My sense always was that the charges were laid too quickly. Especially where there was real doubt as to what happened the investigation should have gone further before they charged. If anything, my sense is that Bryant suffered from his prominence -- everyone was anxious not to be seen being soft on him.
May 25, 2010 10:05:00
Peter Small and Betsy Powell
Court Reporters
The Crown has withdrawn charges against former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant in connection with the death of a cyclist last summer.
7 comments:
Optics matter.
I would agree with most of what you are suggesting.However...
Bryant did have the foresight to be seen wearing a nice suit after his rough first night in jail. He clearly had access to the best lawyers in the country partly because of his wealth and partly because of his former position.
Certainly he got a change of clothes and that should be available to everyone -- but often isn't.
Very insightful. I was hoping you would post on this issue.
The circumstances that led up to this event were fatal in their own right, so nobody should be surprised by the results...Nonetheless, using a car as a defensive weapon should still open a precedent for manslaughter, regardless of the circumstances...Otherwise you get a much more dangerous precedent being set, as it seems.
Public perceptions are a potent force that can be manipulated, and I'm looking at the Power of PR on my blog:
http://thumbshift.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/pr-redefine-society/
Just Sayin
Jo
"If anything, my sense is that Bryant suffered from his prominence -- everyone was anxious not to be seen being soft on him."
Oh. Would the quality of suffering that somebody charged with such a crime on the basis of evidence available at the time, somebody who isn't prominent & doesn't have the privileges that Bryant enjoys, be any different from his?
Time heals many wounds. It is also expected to shift the focus of a population proven to have limited attention span.
I came back to comment on this. I'm no lawyer but horrible as this must have been for Bryant, the dismissal of this case seems odious to me.
First - Bryant had the altercation with Darcy Sheppard - car vs bike - and he, Bryant *did not stop*, to assist, explain, apologize. Would that enrage you on your bike? Well it would enrage most people, I assure you. I recall clearly the comments of the street witnesses interviewed after Bryant killed Sheppard. They were not what I was hearing now in this much PR'd $$ case.
Can money, class, connections and a good PR agency buy you freedom? Clearly they can. And the dead Darcy Shepperd wasn't really there to tell us his account of the events, was he.
Short memories...? Oh I don't think so. If nothing else conscience and karma do pay a visit. The law of come back. Run from that, and you'll run straight into it's arms. Divine justice prevails in the end.
Daria S.
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