How this Prosecution of a Former Soldier Regarding the 1972 Londonderry Incident Concluded in Acquittal

Sunday 30 January 1972 is remembered as one of the most fatal – and significant – days during three decades of unrest in the region.

Throughout the area where events unfolded – the memories of Bloody Sunday are visible on the structures and embedded in public consciousness.

A civil rights march was organized on a chilly yet clear day in Londonderry.

The protest was opposing the practice of internment – detaining individuals without trial – which had been established following three years of conflict.

Troops from the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 people in the neighborhood – which was, and still is, a strongly Irish nationalist area.

A specific visual became notably iconic.

Pictures showed a clergyman, the priest, waving a bloodied white handkerchief as he tried to protect a group carrying a teenager, the fatally wounded individual, who had been killed.

Media personnel captured much footage on the day.

The archive features Fr Daly explaining to a reporter that troops "appeared to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no justification for the gunfire.

The narrative of the incident was disputed by the first inquiry.

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

During the resolution efforts, Tony Blair's government established a fresh examination, after campaigning by family members, who said the first investigation had been a inadequate investigation.

In 2010, the report by the inquiry said that on balance, the soldiers had initiated shooting and that none of the casualties had been armed.

The then government leader, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the Parliament – saying deaths were "unjustified and unacceptable."

Authorities started to examine the incident.

One former paratrooper, known as the accused, was brought to trial for killing.

Indictments were filed over the killings of one victim, 22, and in his mid-twenties the second individual.

Soldier F was further implicated of attempting to murder Patrick O'Donnell, additional persons, further individuals, Michael Quinn, and an unknown person.

Exists a legal order maintaining the defendant's anonymity, which his lawyers have maintained is essential because he is at risk of attack.

He told the examination that he had solely shot at individuals who were carrying weapons.

The statement was disputed in the concluding document.

Information from the inquiry could not be used straightforwardly as testimony in the criminal process.

During the trial, the defendant was shielded from sight with a protective barrier.

He spoke for the opening instance in the hearing at a proceeding in December 2024, to answer "not guilty" when the accusations were presented.

Family members of those who were killed on Bloody Sunday travelled from the city to Belfast Crown Court daily of the case.

John Kelly, whose sibling was died, said they were aware that attending the case would be painful.

"I can see all details in my mind's eye," he said, as we visited the main locations referenced in the trial – from Rossville Street, where his brother was killed, to the adjacent the area, where the individual and another victim were fatally wounded.

"It reminds me to where I was that day.

"I helped to carry the victim and put him in the vehicle.

"I went through every moment during the evidence.

"Notwithstanding experiencing all that – it's still valuable for me."