Lex Wotton goes to prison; business as usual in Australia

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Melbourne
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LEX WOTTON TRIAL: Jury returns GUILTY verdict; Wotton faces up to life in prison
Chris Graham
National Indigenous Times
October 25, 2008

NATIONAL, October 25, 2008: An all-white jury has returned a verdict of ‘guilty’ in the trial of Palm Island leader Lex Wotton for ‘rioting with destruction’. Late last night, the jury delivered its verdict to a Brisbane District courtroom packed with media and friends and family of Mr Wotton. Outside the court, Aboriginal activist and friend of Mr Wotton’s, Sam Watson, told a media scrum that it was “business as usual in the sovereign state of Queensland”…

See also : LEX WOTTON TRIAL: A Timeline of the Palm Island case

On the bright side, Senior Sargeant Chris Hurley received a $100,000 payout from the Queensland government for losses he says he incurred from the fire for which Lex Wotton is being sent to prison. He also received a promotion, and had his legal bills largely covered by the Queensland Police Union.