Annual Report 2004 - Inquest

20
September
● INQUEST debate with
the Prisons Minister on
Radio 5 Live about deaths
of women in custody
● Attend recording of
INQUEST’s BBC Radio 4
Charitable Appeal with
Benjamin Zephaniah
● New caseworker starts
● Attend Inns of Court
School of Law pro bono
student fair to recruit
volunteers
● Join delegation from
the Law Society and
Action against Medical
Accidents (AvMA) to meet
officials from the
Department of
Constitutional Affairs and
the Legal Services
Commission about
ongoing problems with
public funding and
inquests
● Attend Judicial Studies
Board coroners training
day on inquests into
deaths in prison post the
Middleton and Amin
judgments
● Meet with MPs to brief
them on the issues arising
out of the deaths of
children in custody
● Attend and speak at a
Children’s Society Fringe
meeting at Labour Party
conference on children’s
deaths in prison
● Meet with the Youth
Justice Board on the death
of Adam Rickwood
Delays in Inquests
One of INQUEST’s key concerns about the way in which
deaths in custody are investigated is the serious delay that
can occur from the time of death through to the subsequent
inquest. Delays of over a year are not uncommon – in part
due to the length of time investigations can take and the
lack of resources available to coroners.
These delays cause bereaved people great distress and
the casework team have identified the detrimental effects
of these delays on the physical and mental health of family
members. The opportunity for identifying what went
wrong, learning the lessons and preventing other deaths
also become seriously prolonged. We have raised our
concerns about this at a policy and parliamentary level.
Funding for Families’ Legal Representation
We continue to deal with ongoing problems in obtaining
public funding for legal preparation, representation and
subsistence for families and inconsistent practice around
the country. The reforms to the system that have provided