A year has passed since the death of the American hockey player Adam Johnsonwhose neck was fatally cut by an opponent’s skate during a game in Sheffield, England.

A man remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Thousands of fans witnessed the horrific collision last October 28, and there is video of it, but authorities have not announced a decision on whether to press charges.

There could be a variety of explanations, from delays in digital forensics to weighing the potential difficulty of proving crime for “on the ball” incidents like this.

What happened?

Johnson and the Nottingham Panthers were playing the Sheffield Steelers in the Cup competition of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The Steelers led 2-1 in the second period. Johnson, a forward who played briefly for the Pittsburgh Penguins, skated the puck into Sheffield’s defensive zone. As he pivoted to move inside, Steelers linebacker Matt Petgrave skated toward him. Petgrave had another Panthers player in front of him and he appears to have made contact. Then Petgrave’s left skate lifts as the defender begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.

Johnson, a 29-year-old Minnesota native, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Panthers had described him as a ” freak accident.” On November 14, South Yorkshire Police arrested a man but did not release his name or age. The man was released on bail the next day and was ” delibareted ” several times — a formality while the investigation continues. In the British system, an arrest signals the start of an investigation – a decision on charges will come later.

Long investigation?

Police are trying to establish the “state of mind” of the defendants. In addition to conducting interviews, that likely means examining phones or computers — and that takes a lot of time, even when defendants give passwords, which they’re not required to do.

“There are massive delays in the UK criminal justice system. Cases take a long time to prosecute,” criminal defense attorney Quentin Hunt told The Associated Press.

A report published less than two years ago said there was a stock of 25,000 devices waiting to be reviewed.

“My cases are regularly delayed for up to a year because of delays in the digital scans of the devices coming back,” Hunt said. “It is notorious in the British justice system why cases take longer to reach a charging decision. “

Difficult decisions

Lawyers point to a 2004 court decision which overturned the “grievous bodily harm” conviction of an amateur soccer player who seriously injured an opponent with a tackle on the ball. It said prosecution should be reserved for behavior that is “sufficiently serious”.

In deciding whether conduct meets the criminal threshold, “regard must be had to the fact that, in highly competitive sports, conduct outside the rules can be expected to occur in the heat of the moment,” the ruling added. “The type of sport, the level at which it is played, the nature of the act, the degree of force used, the degree of risk of injury, the state of mind of the defendant are all likely to be relevant in determining whether the defendant’s actions exceed the threshold.”

Criminal actions were more common in “off the ball” scenarios such as punching, biting or headbutting.

A “on the ball” case involving a partially paralyzed rugby player was dealt with in the civil court. Natasha King was not criminally charged despite dropping her body weight on Dani Czernuszka-Watts, who was in a vulnerable position as she was about to pick up the ball in a 2017 match.

Czernuszka-Watts won the civil case in which a former referee testified after watching a video of the game that in 60 years of rugby he had “never witnessed such a reckless incident”. The civil court judge found that King had acted out of revenge accrued earlier in the match.

“Against these hallmarks, the fact that the incident would likely be considered ‘on the ball’ could have spared the injured player from concurrent prosecution,” attorney Henry Goldschmidt wrote in his brief. analysis of criminal responsibility in sport.

Petgrave’s collision with Johnson was clearly “on the ball” as Johnson had the puck on his stick.

An incident in a hockey game in December 1995 led to a charge of grievous bodily harm against Nicky Chinn, who played for the Steelers and was accused of intentionally using his stick to injure an opponent’s eye. A jury found him not guilty.

Potential charge

The case is probably one involuntary manslaughter investigation in which “there must be an unlawful act or negligence,” Hunt said, but prosecutors would not have to prove intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

Grossly negligent homicide is still involuntary, but more complicated: “You owe a duty of care to someone else and you have negligent conduct that results in death because of your negligence,” Hunt added.

Voluntary manslaughter is more like a charge of murder with clear intent to kill. The fact that Johnson was not wearing a neck guard could prove legally significant.

“Given that it’s not up to him (the arrested man) whether the other player was wearing a neck guard or not, then I imagine it will be quite difficult for the prosecution to prove to the necessary standard that he should be prosecuted Hunt said.

A week before he was arrested, South Yorkshire Coroner Tanyka Rawden issued a ” Preventing future deaths ” report urging that neck protection be mandatory for all hockey players.

“In due course the inquest will consider whether the use of a neck guard or protector could have prevented Mr Johnson’s death. However, at this stage of my investigation, I am sufficiently concerned that future deaths may occur if neck guards or protective gear are not worn,” Rawden wrote.

The coroner’s inquest was suspended in January, a procedural move because the police investigation was ongoing.

It existed player protection debate. Britain’s top league made neck protection mandatory last January 1, two months after Johnson’s death.

now what?

The next key date is November 11, when the man who was arrested is due to be released on bail again. Petgrave, a 32-year-old Canadian, has not made any public statement and his agent declined to comment. Police also declined to comment.

Teams around the league have begun to recognize the one-year mark by holding 47 seconds of applause before this weekend’s games.

The Panthers plan to hold a jersey retirement ceremony for Johnson’s No. 47 on Dec. 14.