After 27 Years, JUSTICE! Our Name Is FINALLY Cleared: A BIG personal THANK YOU to my ES 'extended family.'

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

*This is a long post friends, and I might be all over as I'm still very emotional on the days events. But I honestly don't know how else to do this and have tried to keep it to a minimum. Apologies in advance*

 

 

 

I wanted to post this in the Hillsborough thread (but it sadly seems to of disappeared from the ES annals) to bring a certain closure to something that many of you have shown an incredible interest in since I opened up on a very emotive topic for myself I always find so hard to talk about back on September 12, 2012, with the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panels report bringing about a new inquest into a horrific day that changed my and many others lives forever. That interest from so far away, from many who hadn't even heard of what we went through on April 15, 1989, and the subsequent 27 year cover up to besmirch my City's good name has truly blown me away, within that thread and via PM; and I truly am humbled to know I have such caring, GENUINE friends among you that I (as yet) have never met in person. 

 

For today, after 757 days of the longest and biggest ever inquest in British legal history, beginning back on March 31, 2014, and encompassing some 600 plus witness testimonies and many thousands of legal documents, the jury of 6 woman and 3 men returned unanimous findings in our favour to vindicate everything that we, and everything that those that have perpetuated the heinous cover up for over a quarter of a Century (just stop and think about THAT) have known from day one to be the truth. We weren't to blame in ANY shape or form for what happened that day and our 96 lost 'friends' were unlawfully killed and the family's can now be finally at peace. 

 

I don't need to go over the disaster again as anyone interested in reading this will remember so well from the previous thread what brought us to today. So the facts of the findings of the Jury on the 16 questions they had to answer on 96 separate cases to reach a verdict. (With the key questions 6 and 7 highlighted. The ultimate one first giving the unlawful killing verdict. And the equally important one following exonerating and praising the heroes among the fans that fateful day.). The judge had instructed them yesterday he would accept majority verdicts if a unanimous one on any count couldn't be reached :

 

Question one

 

The coroner reads question one: 

 

1)Do you agree with the following statement which is intended to summarise the basic facts of the disaster: “Ninety-six people died as a result of the Disaster at Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989 due to crushing in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace, following the admission of a large number of supporters to the Stadium through exit gates.”

The forewoman confirms the answer was yes.

 

Question two

2) Was there any error or omission in police planning and preparation for the semi-final on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match?

The forewoman confirms the answer was YES 

The jury said: “The jury feel that there were major omissions in the 1989 operational order, including specific instructions for managing the crowd outside the LL turnstiles, specific instructions as to how the pens were to be filled and monitored, specific instructions as to who would be responsible for the monitoring of the pens.

 

Question three

3) Was there any error or omission in policing on the day of the match which caused or contributed to a dangerous situation developing at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?

The jury answer is YES. 

The jury said: “Police response to the increasing crowds at Leppings Lane was slow and uncoordinated. The road closure and sweep of fans exacerbated the situation.”

They said no filter cordons were used, no contingency plans made and atempts to close perimeter gates were too late.

 

Question four

4) Was there any error or omission by commanding officers which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace?

The jury answered YES.

The jury said: “Commanding officers should have ordered the closure of the central tunnel before the opening of gate C was requested as pens three and four were full.”

They said commanding officers should have asked for figures and failed to recognise pens were at capacity.

 

Question five

5) When the order was given to open the exit gates at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, was there any error or omission by the commanding officers in the control box which caused or contributed to the crush on the terrace?

The jury answered YES. 

The jury said: “Commanding officers did not inform officers in the inner concourse prior to the opening of gate C.”

They said they failed to consider where fans would go and to consider the closure of the tunnel.

 

Question six

6) Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?

The jury answered YES

Cheers and applause in the court.

The forewoman says it was a majority decision.

She says seven agreed.

 

Question seven

7) Was there any behaviour on the part of the football supporters which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles?”

The jury answered NO.

Claps again from the gallery.

They were asked if behaviour may have caused or contributed.

They answered NO.

 

Question eight

8) Were there any features of the design, construction and layout of the stadium which you consider were dangerous or defective and which caused or contributed to the disaster?

Jury answered YES. 

The jury said: “Design and layout of the crush barriers in pen three and four were not fully compliant with the Green Guide.”

They said the lack of dedicated turnstiles meant capacities could not be monitored and there were too few turnstiles. Signage to the side pens was inadequate.

 

Question nine

9) Was there any error or omission in the safety certification and oversight of Hillsborough Stadium that caused or contributed to the disaster?

The jury answered YES. 

They said the safety certificate was never amended to reflect changes at the Leppings Lane end. The capacity figures were incorrectly calculated and the safety certificate had not been reissued since 1986.

 

Question ten

10) Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday and its staff in the management of the stadium and/or preparation for the semi-final match on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed on the day of the match?

The jury answered YES

The jury said: “The club did not approve the plans for dedicated turnstiles to each pen.”

The club did not agree contingency plans with police and there was inaccurate information on the tickets.

 

Question eleven

11) Was there any error or omission by Sheffield Wednesday and its staff on April 15, 1989, which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation that developed at the Leppings Lane turnstiles and in the west terrace?

The jury answered NO.

They were asked if any error or omission MAY have contributed or caused the dangerous situation.

They answered YES.

The jury said: “Club officials were aware of the huge numbers of fans still outside the LL turnstiles at 2.40pm. They should have requested a delayed kick off at this point.

 

Question twelve

12) Should Eastwood and Partners (structural engineers) have done more to detect and advise on any unsafe or unsatisfactory features of Hillsborough Stadium which caused or contributed to the disaster?

The jury answered YES

They said: “Eastwoods did not make their own calculations when they became consultants for Sheffield Wednesday FC.”

They said calculations were incorrect and Eastwoods failed to recalculate capacities and update the safety certificate after 1986.

They said Eastwoods failed to recognise the removal of crush barriers could create a dangerous situation.

 

Question thirteen

13) After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the police which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

The jury answered YES.

They said the police delayed calling a major incident.

There was a lack of communication, coordination and command and control.

 

Question fourteen

14) After the crush in the west terrace had begun to develop, was there any error or omission by the ambulance service (SYMAS) which caused or contributed to the loss of lives in the disaster?

The jury answered YES.

They said ambulance officers at the scene failed to ascertain the nature of the problem and the failure to call a major incident led to delays in responses to the emergency.

 

So to summerise, the inquest found:

• Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed, with all but 1 of the 96 still alive AFTER the original, scandalous inquest cut off time of 3:15 PM; 

• Fans were in no way to blame;

• There were “major omissions” in police planning and preparation for the semi-final;

• Police response to the increasing crowds at Leppings Lane was “slow and uncoordinated”;

• Errors by commanding officers contributed to the crush on the terrace;

• Commanding officers failed to recognise pens were at capacity;

• Design and layout of the crush barriers in pen three and four were not fully compliant with safety regulations;

• Ambulance officers at the scene failed to ascertain the scale of the problem and the failure to call a major incident led to delays in responses to the emergency;

• A lack of communication, coordination and command and control by police.

 

​Where this will now ultimately lead after today's momentous events in British legal history I honestly don't know. There's still two ongoing Police and judicial investigations that will conclude around the end of the year into certain individuals/ associations actions. And it's important to remember that the jury's findings where in a coroners court and don't carry the same weight as a court of law. BUT the Crown Prosecution Service now has a duty to bring about charges off the back of the unlawful killing verdict. Most likely manslaughter. So they'll doubtless be a LOT of high profile, VERY powerful Establishment figures with blood on their hands resting VERY uneasy right now. 

 

You know human emotions are a strange thing. I've waited 27 years for this day. 27 years of playing my small part in the fight for the truth to come out and justice to prevail. 27 years of having the cloud of the smear campaign from the Establishment that started at the very highest reaches of Government the day after the disaster (such a shame that utter b-itch Thatcher is now dead and won't get hers) hanging over myself and my City with people across the Nation believing the lies and accusing you of not only killing your own, but of impeding rescue efforts and robbing your own dead when WE were just about the ONLY ones that tried to save lives. It's been like two tragedy's in one. Trying to live with the mental scars of being involved in such horror that NOBODY should ever have to experience and that never goes away whilst having to deal with the constant crap thrown at you that you knew to be totally untrue in an effort to totally discredit you and protect those public servant's who SHOULD of been protecting you. So one would think you'd be SO elated at receiving what you've fought so hard for the almost three decades and having your name officialaly cleared in a court of law ..... 

 

..... Don't get me wrong, I am very happy. But that initial elation has turned to a mounting fury and anger through all the emotions today to "WE TOLD YOU SO from the get go but you NEVER listened and have put us through 27 years of the most cruel pain imaginable, lying at every verse end to protect your own ass' when YOU ALL should of been the ones protecting US!' All the while mixed in with overall sadness that has had tears flowing in buckets. Sadness that it's taken SO long for the truth to be officially recorded. Sadness for all the family members who fought SO tirelessly for SO long to get the truth on their loved ones death and who are sadly no longer with us today when that fight is ultimately won. Just so overwhelming a gambit of emotions that I've been really struggling with watching the news all day and talking to friends equally effected. (I took the day off today in unpaid leave, No way in Hell ANY work was getting done today.). I honestly don't know what I expected to feel but it's kind of anti-climatic in a weird way after all this time you're just left completely emotionally drained. Not so much a celebratory day but more one of relief and vindication that we did the right thing.

 

A great debt of thanks goes out to the Jury members who have had to share in our pain for the last 2 years and whom I'm sure have been effected by the heart wrenching testimonies they've had to sit through. And most notably, my heart and my deepest thanks goes out to the family's who have been at the forefront of the fight the past 27 years. Where they've found the continued strength to take on the highest powers in the land after being repeatedly knocked down and slandered and lied about I do not know. Except I'm one of them who comes from the very special stock of this very special City. And as MANY have found over the years, when you take on the City of Liverpool you're choosing the WRONG City to pick a fight with. We stand up for own and what's right and what we believe in to the last. We DON'T back down to ANYONE. Whatever the odds. I'm SO proud to of been born in the greatest City on Earth containing some of the best people you could ever wish to meet. And now I can hold my head up high knowing the truth that we've known and shouted for since April 15, 1989 is now officially on legal record. I DIDN'T murder my own. I can't begin to tell you the emotional weight that lifts off ones shoulders after you've carried it around for over a half a Century. The emotional wounds and memory's of that horrible day will live with myself and everyone else there so irrevocably effected for ever. And they'll still be ignorant people out there who will sadly continue to doubt and believe the evil, cruel lies of the coverup. We can't sadly alter that. But a jury of 6 woman and 3 men of my peers have sat through the longest  legal inquest this Country has ever seen and COMPLETELY exonerated us as they've gotten to the truth. And that's ultimately ALL that counts. 

 

A real nice touch from the Council as well on one of the civic buildings, St. Georges Hall today. The names of the 96 with the the outcome of today's findings. After 27 LONG years, truth and justice has prevailed:

 

 

And lastly I want to thank each and everyone of you guys that have shown unbelievable compassion and interest to my and my fellow citizens/ supporters plight since I brought it to your attention a few years back. From some absolutely terrific people who regularly frequent the soccer thread, through those that don't even like the game of soccer but have been moved enough to contact me via PM or in the other thread. You will never know how much your genuine interest, love and support has meant to me personally from faceless posters thousands and thousands of miles away from Liverpool. The debt of gratitude I owe you all you all really can't be expressed in Words. This place of ours is a VERY special place indeed. And our extended 'family' it encompasses are some VERY special people. 

 

Thank you all. I'm proud to be a part of this place and you, dear friends. 

 

It's been a day. 

 

Hail. 

[visionary]

Glad to see it, man.  

 

For a brief overview:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36138337

Hillsborough inquests: Fans unlawfully killed, jury concludes

 

Ninety-six football fans who died as a result of a crush in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed, the inquests have concluded.

 

The jury found match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield was "responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care.

Police errors also added to a dangerous situation at the FA Cup semi-final.

 

The prime minister said the inquests had provided "official confirmation" fans were "utterly blameless".

 

After a 27-year campaign by victims' families, the behaviour of Liverpool fans was exonerated.

 

The jury found they did not contribute to the danger unfolding at the turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989.

Nine jurors reached unanimous decisions on all but one of the 14 questions at the inquests into Britain's worst sporting disaster.

 

The coroner Sir John Goldring said he would accept a majority decision about whether the fans were unlawfully killed - seven jurors agreed they were.

[Predicto]

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

*Two of my City's favourite sons gif*

 

 

Thank you man. That just made me smile. To me, as you know in posting, that is the perfect gif. 

 

Hail. 

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Glad to hear it.

Sorry it took so long

YNWA

[TradeTheBeal!]

I watched the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about this. It was shocking and heart-breaking.

Cheers, Liverpool!

[dfitzo53]

As a parent of young kids who does one day hope to bring them to sporting events, your other thread brought me to tears. I'm glad to hear that the wrongs done were formally recognized. It's too bad that true restitution can never take place, but this is an important event.