Lee Marklew’s KC client acquitted in manslaughter case

Lee Marklew KC represented one of two defendants charged with manslaughter. The prosecution alleged that the client, together with his fourteen-year-old son, had carried out a revenge attack upon the deceased after he had assaulted the son in the street five minutes earlier. The deceased was an alcoholic in his mid-thirties and a stranger to both defendants.

The prosecution’s case was that the son had telephoned his father after the initial assault and that, having driven to the scene, the father then struck the deceased to the face. Both incidents were captured on CCTV.

Lee’s client was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of assault by beating. The jury accepted the argument that he was not part of a joint enterprise and did not intentionally encourage his son to use unlawful violence. The son, who was convicted of manslaughter, punched the deceased immediately after his father had struck him. That action caused the deceased to fall to the floor and fracture his skull.

Lee was instructed by Lisa Yates and Ghulam Sohail of MPR Solicitors LLP.