Open verdict in Telford hanging inquest

A family claimed vindication yesterday for their three-year struggle to discover the truth behind the deaths of two black men found hanged within six months of each other.

An inquest jury in Telford, Shropshire, returned an open verdict on Jason McGowan, 20, despite police concluding within half an hour of arriving at the scene that he had killed himself.

Mr McGowan had been making his own inquiries into the suspicious death of his uncle Errol, 34, who had also been found hanged after a campaign of death threats and racist harassment.

Doreen McGowan, Jason's mother, punched the air and shouts of "yes" came from the public gallery when the jury returned their verdict after two days of deliberations. His grandmother, Icyline McGowan, said: "An open verdict proves to me and everyone that Jason did not kill himself."

The coroner, Michael Gwynne, said West Mercia police had learnt important lessons. "The investigating officers received scrutiny and so it should be," he said.

The force apologised to the family, called in race crime specialists from Scotland Yard and completely restarted its investigation into Jason's death after The Independent reported the family's fears that the two men had been murdered.

Sinead McGowan, Jason's widow, said: "It's taken a while to sink in after three years of fighting. I'm pleased with the result; it's the best we could have got." The family had walked out on the first day of the inquest in protest at the inquest being held in Telford but later returned after a request from the jury. A first inquest collapsed after a jury failed to agree on a verdict.

The family said yesterday that there were still many questions about how the men died. An inquest in 2001 ruled that Errol McGowan killed himself. The family will pursue the cases with the Police Complaints Authority and will consider civil action against the force. Margaret Wood, Assistant Chief Constable of West Mercia, said the family "caused us to look very closely at our procedures and practices".