The web is buzzing today with the news that Robert Baltovich was freed this morning in a Toronto court after the Crown dropped all charges against him in the murder of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Bain. The cruel irony this morning is that after Baltovich and his lawyers fought for years to get a retrial, prosecutor Philip Kotanen swapped out his expected opening remarks today with the simple statement that the Crown had no evidence to present. Chris Bently said, apparently with a straight face, that the Crown made the right choice to “quickly reassess” the strength of the case; waiting 16 years to correct a miscarriage of justice does not, in our humble opinion, fit the definition of “quickly.”
The Globe‘s Kirk Makin provides a lengthy article on the scene at the courtroom this morning and the history of the case; Shannon Kari at the Post gives another perspective on the courtroom today; the Star and the Sun also chime in. Look for this to get big play in tomorrow’s newspapers.