Allan Marshall died in March 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by a total of 17 prison officers in HMP Edinburgh (Saughton). Mr Marshall experienced a mental health crisis while being held on remand, awaiting trial for a charge of breach of the peace.

Rather than calling for medical assistance, prison officers moved him to the segregation unit and then physically restrained him, holding him face down, kneeling on him and using feet to push him to the ground on ten occasions. The restraint persisted for at least 30 minutes.

Mr Marshall died due to cardiac arrest and brain damage caused by oxygen starvation as a result of continual physical restraint.

Despite much of the restraint being recorded on CCTV, and admissions made during the fatal accident inquiry, no one has been held accountable for what was done to Mr Marshall.

The Crown Office granted full immunity to all prison officers at HMP Edinburgh, ruling out any prosecution. Despite recently admitting that this should not have happened, the decision cannot be reversed.

Mr Marshall’s aunt, Sharon MacFadyen, has raised a court claim against the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) for breach of Mr Marshall’s right to life by unlawfully causing his death.

The right to life is protected under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. Due to the Crown’s decision to grant immunity to the prison officers, this is one of the only remaining routes to securing accountability.

Ms MacFadyen’s court action is also directed against Police Scotland and the Crown Office, for breach of their duty to adequately investigate Mr Marshall’s death and hold those responsible to account, which is also a requirement under Article 2 of the Convention.

In addition to granting the prison officers immunity, the Crown Office has acknowledged that the police investigation was inadequate.

JustRight Scotland is representing the family of Mr Marshall in what may be the first case of its kind in Scotland.

Despite the Human Rights Act being in force since 1998, and deaths in prison custody being an all too frequent occurrence, the legal team has not found any previous UK court decision finding a breach of Article 2 for causing death in prison.

There are decisions from the European Court of Human Rights related to other European countries, finding breach of Article 2 through causing death by restraint in custody.

Ms MacFadyen said: “We’ve been fighting for justice for Allan for nine years. Allan was killed in prison when he needed medical support. No-one has been held responsible for that. The system has failed Allan. We hope that through this court case we can finally get accountability.”