A former British soldier accused over the fatal shooting of a vulnerable man during unrest in Northern Ireland has died while on trial, a veteran’s organisation said on Monday.
Dennis Hutchings, 80, was on trial at Belfast Crown Court over the 1974 killing of John Pat Cunningham during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
The trial was adjourned on Monday after Hutchings, already suffering serious kidney disease, contracted Covid-19.
On Monday night the Northern Ireland Veteran’s Movement (NIVM) said on Twitter the ex-soldier “passed away” at the Mater Infirmorum Hospital in Belfast.
Hutchings’ case has been a lightning rod for controversy, demonstrating the highly charged legacy of Britain’s military intervention in Northern Ireland.
British lawmaker Jeffrey Donaldson — the leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) — said Hutchings was “dragged to a court and hounded until his death”.
“He was an 80-year-old veteran, in ill-health, on dialysis and there was a lack of compelling new evidence,” Donaldson said in a statement.
He questioned how the trial was “deemed to be in the public interest”.
Hutchings stood accused of the attempted murder of Cunningham — a 27-year-old with severe learning disabilities who was shot dead as he ran from an army patrol in rural County Tyrone.
The court previously heard Hutchings and another now-deceased soldier opened fire, and how the lack of ballistics evidence proving which rounds killed Cunningham meant Hutchings was accused of attempted murder.
About 3,500 people were killed in “The Troubles” as tensions between pro-Ireland nationalists and pro-UK unionists boiled over.
The British army was deployed on peacekeeping duties, however over its 38-year deployment the military was deemed responsible by many for some of the bloodiest chapters of the conflict.
Prosecution for deaths at the hands of the military remains a politically volatile topic in Northern Ireland and across Britain.
Families of those killed by the armed forces say they have been denied justice against soldiers representing the authority of the state.
Soldiers who served in Northern Ireland argue that they are being hounded into old age and infirmity.
Hutchings’ trial had been proceeding only three days a week to allow him to undergo dialysis treatment between hearings.
Veterans also complain there is an imbalance of justice as security forces were responsible for only 10 per cent of killings during the period but 30 per cent of Police Service of Northern Ireland legacy investigations are focused on them.
The British government has pledged to soon bring forward an amnesty for killings on all sides, meaning Hutchings’ case could be one of the last to go before the courts.