{"id":99938,"date":"2025-10-23T20:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99938"},"modified":"2025-10-23T20:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:49:09","slug":"not-guilty-verdict-for-soldier-f-in-bloody-sunday-murder-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99938","title":{"rendered":"Not guilty verdict for Soldier F in Bloody Sunday murder trial"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 32 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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A former member of the Parachute Regiment has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday more than 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

That day 13 people were shot dead and at least 15 others injured on 30 January 1972 at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Derry.<\/p>\n

Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, faced charges of murdering James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five charges of attempted murder.<\/p>\n

The judge said members of the Parachute Regiment had shot unarmed civilians as they ran away, but the evidence against Soldier F had fallen well short of what is required for conviction.A former member of the Parachute Regiment has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday more than 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

That day 13 people were shot dead and at least 15 others injured on 30 January 1972 at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Derry.<\/p>\n

Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, faced charges of murdering James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five charges of attempted murder.<\/p>\n

The judge said members of the Parachute Regiment had shot unarmed civilians as they ran away, but the evidence against Soldier F had fallen well short of what is required for conviction.<\/p>\n

Judge Patrick Lynch told Belfast Crown Court that the members of the Parachute Regiment who had entered Glenfada Park North had \u201ctotally lost all sense of military discipline\u201d.<\/p>\n

They had, the judge said, shot \u201cunarmed civilians fleeing from them on the streets of a British city\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose responsible should hang their heads in shame,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The public gallery was filled with the friends and families of those who were killed and injured on Bloody Sunday, with many travelling from Derry early in the morning, as well as supporters of Soldier F.<\/p>\n

Speaking outside court Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was shot dead, said the families are filled \u201cwith incredible sense of pride\u201d, despite the verdict.<\/p>\n

Liam Wray, whose brother Jim was also killed, said it was a \u201ctough, sad and emotional\u201d day, adding that, while \u201cjustice had not been achieved\u201d, he \u201cappreciated the difficulties the judge faced in the case\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes you back to the horror of [Bloody Sunday]\u201d he said. \u201c[To] The wounds Jim had, the situation, the fear, the terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Not<\/figure>\n

A solicitor representing some of the Bloody Sunday families, Ciar\u00e1n Shiels, said Soldier F was \u201cthe most protected serial killer in British legal history\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has enjoyed every comfort that a victim should enjoy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Bloody Sunday relatives who travelled to Belfast for the verdict arrived back to Derry\u2019s Bogside on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

They held a short silence at the memorial near the spot where many of the victims were killed 53 years ago.<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland\u2019s veterans\u2019 commissioner David Johnstone said the trial had brought into focus the \u201cdeep pain\u201d events of 50 years ago still cause.<\/p>\n

He said the Bloody Sunday families and all families who lost relatives in the Troubles, \u201ccontinue to experience pain\u201d, adding \u201cwe should not forget that today\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking outside court, Paul Young, of the Northern Ireland Veterans\u2019 Movement, said soldiers who served in Northern Ireland with \u201chonour and courage\u201d had been \u201chounded\u201d, but added they would be \u201cheartened\u201d by the verdicts.<\/p>\n

\u2018Legal and evidential issues\u2019<\/h2>\n

The case had presented \u201ccomplex legal and evidential issues\u201d, according to the director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

Stephen Herron said those \u201cdifficulties have been recognised by the courts\u201d previously in regards to decisions over who to prosecute in regards Bloody Sunday.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cOur thoughts today are foremost with the Wray and McKinney families, those who were wounded, and the loved ones of all killed and injured on Bloody Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Not<\/figure>\n

First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill said it was \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d that the Bloody Sunday families faced a \u201ccontinued denial of justice\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than five decades, they have campaigned with dignity and resilience for justice for their loved ones, their deeply cherished sons and fathers, uncles and brothers,\u201d the Sinn F\u00e9in deputy leader said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI extend my full solidarity to the families and to the wider community of Derry who will be hurting today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foyle Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MP Colum Eastwood said it was a \u201cdifficult day\u201d for the Bloody Sunday families, but said they could \u201chold their heads up high\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely clear that those soldiers, including Soldier F, shot and killed people on Bloody Sunday,\u201d Eastwood said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were innocent people, no weapons, just on a civil rights march, mowed down by the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. That\u2019s what happened and that\u2019s absolutely clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cEverybody knows the victims were innocent and everybody knows where the guilt actually lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Not<\/figure>\n

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson welcomed the \u201ccommon sense judgement\u201d, but said the trial had been \u201ca painful and protracted process\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be a better way of dealing with the legacy of the past and to ensure no rewriting of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The government said it noted Thursday\u2019s judgement, adding the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had \u201cprovided legal and welfare support throughout\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to finding a way forward that acknowledges the past, whilst supporting those who served their country during an incredibly difficult period in Northern Ireland\u2019s history,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Who is Soldier F?<\/h2>\n

Soldier F is the only military veteran who has been prosecuted over the shootings.<\/p>\n

The five charges of attempted murder related to two teenagers at the time 16-year-old Joe Mahon and 17-year-old Michael Quinn as well as Joseph Friel, who was 20, and Patrick O\u2019Donnell, 41, and an unknown person.<\/p>\n

The case was heard by a judge sitting without a jury at Belfast Crown Court and lasted five weeks.<\/p>\n

To protect his identity, Soldier F was screened from public view and his name not disclosed, as a result of a court order.<\/p>\n

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019.<\/p>\n

He was one of 18 former soldiers reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation, which followed the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Saville.<\/p>\n

But he was the only one charged.<\/p>\n

Two years later, the PPS\u00a0dropped the case\u00a0after the collapse of the trial of two other veterans who had been accused of a 1972 murder in Belfast.<\/p>\n

But the\u00a0prosecution resumed in 2022\u00a0after a legal challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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