96 Liverpool soccer fans "unlawfully killed" in 1989 mayhem
WARRINGTON, England -- The 96 Liverpool soccer fans who died in the Hillsborough Stadium disaster were "unlawfully killed" because of errors by the police, a jury concluded Tuesday.
Relatives of the victims of the 1989 disaster, some wearing Liverpool scarves, were in tears outside a specially-built courtroom after new inquests into Britain's worst sporting disaster.
Fans chanted "Justice for the 96" and sang the Premier League club's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone" after hearing the verdicts.
Families spent more than a quarter of a century campaigning after being angered by the verdicts of accidental death at the original inquests following the April 1989 FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the stadium in Sheffield.
The original inquest verdicts were overturned in 2012 following a far-reaching inquiry into the disaster and new hearings held in Warrington, close to Liverpool in northwest England.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservative Party was leading the nation when the disaster unfolded under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, called the jury's ruling a "landmark" development.
His tweet was quickly seized upon by Liverpool fans demanding he issue an apology on behalf of the Conservatives for what many believe was an intentional government cover-up of police culpability.
The tragedy highlighted the regional tensions that roiled the country under Thatcher, whose privatization of British industry and closure of mines devastated towns and cities across the north.
The jury, which had been considering 14 questions set out by the coroner, concluded the deaths constituted unlawful killing by a 7-2 majority, prompting sobbing and cheers at the hearing.
The jury also found that police planning errors "caused or contributed" to the situation that led to the crush, while confirming that the behavior of fans did not cause or contribute to the tragedy.
The verdicts are not the end of the fight for the victims' families. The Crown Prosecution Service said it will "formally consider whether any criminal charges should be brought against any individual or corporate body."