How this Prosecution of an Army Veteran Regarding Bloody Sunday Concluded in Acquittal
Sunday 30 January 1972 remains one of the most fatal – and momentous – occasions during multiple decades of unrest in the region.
Throughout the area where it happened – the memories of the tragic events are displayed on the walls and embedded in collective memory.
A public gathering was conducted on a chilly yet clear period in Derry.
The march was opposing the practice of detention without trial – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been established following multiple years of violence.
Troops from the specialized division shot dead 13 people in the district – which was, and remains, a strongly republican population.
A particular photograph became particularly iconic.
Photographs showed a clergyman, Father Daly, waving a stained with blood white handkerchief in his effort to shield a group transporting a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been mortally injured.
News camera operators captured much footage on the day.
The archive features Father Daly explaining to a journalist that soldiers "gave the impression they would discharge weapons randomly" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no justification for the gunfire.
This account of what happened wasn't accepted by the initial investigation.
The Widgery Tribunal found the soldiers had been fired upon initially.
During the negotiation period, the administration established another inquiry, following pressure by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a inadequate investigation.
That year, the report by Lord Saville said that on balance, the soldiers had fired first and that not one of the individuals had presented danger.
The then government leader, David Cameron, expressed regret in the Parliament – saying deaths were "without justification and unacceptable."
Authorities began to examine the incident.
One former paratrooper, known as the defendant, was prosecuted for murder.
Accusations were made over the deaths of James Wray, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties another victim.
The accused was also accused of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, an additional individual, and an unnamed civilian.
Exists a judicial decision preserving the soldier's identity protection, which his lawyers have maintained is necessary because he is at risk of attack.
He stated to the examination that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at persons who were armed.
That claim was disputed in the concluding document.
Evidence from the examination would not be used directly as testimony in the legal proceedings.
In the dock, the defendant was screened from view with a privacy screen.
He made statements for the initial occasion in court at a proceeding in that month, to answer "innocent" when the accusations were presented.
Kin of the victims on Bloody Sunday journeyed from Londonderry to Belfast Crown Court daily of the proceedings.
A family member, whose brother Michael was died, said they understood that attending the case would be difficult.
"I can see everything in my recollection," John said, as we walked around the primary sites mentioned in the case – from Rossville Street, where his brother was shot dead, to the nearby the area, where James Wray and the second person were killed.
"It reminds me to where I was that day.
"I helped to carry my brother and place him in the ambulance.
"I went through the entire event during the testimony.
"But even with experiencing all that – it's still worthwhile for me."