The two soldiers accused of murder of Official IRA man in 1972 formally acquitted after trial collapses
Joe McCann was shot near his home in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972
Joe McCann, 24, was shot in disputed circumstances in Joy Street in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972.Soldiers A and C, both in their 70s, had pleaded not guilty. The men admitted firing shots but said they had acted lawfully when doing so. The judge ruled this evidence as inadmissible and the Public Prosecution Service on Tuesday confirmed it would not appeal against that decision, meaning the case could not proceed.The trial opened last Monday and heard a day of evidence before moving to the issue of whether statements and interviews given by the ex-soldiers would be admissible.
The PPS accepted that the 1972 statements would be inadmissible in isolation, due to deficiencies in how they were taken including that the soldiers were ordered to make them and they were not conducted under caution.
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