A Toronto-based book publisher is publicly rejecting an inquiry from Gerald Stanley’s defence team to share his side of the story.
Between the Lines issued a press release Thursday noting its denial of the Robertson Stromberg LLP office’s request for a meeting.
“Mr. Stanley’s side of the story has already been told,” the press release, backed by the co-operative publisher’s editorial committee, read.
“To publish, promote, and market Mr. Stanley’s side of the story would only contribute to the injustices experienced by the Boushie family and all Indigenous people. It would also allow Mr. Stanley to gain financially from the death he caused.”
Stanley, a Saskatchewan farmer who had been charged with second-degree murder in the August 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie, was acquitted Feb. 9 by a jury in Battleford.
His lawyer, Scott Spencer, confirmed in an email to select media Thursday the Robertson Stromberg office did reach out about publication, but Spencer refuted the idea Stanley is looking for a book deal.
“Our office did in fact make inquiries on Gerry’s behalf to see if there was any interest in publishing all the facts, fairly and objectively. He is not looking for a ‘book deal,’ we are not acting as his ‘literary agents,’” Spencer wrote.
Stanley was concerned throughout the legal process about “misinformation,” according to Spencer.
“Gerry believed that once the facts came out at trial that the misinformation would stop and that any public discussion would be based on facts and evidence. However, that has not been the case,” Spencer wrote.
Boushie, who was from the Red Pheasant First Nation, was shot in the head with a handgun as he sat in the driver’s seat of an SUV that had been driven onto Stanley's property near Biggar, Sask.
It’s not disputed Stanley caused the death, according to the judge who oversaw the trial. The verdict came down to whether or not the jury found Stanley unlawfully caused the death.
Spencer, who described the shooting as a “freak accident” during the trial, said the shot from Stanley’s gun was a hang fire, a delay between when the trigger is pulled and when the bullet fires.
Between the Lines wrote that the case exemplifies the treatment of Indigenous people in Canada’s justice system.
“The justice system’s handling of this case, from the RCMP’s appalling treatment of the Boushie family to the selection of the all-white jury, provides another example of how our unequal justice system fails Indigenous people,” the publisher’s press release read.
The co-operative encouraged other publishers to follow suit and deny printing Stanley’s story.
“We hope that this statement will encourage any potential publisher to understand the irrevocable harm that has already been done, consider the effects of publishing Mr. Stanley’s story, and instead stand in solidarity with the Boushie family and their friends and allies—and continue to demand justice for Colten Boushie,” the publisher wrote.
The head of the provincial Ministry of Justice’s public prosecutions office announced earlier this month the jury’s decision will not be appealed.
Stanley is still facing firearms charges.
