Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield will go on trial

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PeteC
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Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield will go on trial

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I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but is this now driven by fact or emotion? 30 years coming up since this all happened. Were these people really that negligent? What happens to memory after 30 years? Answer: Things get terribly distorted depending upon frame of mind and personal involvement in any tragedy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-44656778

"The match commander on the day of the Hillsborough disaster David Duckenfield will face trial for the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 football supporters, a judge has ruled.

The decision to prosecute the former chief superintendent was made by Sir Peter Openshaw at Preston Crown Court who lifted a stay on his prosecution.

An order preventing Mr Duckenfield being tried was imposed 18 years ago.

Four other men will also face trial on charges related to Hillsborough.

Mr Duckenfield, 73, was match commander at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest when 96 Liverpool fans were fatally injured in a crush in the terrace pens.

Under the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for the death of the 96th victim, Tony Bland, because he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused.

Former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell is charged with health and safety, and safety at sports grounds offences.

The trial of Mr Duckenfield and Mr Mackrell is currently listed to start on 10 September.

Former solicitor Peter Metcalf and former police officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster are scheduled to go on trial in January 2019 charged with perverting the course of justice.

A hearing to determine whether former Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison will be tried has been adjourned until August.

The Crown Prosecution Service applied to lift a historical stay - halting further legal proceedings - on Mr Duckenfield which was put in place in 2000.

In his ruling on Friday, the judge said: "In respect of the defendant David Duckenfield I lift the stay."
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