She's Free!!!!

Before Christmas I shared with you about Linda Gibbons & her imprisionment in a Canadian Prison for protesting outside the Scott "Clinic" abortion site in downtown Toronto. She had been held in prison since her arrest on 8 October 2008 on a charge of disobeying a court order. I asked you to send her cards & letters to encourage her.

Well, she is free. She had her day in court yesterday (12 January 2009). Her lawyer, Daniel Santoro, argued that Gibbons could not be criminally charged with disobeying a court order, since the injunction that shields the Scott site was imposed by a civil court. The Crown attorney attempted to argue that the criminal charge was an appropriate one. The hearing went on until about 4 pm.

The judge said that it was "really a simple issue" & quashed the charge. The judge noted that the 1994 injunction was a civil proceeding. "There are rules for civil matters and there are rules for criminal matters. They're separate and apart … The rules are clear and mutually exclusive."

Gibbons left the court. She had little to say except: "The courts need to establish their credibility by acknowledging the rights of every human being, born or unborn."

The Crown attorney's office does have 1 option, to launch a civil proceeding against her. But if they decide to do so that action also has some risks, the legality of the injunction itself. It was a temporary injunction that was imposed 15 years ago. That length is unprecidented. The attorney's office has 2 years from last October's incident to file a civil charge. It will be interesting to see if they want to go for a 3rd strike after failing with this charge & an earlier charge of obstructing a peace officer.

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I just got a response from her to my card a couple of days ago. She shared a little about her Pro-Life activities. She is very grateful for all the support & encourages us to continue in our battle to defend life.

Source: Gibbons freed from custody after judge quashes charge