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Hillsborough disaster verdict: 'Unlawful killing' ruling by inquests jury over 1989 football deaths
Hillsborough disaster verdict: 'Unlawful killing' ruling by inquests jury over 1989 football deaths
(35 minutes later)
The 96 fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed and supporters were not to blame, an inquest jury has ruled.
The Hillsborough inquests jury has found the 96 victims of the 1989 disaster were unlawfully killed – a verdict which could see former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent and match commander David Duckenfield stand trial for manslaughter.
Relatives of those who died cheered and clapped as the damning verdict was delivered at the coroner's court in Warrington.
The damningverdict, one of 14 conclusions reached by the jury of nine, is vindication for the 27-year fight for justice by families of those who died at Sheffield Wednesday’s football ground, on whom Mr Duckenfield tried to shift the blame by accusing them of forcing a gate to cause the crush.
The jury of six women and three men gave their conclusions after answering a general questionnaire of 14 questions, along with a record of the time and cause of death for each of the Liverpool fans, 27 years and 12 days since the tragedy.
The jury forewoman replied “yes, by a majority” when coroner Sir John Goldring asked her: “Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?”.
Questions included those around police planning before the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, stadium safety, events on the day, the emergency services' response to the disaster and whether the fans were unlawfully killed.
The answer to the much-anticipated ‘Question Six’ does not carry a direct legal consequence because the criminal investigation into the disaster is working independently of the inquests.
The jury had previously indicated that unanimous decisions had already been made on every question apart from question six.
But solicitors for the families of the 96 believe it will make a gross negligence manslaughter charge more likely.
Question six asked: "Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?"
In the outcome which the families had hoped for, the jury also absolved supporters of any blame for the events of April 15 1989 – despite a concerted attempt by South Yorkshire Police to gather evidence proving drunkenness and disorder lay behind the tragedy at the Leppings Lane terrace.
They were given a majority direction on Monday and indicated they had reached a majority decision on the outstanding question.
Asked whether the jury’s verdict was no to the question: “Was there any behaviour on the part of football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?” the forewoman answered: “It was.”
Before they were sent out on April 6 to start their deliberations, jurors were told they could only answer "yes" to question six if they were sure that match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield owed a duty of care to those who died in the disaster, and that he was in breach of that duty of care.
In court, there were cheers of delight at that response and shouts of “thank you” and “hallelujah".
Thirdly, they would need to be satisfied that his breach of duty caused the deaths and, fourthly, that it amounted to "gross negligence".
But the cheers were almost as loud for the conclusion that supporters had played not part whatsoever in the disaster. Families sobbed. The pressure felt by the jury forewoman was also obvious.
Members the jury heard evidence from around 1,000 witnesses during the more than two years the hearings have been ongoing for.
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The fresh inquests began on March 31 2014, in a specially built courtroom in Warrington.
Dozens of relatives of the victims have attended each of the more than 300 days the court has sat at Bridgewater Place on the Cheshire town's Birchwood Park business park.
At the start of the inquests, the coroner said none of the victims should be blamed for their deaths.
Emotional tributes to each of the 96 were then delivered by family members in the form of personal portraits.
The Hillsborough tragedy unfolded during Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest as thousands of fans were crushed on Sheffield Wednesday's Leppings Lane terrace.
Mr Duckenfield gave the order at 2.52pm to open exit Gate C in Leppings Lane, allowing around 2,000 fans to flood into the already packed central pens behind the goal.
The 1991 accidental deaths verdicts from the original inquests were quashed following the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report after a long campaign by the families of the dead.
