'As the mother of a brown boy…' theatre performance

The front cover of the book, 'Death and Disorder'. The bright red cover contrasts with the black and white image of a police officer, with their face shield down pointing a gun. The title is in black font, underneath a brief description in white font.

The front cover of the book, 'Death in the City', contains a black and white image of a car. Pink arrows point to bullet holes in the car rear window. The title and the authors' names, Melissa Benn and Ken Worpole, are in pink font on the cover.

'Death in the City' published

The cover of the booklet has the text sat diagonal in different directions. Alongside is a sketch of a skeleton wearing uniform.

'Deaths at Work: Accidents or Corporate Crime' published

'Dying on the Inside' published

'In the Care of the State?' published

'Lobbying from Below' by Mick Ryan is published

'The Right to Life' published

'Unlocking The Truth' published

20-52 play about Leon Patterson at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Angiolini Review report published

Four campaigners stand in the icy weather holding posters that represent gravestones of people who died from self-inflicted deaths in prisons. The image is dated 12 February 1985.

Appointment of two paid London workers

Benjamin Zephaniah’s ‘The one minutes of silence' poem

Brixton: spotlighting horrific prison conditions

Benjamin Zephaniah sat recording into a microphone his Radio 4 appeal.

Charity appeal on BBC Radio 4 with Benjamin Zephaniah

Charity appeal on BBC Radio 4 with Linton Kwesi Johnson

Corston Report published

Family reflections on Grenfell published

First 'lack of care' verdict at an inquest into a self-inflicted death

First INQUEST Family Forum

First INQUEST fringe meeting at Labour conference

First INQUEST Law magazine published

First INQUEST meeting

First UFFC procession

Gibraltar Shootings inquest

Gilly Singh Mundy dies

Harris Review report published

Red lights illuminate the St George's Hall Liverpool as the words 'Truth' and 'Justice' shine bright.

Hillsborough Football Disaster

Human Rights Act

INQUEST assists with Bishop James Jones's review of Hillsborough families' experiences

INQUEST Charitable Trust founded

INQUEST family support group starts up

Inquest into the Marchioness disaster begins

INQUEST is joint winner of the Human Rights Award

INQUEST Lawyers Group founded

INQUEST NORTHWEST set up

Learning from Death in Custody Inquests: A New Framework for Accountability

A black and white image of the front page of a Daily Mirror newspaper. The headline reads: 'Blind ship of death'

Marchioness Disaster

Non-means-tested legal aid for Article 2 inquests won

Seni's Law

Submission to Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

The Grenfell Tower fire

Our History

Corston Report published

In 2006, Baroness Jean Corston was appointed to conduct a review of women in the criminal justice system. The highly critical review published 43 recommendations calling for a "radical new approach" that treats women "holistically and individually – a woman-centred approach".

At the same time, INQUEST undertook an 18-month research project on women’s deaths in custody, Dying on the Inside. Since its inception, INQUEST has highlighted the danger of imprisoning women and monitored the high number of deaths. Between 1997 and 2007, there were 77 self-inflicted deaths of women in English and Welsh prisons.

INQUEST fed into the Corston review by sitting on the reference group and directly connecting Baroness Corston with bereaved families, through the newly formed Family Listening Day model.

While Corston’s recommendations received all-party support in 2007, there is still yet to be meaningful systemic change. As of Autumn 2024, 146 women have died in prison since 2007.

Click below to read the report and connected INQUEST work.

I greatly admire their courage and was struck time and again by their overwhelming concern that others should not suffer as they had done. Their stories followed sadly familiar patterns.
Baroness Corston on the families she met