One former British soldier is to be charged with the murders of two men and the attempted murders of four others over the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry. There was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction for the other 16 ex-soldiers, said Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service. Prosecutors also considered files on two former members of the old "Official IRA" and said they would not face prosecution. Thirteen people were killed and 15 others injured on 30 January 1972 when troops of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment fired on demonstrators during a civil rights march in Derry. So after 47 years, they will prosecute a scapegoat?
That is exactly what it is, todays society always needs to see someone punished so they can feel righteous.
Yep, doesn't matter as long as they feel they have seen "justice" done and feel good about themselves.
Families and friends of the dead and injured said they were "disappointed" with the decision. what is the interesting bit is, they say it was a peaceful march. yet include this bit Prosecutors also considered files on two former members of the old "Official IRA" and said they would not face prosecution. So are they admitting that the IRA were at the march then?
You used the word scapegoat, since I heard about this my thought was "sacrificial lamb", like I said todays society always needs to blame someone so they feel warm and safe.
How can they prosecute a single person,? and i bet he was just a squaddie. The whole thing sting stinks. It either all or non.
Much as I hate to butt in, maybe the bloke is guilty. Other guilty people not being convicted doesn’t change that. It sounds like there’s a pretty strong chance a crime was committed, whether it was by this guy or not.
It's took 47 years to decide that this one person is guilty? It was all covered on TV, i'm sure most of us have seen the footage.
Whoever gave the order to open fire as much as the ones who were firing, cost the lives of innocent civilians, but even more importantly it was a total game-changer. All bets were off after that and pretty much everyone and everything became game.
Yes and no. It certainly was a game changers, but they've already said that the IRA were at a peaceful march.So that means (and we all know) the IRA were active for years beforehand.
Oh yeh the IRA had been "active" for several years as had the Loyalist paramiltary, and the RUC had also been complicit in the troubles before then. But there was a general rule of thumb that they each targeted installations prior to then. But on that day, the armed forces once and for all secured in the mind of the catholic community the already growing feeling that they were their enemy (when initially they had come in to be an arbitrator). And to kill civilians as young as 17 and shooting people in the back. I appreciate it wasn't an easy time for the army, nobody who wasn't there can fully appreciate that, but what they did (if proven) was criminal.
I expect if he is found guilty that it’s been known by more powerful people than you or I for just about all that time, much like other sad incidents which it’s not in the government of the time’s interest to see followed through in the courts. Hillsborough, for example.
And for the benefit of those not so clued up. The Army were sent in to protect the Catholics, back in what, 67/68 ish?
I don't know the exact year but sounds about right. It wasn't just to protect the catholics, it was more to show a neutral position. The RUC tbf were conspiring with the loyalists so it's understandable why the army were sent.
