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Shankill Butchers
The Shankill Butchers were an Ulster loyalist gang—many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)—that was active between 1975 and 1982 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was based in the Shankill area and was responsible for the deaths of at least 23 people, most of whom were killed in sectarian attacks. The gang was notorious for kidnapping, torturing and murdering random or suspected Catholic civilians; each was beaten ferociously and had their throat hacked with a butcher's knife. Some were also tortured and attacked with a hatchet. The gang also killed six Ulster Protestants over personal disputes, and two other Protestants mistaken for Catholics. Most of the gang were eventually caught and, in February 1979, received the longest combined prison sentences in United Kingdom legal history. However, gang leader Lenny Murphy and his two chief "lieutenants" escaped prosecution. Murphy was murdered in November 1982 by the Provisional IRA, likely acting with loyal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Loyalism
Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a united Ireland. Unlike other strands of unionism, loyalism has been described as an ethnic nationalism of Ulster Protestants and "a variation of British nationalism". Loyalists are often said to have a conditional loyalty to the British state so long as it defends their interests.Smithey, Lee. ''Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland''. Oxford University Press, 2011. pp.56–58 They see themselves as loyal primarily to the Protestant British monarchy rather than to British governments and institutions, while Garret FitzGerald argued they are loyal to 'Ulster' over 'the Union'. A small minority of loyalists have called for an independent Ulster Protestant state, believing they cannot rely on British governme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Moore (loyalist)
William Moore (1949 – 17 May 2009), was a Northern Irish loyalist. He was a member of the Shankill Butchers, an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) gang. It was Moore who provided the black taxi and butcher knives which the gang used to carry out its killings. Following ringleader Lenny Murphy's arrest, Moore took over as the ''de facto'' leader of the gang and the killings continued. Shankill Butchers Moore was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and brought up a Protestant in the staunchly Ulster loyalist Shankill Road. Moore, who had a few previous convictions for petty crime, worked as a meat packer at Woodvale Meats on the Shankill. When he quit his job, he took with him an assortment of butcher's knives and a meat cleaver. He then became a taxi driver, having bought a black taxi which he drove around the Shankill area. In 1975, Moore met Lenny Murphy in the Brown Bear pub on the Shankill Road.Taylor, p. 153 Murphy, who was assembling the gang that become known as the Shankill Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turlough O'Donnell
Turlough O'Donnell, PC (5 August 1924 – 21 April 2017) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1989. Biography O'Donnell was born in Newry to a Catholic family, the son of Charles and Eileen O'Donnell. He was educated at Abbey Grammar School, Newry and Queen's University Belfast, where he took a LLB. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1947. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1964. As a lawyer, he defended Robert McGladdery, the last man to be hanged in Northern Ireland. In 1971, O'Donnell was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Northern Ireland. In 1979, he was promoted a Lord Justice of Appeal and was sworn of the Privy Council, having declined the customary knighthood. He retired in 1989. O'Donnell was one of the few senior Catholic judges on the Northern Irish bench and he frequently came under threat. In 1979, he tried the Shankill Butchers and gave out 42 life sentences, a record in British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plea Bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence. A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. For example, in the legal system of the United States, a criminal defendant charged with a felony theft charge, the conviction of which would require imprisonment in state prison, may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge, which may not carry a custodial sentence. In cases such as an automobile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drive-by Shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before law enforcement is able to respond. A drive-by shooting's prerequisites include access to a vehicle and a gun. The protection, anonymity, sense of power, and ease of escape provided by the get away vehicle lead some motorists to feel safe expressing their hostility toward others. Historical conception The invention of the drive-by shooting is attributed to Nestor Makhno, commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century. He combined horse and carriage with a machine gun in order to quickly assault targets then flee before they could properly react. Motor vehicles offer similar concealment for transport of weapons to crime scenes in situations like the 2015 San Bernardino attack, and can simul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of both are entitled to the rank prefix "Detective"). The name derives from the CID of the Metropolitan Police, formed on 8 April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent as a re-formation of its Detective Branch. British colonial police forces all over the world adopted the terminology developed in the UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the police forces of those countries often retained it after independence. English-language media often use "CID" as a translation to refer to comparable organisations in other countries. By country Afghanistan The ''Criminal Investigation Department'' is under the Afghan National Police. Bangladesh France The Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) is the national authority of the crim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Nesbitt (RUC)
James Nesbitt MBE (29 September 1934 – 27 August 2014) was a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Detective Chief Inspector who was best known for having headed the Murder Squad team investigating the notorious Shankill Butchers' killings in the mid-1970s. Working from the C Division headquarters at Tennent Street off Shankill Road, Belfast, he eventually caught most of the "Butchers" which led to their convictions. Having received a total of 67 commendations throughout his career, this is the highest number for any policeman in the history of the United Kingdom. In 1980, he was given the MBE "in recognition of his courage and success in combating terrorism". Early years Nesbitt was born in 1934 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the son of James, an electrician, and Ellen. He was brought up in the Church of Ireland religion and lived with his parents and elder sister, Maureen in a terraced house in Cavehill Road, North Belfast which was considered to have been a middle-class area a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistol Whipping
Pistol-whipping or buffaloing is the act of using a handgun as a blunt weapon, wielding it as an improvised club. Such a practice dates to the time of muzzle loaders, which were brandished in such fashion in close-quarters combat once the weapon's single projectile had been expended. Etymology The term "buffaloing" is documented as being used in the Wild West originally to refer to the act of being intimidated or cheated by bluffing. It would develop into a term meaning to strike someone with a handgun in the 1870s when Stuart N. Lake reported Wyatt Earp doing so. Wild Bill Hickok would also be a prominent practitioner of the technique. The new use of the term developed because the act of hitting someone with their revolver was seen as an additional insult to the character of the victim. The modern terms "pistol-whipping" and "to pistol-whip" were reported as "new words" of American speech in 1955, with cited usages dating to the 1940s. Method The practice of using the handg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo Court
A kangaroo court is a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court may ignore due process and come to a predetermined conclusion. The term may also apply to a court held by a legitimate judicial authority which intentionally disregards the court's legal or ethical obligations (compare show trial). A kangaroo court could also develop when the structure and operation of the forum result in an inferior brand of adjudication. A common example of this is when institutional disputants ("repeat players") have excessive and unfair structural advantages over individual disputants ("one-shot players"). Etymology The term ''kangaroo court'' is often erroneously believed to have its origin from the courts of Australia's penal colonies. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' cites the first published instance of the term as from an American source, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kneecapping
Kneecapping is a form of malicious wounding, often as torture, in which the victim is injured in the knee. The injury is typically inflicted by a low-velocity gunshot to the knee pit with a handgun. The term is considered a misnomer by medical professionals because only a very small minority of victims suffer damage to the kneecap. A review of eighty kneecapping victims found that only two had a fractured kneecap. Some victims have their elbows and ankles shot as well. Treatment The severity of the injury can vary from simple soft tissue damage to a knee joint fracture with neurovascular damage. The latter requires several weeks in hospital and intensive outpatient physiotherapy for recovery. If the damage is too great, amputation may be necessary, but this rarely occurs. In Northern Ireland thirteen people had their legs amputated as a consequence of limb punishment shootings over the duration of the Troubles. In the long term it is estimated that one out of five victims wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a social gathering associated with death, held before or after a funeral. Traditionally, a wake involves family and friends keeping watch over the body of the dead person, usually in the home of the deceased. Some wakes are held at a funeral home or another convenient location. The wake or the viewing of the body is a part of death rituals in many cultures. It allows one last interaction with the dead, providing a time for the living to express their thoughts and feelings with the deceased. It highlights the idea that the loss is borne by the whole community and is a way of honoring the deceased member. The emotional tone of a wake is sometimes seen as more positive than a funeral due to the socially supportive atmosphere and the focus on the life rather than the death of the deceased. __NOTOC__ Origin The term originally referred to a late-night prayer vigil but is now mostly used for the social interactions accompanying a funeral. While the modern usage of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
