Why last victim will be excluded from case

ALTHOUGH 96 Liverpool fans died as a result of the disaster, those charged in connection with the deaths will only have to answer for 95.

This is because Anthony Bland, the 96th victim, was left in a vegetative state by the crush and did not die until almost four years after the events of April 15, 1989, more than the year and a day time limitation in place at the time for manslaughter.

The Crown Prosecution Service said yesterday: “We are unable to charge the manslaughter of Anthony Bland, the 96th casualty, as he died almost four years later.

“The law as it applied then provided that no person could be guilty of homicide where the death occurred more than a year and a day later than the date when the injuries were caused.”

The law, known as the Year and a Day Rule, was changed in 1996 but cannot apply retrospectively to Mr Bland’s case.

However, the CPS said that it will be applying to the High Court to allow the case to proceed. The 18-year-old survived the initial crush at the Leppings Lane end but suffered severe brain damage and was left in a persistent vegetative state.

In 1992 doctors, with the support of Anthony’s parents, Allan and Barbara, applied for a court order to allow him to “die with dignity”, after medical experts agreed there was no hope of any improvement or recovery.

As a result, Mr Bland became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed by the courts to die through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment, including food and water.