Thursday, December 20, 2012

Bulletin; Hillsborough disaster; Inquest verdicts: High Court quashes them in face of new evidence; Court finds "unchallenged evidence of pathologists at Inquiry and Inquest is no longer accepted." The Guardian.


STORY:  Liverpool. U.K. "High court quashes Hillsborough inquest verdicts," by reporter Owen Gibson, published in the Guardian on December 19, 2012.

SUB-HEADING: "Ruling clears way for fresh inquest into 96 deaths, re-examining roles of police, Sheffield council and Sheffield Wednesday."

GIST:  Relatives of victims of Hillsborough disaster say they feel vindicated after original inquest verdicts were quashed by high court Link to this video Relatives of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster have said they feel vindicated in their 23-year campaign for justice after the original inquest verdict of accidental death was quashed in the high court. The landmark verdict clears the way for a new inquest into the deaths next year, re-examining the roles of the police and other emergency services, Sheffield council and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, and leading to the possibility of new verdicts of unlawful killing.........The review found that the decision to impose the cut-off severely limited examination of the response of the police and emergency services to the disaster on 15 April 1989, in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, and "raised profound concerns regarding sufficiency of inquiry and examination of evidence". The lord chief justice agreed, saying that "in our judgment the 3.15pm cut-off point provided not only the most dramatic but also the most distressing aspect" of the new evidence. "In short, the unchallenged evidence of pathologists at the Taylor inquiry and the subsequent inquest is no longer accepted," he said.

 The entire story can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/dec/19/hillsborough-high-court-quashes-inquest-verdicts

See Phil Scraton. Liverpool Daily Post; "This is long overdue." Excellent background information. "“The alteration of police and ambulance officers’ statements forms an important element of the Attorney General’s submission to the High Court and draws in detail on the Panel’s careful review of this unprecedented process.........Reflecting on the vital issue that the lives of up to 58 Liverpool fans might have been saved on that fateful day in April 1989 had they received immediate and appropriate treatment, Professor Scraton said: "Dr Bill Kirkup’s forensic review of the pathologists’ reports was the basis for this conclusion."

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2012/12/19/this-is-long-overdue-phil-scraton-on-quashing-of-hillsborough-inquests-100252-32462817/

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.