A former senior police officer was yesterday cleared of killing fans who were crushed to death at Hillsborough football ground in Sheffield, England.
Former South Yorkshire police superintendent Mr Bernard Murray was found not guilty of two sample charges of manslaughter at the disaster in April 1989, when 96 fans died during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
The verdict on Mr Murray (58), of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, came after 21 hours and 26 minutes of deliberations by the jury of eight men and four women at Leeds Crown Court.
A verdict has not been returned on former chief supt David Duckenfield of Bournemouth, who faced the same charges of the manslaughter of John Anderson (62), and James Aspinall (18).
The case, a private prosecution brought by the Hillsborough Family Support Group, centred on the officers' failure to close a tunnel leading to pens three and four, where the victims died after exit gate C was opened to relieve pressure on the turnstiles and thousands of fans flooding into Sheffield Wednesday's ground.
The courtroom remained hushed as the foreman of the jury announced the two not guilty verdicts and the jury then retired to continue its deliberations on the charges against Mr Duckenfield.
Mr Murray held his head in his hands after the verdict was announced. He looked stunned as he left court with his solicitor.
His counsel, Mr Michael Harrison QC, had argued it was the situation which had led to football supporters being caged in pens that caused the deaths rather than the failures of the police.
The prosecution has claimed that neither of the officers had taken the "simple and obvious steps" of diverting fans from the tunnel which led to the already overcrowded pens.