How this Legal Case of an Army Veteran Over the 1972 Londonderry Incident Ended in Case Dismissal
Sunday 30 January 1972 remains arguably the deadliest – and significant – days in multiple decades of violence in the region.
Within the community of the incident – the images of that fateful day are visible on the structures and seared in people's minds.
A civil rights march was conducted on a wintry, sunny period in Derry.
The march was opposing the practice of imprisonment without charges – holding suspects without due process – which had been established following three years of violence.
Military personnel from the elite army unit shot dead 13 people in the district – which was, and continues to be, a strongly nationalist population.
A specific visual became particularly memorable.
Pictures showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, using a stained with blood fabric while attempting to shield a assembly carrying a teenager, the injured teenager, who had been killed.
Journalists captured extensive video on the day.
Historical records features Father Daly explaining to a media representative that troops "gave the impression they would fire in all directions" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no provocation for the discharge of weapons.
That version of events wasn't accepted by the initial investigation.
The initial inquiry concluded the Army had been attacked first.
During the negotiation period, the ruling party commissioned a new investigation, following pressure by bereaved relatives, who said Widgery had been a cover-up.
That year, the conclusion by the investigation said that generally, the soldiers had discharged weapons initially and that not one of the casualties had been armed.
The contemporary head of state, David Cameron, apologised in the government chamber – saying fatalities were "improper and inexcusable."
The police commenced examine the events.
One former paratrooper, known as the accused, was charged for killing.
He was charged over the killings of James Wray, 22, and twenty-six-year-old the second individual.
The accused was additionally charged of trying to kill several people, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, another person, and an unnamed civilian.
There is a legal order maintaining the defendant's identity protection, which his legal team have claimed is essential because he is at risk of attack.
He told the investigation that he had only fired at individuals who were carrying weapons.
This assertion was rejected in the concluding document.
Material from the inquiry could not be used straightforwardly as evidence in the court case.
During the trial, the veteran was shielded from sight behind a protective barrier.
He spoke for the first time in court at a session in that month, to answer "innocent" when the accusations were presented.
Family members of the victims on the incident made the trip from Derry to Belfast Crown Court each day of the case.
John Kelly, whose sibling was killed, said they always knew that attending the proceedings would be emotional.
"I remember everything in my recollection," John said, as we examined the main locations discussed in the case – from the location, where his brother was shot dead, to the nearby the area, where the individual and another victim were fatally wounded.
"It returns me to where I was that day.
"I helped to carry my brother and lay him in the ambulance.
"I went through each detail during the testimony.
"Notwithstanding experiencing everything – it's still valuable for me."