A controversial unproven syndrome with roots in the US is being used in British coroners’ courts to explain why people die after police restraint.
‘Excited delirium’ or ‘sudden-in-custody-death-syndrome’ is a niche diagnosis not yet recognised by the World Health Organisation or any international authority.
A number of leading pathologists have expressed concern about the use of the term in inquests. Listen to Programme >
Individuals in the throes of ‘excited delirium’ are described as aggressive, agitated, displaying bizarre behaviour, insensitive to pain and with superhuman strength until they collapse and die
But research by the Bureau has found that the ‘condition’ has been used by coroners to explain 10 restraint-related deaths that occurred in police custody in England and Wales since the late 1990s.
History will recognise that the indefatigable campaigning of Stephen Lawrence’s parents has done more to change this country than a mountain of race relations legislation. brap chief executive Joy Warmington reflects on the lessons of the Stephen Lawrence murder.
Tippa Naphtali, the cousin of Mikey Powell said; “When I saw this headline about Jake’s case its first impact was how identical it was to headlines related to my cousin’s case. The more I read about Jake’s death the more I realised the striking similarity of events to those of Mikey’s.