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Inquests & Inquiries

Mariel has been representing interested persons at inquests since 1991. We acted for British Transport Police at the London Bombings Inquests and advised the force in connection with the Leveson Inquiry. More recently, Mariel has been retained on the Manchester Arena Inquiry. When cut loose by the Ministry of Justice due to conflicts of interest, members of the Prison Governors’ Association instruct us to represent them at inquests arising out of deaths in custody.

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  • Advice

  • Advocacy

  • Deaths in custody

  • Disasters

  • Disclosure

  • European Convention
    on Human Rights

  • Experts

  • Health and safety issues

  • Investigations

  • Juries

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  • Liability claims

  • Lessons to be learned

  • Liaising with coroner & interested parties

  • Prison procedures

  • Publicity

  • Response to coroner’s report

  • Suicide

  • Witness preparation

  • Witness statements

Case Summaries

Leveson Inquiry

 

Chief Constable and Communications Lead for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), as it was then known, instructed Mariel when he was invited to give evidence at the Leveson Inquiry. Mariel reviewed the issues he had been asked to cover, drafted his witness statement and prepared him to give evidence.

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Death in custody

 

Mariel represented a deputy governor and governor at an inquest into the death of a prisoner who had hanged himself in the segregation unit while  serving a life sentence. He was on suicide watch and had been put into the segregation unit after spitting at a governor. Shortly after he was informed that his privileges were to be downgraded from enhanced to standard, he hanged himself. When both governors were cut loose by the Prison Service shortly before the inquest, Mariel acted as advocate at the hearing. At the conclusion of the evidence she made a successful submission that neither the Prison Service’s internal report on the death or the report of the Prisons and Probations Ombudsman should be put before the jury as both were prejudicial and based on inaccurate evidence. The jury did not make any findings of fault against either governor. The coroner did not make any recommendations under rule 28 to prevent future deaths.

Leveson Inquiry
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