Correcting Corrections Canada
John C. Moore’s journey through the Canadian justice system began when he was convicted of second-degree murder in June 1978. This happened despite the fact that the Crown recognized that he was not even present when the crime was committed.
On the evening of the murder, Moore, 22, was with Richard Nichols, his brother-in-law. Nichols agreed to give two men – Gordon Stevens and Terrance Hogan – a ride to downtown Sault Ste. Marie, where he dropped them off. Moore and Nichols then went looking for parties and were seen together throughout the evening by a number of people.
At around 4:00 am the next morning, Moore and Nichols bumped into Stevens and Hogan again at a party. At some point between the time of being dropped off downtown and the chance meeting at a party, Hogan and Stevens had robbed and killed cab driver Donald Lanthier.
The only link that the authorities had between Moore and the incident was that Moore, an Ojibway from Serpent River First Nation, had earlier that day spent time with the other men convicted in the crime.
Moore was convicted twice in trials that featured all-white juries despite the fact that there were many Aboriginals residing within the area who could have been called on for jury duty. In that he was not granted a trial by a jury of his peers, Moore believes that his trials were tainted by systemic racism.
In 1987, he was released from prison after nearly a decade behind bars in the Millhaven Penitentiary. Earlier that year the law that had convicted Moore was deemed unconstitutional.
At the time of his conviction, Canadian law held that even though there was evidence to show Moore was not at the murder scene but in fact with other people, he could be found guilty of the crime because, on an “objective standard,” he ought to have known the crime could have happened.
After 30 years, Moore is still dealing with the problems of being a convicted man. To this day he still has to report to a parole officer, which in his opinion has prevented him from having any semblance of a normal life. He has problems traveling, getting gainful employment and his family life in shambles, having not been present in their lives for so long.
On November 18, the 53-year-old Moore was in Montreal to talk about his 32-year battle for justice. When asked why it has taken so long for this alleged injustice to be corrected and what needs to be done in his case, Moore stated, “We, as a people, need to stand up and speak out against injustice. We can’t afford to stand on the sidelines and wait for something to happen.”
Moore talked about the Canadian government’s need to understand the damage it has caused to its Aboriginal population. “We are not going to take this anymore, things need to change. Take a look at the thousands of residential school children who died, who’s screaming for them?”
When asked if the justice system treated First Nations people differently, Moore agreed. “Just take a look at the two trials I was in. They had all-white juries – the police didn’t even pool any of the Aboriginal communities because of the alleged systemic racism within the police department.”
Moore said that when he was prosecuted, the evidence in the trials was little more than circumstantial. “During the trials there were 35 witnesses and 31 of them had no evidence linking me to the crime.”
Today Moore is trying to get the Canadian government to review his case and have the conviction overturned. This would, as he stated, restore peace to his life.
Michelle Mann, a correctional investigator with Correctional Service of Canada, who authored the report Good Intentions, Disappointing Results: A Progress Report on Federal Aboriginal Corrections, points out how the justice system has continued to fail those in the First Nations communities.
“What we have found is that there may be a lot of policies in place, but there is no follow through and those inadequacies is what the report points out.”
Mann added that lot of Aboriginal offenders who end up in the corrections system are placed in maximum, rather than medium or minimum, security institutions where they would have easier access to programs, healing circles and spiritual advisors. “Because of this classification, Aboriginal prisoners are less likely to receive parole because the programs they need are not available and thus they are seen as not properly rehabilitated.”
Mann stated that due to the lack of programs, Aboriginal prisoners don’t have a chance to deal with a lot of the abuse they have suffered – abuse that is attributed to poor family life, poverty, and, in many cases, residential schools.
The report also pointed out that one in three women who are incarcerated in Canada is Aboriginal. “This is a shocking number, especially when you look at the fact that Aboriginals only make up 4% of the country’s population. One in three would translate into 33% of the women are incarcerated in Canadian prisons.”
“Everything that is true for Aboriginal men in Canadian prisons is even more so for Aboriginal women. There are more instances of abuse, and their needs are more urgent than male Aboriginal offenders,” said Mann.
“I think there’s certainly some alarm bells,” says Kate Rex, director of the Sister’s in Spirit of the Native Women’s Association of Canada whose primary mandate is to investigate missing and murdered Native women in Canada. “Concerning the report I believe it’s an over-policing but under-protecting issue.”
Like Aboriginal men, Aboriginal women enter the justice system as high-risk offenders and are placed in maximum-security institutions, where they have little chance to use the existing programs. “A lot of the time they end up inside because of what has happened to them on the outside, like poor access to housing, alcohol and drug abuse, and sex work.”
In the end, the programs exist, but the will to use them isn’t. An increasing number of Aboriginal offenders are being classified as high risk and prisoners, like Moore, are being denied justice because of systemic racism.
Is it going to take a national story on the issue for the government to take action? They say justice is blind, but for Moore and many others like him this is not the case.
To get more involved in Moore’s case, you can email: sudburyawo@gmail.com