Scottish Prison Service admits causing death of inmate through 'unlawful' restraint by officers

The Scottish Prison Service has apologised after admitting causing the death of an inmate through “unnecessary and excessive forcible restraint” by prison officers.

Allan Marshall, from Lanarkshire, died in 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by a total of 17 prison officers in HMP Edinburgh (Saughton).

During a court hearing at the Court of Session on Friday, the Crown Office and Police Scotland admitted that they failed in their legal duty to properly investigate his death and to ensure those responsible were held accountable.

It is the first time that all three parties have publicly apologised, accepted it as an unlawful death and accepted that the state failed to adequately investigate.

The court case was brought by Mr Marshall’s aunt, Sharon MacFadyen, with the support of Mr Marshall’s brother, Alistair Marshall, and was led by lawyers at JustRight Scotland.

Mr Marshall experienced a mental health crisis while being held on remand. Rather than calling for medical assistance, prison officers moved him to the segregation unit and then physically restrained him, holding him face down with his limbs raised, kneeling on him and using their feet to push him to the ground.

The restraint lasted for 40 minutes with CCTV footage showing Mr Marshall attempting to lift his middle off the ground but being forcibly pushed down by standing prison officers, including using their feet.

Plasticuffs (plastic handcuffs) were put on Mr Marshall’s wrists while he was face down in a prone position.

He died due to brain damage caused by oxygen starvation and cardiac arrest, as a result of continual physical restraint.

The 30-year-old had sustained multiple injuries, with cuts and bruises on his body and face, and the skin scraped off the top of his feet, for which no explanation was provided

A fatal accident inquiry found the death had been “entirely preventable” and described the officers as “mutually dishonest”.

Following the admissions made in court, Ms MacFadyen said: “We (myself and Alistair, Allan’s brother) have been fighting for justice for Allan for over ten years, since the day he died. These admissions confirm what we’ve always known – that prison officers killed Allan by using unnecessary and excessive force on him.

“That was clear when we first watched the CCTV footage ten years ago, and it shouldn’t have taken a court action to finally get an admission of that.

“For over ten years, we’ve been fighting for the truth, and have been ignored, dismissed and denied information by the Scottish Prison Service.

“For three years, we waited for a Fatal Accident Inquiry into Allan’s death, believing that would confirm how he died and that anyone responsible would be held to account, but that didn’t happen.

“Although we sat through weeks of painful evidence at the FAI, and the Sheriff confirmed that Allan’s death shouldn’t have happened, nothing was done about it because an FAI doesn’t hold anyone responsible or require any changes to be made.

“The Sheriff at the FAI said the prison officers lied in their evidence, so we will never know the full truth of what happened to Allan.”

The family said the admissions mean the official acknowledgement that Mr Marshall’s rights were breached.

“This victory is not just for Allan, but for every family who has lost someone in custody and been denied justice”, their statement concluded.

Barbara Bolton, partner and legal director at JustRight Scotland, said: “The Scottish Ministers, for the Scottish Prison Service, have finally admitted that Allan Marshall’s right to life was breached by the very institution responsible for his safety and wellbeing.

“It has taken the family over ten years of campaigning to finally secure official confirmation of something that was obvious to them as soon as they saw the CCTV footage. SPS should have acknowledged severe failures right away, made an unequivocal and public apology, and committed to measurable change to ensure it would never happen again. Instead, they ignored the family, refused them information only SPS had access to, and denied any wrongdoing, for over ten years.

“Mr Marshall’s family were further severely let down by the authorities tasked with investigating deaths in prison custody. Police Scotland and the Crown failed to adequately investigate his death, including by granting an amnesty to the prison officers involved in the unlawful restraint.

“The Marshall family should not have had to fight for over ten years to obtain acknowledgment that Allan Marshall’s rights were breached.

“Their determination has secured this outcome, which sets an important precedent, confirming the obligations on our public institutions, both those who hold people in their custody, and those who are responsible for investigating deaths.”

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for failings which resulted in the sad death of Mr Marshall and our thoughts and condolences remain with his family.

“We have learned from this and have taken forward and actioned the recommendations from the FAI, as we continually seek to improve how we support staff and keep people safe.

“As proceedings remain live in this matter it would be inappropriate to comment further.”