A new hearing will be held next year to determine the sentence
Former English soldier David Holden has been found guilty of the 1988 death of young Catholic Aidan McAnespie in the context of the Northern Ireland conflict, violent events known as ‘The Troubles’, making him the first English veteran those in Northern Ireland since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
For example, a Northern Irish court has indicated that the 53-year-old soldier is responsible for the death of McAnespie, who was shot in the back at a checkpoint when he walked nearby. The bullet would have bounced off the road and then hit the young man.
His family has welcomed the verdict, saying they feel “relieved and happy” since “justice has been served”, despite 34 years having passed, according to information collected by the BBC television network. A new hearing will be held next year to determine Holden’s sentence.
McAnespie approached the border checkpoint on his way to a football game. Now the judges have ruled that the defendant is “guilty” beyond reasonable doubt.
However, the defendant has maintained that he believed the weapon had the safety, but the judges have stressed that “he should not have taken it for granted”. “The defendant should have taken into account at the time he pulled the trigger that if the weapon were cocked, this could have fatal consequences,” he said.
The ruling indicates that the defendant violated two “golden rules”, including never pointing a gun unless you are ready to open fire and avoiding negligent shooting at all times.
Source: La Verdad
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