This 1992 family photo shows, from left, her son Thomas . "But, as both counsel have advised you and I will now direct you, as you go about your duty you must put aside your emotions and sympathies, either for the bereaved families or indeed for Mr Duckenfield, and decide the case with a cold, calm and dispassionate review of the evidence that you have heard in court.". Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Abuse of process arguments for other defendants fails. For all that time, the families of those who died, and the survivors of the crush, have campaigned for justice and accountability. David Conn Tue 1 Apr 2014 16.32 EDT The South Yorkshire police officer in charge of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground, at which 96 Liverpool. David Duckenfield was in charge when a crush developed in terraced pens on 15 April 1989 . Sleep expert shares exact time children should go to bed, 11 things we learnt at an explosive Liverpool Council budget meeting, Police say body found in search for missing baby in Sussex, Eccleston skier races into a podium finish at Italian competition, Last minute donation saves Wirral flat full of unique artwork at auction, CQC publish findings on Ainsdale Court care home in Rainhill, Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. He was asked whether he thought over the last 26 years about the bereaved families, who according to their barrister, Rajiv Menon QC waged a courageous and unrelenting campaign that culminated in 2012 with the quashing of the first inquests. 27 febrero, 2023 . At a press conference Margaret Aspinall, the chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: I am ashamed of the system in this country that is not holding anyone responsible for the deaths of 96 people.. Match commander tells inquest that watching a documentary made him realise the effect the disaster had on the bereaved families. The inquests become controversial after Dr Stefan Popper limits their scope to events up to 3.15pm on the day of the disaster just nine minutes after the match was halted and excludes the witness evidence of two doctors inside the stadium. By November 1991, he was medically retired from South Yorkshire Police on a full pension, two years after being suspended from duty. PC Maxwell Groome was on duty for the match at Sheffield Wednesdays stadium. "I would like to know who is responsible for my father's death because someone is.". The scrutiny goes ahead but in February 1998, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith rejects grounds for quashing the accidental death verdicts or bringing prosecutions. Former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, 69, stood trial alongside Duckenfield in January and was found guilty of a health and safety offence for failing to ensure there were enough turnstiles to prevent unduly large crowds building up outside the ground. lifts the historic stay of further prosecution on Mr Duckenfield, fails to reach a verdict on the charges against Mr Duckenfield. One family member shouted: "Stitched up again.". The crown's case was that the Chief Superintendent's failings were so extraordinary that they met that test. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Crucially, the panel finds that 41 victims did not have signs of the crush injuries originally claimed by pathologists, and so may have been saved. He vomited inside the bag before he died. The Taylor Report causes UK-wide changes to football stadiums, seeing fencing removed and standing terraces converted to seating areas at large venues. The jury found match commander - former Ch Supt David. Mr Duckenfield said that, in the pressure of the day, he froze and did not consider the consequences of his actions. I did my very best on the day.". We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. No one should have to suffer the emotional damage that comes with such a burden. The inquest jury finds that Hillsboroughs 96 victims were unlawfully killed and that Liverpool fans were not responsible for the disaster. By 2.45pm, thousands of people were pressing into the turnstiles and alongside a large exit gate. Judge Sir Peter Openshaw rejects a defence application to ban reporting on the Hillsborough trial until the jury delivers its verdict. Mr Mackrell is fined 6,500 for the offence, sparking outrage from victims relatives who called the penalty shameful. 2.17pm: Superintendent Roger Marshall requests for Leppings Lane to be closed to traffic. On 1 November, a juror is discharged after telling fellow jurors dickhead Duckenfield needs to die, but the judge rules that the trial can proceed. Paul Robinson, whose brother Steven was killed in the stadium crush, said: "As a family we would like to thank all those who have supported us over the years in our quest for justice and accountability. david duckenfield cycling. The only effective way to ensure this sort of scenario is not repeated is accountability. The funnel-shaped nature of the area meant that the congestion was hard to escape for those at the front, says the BBC. David Duckenfield can finally rest easily. "We, the families, have fought for 30 years valiantly.". The Crown Prosecution Service announces that six people are to be charged with offences in relation to the disaster Mr Duckenfield is charged with manslaughter and former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell for health and safety offences. Sergeant Michael Goddard, who was in the police control box, told the trial the request was not unusual, 2.30pm: Duckenfield raises the size of the crowd outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles and asks ground commander, Supt Bernard Murray, whether those fans will be in the ground for the 3pm kick-off. He acknowledged that even after he said he realised, at 3:04pm on the day, that he was facing a medical emergency not an incident of disorder, he called for police dogs to come to the ground, not ambulances. The court heard the chief superintendent ordered the opening of exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the ground at 2.52pm, eight minutes before kick-off, after the area outside the turnstiles became dangerously overcrowded. Sheffield Wednesday FC is also criticised for an inadequate number of turnstiles at the Leppings Lane entrance and the poor quality of crush barriers on the terraces, some of which collapsed during the disaster. All this had been comprehensively dismissed at the inquests. Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie apologises for the papers 1989 front page. Despite this, the retired officer was able to walk away last week in the face of overwhelming evidence and his own admissions. The acquittal of David Duckenfield is the latest twist in the history of a disaster which has lasted 30 years. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Reaction as David Duckenfield is cleared of manslaughter, argued the case against him was "deeply unfair", Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. Christine Burke tearfully spoke from the gallery after the verdict was delivered and said that the 96 were unlawfully killed and she wants to know who is responsible, reports the Liverpool Echo. But ultimately the buck stops with me., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Application for a retrial is refused. And despite the words of regret expressed in 2015, this included the resurrection of shameless claims about ticketless and late supporters. avid Duckenfield can finally rest easily. The 96 Liverpool supporters unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. But was the regret he described at the disaster inquests the regret of having been dishonest, or the regret of having been found out? A second juror is discharged on 19 November after suffering a bereavement, leaving a jury of seven women and three men to decide the case. The former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire police, David Duckenfield, leaves after giving evidence to the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington. Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher, 18, died in the disaster, said: "I'm shocked and stunned by the verdict of the jury. The jury at Mr Duckenfield's original trial earlier this year failed to agree a verdict. On 28 November, the remaining jurors acquit Mr Duckenfield of gross negligence manslaughter, as the investigating police officer says the delay between the disaster and the trial should not have been allowed to happen. England and Wales company registration number 2008885, Subscribe to TheWeek. The passage of 30 years has presented challenges for everyone involved in the legal process, prosecution and defence. This is because he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused. 30 years means evidence has been corroded and some people and organisations cannot answer for their actions because they are no longer with us. "He understands the public interest in this case, but would ask that his privacy and that of his family is respected, and will not be commenting further. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. ", Clive Coleman, BBC legal affairs correspondent. A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the verdict did not affect the findings of the Hillsborough inquests, which ruled the victims had been unlawfully killed. Meanwhile, the families of six victims appeal for a judicial review application to quash the inquest verdict. The city of Liverpool will today remember the 96 football fans who died at Hillsborough stadium, 30 years to the day since the disaster. Lord Justice Taylor concludes that the most fans were not drunk, nor even the worse for drink and highlights contributing factors including opening exit gates to allow fans into the ground and failing to delay kick-off. Why should anyone care about Hillsborough? VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. After delivering the verdict the judge, Sir Peter Openshaw thanked the jury before they were dismissed. The Crown Prosecution Service decides that following consideration of all the evidence and documentation, there is no evidence to justify any criminal proceedings against South Yorkshire Police officers, Sheffield Wednesday FC, Sheffield City Council or Eastwoods the structural engineering firm that designed the pens. It may sound like a clich to say lessons must be learnt, but todays verdict means this has never been more relevant or important. He said this as Dolores Steele, Barry Devonside and Trevor Hicks - all of whom lost children, all of whom gave evidence in these trials - were desperately hoping their teenagers would survive. A police doctor certified him as "unfit to undertake the duties of a police constable" and diagnosed him with "severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder". Bereaved families are angered that the inquests cannot consider the emergency response after that point, and an accidental death verdict is returned on 26 March 1991. Duckenfield, a retired chief superintendent, 75, denied the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool supporters at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989. Posted on 26 Feb in avondale redbud problems. Attempting to explain his words in Warrington, he said: I was probably deeply ashamed, embarrassed, greatly distressed and I probably didnt want to admit to myself or anyone else, what the situation is.". Up to 41 of the dead might have survived had they been given oxygen. There were gasps in court as the seven women and three men on the jury returned the verdict, following 13 hours and 43 minutes of discussions. They were even more appalled when Openshaw called the defendant a poor chap after Duckenfield was forced to go to hospital with a suspected chest infection. "It is right that an impartial and thorough investigation was carried out, and it is right that a jury was asked to make a judgement of the facts. "I would like to know who is responsible for my father's death because someone is.". It was even more dispiriting to hear the defence barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, recycle all the rancid myths that grew out of Duckenfields dissembling: that fans turned up late, alcohol was a factor and supporters ignored police instructions. Mr Duckenfields retrial starts at Preston Crown Court. "I am really angry but I am trying be calm for these families who have suffered," she said. But his acquittal does not undo his shameful lie. But he now admits the crush occurred after he ordered an exit gate to be opened allowing 2,000 Liverpool fans to enter the stadium in just five minutes. It is true the same stadium exit gate he ordered to be opened at 2.52pm opened minutes earlier without his instruction. A police chief told a "wicked lie" by suggesting Liverpool fans forced open a gate ahead of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, the inquests heard. inquest verdicts brought by six representative families. Mr Duckenfield's defence counsel argued the case against him was "deeply unfair". The Week is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Sheffield Wednesday's former club secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of a health and safety offence in May 2019. As the families continue to campaign, ITV screens a drama about the disaster written by Jimmy McGovern. Duckenfield stood trial earlier this year but the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered. The matchday commander at Hillsborough was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter charges pertaining to his role in the football disaster 30. Covid cut it short. "30 years means myths took root about fans being a cause of the disaster, now unequivocally shown by both defence and prosecution evidence to be wrong. 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At the same hearing he admitted a cocktail of errors, ultimately telling his own barrister he accepted his professional failings led to the tragic crush. As fans were dying he suggested they were responsible for the crush that was a consequence of his decision. One of the many tragedies of the Hillsborough disaster is the first explanation for what claimed the lives of those men, women and children was a suggestion it was Liverpool supporters who were responsible. The jury at the inquests returned a verdict of unlawful killing, reversing the 1990 ruling of accidental deaths. At 2.48pm Gate C was opened - also by police in the area - sparking a comment from an officer alongside Duckenfield that fans had stormed the ground. He said: "He has a resilient, passive and expressionless external presentation which gives no indication of his state of mind so don't draw an adverse inference against him.". The retired chief superintendent, 75, denied the charge relating to the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989. David Duckenfield is one of six people to be charged with manslaughter over the deaths resulting from the disaster which claimed the lives of 96 fans. The verdict defies logic. It was the founding myth of Hillsborough. After the longest inquest in British history, lasting 90 days, a verdict of accidental death is returned by a majority verdict of 9-2. "The journey that reached today's stage, and will continue, is testament to the perseverance and determination of all involved in the ongoing campaign for justice," the club said. 2.52pm: After a third request to open the gates from Supt Marshall - who this time says there is a risk of injury or death if it is not done - Duckenfield orders them to be opened. 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