Republican News · Thursday 27 June 2002

Stanley inquest delivers open verdict

BY FERN LANE

The jury hearing the inquest into the shooting of Harry Stanley by the Metropolitan police in London returned an open verdict on Friday after the coroner, Dr Stephen Chan, denied them the option of returning a verdict of unlawful killing. After the five-day hearing, Dr Chan told members of the jury that they could only decide between an open verdict and lawful killing. He told them "a person who is attacked or believes that he's about to be attacked can use such force as is reasonably necessary to defend himself. If that's the situation, then his use of force is not unlawful."

Stanley was shot by Inspector Neil Sharman and PC Kevin Fagan as he carried a chair leg in a plastic bag. The police officers claimed that he had pointed the chair leg at them, leading them to believe that he was about to open fire on them with a shotgun. However, the pathologist's report indicated that Stanley was facing away from the officers at the moment he was shot. Nogah Offer, the family's solicitor, said: "He was probably just starting to turn around when he was hit. They shouldn't have hit him."

The decision dismayed Stanley's family. Outside St Pancras Coroner's Court in London, his widow, Irene, said that they would be seeking a judicial review of the decision. The family is also believed to be lodging an official complaint about the coroner.

"It's disgusting," she said. "We have been denied justice. The jury were not allowed to bring in a verdict of unlawful killing even if they wanted to. There has been no police officer charged with the mistakes they made. The officers stood in the dock and never even said sorry."

The family is being supported by Inquest, the organisation that investigates deaths in police custody and supports families during the inquest process. Spokesperson Deborah Coles said after the case: "The Stanley family have waited two and a half years to find out the truth of how Harry died and this decision means they will have to engage in further lengthy litigation. The criminal justice system is denying them justice."

In our article last week titled 'Shot for carrying a chair leg' about the shooting of Harry Stanley, it was stated that he was shot by London police while "walking along Holloway Road in north London". It has since been pointed out to us that Holloway Road is in the London borough of Islington and that Harry was actually shot in the east London borough of Hackney at the junction of Fremont Road and Victoria Park Road, just yards from his home in Warneford Street. We apologise for any offence caused.