DARWIN — On February 22, the full bench of the NT Supreme Court upheld an appeal by Letty and Nathan Scott against an earlier decision that found the court had no powers to order an exhumation of the body of Aboriginal man Douglas Scott. Scott died in Berrimah prison on July 5, 1985.
The appeal was opposed by the NT and Queensland attorney-generals, who have blocked all efforts to have Douglas's body exhumed. Letty is fighting for the exhumation to allow a new autopsy to be carried out. This application will now be heard as part of the civil case to quash the findings of the original inquest. The court will hear evidence from some of the world's leading forensic experts. This case will be in the NT Supreme Court from April 11-18.
Kathy Newnam
From Green Left Weekly, March 2, 2005.
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