Optic Photos, PacificCoastNews.com Amy Winehouse's life had its fill of controversy, and now so too does her death.
British officials are currently debating the legality of the inquest into the late Grammy winner's passing after it was revealed that the coroner in charge of conducting the singer's inquest was woefully unqualified for the job.
So, what does this mean? Could Amy's cause of death change and the investigation get reopened?
It's possible. But not likely. Here's the deal…
Last October, coroner Suzanne Greenaway declared that Winehouse suffered a "death by misadventure," an unintended consequence of accidental alcohol poisoning. The judgment was accepted and everything seemed to have been done by the books. For a little while, anyway.
A month later, Greenaway resigned from her job after it emerged that she failed to meet the standards required for coroner appointments: turns out, she logged just two-and-a-half of the necessary five years required at the Law Society. And while coroners are also expected to be "qualified medical practitioners," Greenaway's history of being simply a nurse in her native Australia also fell short of the mandatory qualifications of the job.
(For those wondering how she made the cut in the first place, well, it really is who you know…She was appointed to the role by her husband, Inner North London Coroner Dr. Andrew Scott Reid, who has since apologized for his oversight.)
Unfortunately for the Winehouse family, this is just the latest upset in the tragic saga, as last year the inquest report detailing the 27-year-old's cause of death was delivered to the wrong address, though quickly returned to police.
All told, including Winehouse, Greenaway rendered verdicts on 30 inquests. And while her declarations could potentially be declared illegal and need to be reopened by a more qualified professional, that would only occur if someone decided to challenge the verdicts in court.
A long shot, but then so was this situation happening in the first place.