Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I want to ask the soldier who shot my brother.. Why?
Sister on Bloody Sunday prosecutions
THE sister of a teenager shot as he crawled away from soldiers on Bloody Sunday has said she would like to meet his killer.
Kevin Mcelhinney was 17 when he was shot dead during a civil rights march in Derry in 1972.
After learning no Paratroopers will be prosecuted over his death, Jean Hegarty, 70, said she would ask his killer why he did it.
She added: “I would love to know what was going through his mind when he pulled that trigger. What motivation he had to do that.
“I mean, if the opportunity presented itself I think I would take it and ask those questions.”
Ms Hegarty was among the relatives of the 13 killed, who were informed that just one of 17 soldiers would be charged for his involvement in Bloody Sunday.
She said while she was upset for those who were not informed of a charge in their relatives’ cases, she was happy for those who got “good news”.
Soldier F will face a trial for the murders of James Wray and William Mckinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’donnell.
Ms Hegarty said she needed to immediately approach some of the victims’ families “to assure them they had our complete support” after they were briefed by prosecutors in Derry on Thursday.
She added: “There’s a feeling of unity that would transcend personal feelings [of disappointment].”
In 1972 while returning from her then home in Canada, Ms Hegarty said she had wanted to kill the soldier responsible for shooting her brother.
But seeing her father, a “beaten” man, at his son’s funeral quickly removed her desire for revenge.
Asked if she believes the soldier concerned with her brother’s death has remorse, she said: “I would hope so.”
Ms Hegarty will discuss with her other siblings what their next steps are, including whether they can and want to challenge the nonprosecution decision.
Solicitors for another family have sent a letter to the Attorney General claiming Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson may have jeopardised the chances of a fair trial for soldier F.
Lawyers for the relatives of William Nash, whose death no soldier is to be charged over, have taken issue with the comments made by the Tory after the announcement, in which he referred to safeguards to ensure members of the armed forces “are not unfairly treated”. Meanwhile, the Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans group has denied reports a rally is being planned in Derry to protest against the decision to charge soldier F.