Midway through publication of a three-part series, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has imposed a ban on publication that prevents Kamloops This Week from reporting key facts in the RCMP case against accused murderer Peter Beckett.
Crown prosecutor Sarah Firestone made an application to ban any publication of Crown disclosure — the detailed package of material, including police investigation reports, statements and interviews, provided to the accused — prior to Beckett’s trial before a judge and jury.
A date has not been set for the jury portion of the trial in B.C. Supreme Court, but voir dire hearings to determine whether certain evidence can be admitted are set for September and October.
Citing the need to protect potential jurors from information and Beckett’s right to a fair trial, Firestone said the material belongs to the Crown and cannot be used for anything other than by prosecution and defence for purposes of the trial.
“This is a jury trial,” Firestone said.
“Kamloops This Week is the only remaining newspaper in this community and this is a cover-page story.
“The Crown wants to avoid a trial in the court of public opinion before Mr. Beckett is tried by a jury of his peers.
“We’re not asking for anyone’s freedom of expression to be denied, but to be delayed.”
Justice Ian Meiklem ordered the ban and the return of Crown materials not in Beckett’s possession.
Firestone also questioned whether Beckett’s version of the events surrounding his criminal charges should be allowed to be made public, as they were in Thursday’s edition of KTW.
Defence lawyer Don Campbell, however, argued that it’s important for Beckett to get his side of the story into the community.
“There are 351 articles available if you just punch his name into Google,” he said.
“The overwhelming majority of those have been released from some source, but basically from an RCMP perspective.
“What’s out there right now is an absolutely scathing and one-sided condemnation of Mr. Beckett without any semblance of fairness or balance.
“His position has never been fairly placed in front of the public.”
KTW obtained Crown disclosure outlining the investigation of Beckett, accused of the first-degree murder of his wife, Laura Letts, as well as conspiracy to kill five Crown witnesses.
The ban, issued on June 30, prevents the newspaper from publishing those facts prior to conclusion of the trial.
The newspaper’s lawyer, David Sutherland, argued successfully that the ban should not include pre-trial conferences and other matters not directly part of Beckett’s trial.
An edited version of Part 3 of the series will be published in Friday’s KTW.
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