Hillsborough disaster: Fans unlawfully killed

[Shayan]

Ninety-six football fans who died as a result of a crush in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed, the inquests have concluded.

Police failures led to the deaths in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Jurors answered yes to the question about whether any police error caused or contributed to a dangerous situation at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.
The behaviour of Liverpool fans did not contribute to the dangerous situation at the turnstiles.

When the conclusion of the unlawful killing was revealed, families were seen hugging each other in the public gallery and some punched the air.

The jury also concluded

Police errors caused a dangerous situation at the turnstiles
Failures by commanding officers caused a crush on the terraces
There were mistakes in the police control box over the order to open the Leppings Lane end exit gates
Defects at the stadium contributed the disaster
There was an error in the safety certification of the Hillsborough stadium
Police delayed declaring a major incident
The emergency response including the ambulance service was also delayed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36138337

 

[Markhor]

Finally justice. I have been waiting my whole life for this and wiped a tear when the verdict was announced. Have no personal link to Hillsborough but so relieved for the families who have endured so much for 27 years.

Hillsborough Stadium had NO safety certificate. David Duckenfield had NO experience of policing football matches and he took the fatal decision of opening exit Gate C without sealing off the overcrowded central pens. The gate was NOT forced open by drunk fans, that was and is a LIE. The emergency response was nonexistent and the police covered their backs for 27 years. Unlawful killing is right.

South Yorkshire Police, the Sun and the Thatcher government LIED and that is now on the record thanks to the good work of the inquests and jury. The campaigners' patience has paid off.

Thanks must also be given to Manchester Utd and Everton fans who've put rivalry aside to join the fight for justice. REMEMBER - it could've been any of us. It could've been Spurs fans in 1981.

 

[Saj]

It's taken a long time and there have been a lot of hurdles but finally justice has been served.

I know a guy who survived the Hillsborough disaster and his account of events was harrowing and very distressing.

 

[Hasan123]

All I can say is justice has been served.

 

[London_Lahori]

Finally, incredible it took so long.

Just think of this:

If the police can cover up the deaths of 96 people, then fit them up to be the criminals in the case for 27 YEARS! Imagine what they can do to one person. Imagine how many people have been fitted up by the corruption of the police.

 

[s28]

Hillsborough : Criminal Charges To Be Brought Against Six People

Hillsborough disaster: six people, including two senior police officers, charged

Six people including two former senior police officers have been charged with criminal offences relating to the deaths of 96 people at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football ground and the alleged police cover-up which followed.

David Duckenfield, the South Yorkshire officer who was in command of policing at the match, has been charged with manslaughter of 95 people – the 96th, Tony Bland, died four years later after his life support was switched off.

Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of Merseyside and West Yorkshire police, who was an inspector in the South Yorkshire force at the time of the disaster, has been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office.

Graham Mackrell, the Sheffield Wednesday chief executive and officially designated safety officer for the Hillsborough stadium, has also been charged with breaching the teams of the ground’s safety certificate and failing to take reasonable care under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The three other men are all charged with doing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice, for the process by which statements made by South Yorkshire police officers on duty at Hillsborough were subsequently reviewed and changed.

Donald Denton, the South Yorkshire police chief superintendent who operated in a senior role in that process, his deputy, chief inspector Alan Foster, and the then South Yorkshire police solicitor, Peter Metcalf, have all been charged.

Families of those who died gathered at Parr Hall, a venue in Warrington, near Liverpool, to hear the news directly from representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service.

The charges are the latest significant landmark in a 28-year campaign for accountability fought since the disaster by the families of the 96 people who died, survivors of the crush and the wider Liverpool and football supporting communities.

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Last April the jury, which heard new inquests into the deaths, determined following two years of evidence that the 96 people had been unlawfully killed, and that the conduct of Liverpool supporters who attended the match did not contribute to the dangerous situation.

In January, the two new criminal investigations into the disaster and South Yorkshire police conduct afterwards announced that they had sent files of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service on 23 individuals and organisations.

Fifteen of those 23 files related to the circumstances which led to the disaster itself on 15 April 1989, in which hundreds of people suffered injuries and trauma as well as the 96 people who were killed. The remaining eight files were sent by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, relating to their inquiry into the way the police compiled evidence and presented its case in public and to the subsequent legal procedures.

The new inquests were ordered after the first verdict in 1991 was quashed by the high court in December 2012, following a 21-year campaign by the families and a report in September 2012 by the Hillsborough Independent Panel.

The panel’s report prompted the new police criminal investigation, Operation Resolve, into the events at the semi-final, which led to the lethal crush, and by the IPCC into the alleged efforts by South Yorkshire police to cover up their own responsibility and pervert the course of justice.

The criminal investigations, based in five floors of a Warrington office block, have cost a combined £100m over four-and-a-half years. The government has funded the costs of legal representation for the bereaved families, who struggled to fund their battle through the courts for 23 years before the panel’s report, facing police lawyers paid out of public funds.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...nior-police-officers-charged?CMP=share_btn_tw

About time #JFT96
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[Markhor]

At long last.

Former South Yorkshire Chief Superintendent and match commander on the day of the disaster, David Duckenfield, is charged with manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women and children.

Former Chief Constable Norman Bettison faces 4 charges of misconduct in public office.

Solicitor Peter Metcalf, former Chief superintendent Donald Denton and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster charged with perverting the course of justice.

Finally these men will have to answer for their lies, coverup and misconduct. That semi-final should NEVER have been staged at a ground with NO safety certificate.

 

[Markhor]

The guilty men and women behind Grenfell - you're next.

 

[James]

They'll all be convicted IMO. Due to extremely high-profile and ultra-sensitive nature of the case, CPS would not have pushed this so far and risked embarrassment if they were not 99.9% sure of proving the allegations.

Duckenfield has apparently led a secluded existence in the last few years, and drunk heavily. He is most likely to die in jail out of all of them - so I would not be surprised if he tops himself rather than face up to it.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Finally some justice, excellent news.

 

[WC-Passion]

Happy for the families of those affected. This was long overdue, humanity has finally prevailed here.

 

[Robert]

Surprising that nobody in the FA is facing charges for holding the match in the wrong place.

I feel sorry for Duckenfield, a broken man who appears genuinely ashamed. His superiors put him in a position outside his competence, and he made a bad decision to try to preserve life. Will probably live out his days in an open prison.

 

[Markhor]

Surprising that nobody in the FA is facing charges for holding the match in the wrong place.

I feel sorry for Duckenfield, a broken man who appears genuinely ashamed. His superiors put him in a position outside his competence, and he made a bad decision to try to preserve life. Will probably live out his days in an open prison.

[MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] - he didn't have to take up the job. He had no experience of being a match commander at a football match at Hillsborough, let alone an FA Cup semi final. He could have consulted his predecessor Brian Mole, far more experienced and qualified for the role, but refused.

If he had any shame, Duckenfield wouldn't have lied that "hooligans" forced the gate open when Exit Gate C was opened at HIS directive. Nor would he have presided over a cover-up. He had 26 years to apologise and only did so after the 2012 Report when he had nowhere to hide as his failings were exposed.

Some of his officers pushed fans back over the fence when they were screaming for their lives when people were being crushed to death.

I totally agree about the FA. Hillsborough had no valid safety certificate and that Leppings Lane end was a deathtrap, a disaster waiting to happen. There was crushing reported in 1981 involving Tottenham fans at that end, involving Leeds fans in 1987 and Liverpool fans in 1988 in the previous year's semi-final.

 

[MenInG]

The jury in the trial of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has been unable to reach a verdict.

Former Ch Supt Duckenfield, now 74, had denied the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool fans in the 1989 disaster.

Lawyers for Mr Duckenfield have said they will oppose an application from prosecutors for a retrial.

Ex-Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of a health and safety charge.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said it will seek a retrial for Mr Duckenfield, of Ferndown, Dorset.

But lawyers for the former South Yorkshire Police officer said they would apply for a "stay of proceedings" to prevent another trial.

During the 10-week trial at Preston Crown Court, jurors heard that 96 men, women and children died as a result of a fatal crush on the Leppings Lane terrace on 15 April 1989.

Under the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for the 96th victim, Tony Bland, as he died more than a year and a day after the disaster.

The jury deliberated for more than 29 hours but was unable to agree whether Mr Duckenfield was guilty or not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

CPS legal director Sue Hemming said the trial had been "incredibly complex" and she recognised "that these developments will be difficult for the families affected by the Hillsborough disaster".

Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, thanked the jury for "the weeks they've taken for their deliberations".

She added: "We were all hoping we would have some sort of closure today and we haven't."

Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher died in the disaster, said he was "exceedingly disappointed" the jury had failed to reach a verdict on the charge against Mr Duckenfield.

Speaking after the jury was discharged, Mr Devonside said: "Most of the families wanted a verdict of one kind or another.

"I, like many people, want a conclusion and Hillsborough to come to an end so we can return, as a family, to some sort of normality. We hope for a retrial."

However, Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died at Hillsborough, said: "I can only speak personally [and] I don't want to see another trial.

"We've been here for nearly 11 weeks and I don't think I could go through that again. And a lot of the elderly family members shouldn't either."

In a statement, Liverpool Football Club said it wanted to "reiterate our support and admiration for the Hillsborough families, survivors and campaigners".

The trial heard Mr Duckenfield ordered the opening of exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the ground at 14:52 BST, eight minutes before kick off, after the area outside the turnstiles became dangerously overcrowded.

More than 2,000 fans entered through exit gate C once it was opened and many headed for the tunnel ahead of them, which led to the central pens where the crush happened.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Duckenfield had "ultimate responsibility" at the ground and should have made "key lifesaving decisions" on the day.

Mr Duckenfield's defence case lasted just 74 minutes and consisted of read evidence from his deputy on the day - ground commander Bernard Murray.

His defence argued the case against Mr Duckenfield was "breathtakingly unfair" and said he had "tried to do the right thing".

Mr Mackrell, 69, was convicted of failing to discharge his duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act, by a majority of 10 to two.

He was accused of failing to take reasonable care to ensure there were enough turnstiles to prevent large crowds building up.

The court heard there were seven turnstiles for the 10,100 Liverpool fans with standing tickets for the match against Nottingham Forest.

Mr Mackrell did not give evidence but Jason Beer QC, defending, argued the build-up of fans outside was caused by other factors, including a lack of police cordons and the unusual arrival pattern of supporters.

Mr Mackrell is due to be sentenced on 13 May.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-47800960