Defence lawyer Peter Ritchie has gone into great detail to discredit Chubb on the stand, which is of course his job.As he read out Chubb's criminal past today, which featured B&E, driving under the influence, forgery, impersonation and one charge of attempted murder, which was reduced to forcible confinement. The crimes were committed all over B.C. and Alberta it seemed.
Okay, so we have established he is a criminal. But I was expecting a lot more; I quietly thought to myself I am positive I have dated men guilty of much worse.
Do we really need to spend the entire morning going over each and every charge and subsequent conviction? Ritchie tried to make it seem like not being able to remember when and exactly what happened with each crime was quite a shocking thing. Trust me, I know many a folk who have no idea when they committed their crime. For that matter, I do not even remember when I committed mine. But I don't think it would hinder my ability to remember if someone told me the best way to kill someone "would be to fill a syringe with tranny or windshield-wiper fluid to make it look like an overdose," as Willie allegedly told Chubb.
I understand that Ritchie's job is to tear down the credibility of people who are testifying for the prosecution. I think I get worked up watching him do it because it hits a little to close to the heart of this case - The heart for me being that because these women lived on the fringe of society, they were not noticed missing for quite some time. Their lifestyle played a huge part in them not being reported missing for so long and why no one looked for them for so long.




Comments
Sheesh. I am so with you on
By Trina Ricketts, June 14, 2007 at 15:58Sheesh. I am so with you on the jury judging a lifestyle they do not understand and cannot relate to at all. I also think you hit the nail on the head of this being exactly why the women were missing for so long - people didn't give them any credit. Their families knew they would have been in touch, but the police assumed they were unreliable because of their lifestyles. It happens all the time. Sex workers are often scared to charge someone because they may not be believed. I'm so glad you made those points.