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Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden or unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of and discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove". In England and Wales, inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. In some circumstances where an inquest cannot view or hear all the evidence, it may be suspended and a public inquiry held with the consent of the Home Secretary.
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens within the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, police match commander David Duckenfield ordered exit gate C to be opened in an attempt to ease crowding, which led to an influx of supporters entering the pens. This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the fatal crush; with a total of 97 fatalities and 766 injuries, the disaster is the deadliest in British sporting history. Ninety-four people died on the day; another person died in hospital days later, and another died in 1993. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years later, after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. The match was abandoned and restaged at Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989; Liverpool won and went on to win that season's FA Cup.
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.
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The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. Mortality studies consider it likely that the majority of open verdicts are recorded in cases of suicide where the intent of the deceased could not be proved, although the verdict is recorded in many other circumstances.
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References
- ↑ Thornton, Peter (18 January 2016). "Law Sheet No. 1 - Unlawful Killing" (PDF). www.judiciary.uk. Judiciary of England and Wales . Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ↑ Lord Mackay of Clashfern (ed.) (2006) Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th ed. reissue, vol.9(2), "Coroners", 1043. Killed unlawfully
- ↑ R (on the application of Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46 , [2021] 3 All ER 1, [2021] AC 454, [2020] 3 WLR 1298, [2021] Med LR 1, [2020] Inquest LR 175, (2021) 178 BMLR 1(13 November 2020), Supreme Court (UK)
- ↑ "Coroners". The Crown Prosecution Service. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ↑ Morris, Steven (30 April 2010). "Rupert Thorneloe was unlawfully killed in Afghanistan, inquest finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Ian Tomlinson unlawfully killed, inquest finds". The Guardian. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
- ↑ "Princess Diana unlawfully killed". BBC. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Suicide of gay vicar's killer". Evening Standard . 22 April 2002. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ↑ "Search for truth on 'friendly fire' death". BBC News. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ↑ "Iraq reporter unlawfully killed". BBC News. 13 October 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ↑ "British UN worker unlawfully shot". BBC. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ↑ "'Unlawful killing' of Gaza Briton". BBC News. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ↑ "7/7 inquests: Emergency delays 'did not cause deaths'". BBC. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ↑ "Nerve gas death was 'unlawful'". BBC. 15 November 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ Meikle, James; Campbell, Denis (4 February 2010). "Doctor Daniel Ubani unlawfully killed overdose patient". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- ↑ "Hillsborough inquests: Fans unlawfully killed, jury concludes". BBC News. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Fishmongers' Hall: Graduates were unlawfully killed by terrorist". BBC News. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ↑ Moore, Aoife (18 April 2024). "Jury delivers unlawful killing verdict in Stardust inquest". BBC . Retrieved 18 April 2024.
