For those of you unaware, the coroner who presided over Amy Winehouse's inquest has resigned, mainly because she wasn't a proper coroner. Her husband gave her the job.
SKY News reports: "Suzanne Greenaway ruled in October that the 27-year-old soul singer had died from accidental alcohol poisoning at her home in Camden, London, last year. Ms Greenaway had been appointed an assistant deputy coroner in London by her husband, coroner Dr Andrew Reid, in 2009. But officials have now confirmed that she resigned in November after authorities learned she had not been a registered British lawyer for five years, as required for the appointment of coroners."
Dr Reid said: "In November of last year it became apparent that I had made an error in the appointment process and I accepted her resignation. While I am confident that all of the inquests handled were done so correctly, I apologise if this matter causes distress to the families and friends of the deceased. I will be writing to the families affected to personally apologise and offer for their cases to reheard if requested."
Legal eagle Joshua Rozenberg told Sky News: "Coroners are almost a law unto themselves, as a judicial system they haven't been reformed for around 800 years, so the idea that a judicial officer can appoint his wife as a deputy, a part-time coroner, is very strange in itself. I don't think many people realised that the part-time coroner was in fact the wife of the actual coroner."
Ms Greenway had conducted 12 inquests during her time as a pretendy coroner.
As for what it means for them, "the Winehouse family said they were 'taking advice on the implications of this and will decide if any further discussion with the authorities is needed'. If the Back To Black singer's family challenge the verdict in the High Court, the inquest could be declared invalid. Ms Greenaway's husband, Dr Reid, said he was 'confident' that all of the inquests handled by Ms Greenaway were 'done so correctly'."
To be fair, he would say that.
