How this Prosecution of an Army Veteran Over Bloody Sunday Concluded in Case Dismissal
January 30th, 1972 is remembered as one of the deadliest – and significant – days during multiple decades of violence in the region.
Within the community where events unfolded – the memories of that fateful day are painted on the buildings and seared in collective memory.
A protest demonstration was held on a wintry, sunny period in Derry.
The protest was a protest against the practice of detention without trial – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been implemented in response to multiple years of unrest.
Troops from the specialized division killed multiple civilians in the Bogside area – which was, and continues to be, a strongly republican population.
A particular photograph became notably prominent.
Images showed a clergyman, Father Daly, using a blood-stained cloth as he tried to shield a group carrying a youth, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.
News camera operators recorded considerable film on the day.
The archive includes Father Daly informing a media representative that troops "gave the impression they would shoot indiscriminately" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no reason for the gunfire.
That version of events was disputed by the initial investigation.
The initial inquiry concluded the Army had been fired upon initially.
In the peace process, the ruling party established a fresh examination, after campaigning by bereaved relatives, who said the initial inquiry had been a whitewash.
In 2010, the findings by the inquiry said that generally, the soldiers had fired first and that none of the casualties had presented danger.
The then Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the Parliament – stating deaths were "improper and unacceptable."
Law enforcement commenced investigate the matter.
An ex-soldier, referred to as Soldier F, was prosecuted for killing.
Accusations were made concerning the fatalities of one victim, 22, and twenty-six-year-old the second individual.
The accused was also accused of attempting to murder multiple individuals, other civilians, further individuals, Michael Quinn, and an unidentified individual.
Remains a court ruling preserving the soldier's identity protection, which his legal team have argued is essential because he is at threat.
He told the examination that he had only fired at people who were possessing firearms.
That claim was rejected in the final report.
Material from the inquiry could not be used straightforwardly as evidence in the criminal process.
In the dock, the defendant was hidden from public using a privacy screen.
He made statements for the first time in court at a hearing in that month, to reply "innocent" when the allegations were presented.
Relatives of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday travelled from Derry to Belfast Crown Court every day of the proceedings.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed, said they understood that attending the proceedings would be emotional.
"I can see everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we visited the main locations discussed in the trial – from Rossville Street, where his brother was killed, to the nearby the area, where the individual and the second person were killed.
"It even takes me back to my position that day.
"I assisted with Michael and put him in the ambulance.
"I experienced again every moment during the evidence.
"Notwithstanding having to go through all that – it's still meaningful for me."