ABSTRACT
The chapter considers controversial deaths in custody of black people which arise from the use of lethal force or from the failure of a duty of care by state actors and private actors carrying out state functions in order to detain black people by the police, prison and mental health services and private security firms. It suggests that black people are racially stereotyped as being aggressive and violent and because of this they are more likely than whites to die in custody through the use of physical constraints that cause asphyxia or lack of a duty of care and death occurs. It also focuses on the failure on the part of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to prosecute state and non-state actors involved in these deaths. The chapter argues that controversial black custodial deaths are serious and that the use of lethal force should be sufficient to provide the type of evidence necessary to bring a prosecution.
