Call to Action: Act now against this injustice!

RACE ATTACK VICTIM SENTENCED TO 2 AND ½ YEARS

A black man, who was viciously assaulted whilst travelling home with his girlfriend, has been sent to prison for defending himself against his racist attackers. Aaron Bennett 24 of Beeston, Nottingham was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday for causing facial scarring to two males who attacked him and hisgirlfriend on May 7th 2005. His attackers, James Morris and Jonathon Marshall both from Nottingham were not prosecuted and in a major injustice were given compensation for their injuries.

The judge claimed that the injuries received by Bennett and his girlfriend Philippa Tedds 23, were superficial in comparison to the lifetime scars received by their attackers. He claimed that Bennett had gone too far even though the weapon he used belonged to Morris who had stabbed him in the hand and thigh before he received his injuries. The incident took place yards from Bennett's home as he and his girlfriend travelled home from a night out. Morris and Marshall began verbally abusing the pair on the bus and proceeded to chase them once they had reached their stop.

Eyewitnesses testified to this, yet the attack was not presented as racially motivated in court. The driver of the bus Aaron and Philippa were travelling on made a statement stating that he had witnessed Morris grab Bennett as well as Marshall verbally abusing the couple. He also stated that he had witnessed the two of them chase the couple down the street. However, his statement was not used in court.

Several pieces of incriminating evidence, which could have been used by the defence, were omitted from the police inquiry in what can only be described as cover up. Police disposed of a mobile phone, which had been smashed by Morris as Aaron attempted to use it to call for help. No fingerprints were taken.The knife, which Aaron had used, was also not checked for Morris's fingerprints even though Aaron had said that Morris had stabbed him with it first. The judge said that he did not believe that it belonged to Morris yet did not have any evidence to prove that it belonged to Aaron either. CCTV from a house near by the attack caught footage of Marshall shouting, "Lets kill these cunts, lets kill um!" Another witness who lives near to where the incident took place testified to hearing loud shouts of "Nigga".

However the judge, who claimed that the pair did indeed provoke the attack, did not see that Morris or Marshall needed to be reprimanded for their part in the incident. This is even in light of the fact that Philippa received serious head injuries after being kicked in the head and dragged by her hair by Marshall.

This case is a perfect example of how institutionalised racism is still ingrained in Britain. The police acted against Aaron from the offset and made it as difficult as possible for the defence to build a case against Marshall and Morris. A member of Nottinghamshire constabulary, Robert Griffin, was aboard the bus when Marshall and Morris began their tirade yet he apparentlydid not see anything. Coincidently Griffin is a family friend of Marshall and Morris who are cousins, another example of a cover up.

The British justice system has proved that it holds allegiances only to its "own kind." The local media have also ignored the fact that this was in fact a racially motivatedattack and have seemingly not picked up on the fact that a gross injusticehas occurred. Aaron Bennett has been portrayed as a black thug who goes aroundscarring people when the truth is very far from that.

Something needs to be done to right this wrong. Please show your support for Aaron Bennett by publicising his story.