Rethinking Death Oversight: Emotion, Experience and Process
School of Law and Social Justice Building (Events Space), Liverpool, L69 7ZR
Thursday 11th June 2026
This workshop will examine processes of death oversight, including the role of the coroner in a range of contested deaths. These include deaths resulting from medical error and reproductive loss, deaths in state custody, deaths resulting from major incidents, deaths in mental health settings, and deaths of people from vulnerable populations, including those seeking asylum, people experiencing homelessness and people with learning disabilities. Exploration of the role of emotion and trauma in death oversight processes will be central, and the workshop will develop themes that emerged from an SLSA-funded seminar “The Politics of Law and Emotions: Addressing Overlooked Emotions in Legal Fields” that was previously held at the School of Law and Social Justice in Summer 2025 organised by Kate Sanford.
The first half of the day will focus on the meanings, lived experiences, and emotions that emerge from these investigative processes. The second half examines the extent to which such experiences and emotions can - and should - shape practices of death oversight, and explores how legal and formal processes might better respond to these deaths.
This work is particularly timely as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Hillsborough Law) will introduce non-means-tested legal aid for families at inquests whenever a public authority is an “interested person”. The Law Society estimates that projected demand will increase from approximately 250 to 11,400 cases per year, generating substantial new demands for investment and workforce planning, and requiring providers have the skills needed to manage these cases appropriately including awareness of trauma-informed approaches and lived-experience expertise.
Research from diverse fields will be brought together, unified by a shared focus on the limitations of the current system of death oversight. Research across these areas demonstrates that achieving accountability, closure and meaningful learning in relation to such deaths requires an approach that moves beyond current approaches towards frameworks capable of addressing cross-cutting causes of death alongside the needs of the bereaved. The workshop aims to stimulate thinking and discussions about this urgent and important topic.
Funded by the Health Law and Regulation Unit, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool and the Social and Legal Studies Association.
Organiser: Danielle Griffiths [email protected]
Schedule
9:30 - 10:00 Coffee
10:00 – 10:05 Welcome: Dr Danielle Griffiths and Dr David Baker (University of Liverpool)
PANEL 1 - Emotion and lived experience in death investigation
Coronial Processes: Families, Injustice and Resistance
10:05-11:00
Chair – Professor Steve Tombs (Open University)
Janet Alder (sister of Christopher Alder), Germaine Phillips and Wayne McDonald (mother and brother of Adrian McDonald), and Professor Sara Ryan (mother of Connor Sparrowhawk, Manchester Metropolitan University)
The Limits of the Coronial System
11:00 – 12:30
Chair – Ciara Bartlam (Barrister, Garden Court North Chambers)
Prof Ian Freckelton (University of Melbourne; King’s Counsel) Online ‘Healing, Closure and Emotional Resolution: Coronial Fantasies and Other Aspirations’
Dr Hugh Dillon (University of NSW; former deputy state coroner for NSW) Online ‘Recognition and respect in the practice of coronership’
Stephen Jones (Partner, Leigh Day) ‘Righting the wrongs: a family’s 8-year fight for justice’
Dr Helen Shaw (former co-chair INQUEST) ‘The Impossible Task: what gets in the way of learning to prevent future deaths?’
12:30-13:30 Lunch
PANEL 2 - Rethinking Death Oversight: Purpose, Prevention and Emotion
13:30 – 15:10
Chair - Professor Barry Goldson (University of Liverpool)
Professor Sheelagh McGuiness (University of Bristol) ‘The place of coronial investigation of pregnancy endings’
Dr Edward Kirton-Darling (University of Bristol) ‘PFDs and the deaths of people experiencing homelessness: coordinative and communicative discourse’
Lisa O'Dwyer (Director Medico-Legal Services at Action against Medical Accidents) ‘The potential for inquests to reduce the incidence of death in those with learning difficulties’
Dr Imogen Jones (University of Leeds) and Dr Huw Twamley (National Medical Examiner) ‘Who and what is death oversight for? Mapping the purpose of death investigation’
Dr Georgia Richards (King’s College, London) ‘Harnessing information from death investigations to foster transparency, accountability and evidence-based death prevention’
15:10-15:20 Break
15:20 - 16:00
Future directions for research and action
Chairs Dr David Baker, Dr Danielle Griffiths and Kate Sandford
This final session will bring participants together in small roundtable groups to explore key priorities for future research and practical action. Each group will focus on a specific theme, enabling more in-depth discussion and the sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences. The session will conclude with a brief plenary, where groups will share their key insights and proposed next steps, helping to further shape some collective vision.
The first half of the day will focus on the meanings, lived experiences, and emotions that emerge from these investigative processes. The second half examines the extent to which such experiences and emotions can - and should - shape practices of death oversight, and explores how legal and formal processes might better respond to these deaths.
This work is particularly timely as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Hillsborough Law) will introduce non-means-tested legal aid for families at inquests whenever a public authority is an “interested person”. The Law Society estimates that projected demand will increase from approximately 250 to 11,400 cases per year, generating substantial new demands for investment and workforce planning, and requiring providers have the skills needed to manage these cases appropriately including awareness of trauma-informed approaches and lived-experience expertise.
Research from diverse fields will be brought together, unified by a shared focus on the limitations of the current system of death oversight. Research across these areas demonstrates that achieving accountability, closure and meaningful learning in relation to such deaths requires an approach that moves beyond current approaches towards frameworks capable of addressing cross-cutting causes of death alongside the needs of the bereaved. The workshop aims to stimulate thinking and discussions about this urgent and important topic.
Funded by the Health Law and Regulation Unit, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool and the Social and Legal Studies Association.
Organiser: Danielle Griffiths [email protected]
Schedule
9:30 - 10:00 Coffee
10:00 – 10:05 Welcome: Dr Danielle Griffiths and Dr David Baker (University of Liverpool)
PANEL 1 - Emotion and lived experience in death investigation
Coronial Processes: Families, Injustice and Resistance
10:05-11:00
Chair – Professor Steve Tombs (Open University)
Janet Alder (sister of Christopher Alder), Germaine Phillips and Wayne McDonald (mother and brother of Adrian McDonald), and Professor Sara Ryan (mother of Connor Sparrowhawk, Manchester Metropolitan University)
The Limits of the Coronial System
11:00 – 12:30
Chair – Ciara Bartlam (Barrister, Garden Court North Chambers)
Prof Ian Freckelton (University of Melbourne; King’s Counsel) Online ‘Healing, Closure and Emotional Resolution: Coronial Fantasies and Other Aspirations’
Dr Hugh Dillon (University of NSW; former deputy state coroner for NSW) Online ‘Recognition and respect in the practice of coronership’
Stephen Jones (Partner, Leigh Day) ‘Righting the wrongs: a family’s 8-year fight for justice’
Dr Helen Shaw (former co-chair INQUEST) ‘The Impossible Task: what gets in the way of learning to prevent future deaths?’
12:30-13:30 Lunch
PANEL 2 - Rethinking Death Oversight: Purpose, Prevention and Emotion
13:30 – 15:10
Chair - Professor Barry Goldson (University of Liverpool)
Professor Sheelagh McGuiness (University of Bristol) ‘The place of coronial investigation of pregnancy endings’
Dr Edward Kirton-Darling (University of Bristol) ‘PFDs and the deaths of people experiencing homelessness: coordinative and communicative discourse’
Lisa O'Dwyer (Director Medico-Legal Services at Action against Medical Accidents) ‘The potential for inquests to reduce the incidence of death in those with learning difficulties’
Dr Imogen Jones (University of Leeds) and Dr Huw Twamley (National Medical Examiner) ‘Who and what is death oversight for? Mapping the purpose of death investigation’
Dr Georgia Richards (King’s College, London) ‘Harnessing information from death investigations to foster transparency, accountability and evidence-based death prevention’
15:10-15:20 Break
15:20 - 16:00
Future directions for research and action
Chairs Dr David Baker, Dr Danielle Griffiths and Kate Sandford
This final session will bring participants together in small roundtable groups to explore key priorities for future research and practical action. Each group will focus on a specific theme, enabling more in-depth discussion and the sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences. The session will conclude with a brief plenary, where groups will share their key insights and proposed next steps, helping to further shape some collective vision.
