Open verdict

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The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. [1] Mortality studies consider it likely that the majority of open verdicts are recorded in cases of suicide where the intent of the deceased could not be proved, [2] although the verdict is recorded in many other circumstances.

Contents

Meaning

Two lord chief justices have cautioned an open verdict does not mean the jury has failed to do their duty of explaining the cause of death, but that in some cases, there is genuine doubt about the cause of death. [3] : 472  However, the uncertainty explicit in the verdict has led many to regard it as an unsatisfactory one. [4] Current legal guidance is to avoid open verdicts if possible:

an open verdict is thus only to be used in the last resort if there is insufficient evidence to enable the coroner or the jury to reach any other conclusions. The fact of there possibly being uncertainty as to other parts of the inquisition, for example as to the precise cause, time or place of death, does not authorise recording an open verdict if there is sufficient evidence to record how the deceased came by his death. In other words, the coroner or jury should not fail to reach a positive conclusion merely because there is some doubt on some minor point. [5]

Standard of proof

In an obiter dictum (legal opinion not forming part of the judgment) in the case of R v West London Coroner, ex parte Gray [6] in 1986, the divisional court stated that the open verdict was, as with the verdicts of unlawful killing and suicide, required to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. [3] : 471  However, the fact of a verdict of suicide requires "some evidence of the deceased having intended to take his own life" means open verdicts are often recorded in cases where suicide is suspected, but the evidence of intent is lacking. For this reason some studies of suicides have also included those deaths in which open verdicts were recorded. [2]

Notable open verdicts

In May 1961, a fire broke out in the Top Storey Club in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Nineteen people died in the fire (fourteen in the fire and five who jumped from windows on the eighth floor) but despite an investigation by the police and fire brigade, no actual cause for the fire could be given and the coroner recorded an open verdict on all who died in the fire. [7] [8]

The 1972 inquest into the death by hanging of sailor Nigel Tetley returned an open verdict. The attending pathologist noted that the circumstances suggested masochistic sexual activity rather than suicide. [9]

The 1978 death of Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, was given an open verdict, with the inquest being unable to determine if his death was accidental or the result of suicide.

In 1982, the jury returned an open verdict on the death of Helen Smith, a British nurse who had fallen to her death in Saudi Arabia during a party; [10] this was interpreted as a rejection of the theory that Smith had accidentally fallen, and a victory for her father Ron Smith's claim that she had been killed. [11]

In February 1997, actor Barry Evans was found dead in his home by police. The police discovered Evans' body in his living room after going to the house to tell him they had recovered his stolen car which had been reported missing the day before. [12] The cause of his death has never been confirmed. The coroner found a blow to Evans' head and also found high levels of alcohol in his system. A short written will was found on a table next to his body, and a spilled packet of aspirin (bearing a pre-decimalisation price tag indicating that the pack was at least 26 years old) was found on the floor, although the coroner concluded that Evans had not taken any of these. An open verdict was eventually given. An 18-year-old man was arrested but later released without charge due to insufficient evidence. [13]

Two successive inquests, in May 1981 and May 2004, have returned open verdicts on the victims of the New Cross house fire in which 13 black teenagers were killed by a fire at a birthday party. The families of the victims have long believed that the fire was started deliberately, possibly as a racist attack, and the verdict was interpreted as a rejection of that theory. [14]

The inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead in 2005 by Metropolitan Police officers who mistakenly believed him to be a suicide bomber, returned an open verdict in December 2008. The coroner had specifically directed them that they were not able to return a verdict of unlawful killing, and left them the alternatives of the open verdict or ruling the killing lawful, [15] and the verdict (together with the answers to an associated questionnaire given to the jury) was interpreted as a condemnation of the police. [16]

The death of Bob Woolmer, an English cricket coach, on 18 March 2007 while coaching Pakistan during the World Cup was given an open verdict on 28 November 2007, with the inquest after hearing from more than 50 witnesses over five weeks being unable to determine whether his death was due to murder, natural causes or an accident. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden or unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of and discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove". In England and Wales, inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. In some circumstances where an inquest cannot view or hear all the evidence, it may be suspended and a public inquiry held with the consent of the Home Secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coroner</span> Government official who confirms and certifies the death of an individual

A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.

Henry Bruce Stanley was a Scottish painter and decorator who was shot dead by the Metropolitan Police in London in contentious circumstances. Initially his death was recorded with an open verdict, before being ruled as unlawful killing by a jury on appeal and finally returned to an open verdict by the High Court.

Operation Kratos was a set of tactics developed by London's Metropolitan Police Service for dealing with suspected suicide bombers, most notably firing shots to the head without warning. The tactics were developed shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, based in part on consultation with Israeli and Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies on how to deal with suicide bombers. Little was revealed about these tactics until after the mistaken shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on 22 July 2005, in the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The term is no longer used by the Metropolitan Police, although similar tactics remain in force.

Colin Roach was a 21-year-old black British man who died as a result of a fatal gunshot wound having entered a police-station reception to answer allegations concerning theft, him having been released from jail several days earlier. A subsequent inquest ruled his death was suicide - him having placed the barrel of a shotgun in to his mouth before squeezing the trigger - inside the entrance of Stoke Newington police station, in the London Borough of Hackney, on 12 January 1983. Amid allegations of a police cover-up, the case became a cause célèbre for civil rights campaigners and black community groups in the United Kingdom. The death was made famous by the late civil rights protester and singer Sinéad O'Connor's song "Black Boys on Mopeds".

In English law, Irish law and Northern Irish law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales and Ireland when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of criminal law. This includes murder, manslaughter, infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving. A verdict of unlawful killing generally leads to a police investigation, with the aim of gathering sufficient evidence to identify, charge and prosecute those responsible.

Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of the criminal investigation was published in 2006. The inquiry was wound up following the conclusion of the British inquest in 2008, in which a jury delivered its verdict of an "unlawful killing" due to the "gross negligence" of both the driver of Diana's car and the pursuing paparazzi.

Gertrude "Bobby" Hullett, a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, was a patient of Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was indicted for her murder but not brought to trial for it. Adams was tried in 1957 for the murder of Edith Alice Morrell, and the prosecution intended to proceed with the Hullett indictment as a second prosecution that could follow the Morrell case in certain circumstances, although it did not bring the case to trial following the verdict in the Morrell trial.

An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coroner or medical examiner. Generally, inquests are conducted only when deaths are sudden or unexplained. An inquest may be called at the behest of a coroner, judge, prosecutor, or, in some jurisdictions, upon a formal request from the public. A coroner's jury may be convened to assist in this type of proceeding. Inquest can also mean such a jury and the result of such an investigation. In general usage, inquest is also used to mean any investigation or inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes</span> 2005 wrongful fatal shooting by British police

Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes was a Brazilian man killed by officers of the London Metropolitan Police Service at Stockwell station on the London Underground, after he was wrongly deemed to be one of the fugitives involved in the previous day's failed bombing attempts. These events took place two weeks after the London bombings of 7 July 2005, in which 52 people were killed.

Gunasegaran Rajasundram was a Royal Malaysian Police detainee who died in the police lock-up while under arrest for suspicion of drug possession. Coincidentally, his death was on the same day as Teoh Beng Hock's body was found. The case of R. Gunasegaran is crucial to the discussion on police practices because it highlights several issues with the policing of Malaysia: the safety of whistleblowers, human rights during police custody, the procedures of inquests, and the practices of the police force. Understanding this case could bring us to find out what more could be done to better the policing system of Malaysia.

Paul Knapman DL was Her Majesty's coroner for Westminster, from 1980 to 2011. His responsibility for investigating sudden deaths as an independent judicial officer saw him preside over numerous notable cases.

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The Top Storey Club was a nightclub in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It achieved notoriety for a fire which occurred on 1 May 1961 in which 19 people perished.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisa Collins</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 Linsley, K. R.; Schapira, Kurt; Kelly, T. P. (2001). "Open verdict v. suicide - importance to research". British Journal of Psychiatry. 178 (5): 465–468. doi: 10.1192/bjp.178.5.465 . PMID   11331564.
  2. 1 2 Tweedie, June; Ward, Tony (Winter 1989). "The Gibraltar Shootings and the Politics of Inquests". Journal of Law and Society. 16 (4): 464–476. doi:10.2307/1410331. JSTOR   1410331.
  3. ↑ See, for example Jon J. Nordby PhD, Dead Reckoning: The Art of Forensic Detection, CRC Press, 1999, p. 243: "An open verdict satisfies no one."
  4. ↑ Jervis on Coroners, 11th ed. (Sweet & Maxwell, 1993) p. 253, paragraph 13(32)
  5. ↑ R v West London Coroner, ex parte Gray [1988] QB 467
  6. ↑ Details of Coroner's Inquest, 30 January 1961 – June 13, 1961, Folder ABZ/73/1, Bolton Archive
  7. ↑ Details of Coroner's Inquest, Folder ABZ/73/3, 2 May 1961 – 25 November 1968, Bolton Archive
  8. ↑ Eakin, Chris (2009). A Race Too Far. London: Ebury Press.
  9. ↑ Horsnell, Michael (10 December 1982). "Smith presses for inquiry after an open verdict". The Times. p. 1.
  10. ↑ Foot, Paul (1983). The Helen Smith Story. Fontana Paperbacks. pp. 389–398.
  11. ↑ Bennetto, Jason (12 February 1997). "Police investigate 'suspicious' death of sitcom actor" . The Independent . London, UK: Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Upton, Julian (2004). Fallen Stars: Tragic Lives and Lost Careers. London: Headpress. p. 89. ISBN   1-900486-38-5.
  13. ↑ " "Open verdicts on New Cross fire". BBC News. 6 May 2004.
  14. ↑ " "Open verdict at Menezes inquest". BBC News. 12 December 2008.
  15. ↑ O'Neill, Sean (13 December 2008). "Jean Charles de Menezes jury condemns police". The Times. p. 1.
  16. ↑ "Police close Woolmer case". The Australian. AFP. 29 November 2007.
  17. ↑ "Open verdict in Woolmer inquest". BBC News. 29 November 2007.
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