The Way the Trial of a Former Soldier Over Bloody Sunday Ended in Case Dismissal

January 30th, 1972 remains one of the most deadly – and significant – occasions throughout multiple decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Throughout the area where it happened – the images of the tragic events are displayed on the walls and etched in collective memory.

A public gathering was organized on a wintry, sunny period in Derry.

The demonstration was challenging the policy of detention without trial – detaining individuals without legal proceedings – which had been implemented after multiple years of violence.

Soldiers from the elite army unit shot dead 13 people in the neighborhood – which was, and remains, a predominantly republican community.

A specific visual became particularly prominent.

Photographs showed a Catholic priest, the priest, displaying a blood-stained white handkerchief as he tried to shield a group transporting a youth, the injured teenager, who had been fatally wounded.

News camera operators recorded considerable film on the day.

The archive includes Fr Daly explaining to a journalist that soldiers "gave the impression they would shoot indiscriminately" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no provocation for the discharge of weapons.

This account of events wasn't accepted by the first inquiry.

The Widgery Tribunal found the Army had been shot at first.

During the resolution efforts, the ruling party established a new investigation, after campaigning by bereaved relatives, who said the first investigation had been a cover-up.

That year, the report by the inquiry said that overall, the paratroopers had initiated shooting and that zero among the victims had been armed.

The then government leader, David Cameron, apologised in the government chamber – declaring killings were "improper and unacceptable."

The police commenced look into the matter.

One former paratrooper, known as Soldier F, was brought to trial for homicide.

Indictments were filed over the fatalities of one victim, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old William McKinney.

The accused was also accused of trying to kill multiple individuals, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, an additional individual, and an unnamed civilian.

There is a judicial decision preserving the veteran's anonymity, which his legal team have maintained is required because he is at risk of attack.

He told the Saville Inquiry that he had solely shot at persons who were armed.

The statement was dismissed in the concluding document.

Material from the investigation would not be used straightforwardly as testimony in the court case.

During the trial, the accused was screened from view with a blue curtain.

He spoke for the first time in the hearing at a hearing in December 2024, to respond "innocent" when the allegations were presented.

Family members of those who were killed on that day made the trip from Londonderry to Belfast Crown Court daily of the proceedings.

One relative, whose relative was died, said they understood that hearing the case would be emotional.

"I visualize the events in my memory," he said, as we visited the key areas mentioned in the proceedings – from the location, where the victim was killed, to the adjoining the area, where James Wray and the second person were killed.

"It even takes me back to my position that day.

"I helped to carry Michael and place him in the vehicle.

"I relived each detail during the testimony.

"But even with experiencing everything – it's still valuable for me."