HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2004-11-03, Page 3News
Truscott disappointed by
Justice Minister's decision
By Choryt Hath and Clint Haggart
Clinton News Record
Steven Truscott will have to wait, again.
That is the word from federal Justice
Minister Irwin Cotler who
took the middle road out of a
three-part option Thursday
after reading a review of the
45 -year-old case written by
now retired justice Fred
Kaufman.
In short, Cotler opted to
send the case to an Ontario
Court of Appeal for further
review rather than outright
dismiss Truscott's claim or
order a new trial in Goderich.
The highly anticipated
announcement came as a
disappointment to the
Truscott team, but Steven
remains optimistic that his
day in court will come, says
lead lawyer James Lockyer,
noting Steven is a "formidable man with a
strong character" who needs to "get a
monkey off his back."
"Instead, he's getting more delay," says
Lockyer, noting Steven, who chose not to
speak to the throng of assembled reporters at
a hastily arranged press conference
Thursday in front of his residence in Guelph,
calls Cotler's decision a "bump in the road"
to his eventual exoneration.
Still, Lockyer says everyone involved on
the Truscotts' team of support will be "older,
probably a lot older" before the 45 -year-old
case comes to its "rightful" conclusion.
Ultimately, says Lockyer, the Ontario
Court of Appeal panel, including three to
five justices, is likely to rule for a new trial
that would probably end quickly due to a
"lack of evidence."
On that day, says Lockyer, "Steven
Truscott's reputation is returned to him and
to all the members of his family as well."
Lockyer, flanked by co -counsel Marlys
Edwardh and Phil Campbell, says, "the fact
is Steven Truscott did not kill Lynne
Harper."
Though Cotler's decision is not what the
Truscott team finds ideal, it is nonetheless a
step in the right direction, he says.
"Today is a step forward," says Lockyer,
adding it is of a definite benefit to the
Truscott team to have the case back in front
of the judicial system.
The Crown's case in Steven's 1959 trial
was "built on a house of
sand," he says.
"He was 14 years old, on
death row and here we are in
2004," he says, noting
Kaufman's 700 -page report,
which was written after a 19 -
month review of the case and
led to the justice minister's
decision, has yet to be seen
by the Truscott team though
Kaufman announced Monday
that it will be released to the
public.
Lockyer also took time out
to note DNA evidence, which
has helped to exonerate
people, including Guy Paul
Morin who was wrongfully
convicted of the rape and
murder of a child, cannot
help Steven's cause because all of the
evidence was destroyed by police in 1967.
Following the press conference, co-
counsel Phil Campbell confirms it is likely
to take at least a year before the Ontario
Court of Appeal will begin dealing with the
justice minister's recommendation. •
It is comforting, says Campbell, that
Cotler acknowledges a miscarriage of justice
"likely" occurred in Steven's original trial.
Campbell says Truscott did not step
forward until 1997, 28 years after his release
after serving a 10 -year sentence for capital
murder, because he wanted to raise his
family out of the spotlight.
Campbell also notes federal compensation
— if and when Steven is exonerated — has
not been discussed.
He adds the legal team will stand by
Steven.
"Get that straight," he says. "We're in this
for the long haul."
A spokesman for the Ontario Provincial
Police says police will not be commenting
on the justice minister's decision given that
the case will be going in front of the Ontario
Court of Appeal.
However, police would not comment
about whether or not the investigation will
be reopened if Truscott is exonerated.
Steven
Truscott
Public Notice
Your Rights Under the
Personal Health Information
Protection Act
The privacy of your health information is important.
On November 1, 2004, the Personal Health
Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) came
into effect.
The act:
• Creates rules for the collection, use and
sharing of personal health information by
doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and other
healthcare providers;
• Gives you the right to request access to your
own health records from your healthcare
provider;
• Gives you the right to determine how your
personal health information can be used;
• Gives you the right to request corrections
to your health records if the information is
inaccurate.
If you believe that any individual or organization
that provides you with healthcare is not following
the rules of PHIPA, you may complain to the
Information and Privacy Commissioner.
For more information:
Call our INFOline at 1-800-461-2036
TTY 1-800-387-5559
Visit: w*vw.health.gov.on.ca
Q Ontario
•
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Nov. 3, 2004-3
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