Vocal Voices

Sorry, we are not allowed to comment on the verdict.

I find it terribly sad that we all have to agree that the verdict was the correct one.

Workingman wrote:Sorry, we are not allowed to comment on the verdict.

I find it terribly sad that we all have to agree that the verdict was the correct one.

I think, and I say this guardedly, WM, that where comment has been allowed on social media, and has been made by people I consider possibly more qualified to pass comment than most, you might well find that quite a range of opinions have been expressed.

Having said that, I don't propose to make any further comment except this: it would be interesting to know the actual composition of the jury that arrived at those verdicts. And that is a question which, if you think about it, has fundamental ramifications that go way beyond this particular case. I'm not talking here about subterfuge, but more whether we should be looking at "professional" jurors.

I get exactly where you are coming from, I think, and am quietly agreeing, although it would probably not be a good idea for me to say so anywhere online other than here x

The ultimate verdict does not surprise me.

It is exactly what I expected.

That's all I can say.

What infuriates me are the years it takes for the self serving idiots to come to a conclusion, I have never quite understood how criminals can be allowed Bail regardless of their crimes, and the cover up's. . Sadly far too many of our police are corrupt.. It Ain't what you know, it's who you know with respect to getting complaints resolved.. We have witnessed injustices in our area where the guilty get away with their crimes "due to their mates within the force" Gone are the good old days when the bobby's were part of or communities, there to ensure the law was upheld.

I don't really understand the verdict of unlawful killing, as nobody set out to kill anybody.

But South Yorkshire Police were totally incompetent at controlling the crowd outside the ground, appointed a man who was not up to the job of match day commander and they behaved appallingly afterwards.

They should not shoulder all the blame though. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield Council should be right in there with them.

I have never been an admirer of Liverpool FC but if one of my relatives had died at Hilsborough I would want somebody to pay for it, and I can only admire the tenacity of the families at sticking at it for 27 years in the face of a wall of lies and evasions.

cromwell wrote:I don't really understand the verdict of unlawful killing, as nobody set out to kill anybody.

But South Yorkshire Police were totally incompetent at controlling the crowd outside the ground, appointed a man who was not up to the job of match day commander and they behaved appallingly afterwards.

They should not shoulder all the blame though. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield Council should be right in there with them.

100% agree, esp the first sentence.

cromwell wrote:I don't really understand the verdict of unlawful killing, as nobody set out to kill anybody.

Nor me.

The tragedy was seen live on TV and shown endlessly for days afterwards. When the 1991 inquest returned a verdict of accidental death a campaign then started to get it overturned. Everybody got involved, from politicians, Church leaders, journalists, singers, actors and the pub cat. We all knew what the "desired" verdict was, as we had all been told, and it was duly delivered.

Given all of the above I find it hard to understand how the Coroner could find jurors who had not be touched or influenced, in some way, by the unfolding events and maybe there will come a time when "professional" jurors have to be used, as suggested by Ossie.

Yes, how can it be unlawful killing? Where there was no intent to harm anyone

When juries are selected, the norm is to weed out anyone with preconceived ideas or notions, so you start with 12 "blank slates".

If, however, you had selected a jury of people with, crucially, direct experience of attending soccer matches in the 1970's and 1980's, and the policing thereof, then you might have come up with, shall we say, a more balanced view on some of the questions raised ....