... should be the last. The trial of three men 'involved in the Hillsborough disaster' has collapsed as it was always bound to do. It was brought on charges that had no actual basis in law, probably due to the immense pressure from Liverpool and the wish to show them that everything that could be done has been done. Only guilty verdicts on everyone involved would ever satisfy the supporters groups, families, etc. In reality that was never going to happen even before the various trials and enquiries begun. Of course people shouldn't die at football matches nor should they die in a million other ways. But tragedies and accidents happen and, while it's regrettable, it doesn't mean everyone was wilfully or carelessly neglectful. Hillsborough was a combination of many things and many people contributed to the snowball effect that resulted in the deaths. It's time to accept that no good will come from continuing to bang the drum.
Every part of the process of getting at the truth behind the Hillsborough disaster has been tainted with arse covering and has been a **** show that shames the people of this country. Now even the CPS have managed to land themselves in **** - as it was foretold back in 2018. The issue here isn't the dismissal of this case, it is why the CPS chose this specific charge to prosecute under, when they knew this hadn't been a judicial inquiry and so people couldn't be guilty of perverting the course of justice. It isn't about Liverpool fans, it is about the actions of our police and the scope of our judicial system. What is the point of having any judicial process if you can lie to it with impunity? If you can falsify and select what evidence is shown? Should we just lie down and accept that way of doing things? Does truth matter? That aside, let's be honest, if those killed had been SAFC fans then we would be furious! If The Sun had published stories about drunken Sunderland fans charging the gates then later pissing on the dead would we just meekly accept things? We would have been supporting the fight for justice. We would have wanted the lies to be exposed and the true story to be known, those responsible prosecuted and, once the manipulation of evidence came to light then we would have been pressing for those involved to be prosecuted. To say otherwise is pathetic.
Putting an alternative point of view isn't pathetic, nor is your own point of view. I'm not suggesting that anyone should lie down or not be angry. Nor am I saying people shouldn't be held to account but justice doesn't only count if it goes the way you want ... ... if you want a trial that's fine, but if you'll only accept the verdict you want then you're taking the wrong route.
The Justice movement announcing their disbanding was a declaration of acceptance of the verdicts, or at least acceptance that they have reached the point where there is no more fight to be fought.
It definitely needs putting to bed, but the system needs reviewing to eliminate the capacity to cover up /pervert facts. Bojo & Hancock might well be up next....
This, not sure the process but maybe an inquiry into integrity should have been the route, police forces need to be held account for this as without it there is no point to a police force
With so many people involved, and such an emotive issue with heightened emotions, Hillsborough would never be resolved. On one hand those in charge wouldn't want to be blamed even if it was only because they'll have those deaths on their conscience for life. Whatever the judgements they'll take those deaths to their own grave and will probably be the last thing they think of. Locking them all up, for years, would undoubtedly be revenge but I'm not convinced it would be justice. On the other hand the families would never be satisfied with any judgements and would always claim there was a cover up no matter what sentences were handed down. They'd claim they were too lenient, failed to convict enough of those responsible or that the government, at that time, should've been charged. I don't believe there was an organised clinical cover up, it's a natural human reaction to cover yer arse ... we all do it automatically. The more cynical might suggest there was also a 'cover up' by the supporters. It's now become an absolute 'fact' that the Liverpool supporters were totally blameless in every way. To be honest, anyone who went to football matches at the time would know in their hearts that it can't be true. It was often madness at games and even low key matches would result in the police losing control simply because of the non-malicious actions of a mass of supporters. If you were at York you'd have seen too many Sunderland supporters trying to get into too small a space. People were arriving late, drunk, over excited then climbing in, throwing tickets out so more could cram in and jumping the turnstiles. None of that is individually so terrible but it resulted in people being crushed, the police losing control and some lads climbing outbuildings, walls, floodlights, etc, to escape. When people still kept coming in some went on the pitch and invaded the areas where York supporters were. The major difference, between York, Cardiff, etc, and Hillsborough was that the Sunderland supporters had an escape route and just enough space. Bootham Crescent was an inadequate old ground, the stewards were hopeless and the police were overwhelmed by people they regarded as hooligans ... just like Hillsborough. Do I accept my share of the blame, of course I do and so, in my opinion, should the Liverpool supporters. Did any arrive drunk, late, ticketless, over excited ... despite what's claimed as fact, of course they did. Anyone who says that is instantly condemned as a knuckledragger but those saying that obviously have the moral high ground so find it easy to ignore some unpleasant facts. In my opinion that's just as much a cover up as the 'other side'. There's something that's always ignored about the 'crush' that killed all those people and, once you notice, it's glaringly obvious to anyone who stood on crowded terraces in those day. The deaths didn't occur as many imagine and it's just another 'fact' that people don't appreciate being challenged. There were many people responsible for what happened from whoever decided Duckenfield was the right man to those climbing over the walls an hour before kick off. It's become a truth that the Liverpool supporters were entirely blameless but they're no more or less guilty than a steward who failed to direct hundreds of people, rushing towards him, when the gates opened.
There's a very long video clip that shows how the crush clearly didn't happen the way many imagine it. I'll post it sometime today if I can find it.
I completely agree with that. In the 80s we bought ( or took out a huge mortgage) on a house in West London, the family living there had two youngish boys their bedrooms were plastered with Liverpool posters... The family moved to a bigger house not far away, the boys were friendly with our(their old neighbours) so I saw them from time to time. Joe(sph) Mccarthy was a student at university and his funeral was huge at Ealing Abbey...somehow seeing lots of young men and women wearing black and crying was very emotional and I have never forgot that day. The Hillsborough disaster therefore has always been somewhat personal for me. There may be a few on here who were at the 73 semi-final at Sheffield... when Arsenal nearly scored I and my kid brother were in the stand behind the goal... there was a huge surge forward i grabbed my brother and clung onto him. How nobody was killed/seriously hurt i will never know. I mention this cos safety at football grounds was a serious concern long before Hillsborough, but nobody did fcuk all about it.. it was, imho criminal neglect.. but all football fans were yobs so it didn't matter... try telling that to the Mccarthy's
South Yorks and West Mids police have agreed a settlement with more than 600 people to compensate them for the false police campaign aimed at avoiding responsibility for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and blame the victims instead, which bereaved families have always said was a cover-up. The forces will pay compensation to families whose relatives were among the 96 men, women and children unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, and to survivors of the disaster, for additional trauma and psychiatric damage caused by the police campaign. The financial recompense is for the psychiatric injuries the families and survivors have suffered, and to pay for treatment or counselling. The civil claims, alleging misfeasance in a public office, were first made in September 2015, during the new inquests into how the 96 people died. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-57356486
There are a lot of individuals responsible who'll never admit it. From the man in charge of the ambulance response to those fans who climbed in and made sure that they were behind the goal. They'll never admit their part to anyone else, and probably not even to themselves.
