Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Appeal launched in ex-soldier sexual assault case
From the Edmonton Sun :
A former Canadian soldier who was found not criminally responsible for sexually assaulting a teenage girl could find himself back in court.
The Crown is appealing a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruling last month that Roger Borsch, 34, was not guilty due to a mental disorder.
Borsch did not dispute that he attacked a 13-year-old girl in The Pas, Man., in 2004 - taping her mouth shut and fondling her at knifepoint. But his lawyer successfully argued Borsch suffered from post-traumatic stress resulting from a six-month tour in Bosnia 10 years earlier.
I'm not disputing the existence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I can't believe that a judge wouldn't allow testimony that would call into question whether that trauma had occurred in the first place.
From the Canadian Press :
After the trial began, a soldier who served with Borsch came forward and was set to dispute Borsch's account of what happened in Bosnia. But Justice Nathan Nurgitz ruled the soldier could not testify because it would likely delay the trial.
Clearly that ruling makes complete sense.
From the Edmonton Sun :
A former Canadian soldier who was found not criminally responsible for sexually assaulting a teenage girl could find himself back in court.
The Crown is appealing a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruling last month that Roger Borsch, 34, was not guilty due to a mental disorder.
Borsch did not dispute that he attacked a 13-year-old girl in The Pas, Man., in 2004 - taping her mouth shut and fondling her at knifepoint. But his lawyer successfully argued Borsch suffered from post-traumatic stress resulting from a six-month tour in Bosnia 10 years earlier.
I'm not disputing the existence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I can't believe that a judge wouldn't allow testimony that would call into question whether that trauma had occurred in the first place.
From the Canadian Press :
After the trial began, a soldier who served with Borsch came forward and was set to dispute Borsch's account of what happened in Bosnia. But Justice Nathan Nurgitz ruled the soldier could not testify because it would likely delay the trial.
Clearly that ruling makes complete sense.
The other night when I was playing trivial pursuit with Kara, we decided that the questions were 'too hard'. We tried playing the 20th Anniversary edition, but the questions were just lame, and Canadian, like "What is Wendel Clark's birthday?", "Who was more abusive to his wife, Andy Capp or the King of Kensington?", "Where's a better place to propose marriage, Lush or Tim Horton's?"
We finally settled on using questions for the junior edition. They ranged from, "Name a place" to "Name a friend".
Finally a hard question came up, "How many chambers are in the heart?"
I had already displayed my coronary knowledge earlier on in the game when I successfully answered, "Yes, arteries pump blood away from, not to, the heart." So it seemed like another question about the heart would prove no match for my brain.
"36 Chambers!"
"It's 4."
"I don't know, I thought that album title had to be referring to something."
We finally settled on using questions for the junior edition. They ranged from, "Name a place" to "Name a friend".
Finally a hard question came up, "How many chambers are in the heart?"
I had already displayed my coronary knowledge earlier on in the game when I successfully answered, "Yes, arteries pump blood away from, not to, the heart." So it seemed like another question about the heart would prove no match for my brain.
"36 Chambers!"
"It's 4."
"I don't know, I thought that album title had to be referring to something."
