The 27-year wait and fight from the Liverpool fans finally saw the light of verdict today when the jury concluded that the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.
The jurors ruled that the behavior of fans did not cause or contribute to the tragedy. The incident happened when supporters were crushed before an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
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.
Jurors were convinced that match commander 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.
The verdict was greeted with sobbing and cheers at the hearing in Warrington. families were seen hugging each other in the public gallery and some punched the air.
Among several questions answered, the jurors concluded the following claims:
- Police errors caused the dangerous situation
- 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
Image Credit: Getty (Christopher Furlong)