The Jury.

I felt ever so sorry for Barry Devonside, whose son Christopher, 18, died in the disaster at Hillsborough, when he said: "I'm shocked and stunned by the verdict of the jury.   We, the families, have fought for 30 years valiantly."  It's a nightmare for their families that will never go away.

But what did they fight for all these years?  I thought they were always fighting that the cases of their loved ones would find its way into a Court and that a jury of their peers would decide if the person charged was indeed guilty.    

Apparently not.  They simply wanted the person in the dock to be found guilty.  What’s the point of jury and a court if you simply get the verdict that you want.  The jury are asked, on behalf of society, to review the evidence and assess whether or not the prosecution has indeed made the case for the guilt to be seen as being beyond reasonable doubt.  That’s how a free and fair society works.      

Surely they didn’t expect that a jury would simply rubber stamp their personal view that one individual was guilty?   If they did, then only one of two scenarios can exist.  They have been deceived by their legal council. Or they didn’t listen to their legal council.