Word: verdict
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...unlawful killing verdict - essentially a verdict of manslaughter - was the most serious of the five available to the jury. Before Baker sent the jury out to deliberate on April 2, he laid out these options for them: 1) Unlawful killing: grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles [the paparazzi] 2) Unlawful killing: grossly negligent driving of the Mercedes [by Henri Paul, who also died in the crash] 3) Unlawful killing: grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes 4) Accidental death 5) Open verdict [none of the above...
...kill the two lovers. Baker explained throughout the entire inquest that he had not seen "a shred of evidence" to prove that the Duke of Edinburgh or the British intelligence service were behind the crash, so he was legally obliged not to offer "staged accident" as a possible verdict. But even with murder off the table, the panel decided to assign responsiblity for the death...
...their verdict, nine of the jurors agreed that "the crash was caused or contributed to by the speed and manner of driving of the Mercedes, the speed and manner of driving of the following vehicles [and] the impairment of the judgment of the driver of the Mercedes through alcohol." And all eleven believed that the fact that Diana and Dodi weren't wearing seat belts and that the Mercedes hit a pillar in the Pont d'Alma tunnel, instead of a larger surface that might have lessened the impact, were major factors in the deaths. Just as Baker directed...
...what now? Well, not much. While the coroner recognized that "unlawful killing is a form of the very serious crime of manslaughter," the inquest is not a criminal trial. The verdict can't be used to launch a criminal investigation or prompt the pressing of charges against any of the paparazzi who are still alive. (Even if it could, Britain's Crown Prosecution can't prosecute foreign nationals for crimes committed abroad, and all of the paparazzi involved are foreigners...
...fact that murder was never an option to the jury is a blow to Mohamed Al Fayed, who at the start of the inquest said he would accept the jury's verdict, whatever it was. In a statement read on his behalf immediately after the verdict was delivered, he said he was "disappointed," and that "The French and [British] inquiries were wrong and these inquests prove it." Taking a jab at the coroner, he criticized Baker's "accusations against me," adding "I feel that my character and beliefs... have been on trial." He remains convinced of conspiracy...