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BRITAIN-HILLSBOROUGH-DISASTER-FBL-TRIAL
Judge orders retrial of Hillsborough disaster commander
LONDON, June 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A British court on Tuesday ordered the
retrial of the police officer overseeing security during the 1989
Hillsborough football stadium disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died in a
crush.
Match commander David Duckenfield escaped penalty when a jury failed to
reach a verdict in April following a 10-week trial.
The 74-year-old’s lawyers had opposed an application for a retrial on
gross negligence manslaughter charges.
But Judge Peter Openshaw ordered the retrial to begin on October 7 at
Preston Crown Court near Liverpool.
“I authorise a retrial of defendant David Duckenfield,” he said.
Duckenfield stands accused of being responsible for 95 of the 96 deaths.
The last victim died more than a year after the disaster and cannot be
legally linked to the case.
The crush of people at the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and
Nottingham Forest remains one of the worst sporting disasters in British
history.
It led to years of anger and frustration expressed by relatives and team
fans alike at an alleged police cover-up and slow prosecution of the case
that followed.
Victims’ families fought a long campaign for events surrounding the
disaster to be re-investigated and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to
press charges in June 2017.
The only person convicted in the case was ordered in May to pay a fine of
o6,500 ($8,300, 7,300 euros).
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service alleged during the April hearing that
Duckenfield had the “ultimate responsibility” for allowing the crush to
occur.
But the defence argued the case was “breathtakingly unfair” and said the
defendant had “tried to do the right thing.
BSS/AFP/RY/1815 hrs