After 27 long years of hurt, courage and resilience, the families of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough tragedy finally received the justice they deserved. A jury ruled that the victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed. This marks the end of the longest jury inquest in British legal history. The jury heard over 1,000 testimonies over a two year period.

For those not familiar with the Hillsborough tragedy, on April 15, 1989, 96 football fans went to a football match and never came home. The tragedy claimed many lives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers- the oldest at 67 and the youngest aged just 10.

The day started out, just as any other for a football match, with 54,000 supporters from both Liverpool and Nottingham getting ready for what should have been a thrilling cup match at the neutral ground of Hillsborough, Sheffield. But jubilation turned to chaos as not long after the match had started, fans started sprawling onto the pitch.

As the jury ruled yesterday, bad planning by the authorities in charge meant that a gate was opened that allowed thousands of fans to enter the stand that was already full. As people moved into the bottleneck entrance of the stand, those at the front were crushed to death. The match was stopped just after the 3pm kick off, with the first ambulance on scene at 3:14pm. By then it was already too late, many of the victims had already been fatally injured.

In the days after the disaster, it was claimed by parts of the UK media that it was caused by drunk fans, trying to get into the ground without tickets. From that moment, the fans were vilified with many in the world believing that people died because of crowd trouble. It would be 23 years before Independent Hillsborough Panel discovered that hundreds of police reports were altered after the disaster, in some cases to remove criticism of senior officers.

In the August of 1989, the Taylor Enquiry ruled that it was not the fault of the fans, rather the failings of the police, that caused the incident. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled that no criminal proceedings would be brought against any individual or organisation because of a lack of evidence- a major blow for those hoping that someone would be held accountable for the disaster.

I’m from Liverpool and my father lost a friend that day. I was only 4 years old when the tragedy happened and it would be a few years until I was able to understand the pain that the families and the whole city felt. From day one everyone in Liverpool knew the truth, that it was never the fault of the fans. But despite this, the city was vilified and people in politics lined up to lay blame at the door of drunken ‘yobs.’.

Justice, finally.

The families of the deceased never gave up on their quest for justice. And finally, after 27 years of dignified, courageous campaigning, the families were vindicated; a jury ruled that the disaster was caused by the failings of the police, not the fans.

The jury yesterday ruled unanimously that the fans on that day were not to blame for the loss of life. Indeed, it is believed that if it were not for their actions, the loss of life could have been greater. It was the continued resilience of the families that finally brought the truth to light.

Campaigners like Anne Williams, who sadly died of cancer in 2012, are an inspiration to me. At the original inquest, not long after the disaster, it was ruled that all the victims had died by 3:15pm, so any investigation into what happened after this wouldn’t be taken into account. Anne Williams had lost her 15 year old son, Kevin, at the disaster and was incensed at this ruling. She didn’t believe that each of the victims had passed by 3:15, and set off to find the truth. She tracked down witnesses in her crusade for justice, including a special constable who said she was with Kevin until he died at 4pm- 45 minutes after the investigator's cut off time. As the constable held Kevin in her arms, his last word was ‘mum.’ Anne knew there was injustice, and against all odds, fought until the truth came out. It’s heartbreaking that she was unable to see the results of the inquest.

What this means

The Hillsborough case will go down in history as one of the greatest injustices in UK legal history. There are two criminal proceedings running at the moment, but once they conclude, the Crown Prosecution Service will weigh up the evidence and criminal prosecutions could start. But if there is any solace in this whole debacle, it shows that with determination and courage, people can tackle injustice and change the world. The victims of the family never gave up and against all odds, continued to fight.

They are a true inspiration, justice will be their legacy.

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96 football fans went to a match and never came home – Yesterday they got their justice

By Paul Abernethy