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1,915 results
Petition to Councillor Jon Dziadyk, Councillor Andrew Knack, Councillor Mike Nickel, Councillor Michael Walters, Councillor Tony Caterina, Councillor Scott McKeen, Councillor Bev Esslinger, Mayor Don Iveson, C...
access to external experts to examine Lucy, continuing to allow only one external veterinarian toRead more
Gert ZaglerOttawa, ON, Canada
189,391 supporters
Created Mar 11, 2012
Petition to Gretchen Whitimer
demand that Branch County Prosecuting Attorney and the Michigan Criminal Justice System re-examine Brittany Raymond/Andrews' testimony, re-examine the case, as well as proceed with interviewing theRead more
Kenneth FinneyUnited States
5,066 supporters
Created Aug 26, 2020
Petition to Judge John Craig, Chief Justice Cheri Beasley
In August of 2019, Paul Steber was arrested on High Point University's campus. He was found to be in possession of two firearms and ammunition. He was promptly arrested but released on a $250,000 bail posted by his parents.
In late July of 2020, Steber has officially received his sentencing. He was charged with three counts: two felony counts of weapons on campus and communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property. Steber pled guilty to a negotiated plea to possession of firearms on campus. In return he is only serving 24 months of probation. In the first year of probation, he is to commit 100 hours of community service. It is only if he were to violate the terms of his parole would he receive possible jail time (5-15 months).
This sentencing is unacceptable. During the investigation it became clear that Steber had clearly intended to cause mass violence. He had started his plan in December of his senior year of high school. He investigated mass shootings, showing a particular interest with Dylann Roof and the tragedy he committed in a Charleston church. Steber had been found to have a clear timeline for his crimes, as well as intent for murder. He specifically chose to attend High Point University because it was located in North Carolina, which has fewer gun regulations than his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts.
The High Point Police Department specifically called Steber a "threat to society". This highlights clear discrepancies in our justice system based on privilege. The lack of comprehensive sentencing does not show a desire for Steber's rehabilitation, but rather a desire to get him out of the system. The High Point University student body feels extreme unease regarding this current sentencing, and feels as if more time and resources should be directed towards rehabilitation. This petition is not limited to the community of High Point University, but rather hopes to set a precedent that focuses on rehabilitative therapy, and does not make exceptions based on privilege. Read more
S PowersNorth Carolina, United States
386 supporters
Created Jul 29, 2020
Girlguiding senior leadership & trustees to re-examine their decision to cease all guidingRead more
Hazel PlantTamworth, ENG, United Kingdom
16,273 supporters
Created Apr 17, 2023
Petition to Conservation BC, Mayor Kennedy Stewart
Help Bring Canuck Home
We need the CCTV footage from August 30th examined for evidence of Canuck's disappearance.
Vancouver Police have refused to get involved, despite the Mayor saying he'd help any way he could. Conservation BC has failed to take any action, simply responding with'you can report poaching'. As Canuck is an international icon, their lack of concern is deeply troubling
Time may be running out for Canuck. If he was taken by force and released too far away to find home, winter could kill him. Strange crows are usually driven away from established rookeries. He will be alone.
If someone took him to be their pet, they have not only broken the law by removing him, they have taken a federally protected crow.
His mate Cassair calls for him every single day. They are a bonded pair and neither will take another mate unless one dies. Cassair does not think Canuck is dead. Neither does his human best friend, Shawn Bergman.
CCTV footage is vital: it may show Canuck going into a truck or transport at PNE or being picked up and carried off. We need to have this footage checked now more than ever.
Time is running out.
Please take a moment and add your name to this petition DEMANDING THE CCTV FOOTAGE IS CHECKED.
On behalf of Canuck's world-wide fan base, Thank you! �Read more
Jane MasonUnited States
14,954 supporters
Created Oct 2, 2019
Petition to Mark Brnovich, Doug Ducey, Arizona State Supreme Court, Laura Conover
In September 1984, Frank Jarvis Atwood was in a Tucson neighborhood when a young girl went missing. He was arrested and charged with her kidnapping and murder with no evidence at the time of his arrest that he actually committed this crime. His prior criminal record made him an easy target for the authorities, although there was another suspect who was seen with the victim by multiple witnesses hours after Frank had supposedly kidnapped the young girl. Frank’s prior crime made him the likely suspect and easy target for authorities. Thus, the following court proceedings were mere formalities; his fate had already been sealed. Frank has been on Death Row since then, and now the State of Arizona is seeking to have him executed, even though critical evidence casts serious doubt on his guilt.
THE MALL
Hours after Frank supposedly murdered the victim and fled, multiple Tucson Mall employees spotted the victim in the Tucson Mall accompanied by a strange woman. One store witness testified that the girl was crying and saying to the woman, “I want to go home, you’re not going to take me home,” while the woman had a firm grip on her shoulder. The chilling conversation between the woman and another store clerk is documented in the original police report below (where she mentions the victim by name!):
http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.gr/images/exh-17.jpg
Yet after lying to the police about her whereabouts that day and feigning forgetfulness, THE WOMAN WAS NEVER FURTHER INVESTIGATED:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82229071/
OTHER ABDUCTION ATTEMPTS
The rush to mischaracterize Frank as the perpetrator intentionally disregards several instances of a person driving a car similar to Frank's black 280Z and descriptions resembling the woman who was seen in the mall with the victim. State witnesses each reported to FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department how a black sports car chased an eleven year old boy down the street one block away from the disappearance site of the little girl, but a week before . . . while Frank was known to be in California.
Within a block or two of the disappearance site - again while Frank was in California - a lady was in the laundry room of an apartment complex with her young son when a woman attempted to kidnap the child; thankfully the boy's mom was able to wrestle control away from the crazed woman: Laundry Room Abduction Attempt
These occurrences of attempted abductions in virtually the same area where the victim was abducted, and at a time when Frank was known to be hundreds of miles away, is too much of a coincidence. Furthermore, the story of the perpetrator in the laundry room abduction attempt that "police killed her own little boy" sounds eerily similar to the story the woman gives to the store clerk in the police report above, namely that the victim was her own daughter that was given up in an illegal adoption (i.e. she is the victim of someone else trying to harm her own child).
THE BURIAL
Seven months after Frank was arrested, the victim’s remains were found on the surface of the desert in a Tucson location that had been previously thoroughly searched by land and air:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82229755/
The presence of adipocere (“grave wax”) on the remains indicates that someone must have taken the time to bury the remains at least one foot under the ground (see expert testimony at the link below). This directly challenges the prosecutor’s story that Atwood scattered the remains in the desert as he quickly fled from the scene of the murder.
http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.gr/images/exh-18.jpg
Furthermore, the presence of adipocere indicates that the remains must have remained buried for at least two months, and the lack of animal markings on the remains indicates that the remains were unburied and scattered by humans (see the same expert testimony). However, it was impossible for Atwood to have performed this deed, since he was incarcerated at the time the remains were scattered in this manner. All this evidence indicates that some other person or persons disinterred the victim’s remains and scattered them in the desert. At the very least, it casts a serious reasonable doubt on Atwood’s guilt.
THE BUMPER
The only purported evidence of Frank’s guilt was alleged bicycle paint from the victim’s bicycle, which appeared on the bumper of Frank’s car. Five trained FBI Agents and two detectives testified that there was no bicycle paint from the victim’s bicycle on the bumper when it was taken into custody in September 1984 (Feb. 18, 1987 p.m. trial session; Apr. 23, 1986 Special Agent Klafka interview @ pp. 13-14). Yet days subsequent to Frank’s arrest, observable bicycle paint was streaked along the bumper, and the bumper had obvious signs of having been tampered with:
http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.gr/#evidence
Frank was accused of having hit the girl's bicycle with his bumper and denting the gravel pan under his car with her bicycle pedal, yet no sign of an accident was observed: Arizona Daily Star 1984
THE DENTED GRAVEL PAN
During Frank's trial, the State of Arizona alleged a 3" deformity in the gravel pan of Frank's car, displayed in images provided by the government's accident reconstructionist, Paul Larmour, at trial:
http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.gr/images/exh-11.jpg
The state argued that this significant depression resulted from Frank's vehicle having run over the victim's bicycle - the pedal, pinned under the car - causing the dent. However, while the automobile was on a lift at the FBI garage in San Antonio, there existed no such dent in the gravel pan:
http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.gr/images/exh-10.jpg
Furthermore, Pima County Sheriff's Department accident specialist Clifford McCarter testified that when in San Antonio, he was looking specifically for damage on the underside of the vehicle, but neither did he observe nor did he photograph a 3" dent in the gravel pan!
FORENSIC PROCESSING OF FRANK’S CAR
FBI Agent Burwitz ran a full forensic investigation of the inside of Frank’s car and testified in court that no trace evidence was ever found that the victim had ever been in Frank’s car (1987 Burwitz trial testimony, p.1). An FBI Agent even told Frank’s parents during the trial that “she could not, therefore, have been inside the vehicle at any time.” Yet Frank is considered guilty of having driven her in his car over 20 miles!
FRANK’S SUPPOSED CONFESSION OF GUILT
State authorities engaged a “jailhouse snitch” who had a prior history of acting as an informant against other criminals (for his own benefit) in an attempt to get a confession out of Frank. Due to his acting as a government agent, the trial judge did not even allow the informant’s testimony to be heard! Yet, this false confession was sensationalized by the media and the state referred to this “testimony” in future proceedings to sway the courts in their favor, despite the fact that the informant’s and Frank’s housing assignments in the jail prevented any possibility of a “confession”.
As well, at least one transient that Frank had been travelling with was put up in a hotel and given vouchers to fine dining steakhouses in exchange for information regarding Frank’s whereabouts on the day the crime occurred.
STRANGE OCCURRENCES DURING THE COURT PROCEEDINGS
One evening when Frank’s appeal attorney came home, her German Shepherd was found murdered by hanging, a clear sign that someone did not want her defending Frank.
NINTH CIRCUIT COURT RULINGS
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Frank Atwood of any relief, upholding the lower courts’ decisions. While other rulings took the court years to finalize, the ruling against Frank took only an unprecedented two months. Regarding the adipocere expert testimony, the lower court ruling was upheld that Atwood did not carry “his burden of proving that there ever was a grave”. As if the expert testimony was not enough! The State falsely claimed that due to a “good deal of rain” in September 1984 (the rainfall was only .33” while the evaporation rate was nearly 3”), the adipocere would have formed on a body resting on the desert surface, which contradicts the known science of adipocere formation needing an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment.
The Court also denied any chance of a hearing in regard to the evidence of his car bumper having been tampered with. In short, due to the court’s bias - already believing him to be guilty because of the testimony of false witnesses and his prior record - the strong evidence supporting his innocence was cast by the wayside.
ARIZONA’S HISTORY OF MISHANDLING EXECUTIONS
In 2014, convicted murderer Joseph Wood was executed by a combination of multiple lethal injection drugs, but the administered cocktail took nearly 2 hours to kill him, as he snorted and gasped for air almost the entire time. Mr. Wood should have died within minutes (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Joseph_Wood
Now after seven years of halted executions, the Attorney General’s office is again in a hurry to execute Frank and another man who had documented severe mental illness when he committed the crime and is now blind. In their haste to “do justice to the victims’ families”, they are making critical mistakes:
They procured a lethal injection drug (costing $1.5 Million!) with only a 45 day shelf life once compounded, but the pharmacist from whom they procured the drug told them it had a 90 day shelf life. Due to the nature of the legal process for commencing the execution proceedings, this would put Frank’s execution after the 45 day expiration date, and would potentially cause him to greatly suffer due to being injected with an expired and less potent drug. After realizing his mistake, the Attorney General sought to ‘speed up’ the process and discard the established legal protocol in order to execute Frank hastily before evidence of his innocence can properly be considered. Fortunately, for now, the Supreme Court of Arizona has ordered the Attorney General to conduct testing of the drugs to establish that they will have the potency and stability necessary to be used under Arizona law. The question will be whether the Attorney General can prove in the future that they are ready to carry out a lethal injection execution without making the kinds of mistakes that caused the horrific death of Mr. Wood in 2014.
They also purchased the wrong chemical for execution by gas chamber. Whereas the legal protocol calls for sodium cyanide, they instead purchased potassium cyanide. Their plan is to allow inmates the option to die using the same gas that the Nazis used to kill the Jews at Auschwitz.
JUSTICE FOR FRANK AMIDST A BROKEN JUSTICE SYSTEM
As of May 31, 2017, the National Registry of Exonerations (i.e. exonerations from Death Row) reports that official misconduct was a contributing factor in 571 of 836 homicide exonerations 68.3%, very often in combination with perjury or false accusation, which also was a contributing factor in 68.3% of homicide exonerations.
Any reasonable juror, when presented with the full evidence of Frank’s case, would have been unable to reach a guilty verdict. But Frank has been denied the necessary evidentiary hearings by the courts, and a jury has never been given all the facts.
Yes, this was a tragic crime. We grieve over the unimaginable pain that the victim’s family had to endure all these years, but executing an innocent man will never assuage their pain.
Please join our petition and let your voice be heard. In order for justice to be properly served, the investigation must be reopened before Frank is unjustly put to death!
Full details of the case along with photographic exhibits can be viewed at http://www.thefrankatwoodstory.grRead more
Robert SPhoenix, AZ, United States
13,613 supporters
Created Jul 15, 2021
Petition to Charlie Baker, Massachusetts State House, Bruce E. Tarr, Ann-Margaret Ferrante, Daniel mckierm
Currently there is a 3.5 month Massachusetts state water lobster fishery closure. Commercial lobster fisherman feel like we have been taking the brunt of blame on right whale deaths in recent years. The fact is that our lobster gear (bouy lines) have not caused any documented right whale deaths ever. Over the past 20 years there have been two known entanglements and both of those animals were freed. We are suffering the guilt by association of fishing vertical lines much like the snow crab fishery in the Gulf of St Lawrence where the majority of these entanglements have taken place.
There is no greater ambassador to the oceans than the New England lobster fisherman. We have fished a viable and thriving fishery for decades. It’s strongly due to the fact that many more juvenile lobsters are released than legal lobsters are kept . As well as great care in the release of egg bearing females.
Our side must be heard and the public needs to know that we are not rapists of the ocean nor harming whales. This closure is pointless and will not help a single whale because these waters are not where the problem lies. All it’s doing is putting hundreds of small businesses in distress. Let’s find the correct solution to help the whales and not hurt the lives of fisherman and the fishing communities in the process.Read more
Meredith CooneyMassachusetts, United States
7,720 supporters
Created Mar 18, 2021
Petition to United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Office of the High Commisoner for Human Rights
Banu Negar, a policewoman who was pregnant at that time, was brutally shot in front of her family by the Taliban on September 6, 2021. The killing of Banu Negar and countless others, along with the rise in human rights violations, is exactly what was feared when the Taliban took over Afghanistan recently. The status quo in Kabul under the Taliban has brought back haunting memories of their rule between 1996 and 2001. And it wouldn’t be an over exaggeration to say the Afghani children, women, and human rights defenders are the most scared of this shocking development. That is what the Taliban used then and will not be afraid to use it again as a weapon- fear. While the Taliban spoke about fair representation to women and respect for their human rights in their official statements, the caveats of doing so under the umbrella of the Islamic Law have created and exacerbated the fear of suppression. Recently, Mrs. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also stated that her Office “has received harrowing and credible reports of the impact on civilians of violations of international humanitarian law, as well as violations and abuses of human rights, by the parties to the conflict.” She further warned in a statement that Afghanistan today is witnessing war crimes. Just one look at the numbers is enough to make one realize how big the problem is. 183 civilians killed, 1181 injured, including children and women in extremely high numbers. Since the start of the Taliban offensive, more than 241,000 people have been displaced inside the country. A visit to the local hospitals reveals a gruesome truth about the Taliban offensive- they have been operating at full capacity since May and in majority of the cases, are overburdened. As if the explosions and firing were not enough, the Taliban has gone ahead and ordered the closure of schools, banned education for women, and restricted their freedom of movement by confining them to their homes. The progress that the women of Afghanistan had made all these years, rising to high ranks and inspiring women across the world, has been undone by the Taliban in the flick of an eye. How long before the Taliban returns to the Stone Age of lashing and stoning its women like it used to back in between 1996 and 2001? To add to this misery, the Taliban is also targeting minority groups, especially the Hazara Shia community. It was recently reported by Amnesty International that nine Hazara men were brutally murdered by the Taliban. The brutality with which the Taliban fighters carried out these executions is a testimony to what’s about to come- one man was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off. However, is it just the Taliban that is responsible for these human rights violations? Or are there larger forces at play that are helping and aiding the Taliban in doing so? And is there more to the issue of human rights violations? Two words can answer these questions- terrorism and Pakistan. The resurfacing of the Taliban and their takeover of Kabul once again has brought Islamabad into the spotlight once again. With Pakistan having supported the Taliban in the past, and its direct links with terrorist outfits like the Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network, Islamabad’s role as a facilitator to transnational terrorism is something that invokes a lot of worry and fears. It was shocking when recently Khalil Haqqani of the Haqqani Network was appointed one of the key rulers of Kabul- he has been put in-charge of security in Afghanistan. What is not shocking is the fact that Khalil Haqqani is a protégé of Pakistan. It comes as no surprise that Pakistan has maintained a position in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘grey list’ since years for having failed to terror funding and prosecuting international terrorists. But one recent event makes it very clear that probably Pakistan being on the FATF’s ‘grey list’ might also not be enough to send out a clear message to Islamabad and the Taliban and their affiliated outfits. The recent Kabul airport attacks were carried out the Islamic State in the Khorasan Province, better known as the IS-K. the number game was again strong in this attack- 170 people died with more than 200 wounded. While the IS-K owes its allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant or ISIL, this attack was carried out by them with the help of the Haqqani Network. Curiously, the role of China becomes increasingly important to understand vis-à-vis the Taliban and Afghanistan. The Taliban, as it continues to wreak havoc in the country, Beijing has shown that it is ready to support a regressive regime to fulfil its expansionist appetite. History is evidence to the fact that China has never kept Pakistan in line when it came to terrorism and human rights violations. What makes the world think that it will keep the Taliban in line? Remember, the Taliban is not a political entity. It is a terrorist outfit that is now running the show in Kabul. In our humble opinion, the world, and more so, the Afghanis, deserve better. If the Taliban is not held accountable for all the war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations it is carrying out against civilians, women, children, and human rights defenders, it will be a gross injustice in itself. To prevent the raised morale of terrorist organizations all around the world because of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, concerted action needs to be taken. Sign this petition asking the United Nations and its affiliated bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to investigate the human rights violations taking place in Kabul at the behest of the Taliban and its allies. We started this petition on change.org in the memory of those Afghanis who crave for justice as a result of being the victims of such horrific human rights violations. When we all raise our voice together, is when the world shall listen to us. #StandWithAfghanis #JusticeforAfghanis #SayNoToTaliban Read more
Red Lantern AnalyticaLudhiana, India
756 supporters
Created Sep 9, 2021
Petition to International Christian School Board
"attention-attracting". The opportunity to re-examine the handbook would allow students' attire to beRead more
Caitlin ChenHong Kong
263 supporters
Created Nov 3, 2020
Junius Ho is a pro-Beijing Hong Kong legislator with a track record of inciting violence against pro-democracy activists. The pinnacle of this was his involvement in the Yuen Long subway attack on July 21st 2019 [1].
In a jurisdiction with strong rule of law, Junius Ho’s behaviour would have consequences. This may no longer be the case in Hong Kong [2], however as a law graduate of a British university and non-practicing solicitor regulated by the United Kingdom’s Solicitor’s Regulation Authority, Ho continues to be subject to the SRA’S code of conduct and set of principles [3].
In 2021, the SRA found sufficient evidence against Junius Ho to bring him to tribunal. The specific allegation involved his use of the expression ‘殺無赦’ (‘kill without mercy’) against pro-democracy activists, and whether or not it’s interpretation should be taken literally [4]. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal judged that it should not, however SRA and the Tribunal failed to consider Ho’s wider pattern of supporting violence against pro-democracy activists.
The SRA Principles stipulate that law professionals must act: 1. in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice.2. in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons.3. with independence.4. with honesty.5. with integrity.6. in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion. [5]
One action alone may provide insufficient evidence of Junius Ho’s disregard for these principles, however the accumulation of his actions provide a weight of evidence that must be considered as a whole.
We, the undersigned, call on the Solicitors Regulation Authority to re-investigate whether the speech and actions of Junius Ho are consistent with its principles, and to ensure appropriate witnesses and translators, taking account of the repressive political environment in Hong Kong or mainland China.
—
[1] At around 10pm on the 21st July, over 100 men wearing white shirts and brandishing sticks and metal rods attacked protesters and commuters in Yuen Long subway station, leaving dozens injured and requiring treatment. Footage later showed that Junius Ho had warmly greeted the men prior to the attack, thanking them for their efforts. After footage of the attack emerged, Ho defended the actions of the men, saying they were merely “defending their homes”.
[2] Amnesty have described Hong Kong’s National Security Law, passed in 2020, as “sweeping and repressive legislation [that] threatens to make the city a human rights wasteland increasingly resembling mainland China.” Dozens of non-violent pro-democracy legislators and political candidates have been arrested and faced colonial era and vague charges. Meanwhile, Junius Ho and other pro-Beijing legislators, including those that have assaulted politicians in the legislative chamber, have been protected.
[3] The SRA has no authority over Ho’s ability to practice as a solicitor in Hong Kong but it offers an endorsement of his professional standing and conduct.
[4] https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/sra-to-bear-65k-costs-of-bungled-hong-kong-prosecution/5107804.article
[5] https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/principles/Read more
HongKongers in LeedsLeeds, ENG, United Kingdom
1,757 supporters
Created Jul 21, 2022
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