Adam Feest QC successfully prosecutes highly unusual case of gross negligence manslaughter
3rd July 2017
Adam Feest QC, prosecuting on behalf of the CPS Wessex Complex Casework Unit, successfully prosecuted the case of Kevin Adams at Bristol Crown Court in a trial lasting 8 days in June 2017.
This highly unusual and sensitive case involved an allegation of gross negligence manslaughter in the context of extreme consensual homosexual sexual activity. In a scenario of two men meeting for sex which involved mutual drug taking, the restraint of the deceased by straps and a rope around his neck, and the wearing of a gas mask by the deceased, the case put forward by Adam on behalf of the Crown revolved around the duty of care owed by one sexual partner to the other, and the need to ensure that after such extreme and potentially dangerous activity has finished, the submissive partner is kept safe.
The Jury convicted the Defendant by a unanimous verdict, and a sentence of two years’ custody followed.
This case received national press coverage.
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