Mentally disabled man killed by British soldiers
John Patrick Cunningham (c. 1947 – 15 June 1974) was a mentally handicapped Irish civilian who was shot and killed in June 1974 while running from British soldiers in a field near his home in Benburb, County Tyrone Northern Ireland.
Personal life.
John Pat Cunningham was born in c. 1947 in Northern Ireland.
He was described as having the mental age of between six and 10 years old, and was known to have been afraid of men in "uniform", including soldiers, police and priests, and was known to sometimes attempt to run away from such people.
In 1973, Cunningham's GP (doctor) found him hiding from soldiers in a ditch, who were attempting to arrest him. The GP informed the RUC and British Army about Cunningham's fear of uniformed men.
Killing.
On 15 June 1974, John Pat Cunningham was walking home from church where he sometimes volunteered; While on his way home he encountered ten soldiers of the Life Guards in a Land Rover on Carickaness Road. Due to his fear of soldiers, he ran into a near-by field in an attempt to flee.
The soldiers spotting Cunningham and got out of the Land Rover; Dennis Hutchings got out first and ran to the middle of the field, Soldier B took position at a gateway to the field and Soldier E followed Hutchings. The other six stayed at the Land Rover. The three men then ordered Cunningham to stop, but when he kept running. Hutchings cocked his rifle and fired three shots at Cunningham and Soldier B fired two, at around 11.50 am. Three of the five shots hit Cunningham in the back, the unit's doctor, Soldier K pronounced Cunningham dead at 12.15 pm. A local priest spotting Cunningham went to give him his last rites. When the soldiers prevented him from doing so, the priest said "If you want to stop me, you will have to shoot me".
Trial.
In 2017, Dennis Hutchings was charged with the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham.
From November to October 2021 Hutchings faced trial for attempted murder, but he could only stand trial for three days, as he required treatment for his chronic kidney disease.
On 4 October 2021, Hutchings's trial was adjourned for three weeks after he was hospitalized due to Covid-19. 12 days later, on 18 October 2021, Hutchings died at the age of 80 from complications brought on by Covid-19.
References.
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