Sarah Stephen

At 1pm on November 19, in the small town of Normanton near the Gulf of Carpentaria — some 600 kilometres north-west of Palm Island — Leonard John Casey, a 39-year-old Aboriginal man, was arrested on charges of grievous bodily harm and deprivation of liberty. He had allegedly stabbed a 37-year-old woman in the back.

That afternoon, Casey wound up in Normanton Hospital. There was a bedside committal hearing, and he was remanded in custody. At 2am, despite medical assistance, he died due to breathing difficulties. Information about Casey’s death only rated a passing reference in the Melbourne Age and local Queensland papers. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Normanton police station and court house remain standing.

In this case, Queensland police took Casey directly to hospital, unlike the Palm Island incident where Cameron Doomadgee was left in a cell.

From Green Left Weekly, December 8, 2004.
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