Stoddard Online

COFFIN TRIAL. . A FLAWED PROCESS

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In the last posting we were taking a look at the trial process of Wilbert Coffin. We were making a determination as to whether Wilbert Coffin actually received a fair process from the judiciary of the day.

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You will recall that we reviewed the inquest process conducted by Doctor Lionel Rioux. You will further recall the scenario leading up to and including the changing of the inquest verdict to reflect one of responsibility on the part of Wilbert Coffin. This was done subsequent to the jury having already delivered a verdict of non-responsibility on Mr. Coffin's part. This was done on directions from the Ministry of Justice of the province of Quebec.

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It is important to note here that the directive from the justice ministry was swift and absolute. They simply stated that they were going to charge Wilbert Coffin with murder anyway, whether or not the inquest jury found him responsible. In spite of the directive from the ministry, the decision to change the verdict was not unanamous. Two of the responsible businessmen from the Gaspe' area saw fit to hold out and not go with the directive. They were Whorrel Annett and Gabriel Bernard. The government got their wish in the form of a majority vote, with the two dissenters remaining intact.

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To the surprise of many, Gabriel Bernard is still alive at this writing and confirms this revelation. He is also willing to convey this information to a court of enquiry. I have personally spoken with Mr. Bernard and he has assured me that he was never convinced that Wilbert Coffin was guilty of this crime, and as well, feels badly with respect to the ministry of justice promoting a change in verdicts.

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I have reviewed these things simply to display to you the illegal happenings which took place, as it is important to remember that it was these events that laid the frame work for the upcoming trial. There is an important question here that needs to be answered. The question is simple, it is the answer that is complex.

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The question is simply, "Is it proper and prudent that a court of law be allowed to flourish and make a determination on a first degree murder charge, when the very venue of determination is laced with illegal procedures? In my view, I do not believe that it is. I know of no other court system in the land that would permit this to happen.

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For the past few months I have been working on an aspect of this trial process that has never been worked in the past. That is not to say that it shouldn't have been investigated. If the trial judge had done his work properly at the onset of the trial it would have been discovered. More importantly, if the defense legal team headed up by lawyer Raymond Maher had done his job the crown would not have got away with it either. The whole scene emits a stench of complicity on the part of both the crown and the defense. I ask that you read and re-read the following few paragraphs before you form an opinion.

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In order to fully understand the gravity of the situation that I am going to describe to you it is important that we fully understand and appreciate the laws governing our court system and the rights of individuals caught up in the workings of the judiciary of Canada. It is also important to note that Canada received her Charter Of Rights And Freedoms in 1982. Prior to this date, as a nation we were subject to the laws and rules of Great Britain. As a result, persons charged with an offence were covered by certain rules, which enabled a fair exposure to the justice system.

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Subsequent to 1982, in a more refined and defined structure, certain laws and rules remained intact. In other words, since the original confederation there were always some rules governing the handling of an accused. Without doubt, that set Canada apart from many other regimes of the world who offered much less.

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An important consideration is the fact that under both the British regime and our current charter, the rights and freedoms of a citizen is a very precious and fragile component, especially to those who may find themselves falling within the net of a judicial proceeding against them. That is why the application of our rules are entrusted to those in authority, to make certain that those less fortunate are treated equally to those who may be in a higher social status.

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During the course of my investigation of the Wilbert Coffin affair, it has always been in my mind as to whether Wilbert Coffin received the full benefit of protection as would have been provided by law. Early on my question was partially answered when I learned of the changing of the verdict at the Inquest. My feelings were that if this was an example, there would be others. I did not know where, but I was determined to find them. I am glad that I am not one to give up easily.

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Fair exposure to the justice system includes a competent legal defense. That is not just my interpretation, that is laid out clearly in both the old system under British law and our new system, falling under the current Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Without that principle in place, clearly there would be no equality within the parameters of law. In simple terms, "the law for the poor, and the law for the rich" would be the order of the day. Unfortunately, to the peril of an accused, if justice is allowed to be meted out by the wrong hands, then the scales of justice are name only, and meaningless. I invite you to read on.

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The tale that I am now going to relate to you is true. I know that because I personally researched it, and conducted interviews. It is an ugly, chilling tale, mostly because it happened here in Canada, a place where this sort of thing could never happen. I should tell you now, this did not happen by accident. It was a planned, calculated strike against a citizen of Canada, charged with an offence. His name was Wilbert Coffin of Gaspe', Quebec.

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In order that one do an indepth study of this affair as I have done, immediately one asks themselves the question, "Was Wilbert Coffin adequately defended?" From the time of his arrest until trial, much of his time was spent without the services of a lawyer. There is documented proof that in the beginning he was denied legal representation. There is also proof that as pre-trial time continued, his defense planning time with a competent lawyer could at best be described as sparce.

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Prior to being moved to the Quebec City jail for "more professional" interrogation as it was described by Captain Alphonse Matte, his local lawyer in Gaspe' had been denied access to him. His brother and father had arranged for a young local lawyer by the name of Mr. Garneau to look after him, but it was evident that Garneau was no match for the big guns sent down from Quebec on the part of the prosecution and investigation.

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During his time spent being interrogated at Quebec jail for nearly three weeks, I can find no recorded time spent with a defense lawyer. On the other hand, I can find records of hours of torturous treatment meted out by Captain Alphonse Matte and others in an effort to gain a confession, of which they were never able to extract. This evidence is supported in statements by the late Eugene Letourneau, the Quebec City jailer and staff.

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It was because of these things that caused me to "look outside the box" in order to enhance my investigation of this case. I asked myself, "If a qualified, competent defense lawyer existed during this time for Wilbert Coffin, would that person in their professional capacity have stood idly by and allowed these things to take place, considering the fact that they were dealing with the most celebrated legal case in Quebec history?" Instantly, common sense told me of course they would not. At that point, I knew that I was on the right track with respect to the legal defense of Wilbert Coffin. It simply did not exist. The crown would argue during this period that Wilbert Coffin was not being denied counsel to defend a charge, because he had not been officially charged and that he was only a suspect.

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You will recall some months back that I put out the call for any police officers who may be still alive that took part in some way with the Wilbert Coffin affair. I was assured by a couple of people that my search was fruitless as each and everyone were now deceased. Each time that I was assured they were all deceased, I was encouraged me to look more thoroughly. I encouraged anyone who had a Grand Dad or Great Grand Dad, great uncle or family friend, or associate in any way, who might be able to help to please conact me.

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Once again the search paid dividends a few weeks ago.Through a third party, I was assured that a former police officer who worked on the case was very much alive. I made an effort and was able to locate this former officer. Prior to contacting him, I was able to determine that he was French Canadian. I was prepared to do an interview with him providing he would discuss the situation with me. I was further prepared to utilize the services of an interpretor, as I do not speak French.

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This former officer's name is Gilles Bastien, a current resident of the Gaspe' coast. Upon contacting Mr. Bastien, I discovered that he was most willing to discuss the matter with me, and to simplify matters, Mr. Bastien is most fluent in both English and French.

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During the course of my discussion with Mr. Bastien he was able to enlighten me, and in many ways corroborate what others had been able to tell me about the course of events leading up to and including the trial time at Perce'. Specifically, I am referring to the defendant, Wilbert Coffin and his inability to speak with his legal counsel, brought on by the actions of the solicitor general and attorney general of Quebec.

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In this particular affair, we have only heard of the actions of the prominent players such as Captain Alphonse Matte, Sgt. John Charles VanHoutte, and the head of the Quebec Provincial Police traffic division, Captain Raoul Sirois. It is important to note that any orders coming down the pipe from Captain Sirois, were merely being passed on from Solicitor General Antoine Rivard and his cohert the Attorney General, Maurice Duplessis who just happened to be the premier of the province as well.

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Captain Matte had been in touch with Raoul Sirois and requested assistance in manpower. He stressed the importance of keeping Wilbert Coffin distant from legal counsel during down time from the trial. He requested that some officers from the traffic division be re-assigned their duties during the trial, just as Constable Lewis Sinnett had done previous to the trial. It would be these officers who were charged with the responsibility of keeping Wilbert Coffin on the move to avoid dialogue with counsel.

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The story now will focus in the direction of former Quebec Provincial Police officer Gilles Bastien. I asked Mr. Bastien to describe to me in his own words as to who appointed him, his role, and the territory covered. Here is his response to my questions.

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"I was a traffic officer on the Gaspe' coast with the Quebec Provincial Police, stationed in the Chandler area. The head office for the traffic division for the Quebec Provincial Police was in Quebec City and was headed up by a Captain Raoul Sirois. It was from the Quebec head office that all decisions were made with respect to each individual office.

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Captain Alphonse Matte made a request to the Quebec office for some officers to carry out a special detail. I was one of the officers selected to go to Gaspe' for this duty. This duty involved the Wilbert Coffin murder trial. Captain Matte would outline my duties and give verbal instructions as to what the expectations were. My instructions were simple. During time when the trial was not actually in progress, I was to prevent Wilbert Coffin from being able to have discussions with his lawyers. This would include time spent to and from the court house, stand downs for lunch, and other breaks in the trial.

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In restaurants and coffee shops, I was to control his talking to staff. It was not uncommon to place dark glasses on his face so that he would not be recognized. This was all part of the orders from Captain Matte.

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We travelled to nearly every community along the coast during the course of the trial. We travelled all the way to Rimouski, always trying to mask his identity. On other days we travelled to Matane, Mont-Joli and many other places. He was handcuffed at all times except when we would go into a restaurant. I would then remove the cuffs. He never made any attempt to run away. He was always friendly and cheerful with me. He was aware of what we doing and why. He did not blame me, he knew that I was only following orders.

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Wilbert Coffin would get upset when sometimes he would spot something in a newspaper and it was written in French as he did not understand. I would translate for him.

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Upon arrival back at the court house, it was always pre-arranged for him to arrive immediately prior to the beginning of the days proceedings. This way there would be no time for discussions with Mr. Maher or the rest of his legal team. These actions were the order of the day for the duration of the trial".

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Mr. Bastien's statement is very important to this case. It magnifies the fact that Wilbert Coffin was very much a victim of a very flawed process, and yet that same flawed process set the stage for his eventual hanging at Bordeaux Jail in Montreal.

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This complete scene is directly opposite to what both the English system of law and our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees us as citizens. That guarantee tells us that as citizens we have a right to legal representation to defend a charge, and an equal right to a fair and unbiased trial. Wilbert Coffin was a citizen of this country, so why did the system fail him?

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It failed Wilbert Coffin because our governments allowed it to happen. The government of Quebec and the government of Canada could have easily not allowed these events to happen. Obviously, both levels of government were determined to bring this case to conclusion as expeditiously as possible. That is evident by the judiciary of Quebec resorting to a bunch of thugs doing the police work for a very corrupt system from top to bottom.

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Since beginning to write this particular posting to the Wilbert Coffin investigation, I have had the good fortune of being pointed in the direction of another gentleman who is very much alive and willing to talk. He was a businessman on the Gaspe' coast at the time of the Wilbert Coffin affair, and he has an interesting story to tell as well that ties in with the control of Wilbert Coffin and the prevention of him being not allowed to speak with his legal counsel. I shall be including this gentleman's account in the next posting.

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As you can see, there are many examples of Wilbert Coffin not being treated fairly in the justice system. It is also interesting to note that these events that I am telling you about here are well documented. They are not based on opinion. They are based on factual accounts, facts brought to the table by the players themselves, not through a third party.

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If you are thinking that some of these tales are horrendous, wait until we get into the trial itself. That is where the trickery, the manipulation, the lies and the deceit rear their heads. I beg forgiveness for my tardiness, and I do promise to speed the process. You are a great audience, and I want you to post your comments. That is what makes the site successful. I will be back real soon. God Bless you one and all.

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Lew Stoddard

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