Manus Deery who was 15 when he was shot dead by a British soldier in Derry in 1972. Coroner rule today he was “totally innocent”, a coroner has ruled
SINN Féin Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney has welcomed the findings from the Coroner that Derry schoolboy Manus Deery was ‘totally innocent’ when he was shot dead by the British Army in the Bogside almost 45 years ago.
A British soldier, William Glasgow, now deceased, who shot dead Manus Deery was unjustified in discharging the fatal round, coroner Mr Justice Colton ruled yesterday.
Raymond McCartney said: “I welcome the findings.
“This was a 15-year-old boy who was shot dead by British soldiers as he chatted with friends.
“The Deery family are entitled to the truth about the killing of Manus and hopefully today’s decision will help them in their quest for justice in setting the truth free.”
At Monday’s hearing, Mr Justice Colton told the vicitm’s family that the teenager’s character had been fully vindicated, adding that Mr Deery was not a member of any illegal organisation.
“The belated acknowledgement by the Ministry of Defence at the closing of this inquest on 21 November 2016 is to be welcomed,” said the coroner.
“1972 was one of the worst years for Troubles-related deaths. There were 496 such deaths during that single year.
“The events on Bloody Sunday had occurred on 30 January 1972, a matter of months before the shooting of Manus Deery.”
He added that neither Manus nor his friends could have been perceived as posing a threat to anyone that day.