PPS Collapse 1970s Legacy Prosecution – Lawyers to Seek Access to PPS and PONI Papers

Legacy Cases

Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Solicitor Advocates, act on behalf of Mr Gerry McGowan. Mr McGowan was the victim and Complainant in respect of the only legacy prosecution before the Northern Ireland courts arising from police conduct in the 1970s. Mr McGowan was informed at a consultation with the Public Prosecution Service on Thursday 18th December 2014 that the PPS intended to offer no evidence against 2 retired RUC officers who were alleged to have perverted the course of justice by coercing false confessions during a 1979 RUC investigation into the murder of Lt Stephen Kirby in Derry. The trial in the case had been fixed for February 2015 in Belfast Crown Court.

Murder Conviction Quashed for Liam Holden, the Last Man to receive Death Penalty in UK

Legacy Cases

The last man to receive the death penalty in the UK in 1973 had a conviction for murder quashed at the Northern Ireland Court of Criminal Appeal on the 21st June 2013. Liam Holden, originally from the Whiterock area of Belfast, was convicted of the murder of a British soldier in September 1972 after a jury trial in April 1973 during which the prosecution relied solely upon alleged confession evidence.

Request for Information in 1971 Annette McGavigan Murder Case

Human Rights, Latest News, Legacy Cases

Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Solicitor Advocates, acting on behalf of the family of Annette mcGavigan, a 14 year old shoolgirl killed by the British Army in Derry in 1971, confirmed today that they have written to a all relevant statutory bodies seeking disclosure of all files and documents in relation to her murder. Annette McGavigan was killed by members of the British Army in Abbey Street, Derry on the 6th September 1971.