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Hillsborough inquest: 96 victims unlawfully killed, Liverpool fans exonerated

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images News / Getty

The 96 Liverpool supporters who died at Hillsborough in 1989 were unlawfully killed, with police failure the primary cause of the worst sporting tragedy in British history, the jury in the new inquest concluded Tuesday.

The verdict was delivered by a 7-2 majority, and vindicates families of the victims who have fought claims for 27 years from South Yorkshire police that the disaster was a result of fan misbehaviour. The conclusion of the longest jury proceeding in British legal history was met with cheering and sobbing in the courtroom, as many relatives of those killed inside the stadium nearly three decades ago were in attendance - and have been nearly every day since the inquests began two years ago.

Shortly after the verdict, those in the courtroom convened outside, joining in an emotional rendition of Liverpool's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone."

(Courtesy: Sky Sports)

The Hillsborough disaster, which occurred during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, saw 96 people killed and 766 injured when Liverpool fans were crushed against the steel fencing of a terrace inside Sheffield Wednesday's stadium.

The cause of death given for all but one of those killed, which included 37 teenagers and 26 parents, was compression asphyxia. The youngest to lose their life that day was 10-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley.

As noted by David Conn of the Guardian, South Yorkshire police long denied any fallibility, claiming instead "that they had been overwhelmed by drunk, late and ticketless Liverpool supporters." Consequently, at the first inquest into the disaster - which was held in Sheffield between November 1990 and March 1991 - the jury ruled that the deaths were accidental.

The families have campaigned ever since, and Tuesday was the culmination of that fight.

"I've given everything I can along with the other families over 27 years to get where we are," said Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son, James, died in the disaster.

"To do what we've done and achieved what we've done now will help other people who have never had voices who are fighting for a just cause - always have hope, do what the Hillsborough families have done. Stick together. And if I can help anyone I will help them because we've received so much help from all the ordinary people."

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