Fatal Accident Inquiry process begins for Covid deaths of three Edinburgh prisoners

Philip Quinn, 51, Richard McCormick, 74, and Alexander Morgan, 73 died in hospital after contracting the virus while prisoners in legal custody in HMP Edinburgh.

A Preliminary Hearing will be held on December 2, with the Fatal Accident Inquiry set to be heard on May 25, 2026, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the deaths occurred, and to establish what reasonable precautions could have been taken to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.

The number of violent incidents at HMP Edinburgh has almost doubled in the past 10 years. | Neil Hanna

Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than apportion blame.

The deaths were investigated by the Covid Deaths Investigation Team within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS, said: “The deaths of Philip Quinn, Richard McCormick and Alexander Morgan occurred while in legal custody and as such a Fatal Accident Inquiry is mandatory. 

“The lodging of the First Notice enables FAI proceedings to commence under the direction of a Sheriff.”

McCormick had been locked up since 2016, following a catalogue of sexual abuse against children over the course of three decades in the Falkirk area.

Morgan was already serving a ten-year sentence for previous offences, including rape, when he was handed an additional eight years after being found guilty of attacking two girls, one of whom was just 11 years old, in Paisley and Blantyre back in 1995.

The pair died within 24 hours of each other in December 2021.