“Justice delayed is justice denied” – Soldier F found not guilty of Bloody Sunday murders

A British army veteran accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney on Bloody Sunday in 1972 has been found not guilty. He was also accused of the attempted murder of five others – Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Patrick O’Donnell, Michael Quinn and a person of unknown identity. The killings were part of a massacre perpetrated by British troops in Derry on 30 January 1972, in which 14 people were killed, and at least 15 injured.

In the verdict for the non-jury trial, Judge Patrick Lynch outlined his reasons for acquittal:

Whatever suspicions the court may have about the role of F, this court is constrained and limited by the evidence properly presented before it. To convict it has to be upon evidence that is convincing and manifestly reliable.

The evidence presented by the Crown falls well short of this standard and signally fails to reach the high standard of proof required in a criminal case; that of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, I find the accused not guilty on all seven counts on the present bill of indictment.

He had dismissed the evidence of two other soldiers present on the day, who had described seeing Soldier F fire his rifle:

The two witnesses are themselves, on the basis of the Crown case guilty of murder as, in essence, accomplices with a motivation to name F as a participant in their murderous activities.

I find that they have been serially untruthful about matters central to events giving rise to this prosecution. They have committed perjury, G once to the Widgery Inquiry and H twice to the Widgery and Saville Inquiries.

Ex-paratroopers dodged scrutiny by refusing to testify

Their evidence was regarded by the judge as the “sole and decisive” evidence put before the court, despite numerous other witnesses coming forward to give their accounts of what they saw that day. Those present had described widespread shooting of innocent civilians by the British army. Soldier G is deceased, and Soldier H refused to testify. Under British law, potential trial participants are allowed to exempt themselves from proceedings requiring them to provide information that may result in self-incrimination.

Soldier F had also refused to provide evidence, giving a self-contradictory statement that expressed certainty about his rectitude on the day, despite his imperfect recall of events:

While I am sure I properly discharged my duties as a soldier on that day, I no longer have any reliable recollection of those events. I am not therefore able to answer your questions and will not be drawn into speculating or guessing. For that reason, I will not be answering any questions put to me.

Outside court, Mickey McKinney, brother of William McKinney, said:

Soldier F has been discharged from the defendant’s criminal dock, but it is one million miles away from being an honourable discharge.

He continued:

Despite the heroism, steadfastness and dignity of the Bloody Sunday Families and Wounded, a coward walks free from the dock. Not through the front door of this courthouse like every other vindicated, wrongly accused defendant proudly does, but instead, once his curtain has been pulled back for him, creeping out the back door.

The type of thug who is well used to special treatment, well used to having important and powerful connections, with his police escort in tow, back over to hide in Palace Barracks where all this began.

The judge had permitted the former paratrooper to remain anonymous, covered by a screen in court and only visible to the judge. He had claimed to be at risk of assassination by dissident republicans were his identity to be revealed.

50 year trial delay “seriously hampered” the pursuit of justice

Sinn Féin Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle Pádraig Delargy said:

Today’s decision is deeply disappointing for the Bloody Sunday families and the people of Derry. It represents one of the most extreme examples of ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ in our history.

The enormous delay in bringing the murders to court clearly had a huge bearing on the outcome. The judge acknowledged that, particularly in relation to Soldier G and H, the delay had:

…seriously hampered the capacity of the defence to test the veracity and accuracy of the hearsay statements.

The fight for justice has been delayed by the initial Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) cover-up, where insufficient forensic evidence was collected and a reliance was made on false statements by soldiers.

Their work was used as part of the Widgery Inquiry, a whitewash of the 1972 Derry massacre, which accepted the military and police version of events. It closed the door on further investigations until the families’ campaigning prompted the Saville Inquiry which concluded in 2010. It vindicated the accounts of family members and those there on the day, who said the British army deliberately shot unarmed civilians. That verdict and subsequent apology from the British government opened the door for potential prosecutions, though the 15 years since the latter inquiry has clearly impeded justice.

Mickey McKinney said the bereaved families do not blame the judge. Instead, he said:

The blame lies firmly with the British state, with the RUC who failed to investigate the murders on Bloody Sunday properly or indeed at all.

Tone deaf veterans and politicians show disdain for bereaved outside court

Paul Young of the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement gave an insensitive and triumphalist statement in front of the victims’ families, saying:

Veterans across the whole of the uk that served in Northern Ireland with honour and courage will be heartened by this verdict today.

As he was jeered by those whose loved ones were killed, he said:

You can hear the barracking that I’m getting from people behind me. That shows the good grace they do not have.

He went on to describe soldiers as being “hounded” by those seeking justice. Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) continued the theme, saying:

The acquittal of Soldier F is most welcome, but raises the fundamental question of why this veteran was put through the ordeal of the last few years, given the self evident inadequacy of the ’evidence’.

He too, couldn’t resist a snide remark towards the bereaved:

It is probably too much to ask, but all, including those who have agitated for years on this matter, should now accept the verdict of Not Guilty in respect of Soldier F and allow him to live in peace.

The current British government construction of a new framework for dealing with legacy cases from The Troubles may ensure that other military personnel are capable of evading justice. A “national security veto” will enable the suppression of information deemed too sensitive to release. National security legislation is typically wielded very broadly, so such a move will likely leave many secrets unearthed. That, combined with the ever advancing time from when atrocities occurred, may mean that there are many more like the McKinneys and Wrays who fail to see justice.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Channel 4 News