Politicians wrong to second-guess juries

Since when does the Government of Canada, at its highest echelons of authority, in an apparent rush to judgment, side with the court of public opinion against the properly constituted legal justice system?

What is happening to our justice system when our prime minister, and his minister of justice, join in casting aspersions on the guilt or innocence of a man that a jury of his peers ruled to be not guilty and, further, impugn the judgment, intelligence and values of their 12 fellow Canadians who listened faithfully to the evidence and determined that they could not, in good conscience, find the accused guilty on the judicial level, “... beyond a reasonable doubt.”

I am concerned about the impact of this on the rule of law in Canada, when individuals at this level of authority and influence make such judgments when they have not sat through the court proceedings, listened to, nor evaluated the evidence, and yet seem ready to set themselves above this level of law and make comments that would seem to doubt the integrity and honesty of the court, the jurors, and the outcome of the proceedings.

Having spent more than six decades as a resident of Saskatchewan, and being temporarily ‘in exile’ in Alberta, it also concerns me that it casts aspersions on all the non-Indigenous people of Saskatchewan, covering them with the pall of “racist” because of the colour of their skin, or lack thereof.

For shame, Mr. Prime Minster & Ms. Honourable Minister of Justice! Virginia Battiste, Black Diamond, Alta.