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On 24 April 2008 CTV.ca reported “Baltovich explains: Why I would support an inquiry”.
Ever since Robert Baltovich was acquitted of murdering his
girlfriend Elizabeth Bain, there have been calls for a public inquiry into how
the judicial system treated the case. From the start of the ordeal, Baltovich
has been open with the media into how he feels he was wronged, first by the
homicide investigators leading the case and then by the judge presiding over the first trial.
The 42-year-old has spent the past 18 years fighting to
clear his name, until on April 22, when the Crown admitted it did not have
enough evidence to pursue their case against him. In an exclusive interview
with CTV Toronto's Pauline Chan, Baltovich said a public inquiry could be the
key to exposing weaknesses in the justice system that almost cost him his freedom.
In his own words:
Here are some of the reason why I would personally support an inquiry into the case:
It could help dispel any lingering doubts that the public or the media may have
regarding whether the Crown's decision to abort the prosecution was indeed due
to a determination that it was not worthy of a criminal trial, or whether there
might have been other reasons as yet undisclosed;
It could provide an opportunity for the public and the media to evaluate the
weaknesses of the case in the same way a lengthier trial could have, had one actually taken place;
It could explore the conduct of the police and prosecutors in the decision to
commence with and persist in a prosecution built on tenuous evidence,
questionable conduct by investigating officers, witness contamination, junk
science and the failure to disclose relevant evidence to my defence;
It could address the issue of why the Crown would have made an offer of one day
in prison for such a heinous crime if they truly believed I had murdered my girlfriend;
It could examine the conduct of the original trial judge, Justice John
O'Driscoll, in rendering the trial so unfair (sic) and whose conduct ultimately
led to the quashing of my conviction by the Ontario Court of Appeal;
Most important, it could maintain faith in the administration of justice.
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