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Hillsborough Mother Begins New Legal Fight by Bob Kurac

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Rushian:
Hillsborough Mother Anne Williams Begins Legal Fight for a New Inquest into her son Kevin's death.

Anne Williams' solicitors are preparing a memorial to the Attorney General to hold a new inquest into the death of her son Kevin, who at the age of 15, died at Hillsborough football ground on 15th April 1989.

The memorial will ask the Attorney General under Section 13 of the Coroners Act to grant a new inquest in the light of fresh evidence.

Anne is a member of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. The HJC will be fundraising to assist Anne in pursuing her case. As there is no legal aid available for such a case, the group is making a request for donations.

Anne's case highlights the ongoing legal struggle for justice. The Hillsborough Disaster has not been rubber stamped into the history books. The families and survivors in the HJC continue to fight on. As Anne says, "All I want is Justice and to find out the truth about what happened to Kevin."

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign are bereaved families, survivors and supporters campaigning for justice for the 96 people who died at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground on 15th April 1989 For further details on the HJC, including details of how to donate, click here.

About Anne and Kevin Williams
(reproduced in good faith from the HJC website)

In coming to terms with, and searching to find out the truth about Kevin's death, Anne wrote a book : When You Walk Through The Storm (ISBN 1-84018-067-6 Published by Mainstream for £9.99) which is available from the HJC shop . Here, she describes in her own words why she wrote the book:

"I wrote this book because I did not want anyone to forget Kevin and I wanted people to know what extremes the system will go to, to cover up the truth about what happened to him.

Kevin was 15 when he died, he was just a little boy who went to a football match and did not come home. I don't believe that I or Kevin deserve this treatment, hiding the real fact from us deprived us all of the chance to mourn him properly. It took me nearly 4 years to find out what had happened to Kevin because of all the lies I had been told.

Kevin had two inquests on him. Neither of then gave me any answers. Witnesses were just mentioned but never called to give evidence, they used parts of witness statements so the jury never heard the full story of what happened to Kevin so I was left upset and confused.

I decided to track down the witnesses myself, only to find out a different story.

The coroner decided to put a 3.15 p.m. cut off point, the reason he argued that the victims would have been dead or brain dead by that time. No evidence was heard after that time.

Kevin does not relate to the 3.15 p.m. cut off point. After spending hours discussing Kevin's injuries with the top forensic pathologist in this country (Dr Ian West of Guys Hospital) I have found out that Kevin would not have died by 3.15 p.m. and could have been saved.

I have tracked 5 people who have helped Kevin after 3.15 p.m. that day, 3 Liverpool fans, an off duty police officer from Liverpool and a SWPC who was on duty at the time. What happened to Kevin was that he was lifted out of pen 3 at 3.28p.m. He was then put on a hoarding and run across the pitch carried by Stevie Hart and Tony O'Keefe, both were Liverpool fans (left). Both fans have told me he was alive. They left Kevin with a police officer up at the North Stand who told them he would look after Kevin. The police officer walked away and left Kevin. Johnny Prescott, another Liverpool fan came across Kevin, saw he was alive and ran to get help from an St Johns Ambulance man.

In the meantime, off duty police officer Derek Bruder had seen Kevin lying in front of a police cordon moving his head and left his seat in the North Stand to go and help Kevin. Not one of the police officer would break the cordon to help him. When Mr Bruder got to Kevin, Johnny Prescott was with him and an St Johns Ambulance man. They then carried out resuscitation and heart massage. Mr Bruder found a pulse and at 3.37 p.m. a SYMAS ambulance came on to the pitch going towards the Leppings Lane end of the ground. Mr Bruder shouted for someone to stop it, as he wanted to put Kevin in it. Johnny Prescott was going to try but the St Johns Ambulance man went instead. The ambulance would not stop.

After a short time a St Johns Ambulance woman took over from Mr Bruder after shining a torch in Kevin's eyes, she said he had gone. Mr Bruder was sick himself and then left the scene.

Johnny Prescott stayed with Kevin when SWPC Martin came to take Kevin to the gym. Johnny helped put Kevin on a trolley. Miss Martin was told to stay with Kevin and carry out heart massage and resuscitation. She put Kevin in the part of the gymnasium that was set aside for the injured. Miss Martin found a pulse and after resuscitation Kevin's ribs started to move so thinking she had him alive, she picked Kevin up in her arms. It was then that Kevin opened his eyes, murmured the word "Mum", slumped back and died in her arms at 4.00 p.m.

After finding out the truth about what happened to Kevin, I took his case to the Attorney General asking him to give me a new inquest on him. Kevin has not had a full inquest. The 3.15 p.m. cut off point meant the jury never heard what happened to him up to 4.00 p.m. that day.

Evidence has been surpressed, statements have been changed, there has never been a full inquiry into how Kevin died. Three times my momorial was submitted, three times it was refused. I have had a Judicial Review, a Cook Report programme and nobody will do anything to have Kevin's case reopened. If Kevin got a new Inquest, evidence from 3.15 to 4.00 p.m. that day would have to be looked into and nobody wants to answer for the mistakes that were made after 3.15 p.m.

My son was alive until 4.00 p.m. that day. He would not have died had he received a simple procedure to save his life. But because the police never implemented the Major Disaster Plan or let the ambulances on to the ground, Kevin was left to die.

I want an inquiry from 3.15 to 4.00 p.m. the time nobody has looked into. The time when the disaster was at its worst.

The only people that helped Kevin that day were the Liverpool fans. They were the people trying to do their best in a situation that was completely out of control. It should not have been left to the fans to see to the dying and injured. Where were the ambulances? They were cordoned off by the police. Why?

If we don't get an inquiry after 3.15 p.m. that dreadful day, the lessons of Hillsborough will never be learnt. I want to know why my son was left to die when he could have been saved, why he did not get the treatment that could have saved him. If the police had done their job properly, Kevin would be alive today and many more. If the Liverpool fans had not thrown themselves in to help the way they did, we would have lost more than 96 people at Hillsborough.

IT IS IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE THAT THE FAMILIES GET AN INQUIRY FROM 3.15 TO 4.00 P.M. "

Another remarkable fact about Anne Williams is that she was denied membership of the Hillsborough Family Support Group. For more information, see the HJC website.

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