Speaker 1: Just before nine o'clock last night, the jury returned guilty
Speaker 1: verdicts against all three defendants.
Speaker 2: It was absolute shambles, to tell you the truth, just
Speaker 2: absolutely really honous.
Speaker 3: Blood on his clothing the day after the alleged.
Speaker 4: Attap a shallow mud bank and it fits Roy River. Basically.
Speaker 5: I think most of the people are used to me
Speaker 5: are good people.
Speaker 4: I think a really important question we need to ask
Speaker 4: is how many Indigenous prisoners in Australia are innocent.
Speaker 3: This is Curtain, a podcast where we pulled back the
Speaker 3: blinds to shine a light on the darkest parts of
Speaker 3: our justice system and ask who are the victims.
Speaker 6: I'm Amy Maguire and I'm.
Speaker 4: Martin Hodgson, a senior advocate for the Foreign Prisoner Support Service.
Speaker 4: And a warning. This series contains the names of deceased
Speaker 4: peoples and has distressing content that might upset some listeners.
Speaker 3: This week, well this month actually has been a busy
Speaker 3: one in Rockhampton and me.
Speaker 1: And Bega, But I'll tell you more about that very soon.
Speaker 4: But first of.
Speaker 3: All, let me tell you our listeners what's been going
Speaker 3: on up and north in rock Campden. I did imagine
Speaker 3: him before then in April and a major of flood
Speaker 3: washed through the Fitzroy River. It distructed a few plans
Speaker 3: because on April tenth, a few days after the flood,
Speaker 3: advocates to the cabin in Rock Campdens were planning on
Speaker 3: holding a rally.
Speaker 1: April ten marks the twenty fifth year of Kevin's conviction.
Speaker 7: To the date.
Speaker 1: To commemorate that date, many of Kevin's supporters, including his
Speaker 1: main advocate Yasmin Johnson, were planning a rally for justice
Speaker 1: for him down at Tanubah House. Tanubah House was flooded, though,
Speaker 1: and so the date was changed to May first, So.
Speaker 3: This week the final preparations ran up for that rally.
Speaker 3: It has got only be held in this coming Monday
Speaker 3: and at the place where Linda tragically lost her life,
Speaker 3: because it's not just a rally for the cavern, it's
Speaker 3: also one for Lunda and zequ Coast Guard, which has
Speaker 3: the office that would previously to move the house. As
Speaker 3: kindly that members of the.
Speaker 4: Aboriginal community used the area around.
Speaker 3: The building to host as an event. Earlier this week,
Speaker 3: I went to the Wall to Read Building, a short
Speaker 3: walk up the road from Tonuver House, where event organizers
Speaker 3: were painting banners to use in the rally as were
Speaker 3: painted banners. We discussed many aspects of the case and
Speaker 3: I found out something.
Speaker 8: I didn't know.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if many of our listeners have wondered
Speaker 1: that we found out where Kevin Henry got his nickname
Speaker 1: Curtain from.
Speaker 3: Here's Yasin Johnson. I was speaking to haw Or. We
Speaker 3: were both slighted with light pain.
Speaker 2: Well we actually we're asking that. Yesterday My brother asked
Speaker 2: him when he rang up and he said, I said, yeah,
Speaker 2: I want to know that answer to you, I said,
Speaker 2: in the background we had him on lab speaker. He said, no,
Speaker 2: when I'm one time he said, he said there was
Speaker 2: no blanket or something like that. Yeah, he said, he
Speaker 2: just took the curtain off and wrapped up himself, roping
Speaker 2: the curtain and when they will come mind, he was
Speaker 2: up and they just called him curtain and stuck.
Speaker 5: He's stuck in.
Speaker 3: Yes by Dwayne matter Son of the Legendary after this
Speaker 3: form Matter I spake to him during one of the
Speaker 3: down lines.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I suppose the reasons why Dwayne Mather here you go.
Speaker 8: I want the crew here for the May Day rally
Speaker 8: for Kevin Henry, and what are we doing here tonight?
Speaker 6: Where are we and what are we doing?
Speaker 7: Walter Reed? Painting up a storm here, getting our message
Speaker 7: out across in.
Speaker 8: The in the banners and yeah, just just going over
Speaker 8: it and sort of talking about the reasons why we're
Speaker 8: here and how it's affected our lives. You know, it's
Speaker 8: I suppose the similarities because the wall suffered injustice of
Speaker 8: some sort during our lives.
Speaker 7: So I I.
Speaker 8: Read an article in the paper boy uh Amy you
Speaker 8: and yeah, that sort of got a FOI gy that
Speaker 8: probably went in the guys who I've leaving in that
Speaker 8: cause dad was into was an activist.
Speaker 7: He was back in the days of the tenement. See
Speaker 7: Bob Benza, Oh that's your dad.
Speaker 8: Yeah, And that sort of stuck with me. It's always
Speaker 8: been there to be a part of something or being
Speaker 8: to rallies in Brisbane and Muskrat Park and.
Speaker 7: All sort of stop. And it was the same thing,
Speaker 7: m real parting for change.
Speaker 6: Did you know much about Kevin's case before this?
Speaker 8: Aw a little bit, But after I'd read that article
Speaker 8: that got in my eyes to the injustice and the
Speaker 8: cruelty and and everything that that was wrong with it.
Speaker 8: And it's to me it'spie for itself and uh, yeah,
Speaker 8: that helped me gone again. So I wanna be here
Speaker 8: a part of this for to get him free.
Speaker 6: To make a change and describe for me some of
Speaker 6: the banners that are gonna be there on the day, Well.
Speaker 7: They're pretty full on. We're trying to keep 'em au PG.
Speaker 8: That's the hardest part, Yeah cause l all the uh
Speaker 8: emotions come out and uh when when when you're actually
Speaker 8: doing it, it's sort of you're living it. It's not
Speaker 8: just words. Yeah, it's a part of you. It is
Speaker 8: a party. If you're a black, a black person in
Speaker 8: this country, these words are a part of you. The victimization,
Speaker 8: the the the cover up, all this sort of thing,
Speaker 8: and and it's j and it's a way I suppose
Speaker 8: that we can now voice voice our our our opinions
Speaker 8: through the media of print and through the rally. And
Speaker 8: yeah cause back in the days when Dad was with
Speaker 8: the Tandem see back in w Yeah, and that suffered
Speaker 8: the sort of the same things that would've been on
Speaker 8: the Asia list and have been black band. They went
Speaker 8: to the States and got with black power, came back
Speaker 8: here and and tried to Oh I don't suppose you know,
Speaker 8: not to to copy what they.
Speaker 7: Were doing there in America, but to do it our
Speaker 7: way here, you know, black fell away here and from there.
Speaker 8: Well, and yeah, I'm excited just to be part of this,
Speaker 8: not to get out there and fight the coppers or
Speaker 8: anything like that, but to get the message out there's
Speaker 8: been an injustice and we won't set.
Speaker 7: The records straight.
Speaker 6: And did you grow up here in Rocky from.
Speaker 8: Kents Sell, My mom from Nana Roan's from here Rocky. Yeah,
Speaker 8: so we sort of came here from Nana Roan, my
Speaker 8: nana and I stayed. They compared to build a minor
Speaker 8: standwy we end up staying.
Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, that was twenty five or six years ago,
Speaker 7: I think.
Speaker 6: Yeah, so you've been here like probably around the time
Speaker 6: this murder took place. Did it surprise you when you
Speaker 6: heard about the things that were going down with the police.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it did actually because it was all over the media,
Speaker 8: but we only saw what they wanted us to see,
Speaker 8: you know, invisible media for the Black Father one more again. Yeah,
Speaker 8: so yeah, the positives weren't coming out. Was all the negativity,
Speaker 8: And so I suppose true that everyone readymore at the
Speaker 8: time until now quarter of a century later, which way
Speaker 8: the truth comes out.
Speaker 6: It's interesting because it seems that Kevin Henry was pretty
Speaker 6: much locked up for being a black man, so it
Speaker 6: could have happened to anyone when you think about it.
Speaker 7: That's right, that's right.
Speaker 8: They did something wrong and they covered it up and
Speaker 8: hopefully someone will pay for that life that went down.
Speaker 6: And you said you studied to be a journalist. How
Speaker 6: would you describe the media blackout? You sort of said before,
Speaker 6: But the fact is that media never really follow up
Speaker 6: these sort of cases when it comes to Aboriginal victims.
Speaker 8: That's right, and that's why I say that word invisibility.
Speaker 8: You know, they're invisible to anything good that's being done
Speaker 8: by the let's say the black man. But now it's changing,
Speaker 8: you know, change is coming. Thank God for that. Change
Speaker 8: has come and we can see it now because of
Speaker 8: the passion that some have in the media to stand
Speaker 8: up and fight for it without being without being biased.
Speaker 8: And that's and that's what we need to be biased
Speaker 8: in this case. Well, the evidence has been presented, be
Speaker 8: a mind about it, have a look.
Speaker 7: And then make your judgment. I here today.
Speaker 6: The evidence, and you've been helping organize this rally. Do
Speaker 6: you reckon that many people are going to turn up.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yep.
Speaker 8: The word's gone out with throwing fliers everywhere social media.
Speaker 6: You're handing amount at the flaws and the other Apparently.
Speaker 7: Yes, someone said that.
Speaker 6: You're not going to get in trouble.
Speaker 7: Yeah, no, it was good. It was good. You know.
Speaker 8: It's that there's no shame in it. Maybe there would
Speaker 8: have been, but there was no shame in it because
Speaker 8: this is this is for a good reason. This is
Speaker 8: for a good cause. This is not to attack the
Speaker 8: justice system. This is to prove a point that harong
Speaker 8: has been done to Kevin Henry and.
Speaker 7: The lies are going to stop. The truth must come out.
Speaker 3: That was Dwayne Mather who was holding to organized at rally,
Speaker 3: and another said before The rally is being held on
Speaker 3: May one from ten am to four pm at Nuber House.
Speaker 3: There were several speakers including Aboriginal activists and dancer Grender,
Speaker 3: Stanley tax Chatman, who has been on this podcast before
Speaker 3: one served time with Kevin, and also Lexwatan from Palm Island.
Speaker 1: Lex Wotten was a two time counselor on the Palm
Speaker 1: Island Aboriginal Shire Council. When Mulrounji was tragically killed in
Speaker 1: police custody wouldn't led approximately one thousand people in the
Speaker 1: Palm Island riots, well, that's what police called them. They
Speaker 1: were demonstrations against what had been done. Wooten was arrested,
Speaker 1: but on his release he was hailed as a hero
Speaker 1: by many of the local residents. He continued to act
Speaker 1: as a leader and even ran for the mayor of
Speaker 1: North Queensland Aboriginal Community. Approximately four years after the riot,
Speaker 1: Wooten was found guilty of inciting a riot and sentenced
Speaker 1: to seven years in prison. He later successfully sued the
Speaker 1: Queensland Police Service for unlawful racial discrimination and he knows
Speaker 1: all too well about police brutality, being imprisoned for a
Speaker 1: crime he didn't commit, and what's happening on the ground
Speaker 1: in Queensland now.
Speaker 3: I did mention that it hasn't just been a big
Speaker 3: week for us up here and Robbie, it's also been
Speaker 3: a big one for Martin down in Beager Martin, what
Speaker 3: are the updates on Kevin's cave?
Speaker 1: So as listeners might be aware, there's multiple things going
Speaker 1: on in Kevin's legal battle. As we've explained before, Kevin's
Speaker 1: appeals process has been exhausted long ago by his initial law.
Speaker 1: So what we're working on is a getting Kevin paroled
Speaker 1: and b applying to the Queensland Government and the Queensland
Speaker 1: Governor for an official pardon. It's quite a lengthy process
Speaker 1: to get a pardon and you need to remember that
Speaker 1: if and when we are able to free Kevin Henry,
Speaker 1: he will have served longer in prison than any other
Speaker 1: person in Australian history who's been wrongfully convicted, and that
Speaker 1: forms part of the complexity of this case. One of
Speaker 1: the things that also makes it difficult in showing the
Speaker 1: Attorney General and the Governor the problems and the flaws
Speaker 1: in this case is the simple fact that there are
Speaker 1: so many. In a lot of cases, an unfair trial
Speaker 1: or a wrongful conviction will be the result of one
Speaker 1: piece of evidence or one witness. But as those who
Speaker 1: have listened to the podcast extensively understand, Kevin Henry was
Speaker 1: forced to give a confession and he maintains his innocence.
Speaker 1: There was no forensic evidence ever presented against him, So
Speaker 1: challenging that forensic evidence is very difficult when even the
Speaker 1: initial trial had no evidence against him, and there was
Speaker 1: no eye witness that actually saw Kevin take part in
Speaker 1: any of the crime as it was laid out by police.
Speaker 1: So we're basically having to do a full investigation of
Speaker 1: the case ourselves and then present that as entirely new
Speaker 1: evidence to the Attorney General and the Governor. Now in
Speaker 1: this process, we're also updating many federal and state MPs
Speaker 1: and senators and various Members of Parliament as to what
Speaker 1: we're doing in the case. It's vital that they apply
Speaker 1: pressure to the Queensland Attorney General to ensure that this
Speaker 1: matter is not left to sit in a draw for
Speaker 1: years to come. Kevin Henry served twenty five years too
Speaker 1: long for a crime he did not commit. A single
Speaker 1: day waiting is unacceptable. So that's why we'd ask you
Speaker 1: to write to your local MP, federal and MPs in
Speaker 1: the State of Queensland and urge them to contact the
Speaker 1: Attorney General and speed up the process in this case.
Speaker 1: In regards to Kevin's parole, we also have ongoing applications
Speaker 1: submitted on Kevin's behalf and we have to thank the
Speaker 1: Werabinda and Rockhampton community for their extensive support in assisting
Speaker 1: Kevin with housing, a job and the support he'll need
Speaker 1: when he's finally released. So that's where it stands at
Speaker 1: the moment.
Speaker 3: So Martin, you mentioned you're putting together applications for the
Speaker 3: Attorney General to call for a parton what's the timeframe
Speaker 3: for that.
Speaker 1: Well, the timeframe is quite complex in the sense that
Speaker 1: this is a very rare process that's been conducted and
Speaker 1: that really it's at the discretion of the Attorney General.
Speaker 1: So this will happen as quickly or as slowly as
Speaker 1: the Attorney General of Queensland a Vet Darth chooses it to.
Speaker 1: She could have her office fast track the events here
Speaker 1: and examine all the evidence that we've supplied so far
Speaker 1: and start to ask the vital questions that she needs
Speaker 1: to to get to the bottom of this case. Now.
Speaker 1: In terms of the Governor as well, it's a very
Speaker 1: similar process in that with the materials provided to them
Speaker 1: and the material that can be provided to them by
Speaker 1: the Attorney General. And remember there's nothing stopping either the
Speaker 1: Governor or the Attorney General looking at the initial trial
Speaker 1: transcripts and looking at all the media and everything that's
Speaker 1: been said on this podcast, so there really is no
Speaker 1: excuse for any delay on their behalf. It's purely a
Speaker 1: matter of how quickly they will choose to take a
Speaker 1: look at this case and how quickly they'll choose to act,
Speaker 1: and one would hope that that's done very quickly. In
Speaker 1: regards to the parole Generally, once we've filed a parole application,
Speaker 1: we hear back within a matter of about twenty eight
Speaker 1: days and a letter is sent by the Parole Office
Speaker 1: to Kevin after that date. But if he is rejected
Speaker 1: for parole, then each and every time we will challenge
Speaker 1: that rejection on the grounds as to why he was rejected.
Speaker 1: And I can confirm we've done that in the past
Speaker 1: and that was successful in having the parole re looked at.
Speaker 1: And we're waiting for the outcome of that parole decision.
Speaker 3: So you mentioned before about public support and manners of
Speaker 3: the public can actually get onto their local representatives to
Speaker 3: advocate and Kevin. But what sort of public support do
Speaker 3: you think there needs to be, And given your background
Speaker 3: and uthers, this is what other cases, What has public
Speaker 3: support being like in other cases?
Speaker 1: Well, to look at other cases of Australians, high profile Australians,
Speaker 1: we can look at the case of Henry Keo, who
Speaker 1: right now served twenty one years and holds the record
Speaker 1: for the longest imprisonment wrongful conviction until he was freed
Speaker 1: only a matter of years ago. And the support he
Speaker 1: got came largely from the media, from the legal fraternity,
Speaker 1: and that included the head of News and a current
Speaker 1: affair from Channel seven. So that is really high profile
Speaker 1: support and that's what has to happen now. There's been
Speaker 1: other Australians such as Andrew Mallard who had members of
Speaker 1: Parliament advocating on his behalf, as well as a well
Speaker 1: known journalist and media organization. In terms of the most
Speaker 1: high profile cases I've worked on, if you think about
Speaker 1: the case of Peter Gresta, who was wrongfully held in Egypt,
Speaker 1: remember the level of support that he had from the government,
Speaker 1: from all facets of the media, all across social media,
Speaker 1: from the public and people getting out and rallying and
Speaker 1: marching and constantly holding the Egyptian government to account. And
Speaker 1: that's really what we need here in this case, and
Speaker 1: sadly we don't see it enough in Australia. We've seen
Speaker 1: it in many of the cases I've worked on where
Speaker 1: Australians are held overseas, such as Peter grest David Hicks
Speaker 1: and the Bali nine. But particularly as it relates to
Speaker 1: Aboriginal prisoners. We never really see the outrage that these
Speaker 1: cases warrant and I would talk about a number of
Speaker 1: cases I've worked on in America, one being Tookie Williams,
Speaker 1: who was on death row. Now, as we were working
Speaker 1: on that case, we had support from Winnie Mandela, Jamie
Speaker 1: fox Snoop Dogg, and many politicians, lawyers and businesses right
Speaker 1: across America and around the world. We also had support
Speaker 1: from European parliaments. So the excuse that there's nothing that
Speaker 1: can be done just doesn't fly. We really need all
Speaker 1: members of parliament who believe in justice. All people who
Speaker 1: have a platform like Jamie fox Snoop Dogg and Winnie
Speaker 1: Mandela had to use that platform to raise their voice
Speaker 1: for Kevin Henry, and we need members of the public
Speaker 1: to do the same. It's not good enough to just
Speaker 1: do it once. It has to be an ongoing call.
Speaker 1: Every day Kevin Henry sits in prison is another day
Speaker 1: that's too long. He's already served a lifetime a generation
Speaker 1: twenty five years long before any of us had mobile
Speaker 1: phones or the Internet. Kevin Henry was wrongly imprisoned, and
Speaker 1: you really need to think about that and ask whether
Speaker 1: what you've done, what those who do have a platform,
Speaker 1: and what your government representatives have done, is enough. And
Speaker 1: I would say it's not, and that that pressure needs
Speaker 1: to be applied much more broadly and much harder if
Speaker 1: we're to free Kevin Henry. We cannot do this on
Speaker 1: our own.
Speaker 3: So we talked about public support, but I lovely rock
Speaker 3: Campton with this value coming up.
Speaker 5: All of our local representative were.
Speaker 3: Since an invitation and all of them have knocked it back,
Speaker 3: either said they had other arrangements or didn't even really
Speaker 3: give an excuse or anything. So locally here in rock Anton,
Speaker 3: our local representatives haven't supported Kevin Henry at all. Has
Speaker 3: there been other government support or other interests shown, particularly
Speaker 3: on a federal level.
Speaker 5: No.
Speaker 1: I mean we've made contact with all the relevant federal
Speaker 1: MPs and ministers, those in opposition. We made a particular
Speaker 1: point of reaching out to the indigenous representatives at a
Speaker 1: federal level, who are the MPs and senators, and we
Speaker 1: haven't had anything back. All we've had is generalized form
Speaker 1: responses which really don't do anything for us, and they've
Speaker 1: shown no support in any way for Kevin. We also
Speaker 1: really haven't had any support from anyone in a position
Speaker 1: of high profile, any ex politicians, anybody with a public
Speaker 1: platform who could amplify this message that we're trying to
Speaker 1: send out. So I think, on the one hand, I
Speaker 1: am very grateful of the people who listen to this podcast,
Speaker 1: the people in Rockhampton and Warabinda who are organizing this protest,
Speaker 1: who are supporting Kevin, and the people like Yasmin who
Speaker 1: have done so for years and years. We also need
Speaker 1: to give a special thank you to those who are
Speaker 1: supporting us through Patreon, and I'll place the link again
Speaker 1: on our website so that if more people would like
Speaker 1: to support us they can do that. But really, we
Speaker 1: have had no support from any federal or state politicians,
Speaker 1: and we've had no support from high profile people, and
Speaker 1: I think the public who have listened to this podcast
Speaker 1: will be very disappointed to hear that, and so I'd
Speaker 1: urge them to contact those people. And I think it's
Speaker 1: very disappointing given the support that has been given to
Speaker 1: people in the past, such as David Hicks and Peter Gresta,
Speaker 1: and that support was rightly given and should have been given.
Speaker 1: That Kevin Henry absolutely deserves the same. He's spent far
Speaker 1: longer in prison than anyone else has for a crime
Speaker 1: he didn't commit. And if we're to take justice seriously
Speaker 1: and have a justice system that particularly Aboriginal people who
Speaker 1: are the most victimized by the justice system, can have
Speaker 1: any faith in this process, then Kevin Henry needs support
Speaker 1: and he needs it now.
Speaker 3: You mentioned before the Patreon what will a lot of
Speaker 3: that funding go towards, Because obviously you're doing a lot
Speaker 3: of work for Kevin Henry in the legal sense, what
Speaker 3: can our supporters, what does that support actually go towards?
Speaker 1: Okay, so the support goes to basically producing this podcast.
Speaker 1: It's quite expensive to host the podcast online and that's
Speaker 1: a monthly fee that the support so far doesn't cover.
Speaker 1: But we're grateful for that assistance all the legal work.
Speaker 1: It will now be used as well for that too,
Speaker 1: because to free Kevin Henry, there's a huge amount of
Speaker 1: legal work, as we've discussed, to do with both the
Speaker 1: pardon lodged with the governor and the Attorney general, to
Speaker 1: do with Kevin's ongoing parole applications, and this just really
Speaker 1: helps cover some of the administrative costs that we are
Speaker 1: financing ourselves. So that's where the money is going. It
Speaker 1: certainly won't cover all the costs, but it's greatly appreciated
Speaker 1: the money that does come through just to help support
Speaker 1: that and keep that fight going, both in terms of
Speaker 1: keeping this podcast afloat and assisting with the legal battle
Speaker 1: for Kevin.
Speaker 3: So there are many ways you can show your support
Speaker 3: to Kevin Henry's ongoing fight for justice, but one of
Speaker 3: the big ones will occur on May first, and if
Speaker 3: you're in Rockhampton or Central Queensland or even able to
Speaker 3: get to rock Hampton, it'd be great to see you there.
Speaker 5: So the rally begins at ten am to four pm.
Speaker 5: It'll be held at Chanuba House, which is currently the
Speaker 5: CQ Coastguard Office. We'll have speakers again like Lex Swoden,
Speaker 5: a lot of supporters of Kevin Henry, including members of
Speaker 5: his family and also activists like Gwender Stanley, and we'll
Speaker 5: also have a smoking ceremony conducted by one of our
Speaker 5: Durumble elders.
Speaker 3: And we'll also.
Speaker 5: Be thinking of Linda as well.
Speaker 3: So I urge everyone if you want to show your
Speaker 3: support for Kevin Henry down to New House on May
Speaker 3: first from ten to four and if you can't if
Speaker 3: you're geographically distant. You can also join us next week
Speaker 3: for another episode of Curtain where we'll have a special
Speaker 3: episode profiling a lot of those.
Speaker 1: Voices from that rally, and also on May one, at
Speaker 1: one pm Eastern Time, across the social media platforms that
Speaker 1: supports Kevin Henry, so that's Kurtin the Podcast, Facebook and Twitter,
Speaker 1: I'll host a one hour question and answer where any listener,
Speaker 1: any member of the public, even politicians or well known
Speaker 1: people if you can get them to do so, can
Speaker 1: ask questions about the case, ask questions about Aboriginal injustice
Speaker 1: in the legal system, and anything that comes to mind
Speaker 1: that's been raised in Curtain the Podcast and that you'd
Speaker 1: like to add. So join us on social media on
Speaker 1: Facebook and Twitter at Curtin the Podcast and will return
Speaker 1: next week for another episode of Curtain