[Marxism] British Army Gets Away With Murder

["James Daly" <james.irldaly@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Message: 1 Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 00:28:33 -070
 From: irsp <irsp@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: British Army Gets Away With Murder
Glasgow Herald
TOP BRASS RAPPED FOR MURDER SOLDIERS

ARMY chiefs were slammed by a watchdog yesterday for letting two Scots
Guardsmen back into the ranks despite being convicted of murdering a
Belfast teenager.

Jim McDonald, assessor of military complaints procedures in Northern
Ireland, said the decision had dealt a big blow to the forces'
reputation.

He said: 'When the Army are dismissing young men for smoking pot, the
fact that it has failed to do anything with these two guys undermines
its credibility.'

Mark Wright and James Fisher were found guilty over the 1992 killing
of 18-year-old Peter McBride.

The unarmed Catholic father-of-two was shot as he ran away from a
military checkpoint in north Belfast.

The soldiers' claims they opened fire because of suspicions that Peter
was carrying a coffee jar bomb were rejected.

They were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder but they were
freed after three years behind bars.

Peter's family mounted a tireless campaign to have the pair thrown out
of the Army.

Their case was aided by a Court of Appeal ruling that an Army board
who brought Wright and Fisher back in had not produced the exceptional
circumstances needed to justify the soldiers' retention.

But the Government have resisted all demands for the authorities to
intervene.

In his latest annual report, Mr McDonald said the row had attracted
adverse publicity across the political divide.

He added: 'A resolution remains necessary in the interest of justice.'

In order to achieve this, he suggested appointing a retired high court
judge to head an outside tribunal to deal with such sensitive issues.

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