Justice? Two years have passed and the Wheelock family still have no answers.

dublin | crime and justice | feature

Friday June 08, 2007 13:56

by E B

An overview of Terence Wheelock case on the second anniversary of his arrest

Terence Wheelock's Father and Brothers, 2006. Photo by Michael Gallagher.

Terence Wheelock was taken into custody on the 2nd of June 2005. The twenty year old man left Store Street station in a coma never to recover from the injuries that he received there and died in September 2005. His family is still waiting for an adequate explanation for what happened on that day in Store Street. The Gardai claim that Terence’s injuries were sustained while attempting suicide but the Wheelock family have disputed this and have launched a high profile campaign for an independent inquiry into Terence Wheelock’s death.

The demand for an inquiry is both reasonable and fair in light of the information that has come into the public domain since June 2005. Many of the details of the events surrounding Terence Wheelock’s death have been well documented on Indymedia, and in The Village. More recently the case has received attention from the Sunday Tribune and a number of other mainstream media outlets. Nonetheless, it is worth reiterating some of the most striking features of the case. For instance the cell where Terence Wheelock fell into a coma was immediately renovated before it could be inspected by the family’s legal team. The clothes Terence was wearing that day, which were later found to be blood spattered, were taken away by the Gardai and left in conditions that undermined the value of the garments as forensic evidence. Custody records in the station were inexplicably amended and numerous other inconsistencies have been noted in the Garda version of events. Moreover, witnesses who were at Store Street and who later appeared at the Coroner’s Court have questioned the Gardai’s account of what took place. Even more significantly the Gardai’s assertion that Terence Wheelock had no marks or bruises on his body when he was in custody has been flatly contradicted by photographic evidence obtained by the family from the Mater hospital which clearly shows extensive bruising and lacerations all over the young man.

The Campaign for Justice for Terence Wheelock is holding a peaceful protest this Saturday the 9th of June to mark the second anniversary of Terence Wheelock’s arrest and his subsequent death and to renew their call for an independent inquiry. The protest will meet at Sean McDermott Street church at 1 pm and then move to Store Street.

The demand for an independent inquiry however is not solely based on the circumstantial and forensic evidence. The behaviour of the Gardai since Terence Wheelock’s death has completely undermined any faith that the family might have had in a Garda led investigation. As reported on Indymedia previously members of the Gardai have on numerous occasions taunted and harassed the Wheelock family and subjected them to regular overt and covert surveillance over the past two years.

Unfortunately, there has been somewhat less zeal shown by those within the criminal justice system supposedly responsible for establishing the facts of the case. Firstly, the Department of Justice refused to make resources available to the Wheelocks so the evidence could be examined by independent forensic experts and true to form Minister McDowell did little more than utter meaningless blandishments and clichés. Secondly, extraordinary as it may seem, the internal Garda investigation into the death was, until recently, led by Oliver Hanley a Garda who served in Store Street for over fifteen years before being stationed elsewhere. Thirdly, although, the Coroner’s Court has had been convened sixteen times to look at the case this process has yielded far more heat than light and quite incredibly the Court had to be adjourned before Christmas when it became apparent that State Pathologist, Marie Cassidy, had completely overlooked the photographic evidence of injuries to Terence Wheelock. And at the most recent sitting last week the Wheelocks were informed that the evidence gathered by independent experts engaged by Yvonne Bamberry, the family’s lawyer, on the case would not be directly admissible to the Court. At each turn it seems that the Wheelocks' attempt to get justice is being frustrated and impeded.

Following Terence Wheelock’s death the state asked the family to trust in due process. However, two years later the family are still waiting for a substantive, thorough and independent investigation let alone an indication that this case is been given the care and attention it deserves. The question then, on the second anniversary of the events that led to Terence Wheelock’s untimely death, is how long should the Wheelock family have to wait before they receive a credible account of what transpired in Store Street?

Whatever the answer is to this question- and the State seems to favour delay-the Wheelocks, along with their neighbours, friends and supporters remain determined to find out what happened in June 2005 however long it takes. This singular determination is one of the most significant, but least remarked upon, aspects of the Wheelock case. Many people faced with malice, disdain, harassment and disinterest would understandably choose to retire and attend privately to their grief rather than struggle on for justice. It is, given the evidence at hand, not unreasonable to suggest that a number of Gardai were hoping or even calculating that this is exactly what would happen. Instead, the Wheelocks have, despite everything, built a strongly supported local campaign that has managed to draw the attention of human rights groups including Amnesty to the case alongside a growing number of activists, journalists and politicians. Without this effort Terence Wheelock would have become the name of another person who died in Garda custody (* see note) and the disturbing questions the case raises for us all about what happens behind cell doors would, in all likelihood, never have been brought into the public arena .

George Orwell watching a needless death and the enormous loss of potential that this entailed was moved to write of witnessing “one life less, one world less”. In coping with the loss of a son and a brother, in fact of a whole world, while publicly fighting for justice the Wheelock family have displayed courage, dignity and a rare determination. The family and their campaign deserve our respect and our solidarity not just because of the injustice of this particular case but also because it allows us to begin to name and perhaps even address some of the abuses of power that people across Ireland are forced to suffer.

* There have been at least 22 such deaths since 1997 in varying circumstances but rarely are these cases deemed worthy of sustained attention