YLAL South West 07.02.2017

We met at the University of Law, Bristol, on 7 February 2017 for our event ‘Uncovering the truth behind deaths in custody’, hearing from experts on the law and procedures that apply when individuals die in state detention.

The panel was chaired by Gus Silverman, solicitor at Irwin Mitchell specialising in actions against the police. Gus has worked on a number of high profile cases in this area, including the death of Jimmy Mubenga and Adam Rickwood, the youngest person ever to die in state custody.

The passion conveyed by barrister Kirsten Heaven from Garden Court Chambers was inspiring, and she gave a fascinating insight into the coronial system and the challenges facing those who practise inquest law. Specialist solicitor

Clare Richardson from Deighton Pierce Glynn gave a brilliant overview of some of the cases she is instructed in and an insightful run-through of the life of a case, demonstrating the broad range of issues and intricacies that are examined by the coroner.

Finally, Shona Crallan from the charity INQUEST joined us from London to explain INQUEST’s unique role in inquest proceedings that enables them to not only support families navigate the complexities of the process, but also to spot trends and patterns across the country which in turn feeds into their policy and media work. 

We were delighted to be joined by so many people at our event -both law students and practitioners- and we look forward to their input in YLAL and with our local group in the South West.