Open verdict on Jason McGowan vindicates family
01 January 2003
The family and friends of Jason McGowan, the second black man from the same family to be found hanged within the space of six months, claimed that they had been vindicated after a jury returned an open verdict at an inquest in February. In 2001 a jury concluded that Jason's uncle, Errol McGowan, who was the victim of an intense campaign of racist intimidation before his death, had killed himself. The first inquest into Jason's death collapsed after the jurors were dismissed when they failed to reach a verdict last May. The family walked out of the opening day of the new inquest into Jason's death when it started, believing that they would not get a fair trial following a campaign by a local newspaper.
The collapse of the first inquest was followed by a series of prejudicial articles in a local newspaper, the Shropshire Star, that said that taxpayers would have to foot the £1 million bill for the investigation. The paper added that the new inquest would cost a further £250,000. The McGowan family wanted the new inquest to be held outside of the Telford area fearing that the paper's inflammatory remarks would prevent them from getting a fair hearing. Barrister Emily Thornberry explained that the family meant no disrespect to the jury "but for reasons of unfairness...[they] will take no further part in the proceedings unless forced to do so". The family returned the next day at the jury's request.
Shropshire police had taken only twenty minutes to conclude that Jason, who had been investigating his cousin's death by hanging six month earlier, had killed himself in a fit of depression. The open verdict, said Jason's grandmother Icyline McGowan, "proves to me and everyone else that Jason did not kill himself." The family also pointed out that the jury's conclusion leaves many questions concerning the deaths, the racially motivated campaign that preceded them, and the police investigation of the events, unanswered. They will continue to pursue answers through the Police Complaints Authority and are considering a civil action against the Shropshire police force.
Shropshire Star 28.5.02; Voice 3.6.02; Independent 4, 28.2.03