The facts show court verdict was not racism

LETTERS

In response to the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, media stressed how a white farmer had been charged with murder and everyone jumped on the racism wagon. Wow!

Fact: 750 people were summoned for the jury selection. The prosecutor and defence are both allowed to dismiss 12 potential jurors (peremptory charge), leaving 726 from which to choose a jury.

Fact: You must be impartial for jury selection. No indigenous people were found to be impartial in this case. A jury consisting of seven women and five men was selected.

Fact: All five of the First Nations people involved were highly intoxicated (eight times or more the legal limit) and the driver of the SUV (Cross-Whitestone) stated he was really hammered (at least 30 shots of alcohol). A legally imposed driving ban on him was ignored. Driving impaired was ignored.

Fact: Two of the indigenous people lied to police investigators in their original statements. One of them lied under oath in the preliminary hearing for Mr. Stanley. After being advised of pending perjury charges, he changed his statements.

Fact: Both Eric Meechance and Cassidy Cross Whitestone admitted they tried stealing a truck from another farm, breaking a rifle stock in the process. Fact: Meechance is under a firearm ban. Fact: They admitted trying to steal an ATV from the Stanley property. Does that sound like something you would normally do if you are entering a farmyard to ask for help with a flat tire? RCMP stated that they were driving the SUV on a rim for some time; there was no tire. Fact: They had a loaded rifle in the van. Fact: Mr. Stanley admitted he had reached for the keys to shut off the van and the gun went off accidently.

Fact: Both native women admitted assaulting Mr. Stanley’s wife (punching her until her son yelled to stop). A tragic series of events resulted in a loss of life. Terrible. It should never have happened. Both families are devastated.

The verdict, whether you agree or not, is the verdict. Our laws state that a person cannot be convicted of a crime if there is any reasonable doubt. It does not help matters when our justice minister and prime minister convey a message to Canadians that this was not the right verdict. How can they insinuate such a thing? It undermines our society, our justice department, it undermines everything that is Canada. This was not racism.

Dale Brooks

Lethbridge