Not guilty verdict in northern murder

[jolinar of malkshor]

PEACE RIVER -- A northern Alberta man has been found not guilty of murder in a case that forced the RCMP to review its guidelines for responding to domestic violence cases.

Stanley Willier, 50, was found not guilty of second-degree murder in a Peace River courthouse Thursday.
Willier had confessed to police, but the judge threw out the confession because investigators didn't do enough to ensure Willier spoke to a lawyer

This is the kind of **** that ****es me off with the justice system.

First....the lady calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that her husband (exhusband) is trying to break into the house to kill her. The mounties never show up and she is found dead.

Second....the cops then arrest the husband and **** up the entire case by not giving him right to counsel.

Third....the judge throws out the confession because of the second reason. Now....not knowing the all the facts to the case, I still think that a confession like this backed up with evidence from the 911 calls indicating that the husband was trying to kill her, should be allowed even if right to counsel was questionable. I don't think justice would come into disrepute if the confession was allowed to be entered as evidence.

The system sure worked for this lady.

On a side note, how do those police officers confront the family of the dead women? They didn't respond to the call, then they don't do their jobs properly and the guy gets off. Sick


http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/...03479-sun.html

[Superflyer]

Yea it is things like this that make me so mad. How can the cops look at themseves in the mirror and say "Yea I am a police officer". They are supposed to protect the people that are in need, not to sit on their asses and eat donuts while someone is screaming for help.

It also seems with the crowded jails and such the courts are told to just let people off because they do not have room for them.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Superflyer

Yea it is things like this that make me so mad. How can the cops look at themseves in the mirror and say "Yea I am a police officer". They are supposed to protect the people that are in need, not to sit on their asses and eat donuts while someone is screaming for help.

It also seems with the crowded jails and such the courts are told to just let people off because they do not have room for them.

I agree that there is an idea that Jail is for the most violent of offenders. Jail is to punish people who have commited crimes....especially repeat offenders.

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

PEACE RIVER -- A northern Alberta man has been found not guilty of murder in a case that forced the RCMP to review its guidelines for responding to domestic violence cases.

Stanley Willier, 50, was found not guilty of second-degree murder in a Peace River courthouse Thursday.
Willier had confessed to police, but the judge threw out the confession because investigators didn't do enough to ensure Willier spoke to a lawyer

This is the kind of **** that ****es me off with the justice system.

First....the lady calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that her husband (exhusband) is trying to break into the house to kill her. The mounties never show up and she is found dead.

Second....the cops then arrest the husband and **** up the entire case by not giving him right to counsel.

Third....the judge throws out the confession because of the second reason. Now....not knowing the all the facts to the case, I still think that a confession like this backed up with evidence from the 911 calls indicating that the husband was trying to kill her, should be allowed even if right to counsel was questionable. I don't think justice would come into disrepute if the confession was allowed to be entered as evidence.

The system sure worked for this lady.

On a side note, how do those police officers confront the family of the dead women? They didn't respond to the call, then they don't do their jobs properly and the guy gets off. Sick


http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/...03479-sun.html

Gotta love th RCMP lately...always get their man.......


right


Air India.....Nobody

ARAR case....sent the wrong man his to torture in Syria, via the USA.

Consideing how the Air India terrorism investigation has gon I have seriou doubts that the 19 jihadists will see any time at all.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Pretty brutal police work.
Mistakes like that should not happen.

I feel bad for the victims family

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Pretty brutal police work.
Mistakes like that should not happen.

I feel bad for the victims family

I cannot understand why police officers DO NOT give these suspects every available attempt to contact a lawyer. It is police work 101. I mean this is exactly what happens. Yes they might get some info from the dude if he doesn't lawyer up....but....any info obtained will not be allowed in the court if the charges proceed. I just cannot understand why they do this.

I work in the law enforcment field and that is always the first thing I do. If I have arrested someone....I do not ask any questions what so ever until the person has decided they do not wish to speak to a lawyer. And I also make it very clear that if they change their mind about contacting a lawyer during the questioning or anytime while under detention they can say so at anytime and they will be given an oppertunity to talk to one. It is that simple.

Is this a training issue or just poor/lazy/stupid police work?

[Jayems]

Well, in this case, yeah the cops screwed up..

But 99.9% of the time, how would you feel if you were a cop, doing your best day in and day out, arresting hardend criminals, hand them over to the justice system...

Just to find out, they've been released, or some bureaurcratic BS has got them off.

And why is no one blaming the lawyer of this POS? This guy, knowing full well, exploits the legal system to get a murder off... tell me who less socially and ethically moral.

Guess thats his job.

[Vulcan]

Sometimes I think some of these lawyers have sold themselves to the devil but that's how our system works on an adversarial basis. Justice doesn't have much to do with it, it's just a side dish.

[jolinar of malkshor]

It is not just the lawyer....the Judge could have decided to keep the confession and not throw it out. Like I said....I don't think it would have brought justice into disrepute.

There has to be lawyers in place to help these, as one poster put it, POS. But the judge is really the only one that is not accountable.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

First....the lady calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that her husband (exhusband) is trying to break into the house to kill her. The mounties never show up and she is found dead.

...


http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/...03479-sun.html

Doesn't sound like it according to the article you posted....

According to a leaked RCMP memo, Moreside called police on the day of the stabbing and complained her husband was drunk and breaking into the house, but was told police wouldn't come because he couldn't be charged with breaking into his own home.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by jar_e

Doesn't sound like it according to the article you posted....

Doesn't sound like what??? That she didn't call because her husband was trying to break into her house?

About 10 months later, high-ranking RCMP officials said they had made a mistake when an officer did not respond to Moreside's call.
"The lack of attendance in this particular case was clearly an error," Supt. Marty Cheliak told a news conference last year

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...b698fb&k=52251

Moreside called police to report that her common-law husband was drunk and trying to break into her home

“The administrative review confirmed management's earlier observations that this situation falls within the guideline that requires police attendance to the source of the call. The lack of attendance was clearly an error,” said Supt. Marty Cheliak at a press conference at the time.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Albe...8/2702975.html

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Doesn't sound like what??? That she didn't call because her husband was trying to break into her house?

You said she phoned because she thought he was going to kill her. In any of the reports I've seen, she made no mention of any sort of threats or her mentioning she thought he was going to kill her. She phoned cause she was concerned because her husband breaking into his and her own house. I'm pretty sure if she had mentioned that "My husband is trying to kill me" the RCMP would've shown up ASAP.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by jar_e

You said she phoned because she thought he was going to kill her. In any of the reports I've seen, she made no mention of any sort of threats or her mentioning she thought he was going to kill her. She phoned cause she was concerned because her husband breaking into his and her own house. I'm pretty sure if she had mentioned that "My husband is trying to kill me" the RCMP would've shown up ASAP.

Ohhh... so she just called the police because she WASN'T afraid for her safety....ic.....makes lots of sense

I have followed this case in the news from day one.....I am having a hard time finding any previous articles on the net....but I know her call to the police was because she was afraid that her husband would harm her. She has had problems with himi n the past. But go ahead and nit pick....

Not to mention....we have not heard the actual transcripts of the telephone call....but again....makes more sense that she called 911 to let them know her husband was home rather than because she was actual afraid of her life.....yup.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Ohhh... so she just called the police because she WASN'T afraid for her safety....ic.....makes lots of sense

I have followed this case in the news from day one.....I am having a hard time finding any previous articles on the net....but I know her call to the police was because she was afraid that her husband would harm her. She has had problems with himi n the past. But go ahead and nit pick....

Not to mention....we have not heard the actual transcripts of the telephone call....but again....makes more sense that she called 911 to let them know her husband was home rather than because she was actual afraid of her life.....yup.

You mentioned you work with law enforcement so I'm sure you know the same bullsh*t you deal with day in and out. I looked at a bunch of previous articles, this has been a hot topic in my job field, and not one of them has ever given me the impression that she was afraid of her safety. I know, i know, why else would she call 911? But your as good as your caller and if your caller doesn't articulate the scenario well than things can hit the fan (for the law enforcement agency and the caller).

That being said, I really do think there was a communications breakdown somewhere along the line but it's always going to come to "he said, she said". According to the articles I've read, she phoned 911 to notify the RCMP that her husband was "breaking into his own house"...that's not a crime. We can't start sending out cruiser's in an already limited resource setting. If there was a history of violence (which I believe there was, but the wife refused to press chrages), she should've brought it up when she phoned 911. If she thought her life was threatened, she should've said something. Of course, both sides have to meet in the middle but with the amount of crap I hear over the phone everyday I can easily see how something like this can get ignored/improperly handled.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Well, in this case, yeah the cops screwed up..

But 99.9% of the time, how would you feel if you were a cop, doing your best day in and day out, arresting hardend criminals, hand them over to the justice system...

Just to find out, they've been released, or some bureaurcratic BS has got them off.

And why is no one blaming the lawyer of this POS? This guy, knowing full well, exploits the legal system to get a murder off... tell me who less socially and ethically moral.

Guess thats his job.

Some bureaucratic BS like... the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? I'd really like to see a copy of the judgment on this one before I comment any further... but I'm gonna anyway.

There's the other side to the "putting the justice system into disrepute" argument that would say the police shouldn't be able to crap the bed and trample all over someone's Charter rights and still get a conviction out of the deal. Minor infringement with minimal impact might be okay, and it always depends on the circumstances and the facts, but it shouldn't be the judge's job to get a confession into evidence when the police f'd up.

And, at least from what I've read so far (admitedly not much), the defence lawyer was only doing his job. He or she shouldn't be blamed from doing that.