Laverty, Terence

Terence Laverty appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court in September 1971 charged with Riotous Behaviour contrary to section 9 Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (NI) 1968. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

Mr Laverty appealed but his conviction was upheld at the rehearing. He applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in September 2009.

Mr Laverty had been convicted solely on the evidence of a soldier who had claimed that he had seen Mr Laverty behind a barricade throwing stones during a demonstration against internment in Belfast in 1971.

During the CCRC’s investigation, the soldier who gave evidence against Mr Laverty retracted his statement, alleging that it had been written by a Royal Military Police officer.

The CCRC referred the conviction on the basis of this retraction in January 2015.

The County Court quashed the conviction in February 2015.