Gulf human rights hero Thomas B. Manton falsely imprisoned, murdered

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Thomas Manton, oil spill, health news

(NaturalNews) Former President and CEO of the International Oil Spill Control Corporation, Dr. Thomas B. Manton heroically fought to expose the truth about the massive Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, which was caused by a BP oil platform explosion in April 2010. However, all of his hard work resulted in his false imprisonment and subsequent murder, an all-too-common scenario among whistle blowers who expose lies and corruption.

Dr. Manton was one of the first to warn the public that far more oil than what BP had reported was gushing into the Gulf every single day, and that, eventually, the massive oil-and-chemical plumes would wrap their way around the Gulf and travel up the eastern seaboard, contaminating beaches and wildlife all along the way. Manton also warned that the worst is yet to come within the next few years as the toxic brew slowly makes its way throughout the environment.

"Once the winds change, it will then come eastward and pollute the beaches of the west coast of Florida and the "loop current" could carry this oil spill right around Florida, through the Florida Keys and pollute the east coast of Florida as well," Manton wrote on May 28, 2010.

Unlike most others, Manton was not about to let BP or the U.S. government get away with hiding the facts about the spill, facts that include a growing list of human deaths from exposure to both the oil and the Corexit chemicals used to mitigate it. And this is precisely why people like Dr. Tom Termotto, National Coordinator of the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference, say that Manton was deliberately framed and murdered.

"[Manton] was particularly distressed that the U.S. Federal Government allowed BP to completely take charge of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster area, as his experience taught him that the offending oil company should never be given command over the oil spill response," said Termotto, speaking of Manton's extensive history in dealing with oil spills. And when Manton was first arrested, Termotto explained that "Dr. Manton was serving an unlawful 15-year prison sentence, convicted of a crime he did not commit."

An August 8, 2010, report in the Keechobee News explains that Manton was found guilty on one count of possession of child pornography. However, some sources claim the offending material was planted on Manton's computer in order to set him up. Either way, Florida's criminal justice system oddly placed Manton into a regular prison, where eventually he was murdered by other inmates for the heinous nature of his supposed crimes.

"[Manton] was railroaded through the criminal justice process with such speed, force and determination -- after the BP Oil Spill received so much national and global attention -- that many of us could only come to certain disturbing conclusions," said Termotto. "His sentence, given all the extenuating circumstances, exceptional disregard of various criteria, and flouting of sentencing guidelines, was unprecedented in Florida history."

And Manton is not the only Gulf whistle blower to have been targeted for silencing. In August 2010, Matthew Simmons, another leading whistle blower in the BP oil scandal, was found dead in his Maine home. Some reports say he accidentally drowned in his hot tub, while others say he died of a heart attack. Many believe Simmons death was also a set up because of his outspoken opposition to what he regularly said was a massive BP coverup.

According to Simmons, BP did not respond to the disaster properly, and afterwords tried to lie about it. Simmons also accused the mainstream media of being a BP accomplice, conveniently cooperating with its efforts to dupe the public into thinking everything was under control when it really was not. Like Manton, Simmons also warned that human health would be greatly affected by the disaster in years to come.

What makes both deaths perhaps the most highly suspicious is the mainstream media's treatment of both situations. Both men were very outspoken and received significant media attention during the time of the disaster. But upon his death, Simmons received scant and conflicting reports about the cause of his death. And Manton's death has yet to even receive any media attention.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.nottheexaminer.com/human-rights-i...

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028410/01646/1j

http://www.nottheexaminer.com/human-rights-i...