Traditional Songs About Derek Thomas and The Conservatives....
30-year old Marc Cole - a painter from Falmouth who had a recent history of severe and enduring mental-illness - a severe condition of the brain called hydrocephalus and a family history of Bi-Polar Disorder died on 23rd May 2017 after being shot by Devon and Cornwall police with a Taser stun-gun when they were called out to attend a mental-health-crisis - Mr Cole is the first person in Cornwall to die after being stunned with a taser -
Letter to: The Cornishman newspaper Cornwall, Britain and other press, 29:5:17
Dear Editor,
I was extremely distressed to hear that 30 year old Marc Cole, a painter from Falmouth died on Tuesday 23rd May, having cut himself in the street and been shot by police with a taser stun-gun.
Over the last seven years I've had a lot of communication about tasers with the police, government, UN and human rights organisations. The law around tasers is something I have touched on with Derek Thomas MP, who has kept me waiting eleven months for a response.
As a citizen of a democracy, I expect my representatives to engage in discussion with me over the issue of arming our police. I agree with the UN that the taser is not safe for street-use. As I've watched the taser-fatalities accumulate in this country, I'd imagine the relatives of the deceased might agree with me. Safer weapons are available. May we as a people discuss this?
Sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche
------------------------
NOTICE:
I am very keen to speak to the family of Marc Cole, the man who was killed in the above incident. They can contact me at: save the holy headland at yahoo dot com - I'm a human-rights activist who has worked on taser-law issues for several years and would like to offer them any help I can give.
Jeremy Schanche
-------------------------
note: since writing the above notice, I have made contact with the family of the man apparently killed by police in the street in Falmouth. If anyone else has been shot or threatened by police with a stun-gun, please contact me for free legal advice.
Please check out my in-depth investigation of everything related to taser RESIST CARDIAC ARREST written in 2010, when I launched my campaign against these illegal and vicious weapons of torure, having seen what was happening in the USA, where people were dying on a very regular basis from being shot with these weapons. The town of Falmouth, in West Cornwall, Great Britain, has played a very important part in the RCA campaign, as it was a previous incident of Falmouth police taser-torture that led to my communicating with the United Nations and learning about how Britain's politicians have lied to us since '85 on this issue. This is an interesting example of 'cause and effect,' or a 'chain of causality.'
Nutshell Version: tasers arrive in UK, RCA Campaign starts after death of Brian Loan, 1st fatality; UN Declaration says tasers are illegal instrument of torture; Brit Gov non-communication and evasion after many, many letters from me about legal basis of weapons; UNCAT never ratified as politicians won't go there or talk about it; police continue to stun-gun people; man dies in Cornwall, as predicted in 2010.
Tributes to Marc Cole from the community.
Please remember Marc Cole, 'Colsey' of Falmouth, Britain and his family, in this most distressing situation. Please respect the family's request to be left in peace.
Public Message To: Chief Constable Sean Sawyer, Cornwall and Devon Police, 27th May, 2017
Dear Chief Constable, Re: The Death of Marc Cole / Stun-guns / United Nations Conventions Against Torture
Since 2010 I have been attempting to get the British authorities to uphold the law regarding torture, namely the UNCAT. I have had communication with your predecessor, the former Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary; Andrew George MP; Derek Thomas MP; and various members of the British Government and police. I have a written admission from a cabinet minister that stun-guns are indeed lethal, despite contrary claims by the manufacturer.
Since a young man has just died having been shot with a stun-gun by Cornish police in Falmouth, I thought I would point out to you that the use of the taser x-26 and similar weapons is illegal.
An MP recently let me know that this fact is virtually unknown in the House of Commons. However, it is know to some, including the Prime Minister, the Law Lords and the United Nations. Taser usage became illegal in Britain in 2007, following the UN declaration in Lisbon. The fact that this change in the law has not filtered through the British Government to the Cornish police in no way diminishes the legal reality of the situation. I believe ignorance of the law is not a recognized defence.
I understand that the UN Committee Against Torture can not order the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary to cease using their illegal weapons of torture, and I also understand the mechanism by which the British Government avoids its legal obligation to uphold the UNCAT. I know this from having communicated directly with the United Nations in Geneva myself. The reason I took a complaint to Geneva was because Falmouth police (who have just been involved in a taser-killing) (and also shot dead a man who had an air-gun) were torturing a handcuffed man in the street with a taser. Since Penzance police falsely told me they could not take my complaint, I took it to Geneva, that being the obvious route to justice which was not available in this jurisdiction. My communication with the UN in Geneva explicated for me the mechanism of deception by which the British government(s) since Thatcher in 1985, have been evading their responsibility to uphold the UNCAT by failing to ratify Article 22.
As a result of the continuing illegal use of stun-guns in Cornwall and Devon, resulting from the British government and police failing to properly engage with my legal objections to this weapon's deployment, constables of our local force recently burnt a disturbed young man to death by electrocuting him when he was doused with petrol - proving they were incapable of following the basic guidelines that are supposedly taught to ensure the 'safety' of this weapon.
We now have a second disturbed man apparently killed by an illegal stun-gun in Devon and Cornwall. I know other injuries were involved in this case, but it seems highly likely that the stun gun was a major contributory factor.
Have the Devon and Cornwall police been warned that the batteries in their weapons are known to be carcinogenic, and highly dangerous if damaged? Since this warning comes in printed form with each new weapon, I trust you have put the safety of the constables first and informed them of the carcinogenic nature of their weapons. Failure to do so would seem to be placing their health in jeopardy unnecessarily.
If you have any doubt about the validity of what I am imparting to you, then I request that in your role as head of law and order in Cornwall and Devon that you please contact the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva and request them to inform you of their judgement given in Lisbon in 2007. I believe they will make it clear to you that the UN's Investigative Committee has indeed defined the said weapon as an instrument of extreme pain and torture, likely to cause death. They recommended its use be discontinued instantly as it was in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Please verify this information for yourself and liaise with the British Government and respond to me on this (preferably before anyone else is killed in the street with one of these weapons.)
It is my informed belief that Great Britain is in breach of UNCAT by our continued use of taser and similar weapons. I have informed the government and police of this many times and have never received a satisfactory response from any official, clarifying the government and police's position in law. It is my belief that Britain's continuing breach of UNCAT has led directly to the deaths of Andrew Pimlott in Plymouth and Marc Cole in Falmouth as well as numerous other deaths in Britain. Politicians who have evaded discourse on this issue bear some responsibility for these deaths. Derek Thomas has broken a public promise to me over this and failed to raise the matter of UNCAT ratification with the British Government. I believe Mr Thomas is criminally negligent in this regard and I will be proceeding against him.
I have informed you of the law, as I see it and am sincerely asking for remedy by the steps mentioned above. I am extremely distressed that a human life has been taken, I believe unnecessarily and this is a crime against nature.
I trust you will respond promptly to me and engage with me, over this point of law, and over this wasted human life.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche
Newlyn, Cornwall.
The local Cornish news article that alerted me to this latest taser-related fatality. Ironically, I was actually looking for an article on the fact that as of now, our streets in little old Cornwall will be patrolled by cops wielding tommy-guns (that's sub-machine guns for all you younger readers) and I was not at all happy about that, as I'm not keen on police displaying arms unnecessarily.
Guardian article on the death of Marc Cole, who was shot with a taser stun-gun by police after having knifed himself in Langton Road, Falmouth, Cornwall on Tuesday May 23rd, 2017. (Correction: 31/5/2017: I have just heard from the family of the man killed that he DID NOT cut or stab himself with a knife - He was shot twice with a stun-gun by Falmouth police. Initial news reports were confused and the police will not be commenting until the 'I'PCC have done their work - this can take over a year.)
This is the Chief of Police for Cornwall and Devon. It seems that he is himself under investigation by police over some murky business involving false accounting, the shudderingly evil Conservative Party of Britain, a corrupt crime commissioner type functionary - allegedly - who is a former Conservative Party apparatchik, etc., you get the picture... this is the man I'm addressing my letter to over the death of a distressed man in the street. I expect he'll check me out, realize that I'm a harmless and penniless busker, send me a fob-off letter and nothing will change....
I'm Jeremy Schanche, British artist and activist. This blog features my paper, The Limpet. Here I write about human rights, the environment and politics. Please see my articles about Harold Hempstead and Florida Department of Corrections, with more at Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress.com.
I have another blog that's completely different - it's where you'll find The Caterpillar, a journal of collage, poetry and surrealism that is remixed as The Caterpillar Dub - the world's first Dub newspaper. Both of these can be found at:
http://yecaterpillar.blogspot.com.
In October 2024 I published my first paperback book of fiction - The Horned Whale or An Morvil Kornek by Jeremy Schanche - available at various bookshops and at Amazon.
ISBN: 9780993490903.
175,710 words.
£15.
Contains the mystery novel - The Kramvil, plus two novellas, poetry and glossaries.
