Further convictions of Derry man jailed for soldier's murder referred to court of appeal

Due to concerns regarding police credibility, the conviction of Derry man John McDevitt was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The case came before the Court of Appeal in December and was adjourned. It was before the Court on Friday, April 11 for review but a date for its hearing has not yet been fixed.

Mr McDevitt was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1986, following an attack on members of the British army in Derry on Easter Monday 1984.

Speaking to The Derry news, Patricia Coyle, of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors and Advocates, revealed the CCRC has now referred a further four of Mr McDevitt’s convictions, dating back to 1986, to the NI Court of Criminal Appeal. The CCRC made the additional referrals on Wednesday, April 9.

“The four further convictions referred by the CCRC this week include two counts of wounding with intent; attempting to cause Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) with intent; and possession of firearms with intent.

“The additional four counts referred back to the NI Court of Appeal this week relate to the same incident and include the woundings of two other soldiers, a conspiracy charge regarding attempting to cause GBH with intent and possession of firearms with intent.

“Mr McDevitt was arrested at 7am on May 2, 1984, some two weeks after the shooting incident. He was detained in Castlereagh Police Holding Centre and interviewed 23 times over five days.

“He was arrested with the seven other persons who were also prosecuted for various offences including murder, arson, making and possession of petrol bombs, wounding with intent and possession of firearms with intent,” said Ms Coyle.

Mr McDevitt was the sole defendant in the trial to challenge the evidence in respect of all charges against him.

He gave evidence in his own defence but was convicted by a Diplock court in 1986. The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 1987.

According to Ms Coyle, the convictions were based solely on statements he had signed while in Castlereagh Police Holding Centre one month after the incident in May 1984.

She added: “Mr McDevitt gave evidence at his trial, and asserted on appeal, that the statements were coerced as a result of the oppressive and coercive interview techniques involving threats and inducements from interviewing police officers while in police custody.”

Mr McDevitt’s lawyer made an application to the CCRC in 2019 relying on a number of issues including questions about the credibility of some of the interviewing police officers, covert surveillance of police interviews in Castlereagh and queries as to whether the gun used in the incident was subject to GPS tracking by the security services.

On October 30 2024 the CCRC referred the murder conviction back to the Court of Appeal on the basis that two of the police officers involved in taking the critical admission statement from Mr McDevitt had been previously discredited in the UDR4 case.

The convictions of three of the UDR4 were quashed in 1992. The physical interview notes in the UDR4 case were subject to forensic ESDA testing by the police when questions were raised by their campaign about reliability of the documents before the convictions were quashed in July 1992.

Mr McDevitt lawyers were advised this month that none of the original police interview notes from McDevitt’s time in Castlereagh can be located.

The custody record which would provide details of his detention in Castlereagh Holding Centre has also not been located.

Ms Coyle said on Friday: “My client and his family very much welcome the CCRC’s decision to refer four further convictions back to the Court of Appeal.

“These four convictions emanate from the same contested statement of admission which grounds the murder conviction.

“That statement of admission was taken by two interviewing police officers who were also involved in the UDR4 case just five months earlier in 1983.

“My client looks forward to the opportunity to present his case to the Court of Appeal after maintaining his innocence for almost 40 years,” said Ms Coyle

Mr McDevitt is represented by Patricia Coyle solicitor of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates, senior barrister Dessie Hutton K.C. and junior barrister Gerard McGettigan BL.