Jurors at the long-running 1989 Hillsborough disaster inquest can now consider a verdict of unlawful killing. The British jurors can now decide if the 96 people who were killed under the crush during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest died under gross negligence manslaughter by the hands of South Yorkshire police chief superintendent David Duckenfield, who was in charge of the games.
According to The Guardian, Sir John Goldring, the coroner, told the jury during the start of his 267 days of summing up evidences that the verdict can consider an unlawful killing verdict based on the preparation and conduct of Duckenfield on the game. To reach that verdict, Goldring said, "You would have to be sure that David Duckenfield, the match commander, was responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence of these 96 people. When answering this question, we are looking at Mr Duckenfield's conduct and his responsibility."
The Daily Mail reported that there are more than 500 witnesses that have been summoned to the inquest. Survivors, police officers, and medics were called to what is now the longest-running inquest in the English legal history. The summons started March 2014 when reports came in that "lack of police control" was blamed, but other hearings claim it was the victims' fault. In 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel published found that "lack of police control" was the main cause of the disaster.
The coroner said the jurors can use the terms "failure," "unacceptable," and "inappropriate," but not any words that would suggest criminality. The jury, which is made of seven female and three males have to complete a 14-point questionnaire that includes, "Are you satisfied so that you are sure that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?"
Meanwhile, KHMER Times wrote that Duckenfield apologised last March to the families of those who died during a hearing. He did that after he lied on how the tragedy happened. He ordered to open the gate even after he was told that a pre-match crush could happen and kill people. After that he was told by Graham Kelly, the boss of the Football Association governing body that fans have already got through the gates. Duckenfield didn't say it was he who let them in.
Under the English legal system, an inquest determines the cause of the deaths, but it can't reach criminal sentences.
