Shock, disappointment after Crown decides not to appeal Colten Boushie case

APTN News
Family, friends and supporters of Colten Boushie are trying to move forward after another shocking blow this week.

On Wednesday, the Crown prosecutor’s office said it won’t appeal the not-guilty verdict for Gerald Stanley, the man accused of killing Boushie.

Alvin Baptiste, Boushie’s uncle, says the possibility of an appeal was the family’s last chance at justice.

Now they no longer have that.

“There’s a lot of disappointment,” he said. “A lot of people who feel that all Indigenous people, including my community, feel like they were denied justice again. They keep telling us to have faith but how can we have faith when we were denied justice?”

Last month, a 12-person jury found Stanley not guilty in the shooting death of the 22-year-old from Red Pheasant First Nation.

In order to appeal, the prosecutor’s office said there has to be an error in law.

“The Crown cannot appeal a disagreement over the facts, the interpretation over witness evidence or because a particular perspective leads to the opinion that the verdict was unreasonable,” said senior prosecutor Anthony Gerein.

The verdict prompted several cross-Canada rallies in solidarity with the family.

Autumn Eaglespeaker was the organizer for the event in Calgary.

She disagrees with the crown’s reason for not appealing and says evidence that came out during the trial point to a sloppy investigation.

“There are so many things that point to gross errors and for the crown to say that it was handled in the best manner possible is a complete farce,” she said.

But the Crown says it cannot use police complaints to grant an appeal.

A public investigation has been ordered to investigate police conduct during the case.

For now Boushie’s family is looking for a way to move forward.

“It’s been hard for the family what we’ve been going through,” said Baptiste. “But we are a strong family and we will continue.”