The Way the Trial of an Army Veteran Over Bloody Sunday Concluded in Not Guilty Verdict

January 30th, 1972 is remembered as arguably the deadliest – and consequential – days in multiple decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Within the community of the incident – the legacy of that fateful day are displayed on the structures and etched in collective memory.

A public gathering was conducted on a cold but bright day in Londonderry.

The march was challenging the practice of imprisonment without charges – detaining individuals without legal proceedings – which had been put in place in response to three years of violence.

Troops from the specialized division fatally wounded multiple civilians in the Bogside area – which was, and continues to be, a strongly Irish nationalist community.

One image became especially prominent.

Images showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, using a blood-stained fabric as he tried to shield a group carrying a young man, the injured teenager, who had been killed.

News camera operators documented extensive video on the day.

Documented accounts features Fr Daly explaining to a journalist that soldiers "just seemed to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "completely sure" that there was no provocation for the gunfire.

This account of what happened was disputed by the first inquiry.

The Widgery Tribunal concluded the Army had been attacked first.

In the peace process, the ruling party commissioned a new investigation, in response to advocacy by family members, who said the initial inquiry had been a whitewash.

In 2010, the conclusion by Lord Saville said that generally, the paratroopers had discharged weapons initially and that zero among the individuals had been armed.

The then head of state, the Prime Minister, expressed regret in the Parliament – saying deaths were "improper and unacceptable."

Law enforcement began to examine the matter.

An ex-soldier, referred to as the defendant, was brought to trial for murder.

Accusations were made regarding the fatalities of the first individual, in his twenties, and 26-year-old William McKinney.

The defendant was also accused of attempting to murder multiple individuals, additional persons, further individuals, another person, and an unidentified individual.

Remains a legal order maintaining the soldier's identity protection, which his attorneys have argued is required because he is at danger.

He told the examination that he had only fired at persons who were armed.

The statement was disputed in the official findings.

Evidence from the investigation was unable to be used straightforwardly as testimony in the legal proceedings.

In the dock, the defendant was screened from view with a blue curtain.

He made statements for the first time in court at a hearing in late 2024, to reply "not responsible" when the charges were put to him.

Relatives of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday journeyed from the city to the courthouse daily of the case.

John Kelly, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they were aware that hearing the proceedings would be difficult.

"I remember all details in my mind's eye," John said, as we visited the primary sites discussed in the trial – from Rossville Street, where Michael was fatally wounded, to the nearby Glenfada Park, where James Wray and another victim were killed.

"It returns me to where I was that day.

"I assisted with the victim and lay him in the vehicle.

"I relived each detail during the proceedings.

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