Death in Custody: Douglas Bruce Scott

We congratulate Ms Letty Scott, her Family and her supporters, of which the writer counts himself and this Association as being, towards their successful twenty year struggle for Justice.

Douglas Bruce Scott was beaten to death by four gaol officers at Berrimah Gaol, Darwin in July 1995. The assault was covered up by Dr. Lee who was the pathologist at that time. Dr. Lee butchered the body of Douglas in an attempt to prevent the truth from coming out.

But the truth is coming out.

Letty was informed that she could have an exhumation of her late husband and a second autopsy performed by her own pathologist, Dr Jorge Paulete Vanell from Brazil, but only if she could pay for it. The Northern Territory Court had no intention of using State Funds to allow the truth to come to light.

Why would they when the State, police, gaol authorities and judiciary have been actively working against that truth since the Douglas' murder.

Through friends who believed in her case, Letty was able to get sufficient funding.

The second autopsy, completed recently, found that Douglas had been tortured to death and had been manually strangled and then hung to make it look like suicide.

The most chilling aspect of this sadistic murder is that the four gaol guards knew that their crime would be covered up by the Northern Territory Government and their friends in the Justice (sic) system.

And it was - for nearly 20 years. Letty and her Family, threatened, abused and accused for those twenty years, by authorities in the Northern Territory, fought on for the memory of her husband.

The road to Justice is still ongoing. Letty must now return to the Northern Territory Supreme Court before Justice Angel and have the original Coronial Inquest overturned and the case re-opened.

The road is still too long and many legal battles must yet be won to allow Justice for at least one Aboriginal Family.

Letty, we salute your heart and your spirit.

Please contact Ray Jackson (02) 9318 0947 or 0418 436 572

By ISJA posted 7 April 05

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