Monday, July 07, 2008

It's ABOUT TIME !!!!

In 1959, 12 year old Lynne Harper was murdered not far from Clinton Ontario ... 14 year old Steven Truscott would be arrested, tried, sentenced to hang, then imprisoned for 10 years for the crime ... he maintained his innocence ... he tried in vain to be acquitted ... in 1969 he was paroled ...

The evidence that Mr Truscott was the wrong man is compelling ... I remember as a grade six student at Bedford School in Stratford Ontario hearing the story of Steven Truscott for the first time ... I didn't think he did it ... I remember talking to my mom about it later and she said - 'your dad never thought he did it either ...' (Dad was a fresh new recruit with the OPP when the Truscott story began)

I still don't think he did it ... and in 2007 the Ontario Court of Appeal finally acquitted Mr Truscott of the crime ...

Today the Ontario Government offered Mr Truscott $6.5 million in compensation (see the story on CBC.CA - Steven Truscott to get $6.5 Million in compensation)

All I can say is - IT'S ABOUT TIME !!!! This compensation should have happened LONG ago ...

I also have to wonder though: for almost 50 years Mr Truscott has lived with the weight of being THE "Steven Truscott" who went to jail at 14, and spent 11 years in jail followed by FOUR decades of being dogged with the question mark of "did he do it?" - and he is awarded $6.5 Million ... this contrasts sharply with Mr Arar who was awarded $12.5 Million for 11 months in a Syrian prison ... makes you wonder what the cost of Justice really is ...

It's a start any way ... Congratulations Mr Truscott - you deserve not a penny less ... and perhaps even more ...

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