How this Legal Case of an Army Veteran Regarding the 1972 Londonderry Incident Ended in Not Guilty Verdict
Sunday 30 January 1972 is remembered as among the deadliest – and significant – occasions in multiple decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
In the streets of the incident – the memories of Bloody Sunday are displayed on the structures and embedded in collective memory.
A civil rights march was held on a chilly yet clear day in the city.
The protest was a protest against the system of imprisonment without charges – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been established in response to an extended period of unrest.
Troops from the specialized division shot dead thirteen individuals in the Bogside area – which was, and continues to be, a predominantly republican community.
One image became notably iconic.
Pictures showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, displaying a bloodied white handkerchief while attempting to defend a assembly moving a young man, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.
News camera operators documented much footage on the day.
Documented accounts features Fr Daly telling a reporter that soldiers "appeared to shoot indiscriminately" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no reason for the discharge of weapons.
That version of what happened was rejected by the original examination.
The first investigation found the military had been attacked first.
In the peace process, Tony Blair's government commissioned another inquiry, following pressure by family members, who said the first investigation had been a whitewash.
That year, the conclusion by the investigation said that on balance, the paratroopers had initiated shooting and that none of the victims had been armed.
The then head of state, the leader, apologised in the Parliament – saying killings were "unjustified and unjustifiable."
The police commenced look into the matter.
A military veteran, referred to as Soldier F, was prosecuted for homicide.
He was charged regarding the fatalities of one victim, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties William McKinney.
The defendant was also accused of attempting to murder multiple individuals, Joseph Friel, more people, another person, and an unnamed civilian.
Exists a court ruling preserving the soldier's privacy, which his attorneys have maintained is essential because he is at threat.
He testified the investigation that he had solely shot at persons who were carrying weapons.
That claim was dismissed in the final report.
Information from the inquiry could not be used straightforwardly as evidence in the criminal process.
In the dock, the veteran was shielded from sight using a privacy screen.
He spoke for the first time in the proceedings at a hearing in that month, to answer "innocent" when the allegations were read.
Relatives of the deceased on that day travelled from the city to Belfast Crown Court daily of the trial.
John Kelly, whose sibling was died, said they understood that listening to the proceedings would be difficult.
"I can see the events in my memory," the relative said, as we walked around the main locations mentioned in the case – from the location, where Michael was shot dead, to the adjoining Glenfada Park, where James Wray and William McKinney were fatally wounded.
"It even takes me back to where I was that day.
"I participated in moving the victim and place him in the medical transport.
"I relived each detail during the evidence.
"Despite experiencing everything – it's still worthwhile for me."