NCJ Number
192180
Date Published
2001
Length
580 pages
Annotation
This book recounts the story of Steven Truscott, arguably Canada's most famous convicted murderer.
Abstract
Few cases in Canadian legal history have spanned so many political generations as the trial and incarceration of Steven Truscott. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker commuted Truscott's death sentence in 1959, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau abolished the death penalty in 1976, and today Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government must deal with a final plea for justice from Steven Truscott and his lawyers. In June 1959, 12-year-old Lynne Harper was raped and murdered and her nearly naked body left in a heavily wooded area near the own of Clinton. Personnel from a nearby Air Force base had been part of the search party, and it was they who found the body. The well-meaning airmen wanted to protect the young victim's dignity and they covered the body with their shirts and jackets. But in so doing, they compromised the crime scene and destroyed potential evidence. From the start, the investigation into the murder of Lynne Harper was a botched affair. The book details instances of missed and deliberately overlooked clues, failure to interview suspects, and other questionable police actions as they carried out their single-minded pursuit of their only suspect: the last person seen with Lynne - Steven Truscott. The book also describes Steven Truscott's life in the 30 years since he left prison, and efforts by Truscott and others to clear his name. Figures, index of proper names