How this Prosecution of an Army Veteran Regarding Bloody Sunday Concluded in Acquittal
Sunday 30 January 1972 remains arguably the most fatal – and significant – dates in thirty years of unrest in Northern Ireland.
In the streets where events unfolded – the memories of that fateful day are displayed on the buildings and etched in people's minds.
A civil rights march was held on a chilly yet clear day in Londonderry.
The march was opposing the practice of internment – imprisoning people without legal proceedings – which had been established following an extended period of conflict.
Troops from the specialized division fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the district – which was, and remains, a predominantly Irish nationalist population.
One image became notably iconic.
Pictures showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, waving a stained with blood cloth as he tried to shield a assembly carrying a young man, Jackie Duddy, who had been fatally wounded.
News camera operators recorded considerable film on the day.
Documented accounts includes the priest explaining to a media representative that troops "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "completely sure" that there was no justification for the gunfire.
That version of events wasn't accepted by the initial investigation.
The initial inquiry determined the Army had been fired upon initially.
In the resolution efforts, the administration established another inquiry, in response to advocacy by family members, who said the first investigation had been a whitewash.
During 2010, the report by Lord Saville said that on balance, the paratroopers had initiated shooting and that none of the victims had presented danger.
The contemporary head of state, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the House of Commons – stating deaths were "unjustified and unjustifiable."
Authorities started to look into the matter.
A military veteran, identified as the defendant, was charged for homicide.
Accusations were made concerning the fatalities of one victim, 22, and 26-year-old another victim.
The accused was also accused of attempting to murder several people, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn, and an unnamed civilian.
Remains a legal order preserving the soldier's privacy, which his legal team have argued is necessary because he is at threat.
He told the investigation that he had only fired at individuals who were carrying weapons.
This assertion was dismissed in the official findings.
Material from the inquiry would not be used immediately as proof in the legal proceedings.
In the dock, the veteran was hidden from public using a protective barrier.
He spoke for the initial occasion in the hearing at a proceeding in late 2024, to answer "innocent" when the accusations were read.
Relatives of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday journeyed from Derry to Belfast Crown Court every day of the case.
One relative, whose brother Michael was killed, said they always knew that listening to the proceedings would be painful.
"I remember everything in my recollection," John said, as we examined the key areas mentioned in the trial – from Rossville Street, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the adjacent the courtyard, where James Wray and William McKinney were fatally wounded.
"It reminds me to my position that day.
"I participated in moving Michael and put him in the vehicle.
"I relived each detail during the testimony.
"But even with enduring all that – it's still worthwhile for me."