Hillsborough police chief David Duckenfield cleared of manslaughter

[dowie]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50592077

Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield has been found not guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 Liverpool fans in the 1989 disaster.

The former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent, 75, was in charge of the FA Cup semi-final in which 96 fans were fatally injured.

Men, women and children were crushed on the Leppings Lane terrace.

Mr Duckenfield, of Ferndown, Dorset, was cleared after a seven-week retrial at Preston Crown Court.

Due to the law at the time, there can be no prosecution over the death of the 96th victim, Tony Bland.

This is because he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused.

The jury at Mr Duckenfield's original trial earlier this year failed to agree a verdict.

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.

I guess this verdict wasn't necessarily going to be a dead cert either way despite there being some polarised views on the matter. On one hand it does seem to be a bit off to lay all the blame on this guy, on the other hand he was the man in charge of the police operation and someone in a leadership role like that ought to be accountable for their actions.

 

[dowie]

If he wasnt responsible...who is? Shocked by that verdict tbh

I don't know that you can conclude from the verdict that he's not in some part responsible still - I mean:

"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."

I'm not necessarily shocked by it, I guess actually convicting him of manslaughter is a bit of a bigger step than attributing some level of blame to him given the multiple factors involved.

 

[dowie]

Fencing off fans was never really a great idea in any case, H&S concerns of people's wellbeing was never a major concern back then either, a combination of many factors involved, was any one individual to actually blame?

Well it seems his defence lawyer has used that - that fencing off fans, design of the stadium etc.. is to blame too and can't all be pinned on him.

It doesn't sit too well IMO, he was ultimately in charge that day and ought to have some responsibility for the disaster - though I'm no legal expert and so don't have an opinion either way re: whether he should have been convicted in this instance.

 

[dowie]

A related trial, this is a bit of a strange one, two police officers and a solicitor, the judge ruled they have no case to answer - begs the question of what the CPS was doing here or if there was another charge that might have been appropriate?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-57172900

Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted.

Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice.

Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.