- The Guardian Saturday 3 August 2019
(^24) National
Guardian
columnist
Marcel Berlins
dies at 77
Kevin Rawlinson
The journalist Marcel Berlins , who
wrote about the law and crime
fi ction for the Guardian and other
publications, has died at the age of 77.
The writer, lawyer and academic
died on Wednesday after a brain
haemorrhage. Former colleagues
said he would be remembered for his
clear style of writing and his sense of
humanity.
“Marcel really was a brilliant
commentator on the law. He made it
accessible to the ordinary reader. And
what’s more, he did so with a sense
of humanity. His wonderful writing
will be missed,” said Dr Paul Lashmar
of City, University of London, where
Berlins taught media law.
In one of his fi nal articles for the
Guardian, in September 2010, Berlins
wrote that it was Orson Welles’
onscreen depiction of Clarence Darrow,
the prominent American lawyer who
defended two high-profi le murderers
who faced the death penalty in 1924,
that encouraged his early fascination
with the law and justice.
“Their guilt was not in doubt;
the evidence was overwhelming.
The only issue was whether they
should be hanged or sentenced to life
imprisonment. The judge alone would
decide.
“The 10 or so minutes of Welles’
passionate argument against the
death penalty – following closely
Darrow’s speech in the original trial
- was fi lmed in one take, with only a
few seconds when the camera was not
on the actor.
“The judge decided on life. I was
mesmerised when I fi rst saw it. So
that’s what being a lawyer is all about.
I watched it on YouTube the other day
with the same reaction.”
A statement from City’s department
of journalism described Berlins as a
“deeply intelligent and kind man” who
would be remembered by his students
for the “clarity and insight that he
brought to complex legal concepts”.
Berlins wrote about the law for the
Guardian and served the Times as its
legal correspondent and a reviewer
of crime fi ction; subjects that he was
particularly passionate about.
In its obituary, the Times
remembered Berlins as an “aff able
and cultured” man.
He also presented BBC Radio 4’s
legal programme, Law in Action.
Addiction in Essex
Vo lu nte e r s fi ghting
drug abuse in town
hit by mystery deaths
Simon MurphyE
laine Bradley knows
more than most the
heartache of addiction.
The 61-year-old
grandmother, whose
husband died through
alcoholism, nearly drank herself to
death too.
Now, six years sober, she helps
others battle addiction in a rather
unusual way – by dishing them up
chicken.
The widow is one of an army of
volunteers at Southend Treatment
and Recovery Service (STARS),
which caters for hundreds of the
town’s drug addicts.Her weekly Thursday lunch
club – dubbed Elainedo’s because
the chicken is donated by the local
Nando’s restaurant – provides a
crucial social hub where people can
talk through their issues and support
each other.
The seaside town needs it now
more than ever. It was rocked this
week by a spate of class A drug
deaths – six in just three days across
a six-mile radius – prompting urgent
warnings about the use of illegal
substances.
Essex police said yesterday
offi cers were working “around the
clock” to establish which substance
was responsible, but testing was
“complex and may take some time”.
Among those who died was 20
year-old Cian Daly, described by hisMoney
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Page 47
▲ Marcel Berlins is remembered as a
‘deeply intelligent and kind man’ who
was ‘aff able and cultured’РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS