HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1966-03-24, Page 1✓-
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Toronlo W�man's u Book
Claims Truscott Innocent
Steven Truscott--guilty or
innocent?
Ontario's courts said guilty.
Toronto's Isabel Lel3ourdais
Bays innocent.
The -writer - crusader gives
her reasons and arguments in
a just -published book, The
Trial of Steven Truscgtt,' that
calls for Royal Commission
investigation of the case.
Steven Truscott, then 14,
was found guilty at Goderich
on September 30, 1959, of the
rape -murder of 12 -year-old
Lynne Harper at 'nearby Clin-
ton RCAF station. The jury
recommended mercy.
The hanging sentence was
commuted to -:life imPrisgn-
ment and Steven, an exem-
plary prisoner, is in Collins
Bay Penitentiary at Kingston
—hoping.
Hoping that Mrs. LeBour-
dais' book. which already has
won impressive support in
and -out of Parliament, will
prove the innocence he and
his parents have maintained.
Hoping for a miracle.
Hoping that an aroused wo-
man's dedication to .a cause
-whieh,tinfoldea-for -her in._50
and more' readings` •of 2,500
pages of court transcript and
produced a• reasoned 240 -page
book will mctve the people
and Government of Canada.
What . IS the reasoning of
Isobel LeBourdais?
The book details it—and is
a MUST fqr the crime analyst
and the concerned citizen
alike. If you can forget that
a life is at stake, you have a
thriller in -your hand.
But you can't forget, and. it
may keep you from sleeping.
On Betty .Kennedy's special
90 -minute public service pro-
gram about the book on radio
station CFRB, author LeBour--
dais summarized her main
points.
Her basic contention is that
Steven'Truscott could not have
committed the• crime and dis-.
posed of the body and cloth-
ing in little more than the
half hour available to him.
Mrs. LeBourdais claims that •
testimony of both CroWn and
defense witnesses allows only
that -tire. With Lynne on
the bar of his bicycle,,,Steven
was seen after supper pedal-
ing_ down a _-road:. towards
_ I gTivcay �8� lie r�ct� lick;-ueien�=�-Gardin, discussed -a
alope not:more than, 35 „min- decision to assign a new psy
utes later, by theauthor's con chiatrist to Truscott.
vincing analysis csf children's The letter said in part "Ste -
observations on that . hot,
bright evening of June 9.
Lynne° Harper's nearly
naked body, ravished • and ---
strangled, was found two days
later in a 'bush half -way to
the highway. The • rape had
Veen violent, perhaps pro-
longed. '
The murderer 'had taken
time to pile most of her
clothes neatly beside the
body. He had, torn down
three tough saplings and laid
them in bizarre fashionacross
it.
But Steven, kidding around
with friends before going
home to babysit , for two
younger Truscott children of
Warrant Officer and Mrs. Dan
Truscott, was entirely normal
—calm, clean, relaxed. .The
author asks: was this possible
i he had just committed a
vi 'lent rime? Her answer:
no.
Mrs. LeBourdais takes issue
with the conclusions of the
autopsy performed by the dis-
trict pathologist, assisted by
the station medical officer.
From viewjng the contents
of the girl's stomach, emptied
into a glass jar and examiped
with the naked eye under an
ordinary lamp, the patholog-
ist put the time of death be-
tween 7.15 and 7.45 'p.m. two
days before. This coincided
.with,the time of the.bike ride.
Longer Time "
But Mrs. L4eBourdai§ quotes
medical authorities that allow
a much longer time for ,em-
ptying
emptying of the stomach after a
meal, particularly when it was
not well chewed. Lynne had
bolted a chicken dinner just
before six p.m.
Mrs. LeBourdais contends
that even without delaying
factors in digestion the stom-
ach does not empty in under
31,-2 to 4 hours.
The arbitrary conclusion of
the path•ilogist she calls "a
tragic and very serious medic-
al error."
The author declares -that.
her interviews with 11 of Jhe
12 jurymen convinced her
that their minds were made'
up in advance due to the emo-
tional climate of :Duron Coun-
ty—they "knew"- Steven Trus-
cott was guilty.
Knew It
Ons the CFRB program, as
• in the book, she, quoted one
juryman as saying: "I knew
the boy was guilty from the
very first but I didn't make
up my mind till theend, like
(Continued on page 7)
Convicted Youth Under Pressure
Toronto Member Claims In House
OTTAWA.—A Toronto MP
has demanded that no pres-
sure be put on „Steven Trigs-
cott to persuade'him to admit
the crime he has steadfastly'
denied. �.
Andrew Brewin (NDP —
Greenwood) based his appeal
to' Solicitor -General L. • -T.
Pennell on a letter written to
Truscott's father which, Mr.
Brewin says, indicates such
pressure exists:
Truscott, 21,; was sentenced
to death for tiie murder seven"
years ago of Lynne Harper,'
12, at Clinton The sentence
was later commuted to . life
Danied B Truscott, an RCAF
warrant officer in Ottawa, by
G: Geoffrion, executive _
_assistant _to : Justice Minister;
imprisonmen
The letter, written last No-
vember to the boy's father,
CALLS TENDER 'r'*
Goderich.=-p-.0 b 1 i c school
board has called for tenders
on a package deal iii an all-
risks insurance policy.
ven .will therefore have an
o•pportuniiy with another psy-
chiatrist to open up and dis-
cuss his case. , The, Penitent-
iary authorities are hopeful
that .Steyen may be encourag-
ed to abandonhis so-called
defense strategy when discuss-
ing his offense and be abso-
lutely frank with the psyehia-
trist who- is only acting, with
a view to help and assist the
patient."
The father had complained -
last :fall to the justice minis-
ter that his son was being told
in effect by the penitentiary
psychiatrist: No confession,•
no recommendation for par-
ole.
WO Truscott, who now lives
in Richmond, OiiI., had asked
that another psychiatrist be
permitted to take over from -
Dr. -George S_cott.:The, Nod _
ernhen letter gave—the ...per,
mission "at your expense."
SVIr.. Geoffrion's letter to
Stevents patents was an in-
dication to hien said ,Mr. Brew-
inoutside the Commons that
considerable • pressure has
been exerted -on -the young
man to admit, the crime of
rape and murder which he
hes denied ffom the outset.
'Dominion Road Coinpany workmen took to
the picket, lines in support of strikers at
the Goderich Manufacturing Company plant
here at the week end. At extreme right is
John Pirie, president of the Western On-
tario District Council of the striking car -
?enters' union.
Signal -Star Photo
"PSYCHIATRIST TALKS TO ROTARIANS
Patient Employment Suggested
Rehabilitation of mental pa-
ients, from the standpoint of
seful employment, enabling
them to earn realistic wages,
is not only a benefit to them
--individually but results in in-
creased buying, power and,
incidentally,.reduces the cost
to the public of operating
mental hospitals.
These practical aspects were
mentioned by Dr. Terry Boy-.
Ian, psychiatrist at the On-
tario Hospital, Goderich, in --
speaking to the Rotary Club
• and guests at `uesday.'s_lunch-
eon . meetin...
g
a�-'
:........Only four' months in_C ><1
aaa, he diEW upon• his Eng-
- lish practice for some illus-
trations. • Numerous questions
at the close of his, talk indic-
ated keen interest on -the part
of members and guests.
Rehabilitation of mental pa-
tients in t
ture, Dr. Boylan pointed -out;
15 or 20 years ago iittlevtreat-
ment could IA given, but now
it is so advanced that the
average length of time, a pat -
lent spends in a mental hos-
pital is five or six weeks.
"It is no problem for a
neurotic," he said, "because
they continue at home and on
'their jobs. With acute nery-•
ous-breakdown, they come in
-for-five or -six weeks and go
hone to their familyandjob,
and, there is no need to re,,
habilitate them, or the elderly
Who become confused and
have to go to hospital,
"Rehabilitation is mainly
.concerned with' the mentally
retarded.
"At one time, any rehabilit-
- ation of the 'patient was on
the . level - of rug -making or
cutting out Christmas bells,
but now it is much more prac-
tical ..
"For women, cooking a din- •
„,. housework_ methods,
shopping, etc., on a kind of
housewifeJasis. The men
are much more of a problem.
because rrurnericaIl gr-ea-terY-
he� o'ld'er hospitals' it -m'ariy
Boost In Budget
dor 'School Board
Goderich public s-c,h• o o 1 e and 'Society of London;( Gode-
- - board's projected budget for
1966 has jumped by more
than $15,000 from the pre-
vious year to bring it to a
, high of $284,400.
Town council learned last
Thursday that, ;despite tlu in -
'crease, there would be a slight
reduction in the municipal
levy request.
'The town's levy will amount
to $135,000 as compared to
$135,286 in 1965.
Teachers' salaries provide
o„ the. main reason for the over -
a Increase, this year. This
f
tire has beetr boosted from
$159,208 in 1965 to the; pre-
sent high of $1,76,700.
An increase in provincial
grants from $129,274 to $140,-
000 helped keep the town's
levy from be ng increased. -
I'rojected expenditures for
the school board are:
Teachers' salaries .$176,700
Instructioaar supplies `$11,000
Adnitn.istration $ 7,500
Plan' operation and . .
maintenance $ 45,200
Auxiliary Agencies $ - 500
• Capital Expenses $ 1,500
Debenture principal
• and interest $ 42,000
Council will give Etat r ---
consideration to the hoard's
budget during a meeting deal-
ing with estimates, which will
l'be held later this month.
At the same meeting coun-
cil will deal with request for
grants from. The John How -
Warrant Officer Daniel Truscott, right,
shows concern as he walks down the steps
from the. courtroom with defence counsel
Prank Donnelly during the 1959 murder
trial here.
WATER CONSUMPTION
Water consumiition for the
town of Goderich during 1965
amounted to 268,60,100 gal-
lons, The Ontario hospital,
which is on the same link up,
used 144319,900 gallons or
5.060 per cent o& the tonal.
rich Public Library Board;
Canadian Red Crdss: Centen-
nial Committee; and the Re-
tard' d Children's Education
� n;tarr; ;rlcmbers a roe d
nee' ru special • .session ,on
Jla:Seh :yis, to consider estim-
ates for 11366 and other -urg-
ent graters."
ArtExhibit
Set For Town
Residents of Goderich and
, district wilJ have an opportun-
ity to see an .exhibition of
eighteen paintings by out-
standing Ontario artists at the
Goderich Public Library be-.
tween March 28th and •April
12th.
This exhibition is one of
many which the Art Institute
of Ontario has assembled for
•distribution to libraries and
museums of the province.
The Goderich Library Board
is sponsoring the exhibit in
odelict irr`Cga'=operattorr with --
the Goderich Art Club. Mem-
bers of the Art Club wills be
on hand at the. Library to
answer questions about the
paintings during the time they
they are on display. -
The paintings represent a
wide variety of conception
and medium. The- works of
six arfists selected from with-
in the Ontario Society of Ar-
tists make up the exhibit. The
representative artists are Ad,
rian Dingle, Ann Macintosh
Duff, Julius Griffith, Yvonne
McKague Housser, Alexandra
Luke,. and Jocelyn Taylor.
cases have a farm, with ,
great opportunity for agricul-
tural work, getting back into -
the swing of things oh, the
hospital farm.
"In most mental hospitals
the people in ahem come
from an industrial area, and'
they 'probably worked, -if they
worked at all, in factories,
usually at unskilled labor. In„
,London and St, Thomas -- it
does riot apply here--they_set
up workshops, industrial ther-
apy, and patients go in and do
a;:4,101)1 \vnrk on toys, tele-
phone carie nun's, etc:,. at
a slow. }gree, but industtia1
condi1 or s are simulated. i'a-
tient, clock in in the nrornin',
and get union rates for the
job. If d -me as piece -work.
and they have earned over a
certain -amount, 'a certain-a-
mount
ertain-amount on a slidinti scale is
applied to hoard and keep.
Swing Of Things
"It is similar to,ordinary in-
dustrial
technique. They feel
they. are get ,ing_back inte_the
swing of things. In 1964,
there were 62 Ontario firms
who gave ou' practical work
'to various Ontario hospitals
that handle this type of work.
"In England, a group of pa-
tients may go out to a factory
in t"wn, acc:)rnpanied by a
nurse or attendant, but they
will .be working against ordin-
ary employees- and are paid
average •national wages. Some
fall out, if course, tint 'he
others go on the basis of a jolt
while • living in the hospital
as a hostel, and a god nor-,
tion of their pay is taken as
-a---{ ,14,e4a4m..._f or--.1>oaul --on. _ n . .
business basis.
"All these stages may take
(Continued on page 5) '
Mayor Set
Strike Talks
Mayor Frank Walkoarn's 'at-
tempt to mediate the strike
at the Goderich Manufactur-
ing Company plant began be-
hind -the -scenes last week. •
�It was a' Wednesday that
the mayor established con-
tact with the union and man-
agem•entt to see if they were
willing to negotiate.
.`I called the meeting after"
my peace feelers seemed to
gain some response," said
the mayor.
,"Both parties agreed to
meet on neutral ground in,
thetownhall to iron out
their differences," he added.
At the time .of calling the
meeting, Mayor Walkom said
he intended to be in the chair.
"to get the ball rolling."
He said: "Both sides ,ap-
peared _quite willing to
negotiate."
This week end picketers
-from. .striking Local 3054, Unit-
ed ]brotherhood' of. Carpent-
ers and Joiners of America,,,
were relieved by members of
L o c a l 1863, International
Order of Machinists, who are
ConciIiatIOn Officer
Sough#:. By Mayor
Goderich Mayor Frank Wal-
kom suffered a setback Mon-
day in his attempt to negoti-
ate a settlement of the strike
at the Goderich Manufactur-
ing Company plant here.
A meeting of union and
management bargaining com-
mittees, held Monday at the
request of the mayor, ended
in deadlock after two -and -a -
half hours of talks.
"I am sorry to say that at
the meeting between repre-
sentatives of the union and
management, nothing was ac-
eomplished," reported Mayor
Walkom.
"Each side merely counter-
ed the proposals as advanced
by their op"p,onents," he add-
ed.
Mayor Walkom said he -now
intends to request the On-
- tario Department of Labor to
arrange for a conciliation of-
ficer to come to • Goderich
Giant Cake
employed at the Dominion fanned For 67
Road Vlachinery Company
plant.
"We intend to give' Local
3054 both physical and finan-
cial • support," said Charles
Stewart, president of Local
1863.
"Our Then will picket the`
:plant at the week ends to
give the regular pickets a
„break," he added.
On Saturday, Mr. Stewart
handed over a -cheque for
$200 as a donation from his
local to the strike fund.
Machinists picketers car-
ried placards which read:
"Ask not what Local 3054
can do for .us, but rather
what we can do for' Local
3054.",
Said Mr. Stewart: '."We feel
that a demonstratioir of-union--
solidarity
f-union-
solidarity will show the plant
management • that - everyone
is concerned about the-
Tine picket lines at the pian -rt:
have been totally effective in
keeping the plant closed but
--"two company officials drove
. trucks from the yard early
Monday morning under poli,rce
escort.
Teacher Retires
Victoria S e fl o o l teacher,
Mrs. Mary I. Morris, has noti-
fied the public school board
of her intention of retiring
after 17 years of teaching in
local public schools. ,
The school board is now
advertising for teachers with,
a special emphasis on teach-
ers trained for "opportunity
class" work.
GALA NIGHT
Tomorrow night (Friday) is
Gala Sports Night for • the
town of Goder ich. -
The Bluewater °Shrine Club
and iho,,Knirhts of Columbus
have combined to offer ,local
•residents a bonanza program
in the arena.
All proceeds fr din the ev-
ent will go to the Shrine -hos-
pita!s for crippled children.
Goderich's Centennial com-
mittee ha.; launched its plans
for the. 1967 celebrations -'with
a proposal for a giant birth-
day cake to be illuminated on
the Square New Year's' Eve.
`'rhe committee; which is
now ineeting each Monday in
the Victoria and Grey build-
ing, 'is laying plans . to co -or -
in the
co-or-
dinate all activities
town next year.
Letters are being sent to
all local organizations urging
them to plan a Centennial
event and asking for all in-
formation • to be .sent The
-centennial Committee, Box
1967, Goderich.
Tfie coirrmtlee; which°has
invited representatives from
Colborne; Ashfield-and•-Gode-
ri r.townsliips, intends -to -Tub
lash. a._ Centennial -,_program.,
later this year. -- .
Mrs. Martha) athburn has
been • appointed secretary -
treasurer of the committee.
• The Maple Leaf Chapter of
the IODE was the first off the
mark to announce celebration
plans in ;conjunction with the,
town committee.
Members are to hold a Cen-
tennial Ball in .May and a
coffee party in connection
with the Art Mart in July.
Goderich Community Con-
certs Association will bring
in the C'anadian Opera Corr-
' pally to keep in step with—the
celehr rii<,,rs.
In addition, it was learned
11iis week, that the Centennial
Carman • will be calling in
Gcderieh on June 11,
"Both sides pare agreeable
to this," said the jpayor. "We,
in this town, feel that this -
economic position should be
corrected as soon as possible."
The plant was shut down
three weeks ago when 95 em-
ployee-memt s of the -United
Brotherhood of . Carpenters
and Joiners of America yoted
in favor of strike action..
This came after seven mon-
ths of ` negotiations between
union and management repre-
sentatives. broke down over.
terms far a possible- new a-
greement.
Only three members of Loc-
al 3054 voted against. strike
action when a secret ballot
was held at a mass meeting.
Points at Issue '
The union is requesting:
o The present 48-hour week
be reduced to 44 hours
with no pay cut.
• A 15 cents an hour in-
...Union
n-
•.Union security provision
in the agreement.
• The 'company to pay' the_
full cost of the overall life
insurance program and
hospitalization.
"'Phis will amount -to a 40
cents an---her-increase .over
the 'ne'xt two years, said,. Topr
,,Harkness, union • organizer
from 'London.
The tap hourly rate for un-
ion mmbers at the, local plant .
is -mow .$1.48, ••
If the Department of Labor
agrees to , name a conciliation
officer, he will be the third
to be appointed since negoti,
ations began here:
"My -only recourse was to.
ask ;or a conciliation officer
to be sert down to talk to
them again," said Mayor Wal-
kom, -
"There wasn't a thing on
which either side could a-
gree," he added.
It is understood that there
.was considerable -heated -de-
bate during the Monday meet-
ing and the,lnayor_had to ex-
ercise his rift to ca -1l the
_meeting to ordet n a numbet
of occasions.
Company officials refused
• to comment-. on .the meeting
or on the mayor's subsequent
statetnenit,
At the union headquarters,
Mr. Harkness said: "I feel the
mayor has covered what there
is to say and I havenothing
to add to his remarks at the
moment."
6
Building Boom
Goderich building inspec-
tor. 'report for the month of
F.'hruary shoved ,that four
permits had been i:.si'ecf for a
total value. of $18.800. This
figure , includes an $11,000
permit for renovations to the
Royal Bank -of Canada.
•
Howard Presxcator, official of Local 3054,
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners of. America, hands out strike pay to
members of the picket line lit the Goderich
Manu'acturings Company plant.
Signal -Star Photo
4