Conviction for Soldier’s Murder to Undergo Re-examination

The case of a man serving a life sentence for the murder of a British soldier has been forwarded to the Court of Appeal, prompted by questions regarding the reliability of police witnesses. John McDevitt was found guilty of the murder of Pte Neil Clark, which occurred on Easter Monday 1984 in Londonderry. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has now referred Mr McDevitt’s convictions to Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal. It stated that it considered the credibility of officers involved in questioning Mr McDevitt to be “substantially weakened”. The CCRC, an independent body established under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, indicated that following “extensive analysis,” there was “a real possibility the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal will conclude Mr McDevitt’s conviction is unsafe.” Pte Clark was in one of two Army Land rovers that crashed after being targeted with petrol bombs. He and two other soldiers were shot at as they attempted to exit their vehicle. Mr McDevitt was apprehended along with seven other individuals and charged with a total of 11 offences. These included murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, and offences related to the creation and deployment of petrol bombs. He was interviewed 23 times over a period of five days, without a solicitor present. During the initial 16 interviews, he denied any involvement in the murder of Pte Clark. However, it was alleged that he later admitted to driving gunmen to the scene of the crime. Mr McDevitt disputed this assertion at trial. In 2019, he submitted an application to the CCRC, presenting claims against the police officers who conducted the interviews. The officers in question had previously received criticism in the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal’s decision in R v Latimer, Hegan, Bell and Allen. In a statement, the CCRC said: “Having considered the Court’s findings in the Latimer case, the CCRC considers that the credibility of the officers as witnesses of truth in criminal proceedings is substantially weakened.” It added: “This referral follows a court decision in another case referred by the CCRC, which this year resulted in the Court of Appeal quashing a conviction. This was also based on the Latimer case.” Mr McDevitt had previously applied to the CCRC in 2002. The CCRC is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.