Saskatchewan plays hard ball with Latimer prosecutor

By Frank Kennedy

Carrying on their vendetta against the pro-life/pro-family movement, the Saskatchewan NDP government has suspended Randy Kirkham, a crown prosecutor without pay since June of 1996. Kirkham has been charged with "attempting to obstruct justice".

Kirkham successfully prosecuted Robert Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer, who was convicted of second degree murder in November 1994 when he used his truck's carbon monoxide to kill his 12-year old daughter, Tracy, who was severely handicapped with cerebral palsy. And then - while his family were at church - put Tracy in her bed. An autopsy revealed that she had been obviously asphyxiated. Latimer was sentenced to jail for ten years but was almost immediately released on appeal. Latimer has since resumed working and has been driving the "killing truck" around the family farm.

Kirkham's "crime" was to have the RCMP question potential jurors about their views on mercy killing, abortion, and religion before the trail. Some of those people ended up on the Latimer jury.

The Supreme Court of canada has ordered a new trail for Latimer on the grounds of alleged jury tampering. Meanwhile Kirkham must pay for his own lawyer in order to appeal his suspension and wait for the outcome of the new trail expected sometime in October or November of this year and following that a trail over his own suspension. Kirkham is said to be hopeful that he will receive his back pay and reinstatement.

According to Darryl Rayner, an official spokesman for the public prosecutor in regina, in a phone interview, said that Howard Morton, who was in charge of the Special Investigation Unit in Toronto, a unit that investigates charges of police misconduct, is being brought in to Saskatchewan to prosecute the case against Kirkham because it was felt that it would be "inappropriate" for one of their Saskatchewan prosecutors to prosecute one of their own prosecutors.

Rayner said that it had required special dispensation from the Law Society of Saskatchewan for Morton to come. He claimed no knowledge of what financial payment for Morton was involved. Informed sources in Ontario say that costs will be substantial.

When it was pointed out to Raymer that Larry Fisher, who has been arrested on the basis of his DNA pinpointing him as the killer of a young woman over 25 years ago, was not allowed to bring in an Edmonton lawyer to defend him. Rayner said that this was a completely different situation because the Saskatchewan Legal Aid won't pay out of province lawyers.

When Rayner was asked if he thought it was "strange" that an Ontario police constable was arrested only this past Friday (Aug.15th) on 19 counts of theft, fraud and breach of trust by his own force, after a previous similar charge in April of this year laid by another police force and he was still suspended with pay and yet Kirkham received none of these considerations, he had no comment.

It was news to Rayner when he was informed that during the crucial morgentaler case that took place a number of years ago in Ontario, a firm of American jury experts was brought in to criminate jurors who might be hostile to Morgentaler's pro-abortion outlook. They successfully challenged married people - "people with six children" - people with strong religious convictions and pro-lifers - obviously. They accepted others who "had hair down to their waist" who claimed they could be "fair minded" when it came to the issue of abortion. Rayner was told that the Morgentaler case was over before it began.

It was suggested to rayner that Howard Morton should be asked about what was his stand on the "tampering with jury" charges - nor sought a new trail for Morgentaler. It was pointed out that the crown has always has access to jury lists and has never hesitated to "check out" before hand a panel of jurors. And if it's not wrong to do so in Ontario, Mr. Rayner, why is it so wrong in Saskatchewan?