 The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, explained that the crime would be murder if the death was a "natural consequence" of the miners' actions, but the legal phrase "natural consequence" was potentially misleading without further explanation.The appeal verdict of guilty to manslaughter was upheld in the House of Lords, in the case "R v Hancock".Hancock and Shankland were released on 30 November 1989, which was coincidentally the fifth anniversary of Wilkie's death.