zwiebel
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A new inquest has opened into the deaths of 96 people at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground, April 15th, 1989. The 11-member jury have been chosen with great care and have been told to disregard anything they ever read or watched about the case.
It was the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The case was horrendous in many respects; police allowed latecomers to squeeze into the back of the crowds, and there were high fences and rows of metal at the front, to stop people running onto the pitch.
The result was a catastrophe that unfolded live on camera and that I think everyone now agrees was badly handled. People towards the front were simply crushed, while the part of the crowd at the back at first were not even aware of what was happening. They'd gone through a tunnel too, I think, so there was no way back.
I watched this at the time and it's seared into my brain - I remember screaming at the TV, 'help them' because there were policemen on the pitch standing watching people behind the fence die in front of their eyes. Some people trying to climb over were even pushed back....if I recall correctly, the game went on for quite a while too, until one player just stopped playing, and went towards the fence of death. And even as the bodies were finally brought onto the pitch, there didn't seem to be any medical personnel or organised help......
Even worse; afterwards some British newspapers (The Sun notoriously) blamed fans' hooliganism for their own deaths. This was totally untrue. The Sun even accused Liverpool fans of urinating on bodies. Again, totally untrue.
So, today. Families of the victims finally have a chance for justice after years of suffering.The duty of the jury of seven women and four men is to determine why each of those 96 victims really died. The inquest is expected to last a year and the presiding coroner is Lord Justice Goldring. On the second day, he has stated it;
"Will not degenerate into an adversarial battle which scarred the first inquest....the families of those who died in this disaster will be vindicated and the memory of each victim will be properly respected."
The accidental death findings of the first inquest in 1990-91 were quashed in 2012 after a long campaign by bereaved families. A complete list of victim's names were read out at the opening, which took over six minutes.
Day 1: 'Jury members to forget all they have read or heard'
http://www.theguardian.com/football...aster-inquest-jury-96-liverpool-football-fans
'Who were the victims?'
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20782891
Day 2: 'Official capacity numbers for the fatal stand were substantially too high..crush barrier removed....no way of counting"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...tand-were-substantially-too-high-9230348.html
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-
news/2014/apr/01/hillsborough-disaster-judge-inquiry
Picture link: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...ld-hillsborough-stadium-disaster-2255307.html
It was the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The case was horrendous in many respects; police allowed latecomers to squeeze into the back of the crowds, and there were high fences and rows of metal at the front, to stop people running onto the pitch.
The result was a catastrophe that unfolded live on camera and that I think everyone now agrees was badly handled. People towards the front were simply crushed, while the part of the crowd at the back at first were not even aware of what was happening. They'd gone through a tunnel too, I think, so there was no way back.
I watched this at the time and it's seared into my brain - I remember screaming at the TV, 'help them' because there were policemen on the pitch standing watching people behind the fence die in front of their eyes. Some people trying to climb over were even pushed back....if I recall correctly, the game went on for quite a while too, until one player just stopped playing, and went towards the fence of death. And even as the bodies were finally brought onto the pitch, there didn't seem to be any medical personnel or organised help......
Even worse; afterwards some British newspapers (The Sun notoriously) blamed fans' hooliganism for their own deaths. This was totally untrue. The Sun even accused Liverpool fans of urinating on bodies. Again, totally untrue.
So, today. Families of the victims finally have a chance for justice after years of suffering.The duty of the jury of seven women and four men is to determine why each of those 96 victims really died. The inquest is expected to last a year and the presiding coroner is Lord Justice Goldring. On the second day, he has stated it;
"Will not degenerate into an adversarial battle which scarred the first inquest....the families of those who died in this disaster will be vindicated and the memory of each victim will be properly respected."
The accidental death findings of the first inquest in 1990-91 were quashed in 2012 after a long campaign by bereaved families. A complete list of victim's names were read out at the opening, which took over six minutes.
Day 1: 'Jury members to forget all they have read or heard'
http://www.theguardian.com/football...aster-inquest-jury-96-liverpool-football-fans
'Who were the victims?'
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20782891
Day 2: 'Official capacity numbers for the fatal stand were substantially too high..crush barrier removed....no way of counting"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...tand-were-substantially-too-high-9230348.html
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-
news/2014/apr/01/hillsborough-disaster-judge-inquiry
Picture link: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...ld-hillsborough-stadium-disaster-2255307.html