The Way the Prosecution of a Former Soldier Over Bloody Sunday Concluded in Acquittal
Sunday 30 January 1972 remains one of the most fatal – and consequential – dates during three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.
Within the community where it happened – the memories of Bloody Sunday are displayed on the walls and seared in people's minds.
A protest demonstration was held on a chilly yet clear period in Londonderry.
The demonstration was a protest against the system of detention without trial – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been established in response to an extended period of unrest.
Soldiers from the specialized division killed 13 people in the Bogside area – which was, and still is, a predominantly republican area.
A specific visual became especially prominent.
Images showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, waving a stained with blood fabric in his effort to defend a crowd carrying a teenager, the injured teenager, who had been killed.
News camera operators recorded considerable film on the day.
Documented accounts includes Father Daly telling a reporter that troops "appeared to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "completely sure" that there was no justification for the shooting.
This account of events was disputed by the first inquiry.
The first investigation concluded the military had been shot at first.
In the peace process, Tony Blair's government commissioned a new investigation, following pressure by surviving kin, who said Widgery had been a cover-up.
In 2010, the report by the investigation said that overall, the soldiers had fired first and that zero among the casualties had been armed.
The contemporary head of state, the leader, expressed regret in the government chamber – saying killings were "unjustified and unjustifiable."
The police commenced investigate the matter.
One former paratrooper, known as the accused, was charged for homicide.
Indictments were filed over the fatalities of James Wray, 22, and twenty-six-year-old another victim.
The accused was further implicated of attempting to murder multiple individuals, other civilians, further individuals, Michael Quinn, and an unidentified individual.
There is a judicial decision preserving the veteran's privacy, which his lawyers have claimed is essential because he is at danger.
He stated to the examination that he had only fired at individuals who were armed.
The statement was dismissed in the final report.
Material from the examination could not be used directly as testimony in the criminal process.
In court, the veteran was screened from view with a privacy screen.
He spoke for the initial occasion in the hearing at a proceeding in December 2024, to reply "not guilty" when the accusations were presented.
Kin of the deceased on Bloody Sunday travelled from the city to the judicial building each day of the case.
One relative, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they were aware that attending the trial would be painful.
"I can see everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the key areas mentioned in the proceedings – from Rossville Street, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the nearby the courtyard, where the individual and William McKinney were fatally wounded.
"It even takes me back to where I was that day.
"I helped to carry my brother and lay him in the vehicle.
"I went through every moment during the testimony.
"Notwithstanding having to go through the process – it's still worthwhile for me."
