BY RFJ Casework Manager Irati Oliega
Today Coroner Maria Dougan delivered findings in the inquest into the killing of Desmond ‘Dessie’ Healey, concluding that the use of lethal force against him by the British Army on 9 August 1971 was unreasonable, unjustified and excessive. Dessie was 14 years old when he was shot dead in Lenadoon during the introduction of Internment.
For Ted Healey, Dessie’s twin brother, and his family, today represents vindication after more than half a century of grief, denial and delay. This inquest opened on 5 December 2022, with the hearing of evidence concluding in April 2024. The family have waited decades for an official process capable of confronting how and why Dessie was killed and of addressing the false narrative spread by the British Army to justify the killing of a child that followed them throughout their lives.
The Coroner was satisfied that Dessie Healey did not throw a petrol bomb and rejected that British army account entirely. She found that Dessie was throwing a glass bottle and that the British soldier who fired the fatal shot – Soldier D, who shot the schoolboy to the chest following orders of Soldier A – would have known this at the time. On that basis, the Coroner concluded that Dessie did not pose a threat to life and that the use of lethal force against him was unjustified. Further Justice Dougan found that the Rules of Engagement, also known as the Yellow Card, were breached, and that the circumstances in which Dessie was shot did not meet the threshold for the use of lethal force. The findings finally restore truth to the historical record and clear Dessie Healey’s name, dismantling the justification relied upon for 54 years to excuse the killing. In light of her findings, the Coroner has decided to submit a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Dessie was killed on the day internment was introduced, at the same time that the Parachute Regiment was responsible for the unjustified killing of civilians in the Ballymurphy Massacre. Today’s findings sit alongside those conclusions and further expose patterns of violent impunity for state actors.
Today’s findings directly confront British Government efforts to dismantle judicial independence and accountability through the Legacy Act and underline the need for a truly human rights compliant process.
Nothing can undo the loss suffered by Ted, Daniel and their family. Ted was just 14 years old when his twin brother was killed, and he has spent his entire life fighting for this day, especially since the passing of his parents. The timing of today’s findings on the eve of Ted and Dessie’s birthday and so close to Christmas carries profound poignancy. We commend Ted and Nuala Healey and the wider Healey family for their dignity, resilience and determination. After more than fifty years, the truth has finally been acknowledged: the killing of Dessie Healey should never have happened.
