By Fahad Tariq,Mark McGivern
Copyright glasgowlive
Prison officers have hit out at the scandalous death of vulnerable Lanarkshire dad Allan Marshall just days before he was due to be released.
The Scottish establishment last week finally apologised, something that Allan’s family had been seeking for years – but only after a court battle that ended ten years after the dad-of-two’s death. The Daily Record has been contacted by officers who said they feel the Scottish Prison Service has suffered even greater damage due to the protracted legal proceedings.
And officers believe it would have been better for the SPS if men had been charged and convicted for their “unacceptable” conduct that day, which led to Allan’s death.
They were, instead, given immunity from prosecution, in a bizarre deal struck by the Crown Office ahead of them giving evidence at a Fatal Accident Inquiry.
Staff have said the death of Allan, 30, in HMP Edinburgh, was “barbaric”, even in an environment where raw force is often used to restore order.
One source said: “This case stained the reputation of officers and there is a lot of anger about the way it happened and the way it has been dealt with.
“From the very start to the end – the prisoner’s death – every rule in the book was broken. We don’t even know why he was being moved in the first place.
“To say he was ‘agitated’ is mind boggling because that would mean half the estate being moved every day.”
The source said the sheer number of officers – up to 17 took a hand in restraining Allan – was “very strange”.
He said: “There are very specific conditions needed to take a prisoner to a cell block and they need to be signed off by a senior manager. He shouldn’t have been moved.
“The way he was then dealt with was horrific and unacceptable. An alarm was pressed and it brought people running from all areas, which is normal.
“But after a minute or so, an officer should have been firmly in charge and should have stood down all but four officers.
“What we got was a load of officers hanging around and people doing stuff that was utterly disproportionate to one unarmed prisoner, who was clearly under control.”
The source said that the use of a wet towel around Allan’s face was unnecessary and not detailed in any training or regulations for restraining prisoners.
Another source added: “The application of a towel and the subsequent action by guys to restrain him with knees in the back is just horrific and hard to watch.
“I would say that any decent officers would regard the whole episode in the same way it has been seen by members of the public. Things happened that should not have and people should have been held to account.
“There are many instances of officers assaulting prisoners and being charged with offences. So why should we have an incident where a man actually dies and immunity is granted.
“It beggars belief.”
Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here to receive news and features direct to your inbox
In 2019 our sister paper, the Sunday Mail, revealed shocking CCTV footage that showed Allan, from Carluke, being dragged feet-first and face down across a corridor floor and restrained by five guards – one covering each of his limbs and another stationed at his head.
The Scottish Prison Service last week admitted that Allan’s death unlawful. The Crown Office and Police Scotland were also forced to finally accept their own shortcomings, accepting the tragedy as an unlawful death that the state failed to adequately investigate.
Allan, who had an underlying heart condition, was on remand for unpaid fines and breach of the peace charges when he experienced a mental health crisis.
He was transferred to HMP Edinburgh’s segregation unit after prison officers said he had become agitated.
The court heard that there was “never any need” for force to be used and that he should have received medical attention instead.
The SPS said it had “learned” from the incident and continually sought to improve how it supports staff and keeps people safe.
All three public bodies made a series of factual and legal admissions that were lodged with the Court of Session last Friday.
Join Glasgow Live’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
A spokesperson for the SPS said: “We sincerely apologise for failings which resulted in the sad death of Mr Marshall and our thoughts and condolences remain with his family.
“We have learned from this and have taken forward and actioned the recommendations from the FAI, as we continually seek to improve how we support staff and keep people safe.”
The family’s lawyer, Barbara Bolton, said the Scottish Prison Service should have publicly apologised to the family long ago.
An unpublished Crown Office review said a decision not to prosecute the prison officers, made two months after Allan’s death, was “incorrect”.
The Crown Office said it had undertaken “significant reforms” since Mr Marshall’s case and that bereaved families “can expect investigations to be pursued with the vigour and expertise they deserve”.
“As proceedings remain live in this matter it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
