February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The inquiries, in the fall, will delve into the murk surrounding the violent deaths of Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright.
Each case will be investigated by a separate panel drawn from outside the North.
The Pat Finucane case will not be considered at this time because there is a criminal case arising from the 1989 murder of the attorney in his Belfast home. This has prompted unease, to say the least, because there is a widespread belief that the murder of Finucane goes far beyond one individual.
Inquiries into all these cases were recommended by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory in his recent reports to the British government.
Cory came to Capitol Hill a couple of months ago and testified to a congressional committee. He stated that he could not understand the British refusal to hold a public inquiry into the murder of Finucane.
“The documents I received showed there is evidence to warrant a public inquiry,” Cory told the U.S. Congress-sponsored Helsinki commission, chaired by Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey.
“We owe it to the memory of those slain, to their families, and to every person in Ireland who cherishes justice, to see to it that the British government commences the public inquiry, no exceptions, no excuses.”
A few weeks after this hearing, two women from the North arrived in the U.S. on a mission. They were Pauline Davey-Kennedy and Kelly Hamill. Both women are members of an organization called F