In the ongoing divisive fallout of the Gerald Stanley murder trial, another entity has publicly characterized the members of the jury in the case as racists and suggests only anti-Indigenous laws and practices led to Stanley's acquittal.
Stanley's legal team has issued a statement in response and has asked for the their legal counsel's contact information.
Canadian publishing house Between the Lines has tweeted, "We’ve been contacted by Robertson Stromberg LLP for our legal counsel’s contact information. Time to lawyer up!"
At Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford last month, Stanley was found not guilty of murder in the death of Colten Boushie.
Canadian publishing house Between the Lines, in issuing a release about their refusal to publish information offered by Stanley about his experience, has said Stanley’s “side of the story has already been told and was validated, in wilful disregard of the facts and expert testimony, by an all-white jury.”
In its release, Between the Lines calls Stanley’s legal representatives his “former legal team, now acting as his literary agents.”
Scott Spencer of Robertson Stromberg LLP, on behalf of his client, issued a short statement Thursday, stating their reasons for contacting publishers. It reads as follows:
“In response to the Press Release by Between the Lines released earlier today, Gerry has been concerned throughout the legal process about the misinformation that has been widely circulated.
“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.
“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.’ Gerry just wants to see the public record set straight.”
The release issued by Between the Lines of Toronto reads as follows:
“Several publishing houses in Canada received a request to meet with a legal representative of Gerald Stanley from Robertson Stromberg LLP. In the email, Mr. Stanley’s former legal team, now acting as his literary agents, stated that they ‘represented [him] in his recent criminal law matters and Gerald is looking to share his side of the story.’ Our press has rejected the request for a meeting and instead offered an expression of our solidarity with the Boushie family. We would like to elaborate publicly on the reasons for our commitment not to publish this story and we encourage other publishers to reject the request.
“First, Mr. Stanley’s side of the story has already been told and was validated, in wilful disregard of the facts and expert testimony, by an all-white jury. His side of the story is already told through a general whitewashing in public discourses that deny or minimize anti-Indigenous racism and violence, in our textbooks that erase dispossession and genocide, and in the laws and practices that led to Mr. Stanley’s acquittal. 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.
Second, 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 yet another example of how our unequal justice system fails Indigenous people. Our criminal justice system wrongfully and disproportionately convicts Indigenous peoples and must change. To publish Mr. Stanley’s side of the story would only serve to perpetuate our unequal justice system.
“Third, we have a great deal of power as publishers to choose who is and who is not heard. We are decidedly in favour of publishing the stories of the powerless, the advocates of social change, helping to uncover the uncomfortable truths that implicate the status quo. If there is an untold side of this story that ought to be published it is that of the one person who can no longer tell his story – Colten Boushie.
“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.
This statement is undersigned by the Editorial Committee of Between the Lines.”
