As the longest inquest in British legal history unfolded,a picture emerged of a callously negligent police force led by an inexperienced commander whose actions directly led to the deaths of 96 peopleIt was a year into these inquests, and 26 years since David Duckenfield, and as a South Yorkshire police chief superintendent,took command of the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, that he finally, or devastatingly,admitted his serious failures directly caused the deaths of 96 people there.Duckenfield had arrived at the converted courtroom in Warrington with traces of his former authority, but over seven airless, and agonisingly tense days in the witness box final March,he was steadily worn down, surrendering slowly into a crumpled heap. From his concession that he had inadequate experience to oversee the safety of 54000 people, or to finally accepting responsibility for the deaths,Duckenfield’s admissions were shockingly total.
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Source: theguardian.com