But now the news is that his manager, as well as the manager of the Casa Sur hotel and its head of reception, have been charged with negligent homicide and could face up to five years in prison. So apparently, this is their fault? A couple of other individuals have also been charged with supplying drugs and could be jailed for up to 15 years. That may be a different matter, but charging the hotel manager is madness. According to the judge, the manager was reckless in facilitating Liam’s transfer to his room by taking him there. This was after he was allegedly off his face and had apparently fainted in the lobby.  

Also, ask yourself: if it weren’t for Liam’s fame and the global coverage of his tragic death, would any of this be happening?  

And what does it mean for any other person who encounters someone who's off their face on drugs and barely conscious? How often would that scenario be encountered by people in hospitality every day? Hindsight is great, but it’s not hard to understand how the hotel manager would think, “Look, let’s just take this guy up to his room to sleep it off.” Yet now that same hotel manager is facing charges for not having a crystal ball.  

What stands out here is the absurdity of charging those who were in closest proximity to Liam at the time of his death. Why should they pay the price when others who played much larger roles in either ignoring his problems or directly contributing to them seem to escape accountability?  

Yes, I can imagine circumstances where people might BE responsible for such a tragedy, but I don’t think this is it. If they’re responsible, then why not go a little further back and blame those who introduced him to alcohol – or the band management who put One Direction on such a gruelling performance schedule for which there is well-documented evidence for of how demanding and exhausting their tours were. Why not blame those who introduced him to drugs or didn’t look after him in his early days? Or those who didn’t give him the right sort of care when he was stuck in hotel rooms on tour, lonely, and turning to the minibar or other substances for comfort?  

What about the culpability of those closest to him, who surely knew the problems he was facing? Should we be charging them? Well, of course not – that would be obscene. Because the bit that is also missing in this story is the question of personal responsibility, which seems entirely absent while people search for answers. Everyone but Liam is being blamed for his demise. You can imagine if someone was actively encouraging him to do dangerous things while he was out of it, then maybe they would be culpable. But putting someone in their hotel room to sleep it off is hardly a case for charging them with manslaughter.