How this Legal Case of an Army Veteran Over the 1972 Londonderry Incident Ended in Not Guilty Verdict

Sunday 30 January 1972 remains one of the deadliest – and momentous – occasions during thirty years of conflict in Northern Ireland.

In the streets where events unfolded – the memories of that fateful day are visible on the walls and etched in people's minds.

A public gathering was held on a wintry, sunny afternoon in Derry.

The protest was challenging the policy of detention without trial – holding suspects without trial – which had been put in place after an extended period of violence.

Troops from the elite army unit fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the neighborhood – which was, and still is, a predominantly republican area.

One image became especially prominent.

Images showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, waving a bloodied cloth as he tried to shield a group transporting a youth, the fatally wounded individual, who had been fatally wounded.

Media personnel captured extensive video on the day.

Documented accounts includes the priest explaining to a media representative that military personnel "just seemed to shoot indiscriminately" and he was "completely sure" that there was no reason for the discharge of weapons.

This account of what happened was disputed by the original examination.

The Widgery Tribunal found the soldiers had been attacked first.

In the peace process, the administration commissioned a fresh examination, following pressure by family members, who said Widgery had been a inadequate investigation.

During 2010, the report by Lord Saville said that on balance, the soldiers had fired first and that none of the individuals had presented danger.

The then Prime Minister, the leader, apologised in the government chamber – stating deaths were "unjustified and unjustifiable."

The police commenced examine the events.

A military veteran, identified as Soldier F, was brought to trial for murder.

Indictments were filed regarding the killings of the first individual, 22, and in his mid-twenties the second individual.

The defendant was also accused of attempting to murder several people, other civilians, more people, another person, and an unknown person.

There is a court ruling preserving the veteran's anonymity, which his lawyers have claimed is required because he is at risk of attack.

He told the Saville Inquiry that he had solely shot at individuals who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was disputed in the final report.

Evidence from the investigation was unable to be used directly as testimony in the legal proceedings.

In the dock, the accused was shielded from sight with a protective barrier.

He addressed the court for the initial occasion in the proceedings at a hearing in December 2024, to reply "not guilty" when the charges were put to him.

Family members of those who were killed on the incident made the trip from the city to the courthouse each day of the trial.

A family member, whose brother Michael was fatally wounded, said they always knew that hearing the case would be difficult.

"I remember all details in my recollection," he said, as we examined the main locations referenced in the trial – from Rossville Street, where the victim was shot dead, to the adjoining Glenfada Park, where James Wray and another victim were fatally wounded.

"It reminds me to where I was that day.

"I assisted with my brother and put him in the ambulance.

"I went through every moment during the testimony.

"Notwithstanding enduring the process – it's still meaningful for me."