Two former paratroopers accused of murdering IRA man - acquitted

Can't say I'm particularly happy, as I don't know enough about the individual case and there were plenty of convictable crimes committed by all sides, but I've never been supportive of the one sided justice when dozens to hundreds of terrorists were granted amnesty, with some even entering politics.
 
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Shambolic policing not following procedures has lead to the collapse of trial at great cost to the tax payer. People should be held accountable for that.
 
Probably never, wouldn't want to upset anybody would they.
If the price of peace is letting terrorists escape prosecution, I'd say it is a price we have to pay. That said I believe that it should be a two way street and the everyone who killed (including soldiers and police as well as terrorists from both sides) should have to confess to what they did in order to receive similar leniency. I think families of the victims should hear the truth.

Then perhaps the country can move on with "the troubles" no more than a footnote in history?
 
If the price of peace is letting terrorists escape prosecution, I'd say it is a price we have to pay. That said I believe that it should be a two way street and the everyone who killed (including soldiers and police as well as terrorists from both sides) should have to confess to what they did in order to receive similar leniency. I think families of the victims should hear the truth.

Then perhaps the country can move on with "the troubles" no more than a footnote in history?
I agree that a line in the sand must be drawn and hopefully this is the end to these prosecutions. The trouble is we still have families alive who have had to live without loved ones on both sides and these people want and expect justice.

Friends of mine have been fighting for justice for their brother who was killed in an ambush whilst travelling in a covered wagon. The IRA weren't happy with just killing him but also sent a vile letter to his mother and offered to dance on his grave.

I have attached an article in the Gazette in 2019.

 
If the price of peace is letting terrorists escape prosecution, I'd say it is a price we have to pay. That said I believe that it should be a two way street and the everyone who killed (including soldiers and police as well as terrorists from both sides) should have to confess to what they did in order to receive similar leniency. I think families of the victims should hear the truth.

Then perhaps the country can move on with "the troubles" no more than a footnote in history?
I’m all in favour of moving on providing, as you say, it’s a two way street, with either prosecution or amnesty on both sides, not in the provos’ favour.
 
A line should have been drawn in the sand after the GFA, and there should be an amnesty for British soldiers who served in Norhern Ireland.

Yes, that may be difficult to accept for the families of those who were killed by the British army, but paramilitary members being allowed early release from prison must have been something that families of their victims found difficult to accept.

At the end of the day, it's what's necessary for peace, which should enable both sides to move forward.

Seems to me Republicans simply can't let go of the past or accept that there was two sides to the story.
 
It’s stunning that the police and presumably CPS brought this to court, it appears not even basic procedures were followed.

In these unique circumstances I think it’s difficult for anyone to understand the context of the times. Right and wrong are still that, but we had highly trained soldiers put into a setting they were never trained for. All that in a boiling cauldron, a line needs to be drawn.
 
It’s stunning that the police and presumably CPS brought this to court, it appears not even basic procedures were followed.

In these unique circumstances I think it’s difficult for anyone to understand the context of the times. Right and wrong are still that, but we had highly trained soldiers put into a setting they were never trained for. All that in a boiling cauldron, a line needs to be drawn.
Part of me thinks the police and CPS have done a bad job intentionally to get this thrown out.

as said above a line should have been drawn after the GFA on all sides.

as for the bit about highly trained soldiers... I wouldn’t class 18/19/20 year olds with basic training and SLR’s as highly trained... maybe for war against the USSR.. but defo not for a civil war on the streets of Northern Ireland in the 70’s.
 
Part of me thinks the police and CPS have done a bad job intentionally to get this thrown out.

as said above a line should have been drawn after the GFA on all sides.

as for the bit about highly trained soldiers... I wouldn’t class 18/19/20 year olds with basic training and SLR’s as highly trained... maybe for war against the USSR.. but defo not for a civil war on the streets of Northern Ireland in the 70’s.
That’s exactly my point trained but not for that setting, absolutely no preparation for that type of situation.

The GFA should have drawn a line under it and I think anyone giving evidence to the HET would have assumed this. I know someone who worked on the HET and he described it as being similar to the Truth and Justice commission. I never got the impression he thought he was collecting evidence for prosecutors.
 
I’m all in favour of moving on providing, as you say, it’s a two way street, with either prosecution or amnesty on both sides, not in the provos’ favour.
The street has more than two ways, it was never just the provos and the army doing the killing but the various loyalist terrorist groups never appear to get a mention, I wonder why that is?
 
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