National legal groups are raising the alarm about an Edmonton Police Service decision to publicly oppose a plea agreement for a homicide case in the middle of the court process.
Lawyers who spoke to CBC News said it’s an unprecedented step that risks undermining trust in the justice system and blurring the independent roles of police and prosecutors.
Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) criminal justice program director Shakir Rahim said the letter drew immediate concern.
“It is clearly against the Charter, and outside of the role of the police, to make a statement like this,” he said.
“We do not live in a country where the police get to decide who is guilty and what should happen to them.”
EPS released a letter last week — the day before the woman accused in the case was due in court — decrying the Crown’s acceptance of a manslaughter plea instead of proceeding to a murder trial in the death of an eight-year-old girl.
The letter, sent by interim chief Warren Driechel and signed by EPS lawyer Megan Hankewich, asks Alberta assistant deputy minister of justice Kimberley Goddard to intervene and act to abandon the plea deal.
It also referenced an agreement for an eight-year sentence in the case, but in court last Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Terry Hofmann said there’s no joint submission on the length of the woman’s sentence.
Hankewich spoke more about the issue at a news conference after the manslaughter plea was accepted by a judge last Wednesday.
She said the letter is the culmination of years of frustration over EPS efforts to communicate concerns over criminal cases with Crown prosecutors.
“When our system fails — and to be clear, we believe it has failed today — that, too, should be done in full view of our community,” Hankewich said.
Her letter says if the plea and sentencing go ahead, EPS plans to release “significant information” from the investigation to the public so it can assess it “and advocate in the public forum for a stronger prosecution service.”
Edmonton police call plea deal in girl
