This is the second chapter in my story.

For many years I was a criminal lawyer. By the ’80’s I was travelling far and wide and was involved in a number of notorious cases. One of them was in the Yukon. An old prospector Al Kulan, had been killed in a bar in Ross River Yukon with a single shot from a .357 revolver. He had been killed by his old friend John ‘Jack’ Rolls, my client.

For a few years I was a character in a John Grisham novel; a young ambitious lawyer, tough cases, sex, drugs and always a memorable cast of characters and it was fun! It couldn’t last of course but the stories are there forever. And this is one of them.

The protagonist Beau ‘Bear’ Jackson is me, or at best my alter ego. I gave him a name and a nickname I have always liked. I’m the author, that’s my prerogative. This is fiction. I did meet a US marine in Whitehorse, a bitter Vietnam vet who I spent one incredible night with, a night which ended with him stark naked in front of me in my room, demanding that I inspect his war wounds. But his name was not ‘Shrap’ and he didn’t have two mercenary mates. I did meet a world class cellist in Whitehorse but her name was not ‘Penny’. A prominent psychiatrist did testify at the second trial but his name was not Dr. Jonathan Pringle. In real life the victim was Al Kulan, in my story Hank Woods. In real life my client was John ‘Jack’ Rolls, in the story Joe Stokes.

There are sixteen chapters. This is Chapter Two. Let me introduce you to Beau ‘Bear’ Jackson.

Chapter Two

THE FIRST TRIAL

The case against Joe Stokes was simple. They had the victim, the murder weapon, nearly a dozen eye witnesses and the prime suspect, the only possible suspect. When he was interrogated by the lead investigator Joe had admitted he was the killer and that he had threatened to kill Woods.

It was what cops called ‘open and shut’!

Hank Woods was popular as well; the kind of popularity that comes when one of yours ‘makes it’ and then sticks around to help old friends and even some struggling businesses in Whitehorse. In some ways Hank was proof that a man could dream, could fantasize and struggle and that with just a little luck it could happen; he could make it. And if it could happen to Hank Woods it could happen to anybody. And now some broken down old drunk had taken him.

If a small town can be angry, Whitehorse was all of that. People everywhere talked about little else and all of them wanted Joe Stokes to pay for what he had done.

Back then when you were charged with first degree murder in Canada you automatically got a jury trial, a jury of your peers who had one job; to decide on the facts impartially and without prejudice.

It’s a complex legal principle in law school but not so complex in court: Have you made up your mind already before you have heard any evidence? If you have, you have no business sitting on a jury. But for the people of Whitehorse this was the trial of the century and being impartial was in short supply; almost everybody had an opinion about Stokes before they ever set foot in the courthouse for jury selection.

And then there was the Whitehorse Star, the paper of record in these pre internet times, a paper which would as turns out, play a significant roll in the final outcome in the murder trials of Joe Stokes.

JUSTICE MUST BE DONE, the publishers’ opinion piece in the Whitehorse Star made it clear:

‘Joe Stokes hated Hank Woods, planned the murder and shot him down in cold blood in front of witnesses. In earlier times the people of Whitehorse would have dealt with Stokes in their own way and we wouldn’t have to bother with a trial, a trial to find out what everybody already knows to be the truth. Joe Stokes murdered Hank Woods. The death penalty is what he deserves, if we still had that in Canada. He must die in jail!’

And this before a single witness had been called, and before a verdict had been rendered.

“STOKES FACES JURY OF HIS PEERS”

Whitehorse Star September 8, 1976

The first degree murder trial began in 1976 and the whole town was on edge. If Stokes was found guilty he’d get 25 years, with no chance of parole. He would die in jail.

The prosecutor stood to address the jury, “This case ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is open and shut, as you will see. We have the weapon, the killer and his admissions. There can be no doubt that this man planned to kill Hank Woods, this was a cold blooded, premeditated and deliberate execution. This man murdered Hank Woods!” his voice rising in anger as he wheeled to point right at Joe Stokes.

Joe’s lawyer in this trial was an experienced trial lawyer, “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my learned friend is correct. We know who killed Hank Woods. My client did. He shot him in that bar in Ross River with one bullet to his temple from a .357 magnum revolver. Hank was dead before he hit the floor. None of that is at issue in this trial.”

“But why?” he continued framing his defence, “Why would this man, Joe Stokes, this lifelong friend of Hank Woods, a man who had never been in any trouble with the law before. Never. Why then did this man do such a terrible thing?”

“How is it that this good man acted in such a rage, how is it that he lost all of the normal controls that keep everyone of us from doing terrible things? THAT is the issue ladies and gentlemen. This has never been a Who Done It? This is a Why He Done It? That is the question you need to answer.”

The trial was short, at least by first degree murder standards, three days, beginning to end. The prosecution rested after two. The defence relied on a single local psychologist who claimed that John was a decent man and there was no explanation for this unspeakable act of violence.

His testimony was challenged of course, by the prosecutor, “How much time did you spend with Mr. Stokes?”

“Well, it wasn’t easy to meet with him. I live here in Whitehorse and they held Mr. Stokes down in Prince George at the Remand Centre in BC.”

“I just asked you how much time you’ve spent with him?” pressed the prosecutor.

“I saw him over this last weekend for an hour and then perhaps half an hour earlier today.”

“No more questions!” There was no need to attack the psychologist’s testimony. His own answers had done that job well enough.

Joe Stokes was convicted of first degree murder and given the statutory sentence: life in jail without possibility of parole for 25 years. The 67 year old Joe Stokes would die in jail.

Of all the strange things in Canadian criminal justice, which can spend days agonizing over questions of fairness and law, with no time limit imposed on the need to be just, sentencing a man to jail for first degree murder literally takes five minutes. It was the only available sentence permitted by law.

Joe left the courtroom in chains.

“STOKES GETS LIFE”

Whitehorse Star, September 11, 1976

Whitehorse returned to normal. People were satisfied that justice had been done and that Stokes got exactly what he had deserved.

One more editorial opinion piece from the Star confirmed the same thing.

“We are good people in the Yukon, there is no place among us for cold blooded murderers like Joe Stokes. Good riddance to bad business.“

Next: Chapter 3, ‘The Young Lawyer’