Hillsborough Inquest Verdict

LuckyLloyd

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/25/hillsborough-inquests-verdict-on-96-deaths-expected-on-tuesday

While wary that this is a controversial topic I think it will be worthy of discussion later today. Around 11am, the verdicts on the question of whether the 96 deaths were due to gross negligence and 13 other questions will be released.

The jury has indicated that they have a majority position on the question of unlawful killing and this has been accepted by the Judge. For the other 13 questions (one of which asks the question whether the actions of Liverpool fans contributed to the deaths) unanimous positions have been reached.

Evidence was presented over a period of two years (the longest case presented to a jury in British legal history), including a near three month summation period. As such, the fact that the jury has returned a verdict in two weeks is surprising.

Whatever the outcome, the families of the victims will - after a long series of battles to reach this point - receive a cause and time of death for each of their loved ones.

Liam McPoyle

Hopefully the families of those that lost their lives finally get some closure.

El Weirdo

"Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?"

Majority says yes.


"Was there any behaviour on the part of football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?"

Unanimous no.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-disaster-inquest-jury-returns-verdict-live-updates

murpho999

JFT96....finally.

Lovely Bloke

WOW!

Lovely Bloke

Fans did not contribute.

This is huge.

Finally.

Harry Palmr

Listening to 5live.

"Sheffield Wednesday club officials should have requested a delay"

The changes in the Leppings Lane pen design is an interesting angle, they didn't know the capacity.

monkey9

Such an amazing day for those families after all they've been subjected to. Finally vindicated.

Harry Palmr

"Was there any error by emergency services which contributed to deaths?" YES

murpho999

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Listening to 5live.

"Sheffield Wednesday club officials should have requested a delay"

Why? They've already had a 27 year delay.

Lovely Bloke

murpho999 wrote: »

Why? They've already had a 27 year delay.

on the day

Harry Palmr

murpho999 wrote: »

Why? They've already had a 27 year delay.

In the KO time, an officer had informed them of a build up in numbers.

GLaDOS

Yes to Q 12 and 13

12. Should Eastwood & Partners [the club’s consultant engineers] have done more to detect and advise on any unsafe or unsatisfactory features of Hillsborough stadium which caused or contributed to the disaster?

13. After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the police which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

DrumSteve

Found this on RAWK.

Justice at last.

1. Basic facts of the disaster

Do you agree with the following statement which is intended to summarise the basic facts of the disaster: “On April 15, 1989, 96 people died in the disaster at Hillsborough Stadium as a result of crushing in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace, following the admission of a large number of supporters to the stadium through exit gates.” YES

2. Police planning

Was there any error or omission in police planning and preparation for the semi-final match on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match? YES

3. Policing of the match and the situation at the turnstiles

Was there any error or omission in policing on the day of the match which caused or contributed to a dangerous situation developing at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? YES[/size]

4. Policing of the match and the crush on the terrace

Was there any error or omission by commanding officers which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace? YES[/size]

5. The opening of the gates

When the order was given to open the exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, was there any error or omission by the commanding officers in the control box which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace? YES[/size]

6. Determination of unlawful killing issue

Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed? YES[/size]

7. Behaviour of the supporters

Was there any behaviour on the part of football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles? NO

8. Defects in Hillsborough Stadium

Were there any features of the design, construction and layout of the stadium which you consider were dangerous or defective and which caused or contributed to the disaster? YES[/size]

9. Licensing and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium

Was there any error or omission in the safety certification and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium that caused or contributed to the disaster? YES[/size]

10. Conduct of Sheffield Wednesday FC before the day of the match

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) in the management of the stadium and/or preparation for the match which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match? YES[/size]

11. Conduct of Sheffield Wednesday FC on the day of the match

Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace? NO

If your answer is “no”, please answer the following: Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday FC (and its staff) on April 15, 1989, which may have caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace? YES[/size]

12. Conduct of Eastwood & Partners

Should Eastwood & Partners have done more to detect and advise on any unsafe or unsatisfactory features of Hillsborough Stadium which caused or contributed to the disaster? YES[/size]

13. Emergency response and the role of the South Yorkshire Police

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the police which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster? YES[/size]

14. Emergency response and the role of the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service

After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

If your answer is “no”, please answer the following: After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service which may have caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster? YES[/size]

Stab*City

Finally!!! YNWA

Harry Palmr

It won;t just be Liverpool families who'll be glad of the verdicts, but also those at previous FA Cup matches which involved Spurs and Wolves in 1981 in particular who came within inches of disaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ZeFtviJiM

Benimar

Fantastic news, delighted for the families.

What a fight they put up to get to this moment.

MD1990

Great news for the families. Now get The Sun shut down.

klose

What great news for the families, finally justice is served. Absolutely sickening what had happened, the cover up and flat out lies amongst others.

murpho999

Great day for the families and the club.

Shame any body who ever sings that 'Always your fault' song from now on.

Kristopherus

Fantastic news. Hopefully it will bring some semblance of closure to the heartbroken relatives.

El Weirdo

https://twitter.com/BBCDomC/status/724908472677060608

DrumSteve

murpho999 wrote: »

Great day for the families and the club.

Shame any body who ever sings that 'Always your fault' song from now on.

Shame on anyone who sang it in the first place.

Harry Palmr

Just as there will always be people making aeroplane gestures re Man Utd/Munich there will always be people who blame LFC supporters for Hillsborough.

LuckyLloyd

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Just as there will always be people making aeroplane gestures re Man Utd/Munich there will always be people who blame LFC supporters for Hillsborough.

Well **** 'em, they are irrelevant

Speak Now

Such as shame Anne Williams didn't live to see this day. My thoughts are with her today.

ricero

Will that rag the sun newspaper be getting sued now ?

Kerrydude1981

I think whatever team you support,today's news is fantastic

Justice for the 96

corwill

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Just as there will always be people making aeroplane gestures re Man Utd/Munich there will always be people who blame LFC supporters for Hillsborough.

Both sides disarming that poisonous rot out of simple humanity would be a gift to the world. I won't hold my breath, though.

adox

As if the tragedy itself wasnt bad enough, the incompetent handling of the situation on the day, the lies that were spun afterwards, the fact that it has taken this amount of time for the truth to finally come out, finally brings closure to what is surely English footballs greatest tragedy, for more reasons than one.

Its mind boggling that it was allowed to run the course the way it did. I hope it brings some sort of comfort to the families and friends of those who lost their loves and were injured that day. Those who had suspicion hung over their head from day one from certain quarters.

Claude Burgundy

As a Utd fan i am delighted for the families. I remember the day, the aftermath and that rag the sun.

I hope this is finally will bring some justice for the families and more importantly give him some peace.

corwill

At the very least, the SYP should be disbanded, as much or even more for their conduct since that day. After apologising in 2012, they still turned the inquest into a full blown adversarial process. Simply inexcusable.

Flint Fredstone

Unsurprising how long it took to turn into a thread about chanting.

Claude Burgundy

Flint Fredstone wrote: »

Unsurprising how long it took to turn into a thread about chanting.

Agreed, forget all that b0llox and unite !

Harry Palmr

CPS considering criminal prosecutions obviously the standard of proof is different and set at a high level.

redzerdrog

Wow

Harry Palmr

Given the history of mismanagement at Hillsborough down the years before 1989 the role of the FA has to be highlighted, they choose the venue knowing the stadium was high risk in its design.

rob316

Finally it's been too long. Criminal proceedings now against that rag the sun and SYP.

Gaillimh1976

Will the S#n print the TRUTH on tomorrow's front page ??

corwill

Gaillimh1976 wrote: »

Will the S#n print the TRUTH on tomorrow's front page ??

They had "no comment" for the Guardian's Jane Martinson a few minutes ago. As though this somehow caught them on the hop. Poisonous rag.

DrumSteve

Gaillimh1976 wrote: »

Will the S#n print the TRUTH on tomorrow's front page ??

F*ck them and that horrible piece of **** rag they call a newspaper.

Who gives a **** what they do.

Leroy42

The Guardian website has a video going through the events from the day itself to the inquests.

Its truly shocking. Not so much the police on the day itself, seems as if those in charge were simply not up to the task and froze/took the wrong decisions.

But moreso the clear cover-up, indeed not only a cover up but a clear attempt to blame the supporters to covers their own arses. That is totally inexcusable (I'm not excusing the mismanagement on the day either but without any working knowledge am not in a position to judge).

The police, governments etc are supposed to work for us, to protect us, and yet again we see evidence of not only failing in that role but actively going out of their way to do the opposite.

GLaDOS

"No Comment" from The Sun, there's a surprise.

Fantastic news

Cantstandsya

I don't want to turn this into something it's not but I couldn't help but think of Bloody Sunday and the way the victims were tarred when reading about this today.

The video on the Guardian is well worth a watch:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-disaster-inquest-jury-returns-verdict-live-updates

abelard

Let's forget for a minute that they were Liverpool fans, whether you love Liverpool FC, hate it, or are completely ambivalent. Let's forget even that they were football fans specifically. I try to think of them just as people, as I find that one of the hardest things to remember with a tragedy like this after >25 years is that each of "the 96" was, individually a "one". Each person was just a normal person, who went out to enjoy their day in the same way that they had done many times before. Each one had their own life, their own past, their own experiences, their own plans - all of this was wiped out.

That this happened at all is a tragedy, and partly speaks of a shameful disrespect from clubs and the FA for the welfare of fans in general at the time - here we see a mismanaged stadium and mismanaged policing. There had already been the fire at Bradford and other 'near misses' but stadium improvement was too slow.

Worse again though is the aftermath. I can find some pity for the police on the ground on the day. I don't absolve them of blame, but I can at least appreciate that, as humans, mistakes were made. But the actions of police management after the fact are really inexcusable. Their position of trust and authority in the community in general was clearly abused to set the narrative of events post-incident, and they knowingly allowed injustice to be carried out.

On top of that, we have the reaction of some media outlets, and the less said there the better.

So in the last three paragraphs, we have three institutional groups - clubs/the FA, police, media. In the case of the latter two, institutional power was used to scapegoat and persecute average, everyday people who were just going about their lives. And in the case of all three groups, it seems the welfare of these everyday people was far from a primary concern.

So for me, the tragedy in itself is terrible. But then add the meta-narrative which is an unfortunately common one - institutions will trample on on common people unless held to account. The families of those killed and those who have campaigned for so long on this can be immensely proud that they have, finally, managed to bring these institutions to some level of account.

I'm not a Liverpool fan, and don't think I've ever written these four letters before, but in respect of those who have tirelessly stood against this institutional persecution, I can happily write....YNWA.

corwill

If you've ever set foot in a large public event of any sort, it could have been you or someone you love it happened to. I've been at a couple concerts and matches of different codes down the years (though not in some time) where I've felt genuinely concerned at a building crush in the crowd around me, through no fault of my own. Those moments always come to mind when I think about Hillsborough.

Fr Tod Umptious

For all the complaining we get these days about money taking over football, and corporate, soulless stadium etc, people should just look back at this, or Hysel, or Bradford City or Ibrox and thank God that football has come along way in the years since.

marklazarcovic

Fcuk suing the scum paper,that can come later, bring those responsible to court,jail those who lied and helped cover it up..every last fckin one of them

Harry Palmr

A very long but worthwhile read by David Conn which puts the time line of events within the context of the inquiry

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-disaster-deadly-mistakes-and-lies-that-lasted-decades

klose

Harry Palmr wrote: »

A very long but worthwhile read by David Conn which puts the time line of events within the context of the inquiry

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-disaster-deadly-mistakes-and-lies-that-lasted-decades

David conn has been superb in his reporting on hillsborough the past few years, superb journalism.