An ex-British paratrooper known only as "Soldier F" has been acquitted in Belfast Crown Court of two murders and five attempted murders related to the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry. Soldier F was accused of killing James Wray and William McKinney and attempting to kill five others during the civil rights march where members of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 unarmed civilians, per RTE. The AP notes that Soldier F was the only service member ever charged in the killings.
Judge Patrick Lynch, who the Guardian notes presided over the case without a jury, found the prosecution's evidence fell "well short" of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, per RTE. He noted that the only evidence against Soldier F came from two other soldiers, referred to as Soldiers G and H, whose credibility was questioned due to prior instances of perjury and their status as potential accomplices.
Judge Lynch said the passage of time had made it difficult to effectively challenge the soldiers' statements, and that those statements couldn't be questioned like the soldiers would've been if they'd testified in person. In his remarks, the judge criticized the actions of the soldiers on Bloody Sunday, saying they lost "all sense of military discipline" and "sullied" a regiment with a distinguished World War II history.
story continues below
He described the shootings as involving "unarmed civilians fleeing" but emphasized that the court couldn't operate on "collective guilt," only on individual evidence. Families of the Bloody Sunday victims and supporters of Soldier F attended the proceedings, but the verdict was met without visible reaction from either side. Soldier F's identity remained concealed throughout the trial, as he remained hidden behind a curtain.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
