Court rules former British soldier not guilty in Bloody Sunday murder case

A British soldier who was found guilty of murder in the Bloody Sunday massacre has been cleared by a court in Belfast in the verdict that has sparked outrage among the families of the victims and the political figure of Northern Ireland.

Soldier F, the original name of the former British paratrooper, who has been the target of a court anonymity order, was accused of shooting dead James Wray and William McKinney and plotting to shoot dead give others when troops fired upon unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland over 50 years ago.

There was no one present in Belfast Crown Court on Thursday when the verdict was read declaring Soldier F mlt guilty of two counts of murder and five of attempted murder.

It was on January 30, 1972 that British paratroopers fired on unarmed civil rights protestors when over 10,000 people marched in Derry. At least 26 unarmed civilians were shot by the British soldiers. There were thirteen victims who were killed, and another man died as a result of his injuries four months afterwards.

In his verdict, Lynch added that he was happy to believe that the the soldiers had lost all military discipline and fired to kill and those who did should have their heads on a rope of shame. However, he claimed that the case was less than the burden of proof. 

“Delay has, in my view, seriously hampered the capacity of the defence to test the veracity and accuracy of the hearsay statements,” he said.

The previous rulings by prosecutors have been that there was not enough evidence to prosecute 16 other former British soldiers.

Thursday, Mickey McKinney, who is the brother of one of the two victims in the case called William McKinney, condemned the verdict outside the courtroom.

The RUC [the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Irish Police], who did not investigate the murders on Bloody Sunday, or at least not properly, as McKinney put it, are the target of blame.

The UK government spokesperson responded to this decision after Thursday, which stated that the UK is determined to ask for a way forward that recognizes the past and at the same time stand with those that served their nation during an exceptionally challenging time in the history of Northern Ireland.

The verdict was described as being very disappointing by Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O-Neill who happens to be a vice president of the Sinn Fein pro-Irish unity party. 

She wrote on X: “The continued denial of justice for the Bloody Sunday families is deeply disappointing,”. “Not one British soldier or their military and political superiors has ever been held to account. That is an affront to justice.”