News
Partial review of inquest into death of Mark Duggan
(May 20, 2014)Partial review of inquest into death of Tottenham man Mark Duggan taking place in July at Royal Courts of Justice
1:12pm Tuesday 20th May 2014 in News By Chris Hewett
Mark Duggan's mother Pamela has been trying to have the lawful killing verdict overturned
A partial review of the inquest into the shooting of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked the London riots, will be heard in July.
The family of Mr Duggan have been seeking to overturn the jury’s verdict of lawful killing and in April won the right to a limited judicial review.
The hearing will examine alleged mistakes made by the Coroner Keith Cutler, who was in charge of the inquest, when he gave directions to the jury.
Mr Duggan was shot dead by a police marksman in 2011 when the car he was travelling in was stopped as part of a planned operation.
In January, a jury concluded the killing was lawful, despite agreeing that Mr Duggan was not carrying a weapon at the time he was shot.
A High Court ruling concluded that the lawful killing verdict may not stand if the coroner’s directions to the jury are deemed inadequate.
In April, Mr Justice Mitford said: “The coroner's direction to the jury about the conclusion of lawful killing was arguably inadequate in two respects. It failed to make clear to the jury that they must conclude, on the balance of probabilities, that:
• The police marksman did honestly, even if mistakenly, believe that Mark Duggan held a gun in his hand immediately before he was shot.
• If the marksman had that honest belief and it was mistaken, the mistake must have been a reasonable one for him to have made."
The judicial review will take place on Wednesday, July 9, and Thursday, July 10, at the Royal Courts of Justice