SHAME ON YOU HUMZA
Family: yousaf smeared Allan with claim he put five guards in hospital
The family of ddeath-in- custody inmate allan Marshall have accused Justice Secretary humza yousaf of smearing their relative over claims five prison officers were hospitalised in the incident which led to his death. Mr Yousaf made the extraordinary allegation in a letter
to the chair of Holyrood’s Justice Committee, Margaret Mitchell, released to the media late on Friday.
But Mr Marshall’s family and their lawyer are furious at the claim, which contradicts shocking video evidence of the altercation between Mr Marshall and 13 officers at HMP Saughton in Edinburgh.
The footage shows no sign of distress or injury when the officers emerge from the shower block and cont i nue to brutally restrain the prisoner.
It also runs contrary to the determination of Gordon Liddle , the sheriff who presided over the Fatal Accident Inquiry into 3 0 - yea r - old Mr Marshall’s death.
He said: “It was accepted in evidence and was also clear from the CCTV recording that none of the officers involved in the restraint had any clothing ripped. Nor did they appear to be in any way unduly dishevelled.”
The sheriff also questioned the honesty of the guards – including claims of one breaking their wrist – whose version of events Mr Yousaf appeared to be backing.
He said: “It was clear prison officer staff did not tell the whole truth on a number of occasions.
“Sometimes theyy appearedpp to be mutually and consistently dishonest.”
The Justice Secretary and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are likely to be questioned about the Saughton scandal when Holyrood reopens for business on Tuesday. One issue which both will be asked to address is wwhen they knew of an attempt to interdict the Sunday Mail in the name of Scottish ministers after learning we planned to publish imagesi of the restraint. It’s understood MrM Yousaf was informed at 11.30pm11. on Saturday night. LLawyers acting for the Scottish Prison Service rejected attempts to resolve the matter out of court after that point.
Mr Marshall’s aunt Sharon MacFadyen, 46, of Rutherglen, Glasgow, said: “Allan isn’t here to defend himself. Mr Yousaf is smearing a dead man and blackening his name.
“I would like to ask him to come and watch the CCTV with the family and show us where he sees any sign of any serious injury to the 13 officers restraining one man in the shower block.
“It’s clear to the naked eye that none of the officers seen in the CCTV are in distress – if someone was suffering from a broken wrist, I’d like to know who.
“The of f icers may have gone to hospital as a covering exercise but these are people whose evidence to the FAI has been called into question.
“I don’t think they have tried to kill him but they have tried to teach him a lesson and it has gone too far. None of the prison officers in the CCTV have a hair out of place.”
The Marshalls’ solicitor, Jelina Berlow- Rahman, said: “The sheriff found ‘credibility and reliability issues with many of the prison off icer witnesses’ and found more confidence relying on evidence that could be verified by CCTV.
“It has taken Humza Yousaf more than 20 days to respond to one of the most robust , comprehensive and damning decisions made by a sheriff in a Fatal Accident Inquiry, who clearly states that Al lan Marshall’s death was ‘entirely preventable’.
“Prior to the Sunday Mail’s story last week, the family have been faced with a wall of silence from him and other politicians.”
Restraint expert Eric Baskind,
who was called as an expert witness at the Fatal Accident Inquiry into Mr Marshal l ’s death, said: “There’s nothing I saw in their demeanour to suggest there had just been an extremely violent incident.
“In other restraint cases I have been involved in, there have been occasions where officers have simply been taken to hospital for tests and X-rays.
“But that’s a million miles from officers suffering serious injuries. We really need to find out what the injuries sustained were to officers.
“Just going to hospital doesn’t mean you have been badly injured.”
Mr Yousaf also detailed the charges under which Mr Marshall was being held in remand – al legedly using t h reateni n g or abusive behaviour and assaulting or impeding the police.
Sharon said: “I don’t know why he has mentioned the charges against Allan. We were never told he had been charged with assaulting or impeding the police. Charges were not mentioned in the FAI judgment.”
The footage published in the Sunday Mail last week showed Mr Marshall’s final conscious moments as he was dragged feet first and face down naked across the f loor of Saughton’s Segregation and Reintegration Unit on March 24, 2015.
One of the most disturbing pieces of footage shows a towel placed over his face in the corridor as his otherwise limp body shows signs of distress – a fact mentioned only fleetingly in the FAI but which experts now believe may have been crucial.
A member of a 13-strong team of off icers is seen forcefully placing his knee on Mr Marshall’s back seven seconds after he was dragged from the shower block.
A col league, under no apparent threat, puts a foot on his back later.
During the FAI , some prisoners said they heard him shout “get off me” and “I can’t breathe”.
Dad- of- two Mr Marshal l had his ow n elect r i ca l appliance recycling business in Castlemilk, Glasgow.
He had been in prison for almost a month as he awaited a court hearing.
The CCTV was seen during a 28- day FAI, which ended in December 2018.
Sheri ff Liddle published his 109-page determinations, which severely criticised some of the prison officers involved, last month.
He said he heard evidence of three off icers being injured, not f ive, and he made no f inding that any off icer had been hospitalised.
In his letter to Margaret Mitchell, Mr Yousaf wrote: “The cause of death was a brain injury due to cardiac arrest, which occurred dur ing physical restraint. The post mortem also found that he had underlying severe coronary artery disease.
“During the incident, f ive prison off icers were also injured and required hospital treatment.”
Sharon added: “I’m absolutely raging after reading that letter. Why has it taken 21 days to write a letter? I can’t believe he is praising the prison officers and saying they do a great job.”
The Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and condolences remain with the family and friends of Allan Marshall. None of what is in the letter is intended to minimise the tragedy of Mr Marshall’s death.
“The letter confirms that five officers were injured. Of those, as the sheriff’s determination from the FAI confirms, three officers were injured in the initial struggle. The SPS has also conf irmed that two further officers were injured, one to the back and one to the elbow.”
Humza Yousaf is smearing a dead man. I would like him to come and watch the CCTV with us and then point to where he sees any sign of injury to any of the 13 officers restraining one man in the jail shower block