Parents of Hillsborough Victims Launch New Campaign to Correct Official Records
The parents of two teenage sisters killed in the Hillsborough disaster are launching a new campaign to correct official court records that inaccurately describe their daughters' final moments. Jenni and Trevor Hicks are spearheading this effort to ensure the legal system acknowledges the prolonged suffering their children endured.
The Tragic Events of April 15, 1989
Teenage sisters Victoria, aged 15, and Sarah Hicks, aged 19, were among the 97 Liverpool supporters unlawfully killed at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989. The disaster occurred after police opened an exit gate to relieve crowding outside Sheffield Wednesday's stadium, failing to divert fans away from the tunnel leading to the central pens where the fatal crush happened.
Victoria was the only female child victim of the crush, with multiple witnesses reporting she was crying and in distress for some time. Her older sister Sarah was also spotted by numerous witnesses, visibly distressed about the fate of her younger sibling. Trevor Hicks has described travelling to hospital with Victoria while Sarah was still receiving emergency treatment on the pitch.
The Flawed "30-Second Rule"
Official court records currently state that the Hicks sisters lost consciousness within 30 seconds and died shortly afterward. This assumption - dubbed "the 30-second rule" - was used in post-disaster cases and presumed victims lost consciousness almost immediately, including in a 1990s test case brought by the Hicks family.
However, both the Hillsborough Independent Panel and subsequent inquests have found this suggestion to be fundamentally flawed. The evidence clearly shows that Sarah and Victoria Hicks suffered for approximately an agonising hour before their deaths, experiencing prolonged pain and suffering that the current legal record fails to acknowledge.
The Campaign for Truth and Dignity
Jenni and Trevor Hicks are now demanding the introduction of what they call a "Hicks Rule" - a mechanism to make it easier for people in similar circumstances to correct official legal records when later evidence proves earlier assumptions to be false.
"For more than three decades, the law has recorded something about our daughters that we now know simply isn't true," said Jenni Hicks. "This isn't about compensation. It's about truth. It's about dignity. And it's about acknowledging what Sarah and Vicki - and so many others - went through that devastating day."
South Yorkshire Police's Response
The record cannot be officially corrected without the consent of South Yorkshire Police, which the Hicks family says they have not received. South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lauren Poultney has stated that the force "will take the steps available to us to support the families," but this has infuriated the parents and their legal team.
They argue there is a "simple and straightforward" way for South Yorkshire Police to fix the records by agreeing to testify in open court - something the force has not done. Chief Constable Poultney acknowledged: "It is a source of tremendous regret that the serious errors and mistakes of South Yorkshire Police led to lives being lost and also enormous pain, suffering and distress."
Broader Implications for the Legal System
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, lead counsel for the Hicks family, emphasizes that this case raises issues extending far beyond Hillsborough. "This is about whether the legal system has the courage and the mechanisms to correct itself when later evidence proves earlier assumptions to be false," she stated.
"The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the fresh inquests are unequivocal. This was not a 'swift and sudden death' for Sarah and Victoria - far from it. For an agonising hour they suffered prolonged pain and suffering. And yet the formal legal record remains unchanged."
Parliamentary Event and Future Action
Jenni and Trevor Hicks will attend a parliamentary event on Monday alongside legal experts, peers, and MPs to review the situation and build support for their campaign. Their previous claim for damages against South Yorkshire Police was dismissed at multiple levels, culminating in rejection by the House of Lords.
Trevor Hicks expressed the family's determination: "The injustice here is not abstract. Because the courts accepted the police version of events, we were told our daughters didn't suffer. We were told the law could do nothing more for them. That was wrong then, and it's wrong now."
The campaign represents the latest chapter in the long struggle for justice by Hillsborough families, who continue to fight for accurate historical records and proper acknowledgment of what their loved ones endured during one of British football's darkest days.
