John Downey

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/arrest-of-hyde-park-suspect-took-sf-and-british-security-forces-by-surprise-1.1704533?page=2

This article says that attorney general Sir Patrick Mayhew and others decided in 1989 that they would not seek to extradite Downey:

Seven years after the bombing, in November, 1989, then attorney general Sir Patrick Mayhew QC met with senior law and police officers to decide on Downey’s case.
The fingerprint evidence would be admissible, they believed, but there were doubts a jury would accept in the aftermath of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven cases that he was criminally involved because he had driven a car two days before the explosion.

Blocked extradition
Equally, the seven-year gap in seeking extradition should not have blocked extradition, but given the history of previous requests to Ireland during the decade it was “quite likely” to do so.

“Ultimately, the attorney general concluded, and everyone else at the meeting agreed, that the case was not one in which it would be appropriate to seek extradition,” Mr Justice Sweeney records.
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Leaving aside the details, like Grasshopper I don't believe prosecuting people so long after the event does much good if people are trying to move on from a difficult past, and I include the Bloody Sunday soldiers in that remark.

The vehemence of the DUP reaction is an ominous indication of just how stagnant politics in Northern Ireland have become. They must know that Mayhew already decided all those years ago, before any talk of ceasefires or amnesties, that the case was not pursuing.
 
Goodness me, a small minority of the Irish on this forum are beyond belief ??
 
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Cold War sabre rattling.
Utd Floundering
DUP Ultimatums
IRA on the front pages
Irish Mare to set Cheltenham alight
Double digit unemployment

Anybody feel they have somehow woken up in the 1980's?
 
Serious question, what percentage of people under 30 in the UK and Ireland would know who John Downey is or what this case stands for?
 
SlimChance said:
Serious question, what percentage of people under 30 in the UK and Ireland would know who John Downey is or what this case stands for?
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Serious answer. Plenty of us lived through these events, Slim, and are anxious to ensure they are not repeated.
 
Tough grey

I will not be happy until the troops are fully free of prosecution. What they did was criminal but listening to some you would think it was tge only killing in the troubles.
 
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clivex said:
They were out of order but were probably fired upon. Should be prosecuted and more should have been done at the time

But those that want that will have to believe that the bombers should be prosecuted too. .and those that order the execution of a single mother of 11 kids
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Isn't that the crux of the problem? The politicians and hardliners one each side can't agree on the colour of shite. Neither side will agree that both groups should be prosecuted - they will pay it lip service when pushed but will never, ever commit to this.

They can't even agree on what the country is called (Northern Ireland / North of Ireland), or on what to call the period (Conflict / The Troubles). A caller to the Nolan show whose mother was blown up by a a UVF bomb just totally despaired at the state of the "politicians" who had debated this issue for half an hour - it was like watching a bunch of children in a nursery fighting over a toy. His advice was for anyone under 30 to just leave, as the society is completely f*cked.

I won't be waiting for all that crap to kick off again anyway.
 
Gerry Adams has been doing a QandA on Twitter. Been trending all day, pretty funny. One of the questions he received was did he ever sit on Shergar's back.
 
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