There will be a demonstration against Michael Bryant this Thursday March 29 at 5pm at the Royal Ontario Museum. The following is the press release from Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip, who is organizing the event. His contact info is at the bottom and you can contact him with questions and concerns:
On Thursday March 29 Michael Bryant, the former Attorney General and MP who was excused from standing trial after killing cycle messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard, will be lecturing the Liberal Party at the Royal Ontario Museum.
The incident was captured by surveillance video and witnessed by many who were willing to share their accounts. A special prosecutor, Richard Peck, with ties to the liberal party worked with the defence team to document and publish Mr. Bryant’s version of the events.
The exceptionality of Mr. Bryant’s case is undeniable: no rational person in the same circumstances could expect the exemption from a fair trial and weighing of evidence that was granted to our ex-attorney general. Anyone without his political connections, that is. In fact, it’s quite difficult to imagine a more clear-cut example of legal bias.
When our legal system so clearly exposes its inability to act independently, we believe it the responsibility of everyone who believes in a single standard of justice – a standard that doesn’t differentiate between people based on their wealth and social position – to object.
So we will gather to demonstrate at the main entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum on March 29th, in visual demonstration that will leave no doubt as to our message: political authority is a responsibility, not a privilege. And any person whose privilege sets him above the law has no place in setting policy for a political party responsible for shaping the laws the rest of us value and obey.
Some of us protest as cyclists who object to the absurd precedent set by this case, some as friends of Al Sheppard, and all of us as citizens and shareholders in a legal system which recognizes a single standard of law.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Facebook Event:
http://www.facebook.com/events/394907670519688/
Online Info:
http://www.bemuhe.com/bryant
http://bemuhe.com/bryant-how-to/CONTACT:
Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip
email: bemuhe@gmail.com
Comments
Seymore Bikes
The courts have failed to
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 00:18The courts have failed to demonstrate that justice has been served in this case.
It is up to the people to sentence Michael Bryant.
W. K. Lis
He got a fair trail on the
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 10:37He got a fair trail on the evidence presented.
simplicius2wheels
He got a fair trail on the
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 13:17He did? Tell us about it.
From what I have seen, the prosecution decided not to bring it to trial, in spite of the existence of a surveillance video that showed Bryant had hit the cyclist from behind with his car, thus starting a confrontation. That confrontation escalated and resulted in a death.... Again, where is the fair trial? And I am glad you brought it up.
Seymore Bikes
I was in court when the
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 18:49I was in court when the verdict got delivered, and in my opinion it was over before it begun. The David vs. Goliath analogy would only be a fair comparison if Goliath had also hired Navigator to run a top level PR campaign to discredit his adversary. This case set a new low for Canadian Law; it was simply one sided, soft and toothless. The witness testimony, the video evidence - reduced to nothing, the fact that the court accepted Bryant's claim that he popped the clutch (twice!), causing him to knock Sheppard off his bike is in itself disgraceful.
Bryant instigated a conflict, escalated it, killed Sheppard, and then hid behind a well-strategized PR campaign to escape justice.
Let me know if I'm missing something.
Antisthenes (not verified)
One member of the filth that
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 20:39One member of the filth that is Navigator told me it was terrible "what was done to" Bryant, to which I yelled, "%%%* off! He's not the one who's dead, is he?" But I was the 'difficult' guy at the party that night, apparently.
Whatever else about the incident, or the characters of the two involved, one of them is dead and for that reason alone it should have gone to trial.
As for that filth, I chose a new circle of friends: that doesn't include PR mercenaries, much less listen to their spin respectfully.
Random cyclist (not verified)
He didn't get tried at all -
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 21:40He didn't get tried at all - that's the problem. Even if he wasn't convicted of crim neg, it seems that the video would support proceeding to trial - there may have been enough evidence to support at least proceeding on an assault with a weapon charge.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
He got a fair trail on the
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 22:50> He got a fair trail on the evidence presented
^- lol!!!
What trial? All charges were dropped by his buddies!
The fact he is so brazen to show his face around town again is further evidence of his psychopathy and enforces the unapologetic nature of the acts he committed upon society.
He may not have been jailed, but he ought to be banished from Toronto...
simplicius2wheels
I just re-read the Wikipedia
Sat, 03/31/2012 - 08:35I just re-read the Wikipedia entry on Bryant. There was no trial.
The case went to court, an out-of-province prosecutor presented evidence and the prosecutor withdrew the charges. A trial would have seen all the evidence, there would have been cross-examinations in an attempt to convict and there would have been a judgment with a written reasoning from the judge. Bravo, Canada! No wonder the young folks have no respect for "the system".
Kevin (not verified)
In our democracy, a jury is
Sat, 03/31/2012 - 11:22In our democracy, a jury is the way in which a politician who kills, such as Mr. Bryant, is held accountable by the people.
Of course, there was no trial, no jury and no accountability. We were treated to the sordid spectacle of one government official whitewashing another government official with nobody being held accountable to the people in the form of a jury.
It is essential for democracy that politicians be held accountable to the people. Politicians who kill must face a jury of the people or else there is no accountability.