1.The man who raped and murdered nine-year-old Ebony Simpson has had his prison privileges revoked after 30,000 people signed a petition demanding he never be released.
Andrew Garforth’s prisoner status had been reclassified by the Serious Offenders Review Council, allowing him to apply for work and rehabilitation courses leading to fears he may one day be released.
Ebony’s mother Christine was disgusted by the news of the new privileges extended to her daughter’s killer and appeared on A Current Affair on Monday night demanding he be given nothing more than: “a plate of beans kicked under that door of his cell and a glass of water.”
Ebony’s mother on A Current Affair
Christine also launched a change.org petition, which got more than 30,000 signatures in just a few hours and saw NSW Corrections Minister David Elliot intervene to have Garforth’s reclassification reversed.
“The reclassification will be reversed – he does not have a toaster, he will not get extra time in the yard,” Mr Elliott told Macquarie Radio.
“This guy gets nothing – he will die in jail. That’s what the justice system said of him, that is what my department is to do.”
“I can’t thank you enough for taking a stand though and signing my change.org petition. It shows people power can force the government to listen,” Christine said. “Thank you so much for remembering my daughter.”
2.This picture of a nine-year-old homeless boy doing his homework in the car park of a McDonald’s went viral last month – and changed the life of the little boy’s entire family.
Daniel Cabrera and his family have lived on the streets of Mandaue in the Phillipines since their house was destroyed by a fire earlier this year. His father died in 2013 and mum Christina Espinosa earns less than $2 a day working as a cleaner, leaving her unable to afford a new home for her three children.
Daniel was using the restaurant’s lighting to finish his homework when Joyce Gilos Torrefranca snapped a photo of him and uploaded it to Facebook.
Torrefranca’s image was shared thousands of times and within days, Daniel and his family were inundated with donations of money, school supplies – even a scholarship for Daniel so he can continue his education and fulfil his dream of becoming a policeman.
“We’re overjoyed. I don’t know what I will do with all of these blessings,” Christina told AFP. “He always tells me: ‘Mama I don’t want to stay poor. I want to reach my dreams.”
