The Wire

in 2004 there was some trouble between Aboriginal people in Palm Island and the local police. One man, Mulrunji Doomadgee, a well respected member of the community, was arrested for swearing. A short time later he was dead. What exactly happened in the watchhouse in 2004, and how Mulrunji ended up with four broken ribs and a ruptured liver, is still unresolved today. In the latest twist in the Palm Island affair, a Brisbane Court of Appeal has just ruled that a new coroner should be appointed and the inquest into the death in custody of mulrunji Doomadge be re-opened. The ruling will also re-open a wound in the Palm Island community that has barely healed over.