Anti-Racism Group Wants Inquiry Into Pasqua Case
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 13:25
A call is going out for an inquiry into a case involving a First Nations woman from southern Saskatchewan.
Natalie Pasqua is a 28-year-old member of the Muskowekwan band.
She was recently convicted in the manslaughter of a 17-year-old boy in Calgary.
The two were fighting over a drug deal near a train in August 2007 when the teen fell onto the tracks and was killed.
Pasqua was sentenced to an additional two years in jail this week.
However, a spokesman with the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism says there are problems with the case.
Bob Hughes says video evidence shows the teenager was knocked onto the track inadvertently by Pasqua — and that she actually fell onto the tracks before he did.
He says he has written Alberta’s justice minister asking for an inquiry into the conviction.
Hughes says he received a letter from Pasqua about a month ago saying she felt beaten down, had lost her faith in the justice system and had decided to plead guilty.
She is currently serving time in a federal prison.