FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2013
Investigative Journalist
Mel Ayton Pens Book about Intrigue, Assassinations and
Black Power in Bermuda
Justice Denied – Bermuda’s Black Militants,
the ‘Third Man’ and the Assassinations of a Police Chief and Governor is the first full
account of the 1972/1973 assassinations of Bermuda’s governor, Richard
Sharples, and police chief, George Duckett. The book includes a Foreword by Dr.
Carol Shuman, a former journalist with the Bermuda
Sun and Mid
Ocean News.
During the 1970s, a black power organization in Bermuda, which modeled itself
on the American Black Panthers, conspired to bring about social change “by any
means necessary,” including assassination. The struggle for equal rights in
Bermuda during this period both imitated events in the United States and was
heavily influenced by them. This is especially true for the role American black
militants played in encouraging Bermuda’s youth to challenge the white power
structure on the island. Bermuda became the first nation to suffer the violent
effects of the importation of 1960s-style American Black Power militancy. As a
result, Governor Sharples, Police Chief George Duckett and others were
murdered.
Justice Denied
points the finger of guilt at a faction of the black militant group led by the
‘Third Man’, who controlled the convicted assassins. The author names the
Bermuda businessman, a convicted drug dealer who assisted the assassins in
financing their political aims through drug deals and bank robberies. Ayton
also concludes that the real story about the assassinations was ‘whitewashed’
by consecutive Bermudian governments in the interests of racial harmony.
This investigative book is based on interviews with police officers involved in
the investigation into the assassinations and murders, as well as interviews
with prison officers familiar with two members of the assassination team.
Additional material for the book was gleaned from the previously secret
Scotland Yard murder files, British Foreign Office files, court records,
newspaper archives and interviews with the Bermudian governor’s widow.
Paul Donnelley, author of 501
Most Notorious Crimes, says of
Justice Denied, "Murders in paradise... Mel Ayton has
proved in previous books that he has a consummate skill for unraveling the
facts behind conspiracies or debunking them where they don't exist (JFK, RFK,
MLK to name but three). His latest book is no exception. It reads like a
thriller, but every word is true and his telling of racism, riots, murders, and
cover-ups on Bermuda makes this an unputdownable page-turner."
For more details about Mel Ayton and excerpts from Justice Denied please go to
the website www.strategicmediabooks.com.
For further
information about the publisher: strategicmediabooks.com
For interviews or to request copy of the book e-mail:
strategicmediabooks@gmail.com
or phone: 803-366-5440
