YET ANOTHER ILL ADVISED CROWN PROSECUTION OF AN INNOCENT MAN (The Star May 28, 2024)

AFTER TWO YEAR IN JAIL, A JURY TOOK JUST TWO HOURS TO FIND HIM NOT GUILTY.

Timothy Clarke Anthony spent two years in jail awaiting trial for a fatal hit-and-run that shocked the Hagersville community. Once his day in court arrived, it took a jury just two hours to find him not guilty, Jacques Gallant reports. “I wasn’t sure what they were going to think,” the 37-year-old said. “I’m an Indigenous man in a white court.” In the 2021 incident, the motorcycle driven by 21-year-old Alexander Dalton was hit from behind by a speeding Chevrolet Tahoe, throwing him from his vehicle and into the path of oncoming traffic. Anthony was arrested for his alleged involvement, despite evidence to the contrary, after another suspect in the case claimed he was behind the wheel. Take a closer look at what happened.
• Context: The defence noted witness descriptions of the driver didn’t match Anthony’s profile and his DNA wasn’t present in the vehicle. The evidence against Anthony was “essentially reliant on a witness who had all the reason in the world to lie,” his lawyer, Tonya Kent, said.
• The fallout: Kent said Anthony’s case was another example of a prosecution that should never have happened. But despite the weak evidence against him, he was repeatedly denied bail and kept in jail until last month.