Jury selected as Gerald Stanley murder trial begins

The trial for a man accused of shooting and killing a young Indigenous man on a farmyard near Biggar begins in Battleford Monday.

Gerald Stanley has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder after Colten Boushie, 22, died on Aug. 9, 2016.

Jury selection at the Alex Dillabough Centre started at 10 a.m. Less than two hours later, 12 jurors and two alternates had been chosen.

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Those who live in the area told 980 CJME Sunday it’s a case everyone has been talking about in the Battlefords.

Some said they’re sick of hearing about the trial and just want it to get underway and over with.

One woman said the case has divided many people and she expressed unease and a sense of worry about what might happen, depending on the trial’s outcome.

A man who lives in Battleford described the situation as a “powder keg.”

Shortly after the initial news release on the incident from RCMP, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations sharply criticized police for how they presented the information.

Comments made on social media prompted Premier Brad Wall to make a statement in which he urged the “racist and hate-filled comments” to stop. Mounties also looked into the possibility of laying hate-speech charges.

Boushie supporters have come out to many previous court dates for Stanley in relation to the case, and it’s anticipated they’ll be back and highly visible throughout the murder trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks from Jan. 29 to Feb. 15.

After the jury is picked, lawyers will begin to present their case and establish facts on Tuesday at Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford.