How the Legal Case of a Former Soldier Over Bloody Sunday Ended in Not Guilty Verdict

Sunday 30 January 1972 is remembered as one of the deadliest – and momentous – dates during thirty years of conflict in this area.

In the streets where events unfolded – the images of Bloody Sunday are displayed on the structures and etched in collective memory.

A civil rights march was organized on a wintry, sunny afternoon in Derry.

The march was a protest against the policy of internment – detaining individuals without due process – which had been put in place following three years of conflict.

Military personnel from the Parachute Regiment fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the neighborhood – which was, and still is, a strongly republican population.

A specific visual became notably iconic.

Pictures showed a Catholic priest, Fr Edward Daly, using a bloodied cloth in his effort to defend a crowd transporting a young man, Jackie Duddy, who had been mortally injured.

News camera operators documented extensive video on the day.

Historical records features Father Daly telling a media representative that soldiers "appeared to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no reason for the discharge of weapons.

That version of what happened wasn't accepted by the original examination.

The first investigation determined the soldiers had been attacked first.

In the peace process, the administration established a fresh examination, in response to advocacy by bereaved relatives, who said the initial inquiry had been a whitewash.

During 2010, the conclusion by Lord Saville said that overall, the military personnel had discharged weapons initially and that none of the individuals had been armed.

At that time Prime Minister, David Cameron, apologised in the government chamber – saying fatalities were "improper and inexcusable."

The police commenced investigate the events.

A military veteran, referred to as the defendant, was prosecuted for homicide.

Accusations were made concerning the deaths of the first individual, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties another victim.

The defendant was additionally charged of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, more people, an additional individual, and an unnamed civilian.

Remains a court ruling maintaining the defendant's identity protection, which his attorneys have argued is essential because he is at risk of attack.

He stated to the examination that he had only fired at individuals who were armed.

That claim was rejected in the concluding document.

Information from the investigation was unable to be used immediately as testimony in the legal proceedings.

During the trial, the defendant was hidden from public with a privacy screen.

He made statements for the initial occasion in court at a session in that month, to answer "not guilty" when the allegations were put to him.

Kin of the victims on Bloody Sunday journeyed from Londonderry to the judicial building every day of the trial.

John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed, said they understood that attending the case would be emotional.

"I visualize everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the key areas discussed in the proceedings – from the location, where Michael was killed, to the nearby the courtyard, where James Wray and the second person were fatally wounded.

"It even takes me back to my location that day.

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

"I experienced again the entire event during the testimony.

"But even with experiencing everything – it's still meaningful for me."