Allan Marshall: Scottish Prison Service could be charged with corporate manslaughter over inmate’s 2015 death

Police have launched an investigation into the Scottish Prison Service over the death of a man held on remand in 2015 who was violently restrained by more than a dozen officers during a mental health episode.

The prison service could be charged with corporate homicide over Allan Marshall’s death,  a first for any public or government body in the UK, after the Lord Advocate for Scotland ordered a comprehensive review of the case.

Mr Marshall’s family say they always believed the initial investigation into his death was “a sham,” which was “completely mishandled” while a 2019 inquiry highlighted several failures in the prison service’s systems.

What happened to Allan Marshall?

On 2 March 2015, father of two Allan Marshall was remanded to HMP Edinburgh awaiting trial for breach of peace.

Within a matter of weeks, he began reporting and showing signs of mental health issues. He told a cellmate he could see shooting stars, and would continually recite the Lord’s Prayer. His cellmate was moved to another cell after complaining that he was unable to sleep - the cellmate told staff that Mr Marshall needed to see a doctor, but nobody arranged this.

On 23 March, Mr Marshall - now alone in his cell - repeatedly pressed the call button throughout the night. The only prison officer on duty failed to arrange any medical or mental health support for him.

The following day, after reportedly ‘trashing’ his cell, he was moved to a segregation unit. He had not been assessed by a mental health professional at any point. On the way to segregation, officers noticed that he caught sight of himself in a mirror and seemed not to recognise himself then became distressed.

Mr Marshall was then violently restrained by a total of 17 officers, who dragged him around on the floor, stamped on him and wrapped a towel around his face. He could be heard by other prisoners telling the restraining officers that he could not breathe.

After suffering a cardiac arrest during the incident, he was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and spent four days in an induced coma before his life support was switched off and he died. It had been less than a month since he entered prison.

In 2019, a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) found that Mr Marshall’s death was “entirely preventable,” and that “numerous” opportunities were missed. Sheriff Liddle, who led the inquiry, also found the prison officers’ evidence to be inconsistent, describing their testimony as “mutually and consistently dishonest”.

Despite this, officers were granted legal immunity during the FAI, meaning no officer can be individually pursued for their actions. The FAI made 13 recommendations to the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), including that officers should not use their feet to restrain prisoners. When the SPS wrote to Mr Marshall’s family in January 2021, it said it had accepted 10 of the recommendations, not including the ban on the use of feet in restraints.

Mr Marshall’s aunt Sharon MacFadyen, and Alistair Marshall, his brother, said in a joint statement: “We as a family have always believed that the investigation into Allan’s death was a sham and was completely mishandled by the police and the Crown from the very beginning. Nearly eight years on, the Lord Advocate now agrees with us.

“However, she has also told us it’s not legally possible to prosecute any individual officers for any part they may have played in Allan’s death because they were all given immunity before the Fatal Accident Inquiry. This is extremely disappointing for us, and we say that this gives officers a licence to kill.

“We are grateful that action is now being taken, but it shouldn’t have taken eight years, and it could still lead to a decision not to charge Scottish Prison Service for what happened to Allan. No other person should die like he did and no family should go through what we have. We will continue to demand justice for the loss of Allan who was a much-loved member of our family.”

Investigation into Scottish Prison Service

Now, almost eight years since the incident, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service - the prosecuting body in Scotland - has instructed Police Scotland to investigate the SPS for corporate responsibility, including corporate homicide.

The law on corporate homicide was enacted in 2007 and holds the organisation responsible for a gross breach of a duty of care. No public or government body in the UK has ever been prosecuted for corporate homicide.

The investigation has come about after the Lord Advocate for Scotland, Dorothy Bain KC, conducted a review of the case, including re-interviewing witnesses and consulting independent experts. Based on this, Bain determined grounds to mount an investigation.

Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, said: “The unprecedented decision to investigate the Scottish Prison Service for corporate homicide is hugely significant. Yet it is clear from the evidence that it is necessary and long overdue.

“Without the determination of Allan’s family in campaigning and pursuing legal action, his preventable and violent death would have gone unchallenged. We hope the investigation progresses without further delay.

“Justice in this case is in both the family and the public’s interest. We hope this decision will set a precedent to ensure more public and corporate bodies face such investigations and are held to account.”