Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man, was murdered on August 9, 2016. Gerald Stanley, a white rural farmer, claimed self-defence for his actions.
Stanley was acquitted by the all-white jury that was present because of the peremptory challenge, giving both parties a limited right to veto a number of jurors without explanation. This, along with the unjust attitude towards the victims and family, caused controversy regarding the verdict and the justice system. |
In the Truth and Reconciliation Report (2015), the TRC report includes sections related to the justice of Indigenous peoples. One would be number 27, to ensure lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes history and legacy of residential schools, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, etc. It requires skill-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.
One more section from the 'Calls to Action', number 29, depicts that all parties work collaboratively with plaintiffs, not included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, to have disputed legal issues determined on an agreed set of facts.
An excerpt from the MMIWG, number 15.6 signifies that all Canadians should protect, support and promote the safety of women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This is not what happened with Boushie's case.
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Boushie's trial felt as if the victims were being interrogated. "nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up", a documentary of the case by Tasha Hubbard, explains that there are factors unsaid in the trial. They fail to mention the neglected evidence washed away from the rain and the exposed body, or the condition of the three Indigenous victims after they are taken into police custody for 18 hours. One of the two women was handcuffed and in the back of a police car during a high intensity car chase afterwards. Because of her disorientated state from the trauma, her testimony was deemed not trust-worthy due to inaccuracy.
While Boushie's family waved a black feather that meant truth in the Cree culture, they were told to stop. The witnesses were shown a picture of Boushie's body, "which they [found] traumatizing" and "also goes against their Indigenous protocols" (Hubbard, 2019). The scene was replicated by Stanley, which went into detail on how Boushie was killed. None of the Boushie family were notified that it would take place and it was a horrifying event to witness, even if it was a reenactment.
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Overall, the trials of Colten Boushie and Gerald Stanley were treated as trespassing on private property and thievery instead of a murder case.
Boushie's family was mistreated, interrogated with biased intent and unnecessarily relived the tragic incident. Otherwise, they were not approached to speak about the issue, though they had witnesses and background information about the intentions.
Yes, it is in relation with cases such as the R. v. Gladue, 1999, which states that lower courts should address an Indigenous offender's background when concluding the sentence, and the R. v. Williams, 1998, case of allowing Indigenous accused to question jurors if they were biased against the Indigenous accused. These are all small, yet not ineffective, steps to reaching an even ground between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous concerning the legal system.
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A law professor who advocates for Indigenous groups, Kent Roach, who appeared in these older cases, states in an interview with the University of Toronto that "the failure of the justice system for Indigenous people has already been studied to death." A Manitoba Inquiry he mentions has been conducted to change the system and many more cases like Boushie's are overlooked. It is all not to mention the lack of justice from the legal system for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
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