STANLEY NOT GUILTY
Gerald Stanley is rushed away from the emotional courtroom scene Friday after a jury acquits him in the death of Colten Boushie.
After a trial that captivated and polarized the province, Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley was found not guilty in the 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie.
As the verdict was announced at 7:35 p.m. in Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench, the courtroom erupted with shouts of disbelief and anger from distraught members of Boushie’s family and their supporters in the public gallery.
Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, rose from her seat and screamed. Some family members restrained her. Others wailed or screamed at the jury.
“You’re a murderer, you’re a murderer,” one woman shouted. “You’re cruel. You guys don’t even care about First Nations,” another yelled through tears.
Many members of Boushie’s family were ushered out of the courtroom in tears by court workers.
“Shocking,” Boushie’s uncle, Alvin Baptiste, remarked as he walked out of the courtroom.
“I’m just pretty shocked by the verdict and that my nephew has been denied justice. And how First Nations are treated in the justice system is not right,” Baptiste told reporters outside the courthouse.
Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man from the Red Pheasant First Nation, died on Aug. 9, 2016, of a single gunshot wound to the head. He was one of five people in a grey SUV that drove onto Stanley ’s farm north of Biggar that day.
At least one person in the SUV attempted to start a quad on Stanley ’s property. Stanley and his son, Sheldon Stanley, confronted the SUV and Sheldon hit the windshield with a hammer. The SUV then drove away and smashed into one of Stanley’s parked vehicles. Two men from the SUV got out and Sheldon Stanley ran into the house.
Testifying at his trial, Gerald Stanley said he retrieved a Tokarev semi-automatic pistol from his shed and fired two warning shots in the air. A third shot fatally struck Boushie in the back of the head while Boushie sat in the driver’s seat of the SUV. Stanley testified that it was an accident, and that he thought the gun was no longer loaded or capable of firing when it suddenly discharged in his hand while he reached into the SUV to turn the engine off.
Boushie’s brother, Jace Boushie, expressed disappointment in the criminal justice system after the jury’s verdict was delivered.
“This ain’t right. This ain’t justice and the law system failed my family in this murder trial,” he said outside court.
“Before spending the last one and a half years with them, I did not know how strong people could be,” said Chris Murphy, the lawyer who represented Boushie’s family during the trial.
“Some people believe that the colour of Colten’s skin did not play any role in either the death, or what has happened since, but imagine you’re a member of Colten’s family today, reliving the death of your son, your brother and your nephew and at the same time, truly believing the colour of Colten’s skin contributed to the tragic events of Aug. 9, 2016, the subsequent police investigation and the proceedings that followed.
“We will be going to Parliament Hill this month to describe the systemic injustices that this case has revealed. But for now, I ask that you trust that Colten’s family has legitimate reasons for these deeply held beliefs. There is a darkness that exists in this country, and I believe we are going to have to feel our way out of it.”
In a phone interview, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron expressed bitterness, saying news of the verdict hit him “like losing a loved one.”
He thought Stanley would be convicted of second-degree murder and get a lengthy sentence, he said.
“Whatever the family decides to do, we are going follow and support. If they direct us to go further and go higher we are going to do it. How can someone get away with killing someone? How can the jury even think about something less than second-degree murder?”
Jade Tootoosis, Boushie’s cousin, said the family hoped for justice, but did not see it or feel it.
“We will fight for an appeal. We will fight for an appeal and answers to all of the racism that my family has experienced from the day that Colten was shot until the jury delivered the verdict of not guilty,” she said.
“We will not stop our pursuit for justice. We will stand here and honour my late brother, my family member, my friend Colten Boushie. We would like to thank everybody that came out and supported us and sat with us and stood with us and prayed for us. This has been very difficult, but we will continue to seek out justice for Colten.”
In a news release, the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, who represent seven First Nations in the Battleford area, said they were “deeply disturbed” by the verdict and called for “an immediate inquiry examining a number of injustices during this trial including problems with jury selection, the prosecution and trial processes.”
The organization “wants to express deepest condolences to the family and community at large for the loss of Colten and hopes the families can somehow begin to heal and move forward from this senseless tragedy,” they added.
“We are extremely angry, sickened and disturbed with these results and changes need to be made,” BATC representative Neil Sasakamoose said in the release. “It has been a very difficult year and a half for the Boushie family and our communities and it’s now only become harder for our people to bear.”
The trial’s outcome “will further test race relations in the province,” he added. “We want to continue to work towards a reconciled future alongside our non-First Nations neighbours but this verdict will become our biggest challenge moving forward while trying to maintain a respectful dialogue with everyone involved.”
The provincial government quickly issued a statement on behalf of Premier Scott Moe.
“I know there may be some strong reactions regarding the verdict of the Gerald Stanley trial,” it read. “I would urge everyone to be measured in their reaction. Let us all remember our personal responsibility for our thoughts, our actions, and our comments – including those on social media.
“The Saskatchewan I am proud to call home is one that is strongest when our communities work together.”
Earlier on Friday, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark and Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand issued a joint statement.
“This case has cracked open the racial undercurrent in Saskatchewan with the potential to further drive a wedge of mistrust between communities. We cannot build our future with hateful dialogue and divisiveness,” the statement said. “Reconciliation must grow from the community level to being truly valued and embodied by us as individuals.”
This ain’t right. This ain’t justice and the law system failed my family in this murder trial.