LONDON
(AP) -- British prosecutors charged six people Wednesday in the 1989
Hillsborough stadium disaster where 96 soccer fans were crushed to
death.
Those charged include the police
commander on the day, David Duckenfield, who is accused of gross
negligence manslaughter. The former chief of South Yorkshire Police,
Norman Bettision, is charged with misconduct in public office for lying
about the disaster and its aftermath.
The
attorney for the South Yorkshire Police was charged with acting "with
intent to pervert the course of public justice" relating to changes in
witness statements during an inquiry into the tragedy.
"Criminal
proceedings have now commenced and the defendants have a right to a
fair trial," said Sue Hemming, the head prosecutor for special crime and
counter terror.
The tragedy at the
Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield unfolded when more than 2,000
Liverpool soccer fans flooded into a standing-room section behind a
goal, with the 54,000-capacity stadium already nearly full for the match
against Nottingham Forest. The victims were smashed against metal
anti-riot fences or trampled underfoot. Many suffocated in the crush.
At
the time, hooliganism was common, and there were immediate attempts to
defend the police operation and assign blame to the Liverpool fans. A
false narrative circulated that blamed ticketless and rowdy Liverpool
fans - a narrative that their families have challenged for decades.
The
original inquest recorded verdicts of accidental death. But the
families challenged it and campaigned for a new inquiry. They succeeded
in getting the verdicts overturned in 2012 after a far-reaching inquiry
that examined previously secret documents and exposed wrongdoing and
mistakes by police.
Some 23 suspects, including individuals and organizations, had faced the possibility of charges.
The
Hillsborough disaster prompted a sweeping modernization of stadiums
across England. Top division stadiums were largely transformed into
safer, all-seat venues, with fences around fields torn down.
"All
we want is accountability, nothing more and nothing less," said
Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son, James, died in the disaster.
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