STORY: "Hales' murder confession to police is admissible, judge rules," by reporter Jeremy Warren, published by the Star Phoenix on May 29, 2013.
GIST: "Queen's Bench Justice Gerald Allbright says Douglas Hales' confession to killing Daleen Bosse made during a police interrogation is admissible as evidence. On Wednesday, court heard final submissions from Crown and defence lawyers in a voir dire - a trial within a trial - on whether or not Hales voluntarily made statements to Saskatoon police in an interview after his arrest in August 2008.........In his submission, defence lawyer Bob Hrycan painted a portrait of Hales as a lonely, uneducted and unemployed man when he met undercover RCMP officers targeting him in a Mr. Big sting in May 2008. Hrycan argued the police interview should not be allowed because Hales did not voluntarily make the admissions. The three-month RCMP sting, during which Hales befriended and worked for the undercover officers, was a ruse that fundamentally changed Hales' psyche, Hrycan argued. Hales was so "addicted to his new life" - he relied on RCMP, financially and emotionally - that when it was revealed it was all a sham, he crumbled and was in a vulnerable state that helped Saskatoon police push him to confess he fatally choked Bosse in 2004, Hrycan argued. "Every vulnerable factor of his personality was exploited," Hrycan told court. Hales was a shattered man reeling from revelations that his friends and employers in a criminal organization were really undercover RCMP officers when police interviewed him, Hrycan said. "He had been played for a fool," Hrycan said. "The world he lived in all that time was in fact a lie." The entire sting was really a three-month long interrogation of Hales, and the police interview was just the final part, so the tactics used during the operation were "bordering on entrapment," Hrycan added. "Is this coercion? We suggest it is."........ Crown lawyer Matthew Miazga argued the idea that the three-month sting was in fact one long interrogation has no legal basis. He also argued Saskatoon police interviewing Hales after his arrest never aggressively confronted him; rather, in soft tones they simply laid out the evidence, as they would for anyone in custody. "Yeah, (Hales) was upset. Why was he upset?" Miazga told court. "In his own words he said, 'I don't want to die in jail.' " In the interview video played earlier in court, Hales didn't appear to be exhibit the pliable, submissive personality described by the defence, Miazga said, adding the accused at times was defiant with police, swearing and insulting them early in the interview.".........Now the voir dire is over, the Crown has officially closed its case."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Hales+murder+confession+police+admissible+judge+rules/9887909/story.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
