INTERNATIONAL FALSLEY ACCUSED DAY: REPORT FROM ENGLAND
By Lyn Crabtree
September 11, 2024
As founder of Falsely Accused Day — now International — I’m proud to report we had a rather successful day here in England on September 9.
Where I was in Liverpool outside His Majesty’s Prison, our numbers this year were somewhat smaller, naturally people find weekdays to attend more difficult due to work commitments. However, the fantastic support from passing vehicles was at some points overwhelming, as we tried to speak huge blasts of horns were battled with. The message however was still heard loud and clear.
Passing prison officers even took some interest in our displays once again we had our faceless victim masks with us. These always bring tears to my eyes seeing the sea of masks of those who were not heard in UK courts and have lost their lives to false allegations.
Amongst our display we had our Snowdrops. We are of course continuing our Snowdrop Campaign, and yes, we will eventually complete our mammoth task of getting out the message to all those who contribute to False allegations like the police, courts etc…
We had no official speakers in Liverpool, just Jo Wheeler and myself. This gave us more time to engage with those who were either falsely accused themselves or supporting someone who is. It was daunting to hear some of their stories. So much of each case having many similarities, one wonders how these stories can even be believed by the police to start with. ‘Believe the victim’ being a huge part and no evidence but the words of a liar!
We were pleased to welcome supporters for Lucy Letby. I’m sure this horrendous story will have been prominent in the media for you all. Lucy aged 34 who was a neonatal nurse was accused of killing seven babies and damaging a further seven.
Many are supporting Lucy to have a fair trial. I hope she does have that opportunity, because after seeing the way our trial went and listening to others about their experiences, it seems that getting a fair trial is what those falsely accused suffer the most.
I was able to read the following poem that I had sent out to prisoners in the UK who are wrongly convicted….
International Falsely Accused Day
We’re into our 4th Year,
So we really want to say,
Let’s gather to make this incredible,
For our 4th International Falsely Accused Day,
The fight will go on forever,
Until changes are made in the law,
‘Believe the victim’ mantra,
Is that HUGE major flaw,
As you sit and read my words,
Remember we fight for the Falsely Accused every day,
By letter, email, and social media,
You’re in our thoughts and hearts – One day ‘THEY’ will pay!
I was appalled to hear that some prisoners were denied having the support letter and poem. I was sad that they would think they were forgotten this year.
I also told a real story of a man who having being bullied all his life ended up being falsely accused as being a danger to children. He was not convicted as no one actually made an official complaint to authorities, and he to this day has been so badly affected by these terrible rumours that he can not leave the house. How awful that some people are affected so much by False Accusations that it literally wrecks their lives.
Partway through our demonstration, we had a very welcome visit from LBC radio. The spoke to Jo Wheeler and I. Jo certainly had lots to say as she was being interviewed. The reporter chatted to a few others and proceeded to take film footage of us and our displays. I am not sure of when this maybe aired but we felt positive that we will be heard by many as the false allegation message reaches far and wide, because we all know, False Allegations are Not rare!
London Observance
In contrast to Liverpool, London had the following speakers:
- Margaret Gardner, who heads the support group, Falsely Accused Support Organization (FASO)
- Brian Hudson, from FACT
- Dr. Kevin Felstead, author of Memory and Injustice
- William Merrit, author and investigator for the book about Rolf Harris’s innocence
- Jonathan King, Ex-TV personality and DJ
- Sean B W Parker, on behalf of Dr. Michael Naughton
- Brian Buckle, who was falsely accused of rape, after a very expensive appeal and 5 years behind bars is finally free.
A successful day was had by all and the speakers were well received. Buckle’s speech brought tears to the eyes of some onlookers as his family who fought tirelessly for his innocence stood by him.
Conclusion
To close, I’d like to express my delight at seeing so much activity on social media about events for IFAD from the USA, Argentina, Spain, India, and of course the UK.
So now we move on to our next step which is Men’s Equality Month.