Crown Office, SPS and Police Scotland Sued over Scandalous Death of Inmate

The family of a prisoner who died in custody has initiated legal action against the Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland, and the Crown Office.

Allan Marshall died in March 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by 17 prison officers at HMP Edinburgh (formerly known as Saughton). Mr. Marshall was experiencing a mental health crisis while being held on remand, awaiting trial for a breach of the peace charge. Instead of calling for medical assistance, prison officers moved him to the segregation unit and restrained him physically. This involved holding him face down, kneeling on him, and using their feet to push him to the ground on ten occasions. The restraint continued for at least 30 minutes. Mr. Marshall died from cardiac arrest and brain damage due to oxygen deprivation caused by the prolonged physical restraint.

Although the incident was recorded on CCTV and admissions were made during the fatal accident inquiry, no one has been held accountable for Mr. Marshall’s death. The Crown Office granted full immunity to all the prison officers involved, ruling out any prosecution. Despite a recent admission that this decision was a mistake, it cannot be reversed.

The Case also targets Police Scotland and the Crown Office for failing to adequately investigate Mr. Marshall’s death and hold those responsible accountable, which is mandated under Article 2 of the Convention on Human Rights.

The Crown Office has admitted that the police investigation was inadequate.

JustRight Scotland, a charity of human rights lawyers, is representing Mr. Marshall’s family in what may be the first case of its kind in Scotland.

 Despite the Human Rights Act being in force since 1998, and the frequent occurrence of deaths in prison custody, the legal team has not found any previous UK court decision citing a breach of Article 2 for causing death in prison.

 There are, however, decisions from the European Court of Human Rights involving other European countries, finding breaches of Article 2 through deaths caused by restraint in custody.

 Ms. MacFadyen said: “We’ve been fighting for justice for Allan for nine years. Allan was killed in prison when he needed medical support. No one has been held responsible for that. The system has failed Allan. We hope that through this court case we can finally get accountability.”