A FORMER soldier from South East Cornwall has died during his trial over a fatal shooting which took place during the Northern Ireland Troubles in 1974.
Dennis Hutchings, 80, who lived in Cawsand, had contracted Covid-19 and it was confirmed that he had died yesterday afternoon.
Mr Hutchings had denied the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham, who was 27 at the time of his death.
The non-jury trial had been sitting at Belfast Crown Court for three days a week, to allow Mr Hutchings to receive his dialysis treatment. The trial had been adjourned for three weeks due to Mr Hutchings’ illness.
Dennis Hutchings had always attested his innocence and had appealed to the Supreme Court to have his case heard by a jury, but this was turned down.
The emergence of a potential new witness toward the end of 2020 had given him hope, he said in an interview with The Cornish Times in December.
The death of Dennis Hutchings may re-open the debate around legacy prosecutions.
Just one other veteran is awaiting trial for historic crimes: all other recent cases involving former soldiers have collapsed.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie is among those to have questioned the decision to bring Mr Hutchings to trial and has said that “the question must be asked if it hastened his death”.
Plymouth Moorview MP Johnny Mercer had accompanied Mr Hutchings throughout his trial in Belfast and had long argued that the case should be dropped. Prior to his death on Monday, Mr Mercer had tweeted that his trial was “a grotesque experience” and had urged the MoD to “honour their duty of care” toward the Cornish veteran.
But Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew said that while she knew the Hutchings family would be grieving, the Cunningham family also continued to grieve.
In July, the UK government confirmed its plans to bring forward legislation to ban all prosecutions related to the Troubles – plans which are opposed by NI political parties and victims organisations.