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A NORTHERN Ireland court found David Holden guilty of manslaughter today over the 1988 killing of Aidan McAnespie.
It is the first conviction of a former British soldier for historic offences during the Troubles.
McAnespie, 23, was shot in the back as he crossed the border between Northern Ireland and the republic.
Judge John O’Hara, who heard the case instead of a jury, dismissed Mr Holden’s claim that he fired his gun by accident because his hands were wet.
He accused the defendant of offering a “deliberately false account” and concluded “he is beyond any reasonable doubt criminally culpable.”
Mr Holden had pointed the gun and pulled the trigger on the assumption it was not cocked, the judge found, but stressed that the assumption was not reasonable and that “the defendant took an enormous risk for no reason in circumstances where he was under no pressure and in no danger,” finding manslaughter by gross negligence.
The British Conservative government is pursuing legislation to prevent soldiers being tried for crimes committed during the so-called Troubles in Northern Ireland.