JAIL DEATH FAMILY’S FURY OVER LEGAL AID REFUSAL
Inmate’s brother This is just one more whitewash
The family of a man who died in custody have been denied legal aid in their fight for justice.
Allan Marshall, 30, was on remand at Edinburgh’s HMP Saughton when prison officers dragged him face down across a corridor with a towel over his head.
His relatives want to sue the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), Police Scotland and Lord Advocate James Wolffe but the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) refused an application for financial help to take it to court.
Mr Marshall’s brother Alistair said: “Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf apologised and told us we’d been let down. He told us he was on our side and never wanted this to happen again.
“So why has the agency under his government’s control denied us the help we need to get justice? It’s just more whitewash and cover-up. I don’t believe he wants the truth to come out.”
The SPS went to court to try to stop the Sunday Mail publishing CCTV footage of Mr Marshall’s final conscious moments last year. He was dragged naked across the floor of the segregation and reintegration unit on March 24, 2015, with a towel held over his face. He later died in hospital.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) ruled his death was “entirely preventable”.
But prison guards were accused of lying in evidence and last week we revealed how the SPS website has listed the tragedy as “natural causes – sudden”.
The SLAB refusal letter stated: “The outcome of the FAI should be said to have given just satisfaction as such satisfaction does not have to be monetary recompense.”
Family lawyer Jelina Berlow-Rahman said: “The suggestion that the motivation is simply financial is offensive. The suggestion that the findings of the FAI are enough is even more so. They stop at the moment of Allan’s death. The subsequent cover-up and failure to implement recommendations of the FAI are of huge concern.”
A post- mortem found a pre-existing heart condition had contributed to Mr Marshall ’s death but an FAI last August said the restraint had also been a factor.
Mr Marshall was being held after appearing at court on a breach of the peace charge and remanded due to unpaid fines.
A SLAB spokesman said: “We appreciate the decision is difficult but applications must meet criteria required by legislation. The refused application did not show the outcome of the type of case envisaged would result in anything more than had already been achieved through the FAI.”
The Scottish Government said: “Our thoughts remain with Allan Marshall’s family. Decisions about applications for legal aid are entirely for the Scottish Legal Aid Board and ministers have no powers to intervene.” The SPS did not respond to requests for comment.