(Artwork by Grace Berrios, Colton Boushie Quote Card for Rise Up Media)
Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
February 9 was the anniversary of Gerald Stanley’s acquittal. For those who aren’t aware, Gerald Stanley was accused of killing Colten Boushie after Colten and some friends drove onto his rural Saskatchewan property. Gerald Stanley was not convicted of this killing, despite the fact that Colten was killed by a close range gunshot in front of his friends and the son of Gerald Stanley. Colten’s friends said they drove onto the property for help with a flat tire, and Gerald Stanley claimed that he approached the vehicle with his gun when he suspected the group of trying to steal an ATV, and the gun ‘hang fired’ into the back of Colten’s head.[1]
When reflecting on the news and social media reports of Colten’s death in 2016, it is striking to recall the vitriol of people who justified shooting and killing trespassers and who leaned on racism to support that justification. Comments like “the only mistake was leaving 3 witnesses” (made by a SK municipal councillor) were pervasive, and people seemed quick to point fingers at the four friends while supporting the actions of Gerald Stanley.[2] The RCMP and trial followed this pattern. The investigation focused heavily on the 4 young occupants of the vehicle, and Colten’s friends were even arrested along with Gerald Stanley.[3] Colten’s family members have stated that throughout the proceedings, it often felt like Colten was on trial and that Gerald Stanley was being treated as the victim.[4] In fact, media publications would refer to the trial as the “Colten Boushie trial”, when it was Gerald Stanley who was on trial.
There were other issues with the investigation and trial process. The investigator in such a major incident was an inexperienced junior officer.[5] The crime scene was left uncovered in the rain for two days and was not attended by any forensic expert.[6] Colten’s mother was informed of his death by the RCMP as they searched her home, weapons drawn. She was told to “get it together” and asked if she was drunk.[7] During jury selection peremptory challenges excluded any juror who appeared Indigenous, and the selected jurors were not asked about possible racial bias or pre-trial public influence impacting their ability to remain objective.[8] During the trial, the prior criminal records of the witnesses were discussed to discredit the victim and his friends.[9] The trial judge did not inform the jury about the requirements of self defence or defence of property, which Gerald Stanley was not formally pleading but was clearly relying on.[10]
In the end, Gerald Stanley was acquitted, and Colten’s loved ones are left seeking justice. The Saskatchewan crown prosecutors declined to appeal the acquittal stating there was no error in law, ending the proceedings that might have brought closure to Colten’s loved ones.
The verdict was controversially denounced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then Justice Minister Jody-Wilson Raybould and sparked an omnibus bill that abolished peremptory challenges.[11] This legacy is just one of the many Colten has inspired. Colten’s family used their grief to fuel incredible advocacy for the way Indigenous people are treated by the legal system. This advocacy has taken them all the way to the United Nations to seek justice for Colten.[12] Team ReconciliAction encourages our readers who have not yet seen the award-winning film nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up by Tasha Hubbard to watch this powerful telling of Colten’s story and the advocacy and work his family has done.[13]
(Image: Tasha Hubbard, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (2019).)
In the meantime, we ask our readers to consider the first time they heard about Colten and recall the context in which the story was presented. Was there any bias? Do you think the story might have been told differently if the farmer was Indigenous and the car full of youth were white? Do you think bias seeps into our legal system in a way that makes it a system of justice for only some of the people who come into contact with it? We talk a lot about the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the legal system, and the lack of representation in the legal profession, but what happens when an Indigenous person is the victim of a crime? How is our system set up to properly care for victims and their families?
For today, we will leave you with those questions to ponder.
#JusticeForColten
Until Next Time,
ReconciliAction YEG
-----
To receive daily alerts to the blog, sign up here
Be sure to stay up to date on other happenings with ReconciliAction YEG:
Follow us on Twitter at:@ReconciliYEG
Connect with us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/reconciliActionYEG/
Check out our Instagram at: @reconciliactionyeg
-----
[1] David Giles & Nathaniel Dove, “Calls grow for public inquiry into death of Colten Boushie, acquittal of Gerald Stanley”, (19 February 2020), online: Global News <https://globalnews.ca/news/6566640/public-inquiry-colten-boushie-gerald-stanley/>.
[2] Ian Austen, “A Murder Trial Stirs Emotions About Canada’s Relations With Indigenous Population”, The New York Times (9 February 2018), online: <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/world/canada/canada-saskatchewan-murder-indigenous.html>.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Rachel Giese, “Why Has Colten Boushie’s Mother Had To Work So Hard Just To Prove Her Son’s Humanity?”, (20 February 2018), online: Chatelaine <https://www.chatelaine.com/opinion/colten-boushie-mother/>.
[5] Jason Warick, “The long list of problems Colten Boushie’s family says marred the case”, (13 February 2018), online: CBC News <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/colten-boushie-family-list-problems-gerald-stanley-case-1.4532214>.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Rachel Giese, supra note 4.
[8] Jason Warick, supra note 5.
[9] Ian Austen, supra note 2.
[10] David Giles & Nathaniel Dove, supra note 1.
[11] Kent Roach, “Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie Case”, (10 February 2020), online: The Canadian Encyclopedia <https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gerald-stanley-and-colten-boushie-case>.
[12] Tasha Hubbard, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (2019).
[13] Ibid.
Recent Comments