Aidan McAnespie: Ex-soldier found guilty of checkpoint shooting [Northern Ireland]

[Emrys]

2. Hence the finding of manslaughter, not murder. From the article:

Mr Justice O'Hara said he considered the defendant "criminally culpable" beyond any reasonable doubt.

He found that Holden had pointed a machine gun at Mr McAnespie and pulled the trigger, while assuming the gun was not cocked.

He said: "That assumption should not have been made."

In his written judgement, Mr Justice O'Hara said he was satisfied the defendant had not cocked the weapon himself before firing it.

As the judge observed:

In the written judgement, he said the defendant had broken two "golden rules", which included never aiming a weapon unless one intends to fire and never increasing the risk of negligent discharge.