Twenty-seven years after the Hillsborough disaster claimed 96 lives, an inquest jury has concluded that those who died in the crush on the terraces during an FA Cup semifinal were “unlawfully killed.” The jury have also concluded that the actions of the fans had no bearing on the disaster; instead, they have identified a wide range of failings on the part of police and other related institutions.
Hillsborough inquest finds that 96 victims were unlawfully killed
The inquest into the Hillsborough disaster has established that the 96 victims were unlawfully killed, and that the fans on the day were blameless.
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This verdict brings to a conclusion the longest jury hearing in British legal history, and also vindicates the years-long struggle of the families of the victims and associated campaign groups, who comprehensively and consistently rejected the findings of the first inquest held in 1989. That hearing, which imposed an arbitrary cut-off point on the events of the afternoon and concluded that the deaths were accidental, was quashed in 2012; this verdict replaces that finding. The facts of the matter have been established.
There are still further investigations ongoing, into possible criminal actions and police misconduct leading up to, during and after the disaster. Hillsborough wasn’t just a terrible tragedy; it was the consequence of years of contempt and neglect directed towards English football fans, and it became a long-running attempt on the part of the state to conceal and confuse the details. But the process of justice begins with the facts, and now the truth is a matter of legal record: These 96 people were killed by those who were responsible for their welfare.
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