The applicants, all British nationals, are Andrew George McGlinchey, Natalie Jane Best and Hilary Davenport. They were born in 1985, 1990 and 1945 respectively and live in Leeds. They are the children and mother of Judith McGlinchey, who died in hospital on 3 January 1999, aged 31.
Ms McGlinchey, who had a long history of heroin addiction and was asthmatic, was convicted of theft and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment on 7 December 1998. While in prison (between 7 and 14 December 1998) she manifested heroin-withdrawal symptoms, had frequent vomiting fits and lost a lot of weight. The day after her admission she was seen by a doctor who prescribed treatment for her various problems, including medication for her heroin-withdrawal symptoms. The nursing notes showed that one dose of the prescribed drug was omitted at midday on 8 December 1998 and refer to Ms McGlinchey being “locked in for education”. The doctor saw her again on 10 December 1998, prescribed an injection for the continuing withdrawal symptoms and gave instructions for her weight to be monitored. When he saw her the next day he found her general condition stable. She was not seen by a doctor over the following two days. On 14 December 1998 she was admitted to hospital. The next day she was moved to intensive care where she was kept on a life-support machine and heavily sedated. She died on 3 January 1999. The autopsy report noted that the cause of her vomiting had not been established. An inquest was held before a jury on 6 December 1999. The jury unanimously returned an open verdict.
The applicants consulted a doctor with a view to bringing a claim in negligence. In the light of the doctor’s opinion, counsel advised them that there was insufficient evidence to establish the necessary causal link between Ms McGlinchey’s death and negligent care in custody. They did not pursue their claims.
The applicants complained, under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, that Ms McGlinchey had suffered inhuman and degrading treatment in prison prior to her death and that there had been no effective remedy available to them to bring a complaint. They alleged, among other things, that the prison authorities had deliberately withheld her medication and locked her in her cell as a punishment for her difficult behaviour; that they had administered her medication irregularly; and that she had been left lying in her own vomit.
Citation: McGlinchey and others v the United Kingdom (App no 50390/99) ECHR 29 April 2003
(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the European Court of Human Rights)