Several people in the courtroom yelled "Murderer!" seconds after a Saskatchewan jury found Gerald Stanley not guilty of killing Colten Boushie early Friday evening.Perhaps the trick here would have been more evidence... and less mystical aboriginal ju-ju...
Throughout the trial, Alvin Baptiste, Boushie's uncle, has held an eagle feather inside and outside the courtroom. He said it represented "truth and justice," which Popescul passed on to the jury early in the trial.And totally devoid of magical properties, he might have added.
"It appears to them that you are motioning or shaking the feather at Mr. Stanley," said Martel Popescul, chief justice of Saskatchewan's Court of Queen's Bench. The chief justice said that was distracting to the jury.
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RELATED: Stuff you won't hear at CBC
It's surprising how "touchy" juries can be about a little perjury these days. There was no other possible verdict given the circumstances.
"All five aboriginals were consuming alcohol. Later, they got a flat tire and drove onto a farm 15 kilometres northeast of Stanley’s farm, where at least one person tried to steal a truck."
Translation: They were shitface drunk. They stopped at two previous farms and attempted to steal vehicles. They broke the stock on their rifle attempting to smash a truck window.
"A grey SUV was driven onto the Stanley farm and that someone from the SUV attempted to steal a quad."
Translation: The Stanley farm was their third stop on this firewater-fuelled "steal-a-thon."
"A .22-calibre rifle barrel with a bullet in the chamber was found next to Boushie’s body, and that an empty box of .22-calibre cartridges, as well as 17 live rounds and 11 spent casings compatible with the rifle, were found inside the SUV."
Translation: These folks were armed & dangerous. The rifle had been previously fired out the window of the vehicle... at what, nobody apparently knows or admits to.
"Two people who were in an SUV with Boushie admitted lying in police statements. One also said he lied under oath during Stanley’s preliminary hearing."
Translation: Absolutely everything these people said is suspect.
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FROM THE COMMENTS:
"Let's just change things around a wee bit - 5 drunken redneck Canadians with a loaded rifle trespass on an Indian reservation and attempt to steal a truck at three different homes..."**********
LAST WORD: Dear Caucasians of Saskatchewan...
...you're all irretrievable, murderous racists...
"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the midst of a trip to California, immediately expressed his support for the Boushie family, as did the Justice Minister. Given that this case is likely to be appealed, this political rush to criticize the verdict seems imprudent at the very least."I blame Sir John A. MacDonald. And residential schools.
