Family's Decade-Long Fight for Answers
The aunt of Allan Marshall, who died in custody, described the family’s struggle to obtain answers following his death as "torture" during a compensation hearing.
Allan Marshall, aged 30, was held on remand at HMP Edinburgh in March 2015 when he was restrained face down by up to 17 prison officers. He passed away four days later.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has since acknowledged that his death was unlawful.
Sharon MacFadyen, Allan’s aunt, addressed the Court of Session in Edinburgh, expressing the profound distress experienced by the family.
In a three-day hearing overseen by Lady Ross, the court is examining the appropriate level of damages to be awarded by the SPS to Marshall’s brother, Alistair, and aunt, Sharon.
It was revealed that Police Scotland and the Crown Office have already agreed on a compensation figure.
The SPS admitted in September 2023, ten years after the incident, that Marshall’s death was unlawful.
Following this admission, the family received formal apologies from the prison service, Crown Office, and Police Scotland. The court heard that the force used during the restraint exceeded what was necessary.
This marked the first occasion on which all three entities publicly apologized, acknowledged the death as unlawful, and accepted that the state had failed to conduct an adequate investigation.
MacFadyen conveyed to the court the ongoing hardship endured by the family over the past decade.
"It is like being tortured over and over again," she said. "It is horrible, I don't even know how to put it into words. It is torture. It is exhausting."
Use of Excessive Force
Marshall, originally from Carluke in South Lanarkshire, was on remand for unpaid fines and breach of the peace charges when he experienced a mental health crisis.
He was moved to HMP Edinburgh’s segregation unit after prison officers reported that he had become agitated.
CCTV footage showed Marshall, who had an underlying heart condition, being dragged and restrained by up to 17 prison officers, some of whom used their feet during the restraint.
Previous court proceedings established that there was "never any need" to use force against Marshall and that he should have been given medical treatment instead.
The court also heard that plastic cuffs were applied and that the level of force was "plainly excessive and beyond what was necessary."
An unpublished Crown Office review obtained by BBC Scotland in 2024 stated that the decision not to prosecute the prison officers, made two months after Marshall’s death, was "incorrect."
The Crown Office noted it has implemented "significant reforms" since Marshall’s case and assured that bereaved families "can expect investigations to be pursued with the vigour and expertise they deserve."
Calls for Reform and Government Response
MacFadyen and Alistair Marshall joined other bereaved families in a meeting with First Minister John Swinney in December 2023, advocating for the mandatory implementation of recommendations arising from fatal accident inquiries.
At that meeting, Swinney expressed his condolences for their loss and committed to informing families about "the steps we're taking to implement the fatal accident inquiry recommendations that are relevant."
The Scottish government has been contacted for comment regarding the ongoing case and reforms.
