Prosecution of former soldiers for Troubles murders to be halted
The prosecutions of two former soldiers for Troubles murders, including two on Bloody Sunday, are to be halted.
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service has announced that the case against Soldier F for the murder of James Wray and William Mckinney on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972 will not proceed.
The prosecution of another veteran, Soldier B, for the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in Derry later in 1972, will also not proceed, the PPS said.
The discontinuation of the high-profile prosecutions comes after the PPS reviewed the cases in light of a recent court ruling that caused the collapse of another Troubles murder trial involving two military veterans.
The Crown cases against both Soldier F and Soldier B hinged on evidence of a similar nature to that which was ruled inadmissible in April’s trial of Soldier A and Soldier C for the 1972 murder of Official IRA leader Joe Mccann in Belfast.
Faced with the likelihood of that type of evidence being ruled inadmissible again in any future trial, the PPS has concluded that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of convicting either Soldier F or Soldier B.
The families of the victims in both cases were informed of the PPS decisions in private meetings in a Derry hotel on
Friday. Director of public prosecutions Stephen Herron said: “I recognise these decisions bring further pain to victims and bereaved families who have relentlessly sought justice for almost 50 years and have faced many setbacks.
“It is clear to see how these devastating events in 1972, in which the families involved lost an innocent loved one, caused an enduring pain which continues to weigh heavily.”
Solider F, an ex-paratrooper, was accused of murdering Mr Wray and Mr Mckinney on Bloody Sunday on January 30 1972, when troops opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Derry’s Bogside, killing 13 people.
He was also accused of the attempted murders of Patrick O’donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon and Michael Quinn. He faced a further supporting chargeoftheattemptedmurder of a person or persons.