Terry and Lyn Langton v. Venezuela
Terry and Lyn Langton are British citizens whose daughter Sarah died in March 2001 in Venezuela, at the age of 25. Sarah, a diabetic, was serving a prison sentence imposed in late 2000, and although the Venezuelan authorities were well aware of her condition from the start she did not receive proper medical care and attention in custody. After a few months and although it had become even clearer that she needed special medical care in prison, this was still not provided. Early in March 2001 her condition deteriorated and after many hours delay she was eventually hospitalised, but it was too late and she lapsed into a coma and died soon afterwards. Her parents sought to ensure that there would be a proper investigation and that that those officials responsible would be held accountable. Eventually, after years of delay a criminal case began but in October 2010 all four persons before the court were acquitted, despite a finding that they had negligently caused Sarah’s death and/or had failed to look after her properly. It appeared that the main reason for the acquittal was because it had taken so long to bring them to trial. REDRESS lodged a petition on behalf of the Langtons with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in April 2011 averring breaches of articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
- Petition to Inter-American Commission (April 2011) (Spanish)
- Petition to Inter-American Commission (April 2011) (English)
