Unlawful Killing

In this short promo episode, we’re calling on you , our listeners, to get involved in two important projects. Memorial banner We're creating a new collective banner as a powerful act of remembrance and resistance. Whether you've been directly affected or stand in solidarity, we want your input. Help shape this visual statement of justice and solidarity. Find out more and sign up https://www.inques...

Today, 23 July 2025, Chris Kaba should have been celebrating his 27th birthday with his loved ones. Instead, he was killed by Metropolitan police officer Martyn Blake on 5 September 2022.   To honour Chris, we’re sharing a very special episode of Unlawful Killing .   Originally recorded back in 2023, hosts Lucy Brisbane and Lee Lawrence spoke to Chris’ father, Prosper Kaba,&nbs...

In the second part on protest banners, we hear from the families who have contributed to INQUEST’s own memorial banners; two covering England/Wales and one for Scotland. These inspiring banners are made up of different squares stitched together with each section representing individual stories. The families talk about the different stories behind the stitch work, the people they commemorate and th...

Continuing with the artistic theme, this episode focuses on visual power of the protest banner. Lucy and Lee talk to campaigner Susan Alexander, whose son Azelle Rodney, an unarmed Black man, was fatally shot by a Met Police officer just a week after his 24th birthday.  Susan talks about the heavy toll of state failures on her and her family and how art is both a tonic for grief and a tool fo...

In previous episodes of Unlawful Killing, we’ve heard and talked about loved ones who have died at the hands of the state, but rarely do we actually get to hear from those who have died. These people were also poets, musicians, artists and writers. After digging out some incredible material from INQUEST’s archives, we’d like to remember these artists by sharing some of their work.  As there’s...

Campaigning work often takes many forms, and using the arts to protest can be just as effective as any other means.  In this episode, Lucy speaks to Lee Jarman and Sarah Kadri, who are part of LUNG Theatre — a campaign-led charity which works with communities and bereaved families to develop verbatim productions as a vehicle to campaign for change. Lee’s brother Kevin died a self-inflicted de...

The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 is a scandalous stain on British history. The fire claimed 72 lives but despite the relentless battle families and campaigners have faced, no one has yet been brought to justice. However, this hasn’t stopped survivors and bereaved families fighting to make sure the legacy of Grenfell’s victims lives on.  Lucy and Lee talk to Sandra Ruiz from the Grenfell Tower...

How do bereaved families cope after a loved one dies in such horrendous circumstances? What can be done to keep their loved one’s name alive within a system that’s so keen to bury the truth and move on? Lucy and Lee are back for a third series and while reflecting on series one and two, they look at how bereaved families have united in their campaigning and grief to continue collective journeys fo...

Kevin Blowe, coordinator for NETPOL (The Network for Police Monitoring) is a longstanding campaigner against police violence, suppression of protest and deaths in custody. In this episode, Kevin speaks about the myth of ‘police accountability’ and the importance of community response. Lucy and Lee reflect on different forms of accountability and how communities have responded to police violence th...

Tommy Nicol died a self-inflicted death in prison whilst on an indeterminate prison sentence (IPP). Tommy’s sister Donna Mooney has been at the forefront of campaigning for change and challenging the harmful consequences of the IPP sentence, which was abolished back in 2012. Lucy and Lee speak to Donna about her fight and how accountability for Tommy’s death can only come when all those still serv...

Sean Rigg was a Black man who died following violent police restraint whilst in a mental health crisis in Brixton in August 2008. His sister Marcia Rigg has been campaigning for justice ever since. We hear from Marcia about what drives her fight, the changes that have been achieved, and why there is no justice, there is just us. Lee and Lucy continue to explore what justice means, within and beyon...

Connor Sparrowhawk was a funny 18-year-old who loved London buses. He was autistic and had epilepsy and learning disabilities. He died after drowning in a bath at an NHS care unit whilst the staff meant to be looking after him were doing a Tesco order.   Lucy and Lee speak to Connor’s mum, Sara Ryan, about who Connor was and her family’s longstanding campaign for justice, within and beyo...

In the forty years since INQUEST was founded by families bereaved by deaths in police and prison custody, the ways in which these deaths are investigated has changed significantly. These changes were fought for by bereaved families, their lawyers, activists and organisations like INQUEST. Yet despite these changes, people continue to die preventable deaths at the hands of the state. In this episod...

When a member of the public dies in suspicious circumstances, there’s a criminal investigation. But what happens when it’s the state that’s the suspect?  Lucy and Lee are back and this time, they’re looking at what happens after someone has died at the hands of the state and how families are often left in the dark fighting for answers.  Shot in 1985 by police in Brixton, Cherry Groce die...

Matthew Leahy, 20, died in the care of Essex mental health services. A critical inquest and multiple investigations later, and still his mother Melanie Leahy does not know the truth about what happened to Matthew. Lucy speaks to Melanie about what Matthew meant to her, her relentless campaign for justice and why securing the first ever public inquiry into deaths in mental health services is so imp...

Mental health services are often framed as the caring alternative to policing and prisons. But Lucy and Lee look at what happens when the very system designed to protect us, fails to do just that.    Mikey Powell, 38, and Jess Durdy, 27, both died whilst in mental health crisis. Two very different stories. Two decades apart. Through these two very different instances of state violence an...

Liridon Saliuka, 29, took his own life whilst awaiting trail for joint enterprise charges at Belmarsh prison in London. Last year, an inquest into his death found that ill treatment and dismissiveness of his disability by prison staff contributed to his death. Lucy and Lee speak to Liridon’s sister Dita Saliuka, about what he meant to her, disability discrimination, and why prisons aren’t safe for...

Every year hundreds of people die in prisons in the UK. We’ll be asking why so many people are dying, why so few people are talking about it, and hearing more about the communities and families that these deaths tear apart.  In this episode, Lucy Brisbane and Lee Lawrence look at the children and young people who have died in prisons in the past, and how family led campaigns have led to vital...

Since INQUEST was founded in 1981, it has recorded almost 2000 deaths involving the police. In this episode, Lucy Brisbane and Lee Lawrence take you right back to one of the cases that led to INQUEST being set up to respond to these deaths: the killing of Blair Peach in 1979. Just a few years later, Lee’s mother Cherry Groce was shot by Brixton police, sparking the 1985 Brixton uprisings. This epi...

Every year, hundreds of people die at the hands of the very institutions that are meant to keep us safe – police, prisons, and mental health services. Bereaved families are left fighting for answers, demanding justice, and campaigning for change. Since 1981, the charity INQUEST has been fighting alongside these families. Unlawful Killing is a unique podcast series shining a light on state violence...