The Way this Trial of an Army Veteran Regarding the 1972 Londonderry Incident Ended in Acquittal

Sunday 30 January 1972 stands as among the most deadly – and significant – days in thirty years of unrest in Northern Ireland.

Within the community where events unfolded – the memories of that fateful day are displayed on the walls and seared in people's minds.

A civil rights march was held on a wintry, sunny day in Derry.

The demonstration was challenging the policy of internment – holding suspects without trial – which had been put in place after three years of unrest.

Troops from the elite army unit fatally wounded multiple civilians in the Bogside area – which was, and remains, a predominantly nationalist population.

One image became particularly prominent.

Photographs showed a clergyman, Father Daly, waving a stained with blood cloth in his effort to shield a assembly transporting a youth, Jackie Duddy, who had been killed.

Journalists recorded considerable film on the day.

The archive includes Fr Daly telling a reporter that soldiers "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "completely sure" that there was no provocation for the gunfire.

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

The first investigation determined the soldiers had been attacked first.

Throughout the negotiation period, Tony Blair's government set up another inquiry, after campaigning by family members, who said the initial inquiry had been a inadequate investigation.

In 2010, the report by the investigation said that on balance, the paratroopers had discharged weapons initially and that not one of the casualties had posed any threat.

The then head of state, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the Parliament – declaring deaths were "unjustified and unacceptable."

Law enforcement started to investigate the events.

One former paratrooper, referred to as Soldier F, was charged for murder.

He was charged over the killings of James Wray, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties the second individual.

The defendant was also accused of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, further individuals, another person, and an unnamed civilian.

Exists a legal order preserving the veteran's privacy, which his attorneys have argued is necessary because he is at danger.

He testified the Saville Inquiry that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at individuals who were armed.

That claim was disputed in the concluding document.

Material from the inquiry could not be used directly as evidence in the legal proceedings.

In court, the defendant was shielded from sight with a privacy screen.

He spoke for the first time in court at a session in that month, to reply "not guilty" when the accusations were read.

Relatives of the deceased on the incident made the trip from Derry to Belfast Crown Court daily of the case.

One relative, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they always knew that hearing the case would be difficult.

"I remember all details in my mind's eye," he said, as we examined the primary sites referenced in the case – from Rossville Street, where his brother was shot dead, to the adjoining the area, where the individual and the second person were died.

"It returns me to my location that day.

"I assisted with Michael and put him in the ambulance.

"I experienced again every moment during the proceedings.

"Despite experiencing all that – it's still meaningful for me."