How this Prosecution of an Army Veteran Over Bloody Sunday Concluded in Not Guilty Verdict
Sunday 30 January 1972 is remembered as among the most fatal – and consequential – occasions throughout multiple decades of violence in the region.
In the streets where it happened – the memories of Bloody Sunday are visible on the walls and etched in people's minds.
A protest demonstration was organized on a cold but bright afternoon in Londonderry.
The protest was a protest against the policy of internment – detaining individuals without due process – which had been established in response to multiple years of violence.
Soldiers from the specialized division killed thirteen individuals in the district – which was, and continues to be, a predominantly Irish nationalist area.
A specific visual became particularly prominent.
Images showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, waving a stained with blood cloth in his effort to defend a group carrying a young man, the fatally wounded individual, who had been fatally wounded.
Journalists recorded considerable film on the day.
The archive includes Fr Daly explaining to a journalist that military personnel "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no justification for the gunfire.
This account of what happened was rejected by the initial investigation.
The Widgery Tribunal found the soldiers had been attacked first.
During the negotiation period, Tony Blair's government established a fresh examination, in response to advocacy by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a whitewash.
That year, the conclusion by Lord Saville said that overall, the military personnel had fired first and that none of the casualties had been armed.
At that time head of state, David Cameron, issued an apology in the Parliament – declaring killings were "without justification and unacceptable."
The police started to examine the incident.
An ex-soldier, identified as the defendant, was brought to trial for homicide.
He was charged regarding the fatalities of James Wray, in his twenties, and in his mid-twenties William McKinney.
The defendant was additionally charged of attempting to murder several people, other civilians, more people, an additional individual, and an unknown person.
Remains a court ruling protecting the veteran's identity protection, which his lawyers have argued is necessary because he is at threat.
He told the investigation that he had solely shot at people who were possessing firearms.
The statement was rejected in the final report.
Material from the inquiry would not be used straightforwardly as proof in the criminal process.
During the trial, the accused was hidden from public using a protective barrier.
He spoke for the opening instance in the proceedings at a session in December 2024, to reply "not guilty" when the charges were read.
Relatives of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday travelled from the city to the courthouse each day of the trial.
A family member, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they understood that attending the trial would be emotional.
"I remember all details in my mind's eye," John said, as we visited the main locations mentioned in the trial – from the street, where the victim was shot dead, to the adjacent Glenfada Park, where James Wray and the second person were killed.
"It reminds me to my location that day.
"I assisted with my brother and place him in the medical transport.
"I went through every moment during the proceedings.
"Notwithstanding having to go through everything – it's still valuable for me."