A Lawyer's Investigation

As part of my investigation, I went to William Head and interviewed the prisoners whose names Mr. Weaver had given to the RCMP to corroborate his alibi. I spoke separately to Mr. Bouchard and Mr. Terry, who had been watching a movie that evening since 8:00 p.m.; each of them remembered Mr. Weaver coming back to the house at around 9:30 with his friends and remaining until around 9:40, when Mr. McCullough came in and announced that a prisoner had been piped. Mr. Sutherland, Mr. Sims, and Mr. Perras all confirmed Mr. Weaver's account, with some differences in the details they remembered. These differences, far from undermining, enhanced the credibility of their accounts. Mr. Sims' statement had some important additional relevance. About half an hour before he went to see Gary Weaver that night, he had met up with Curtis Caziere, who said he was expecting some trouble later that evening and asked Mr. Sims to "back his play," a prison reference to standing by him in the event of a confrontation. Mr. Sims asked Mr. Caziere what the play was and who the players would be. Mr. Caziere refused to give any details, and Mr. Sims replied that he was not prepared to walk in blind. Mr. Caziere knew that Mr. Sims was a good friend of Gary Weaver; it was inconceivable that he would have asked Mr. Sims to back his play if he believed Gary Weaver would be involved.

I also interviewed George Storry, who confirmed the courtesy arrangement he had with Mr. Weaver regarding the use of the phone in the F-Unit Community Building. He remembered that after Mr. Weaver hung up the phone he went over to the laundry room, briefly scanned the bulletin board and then exited the building in the direction of F-7. He also remembered that Mr. Weaver was wearing a shirt and pants but no coat, and that he did not appear to be in a hurry. Of particular significance, Mr. Storry remembered that Mr. Weaver had not left the F-Unit Community Building until after he began his call to his wife. With Mr. Storry's consent, I obtained a copy of his Millennium telephone log from Mr. Montminy at National Headquarters; it showed that his call to his wife began shortly after 9:29 p.m., a fact that reduced the already narrow window of opportunity within which, theoretically, Mr. Weaver could have participated in the attack on Mr. Caziere. Mr. Storry's statements confirmed that Mr. Weaver's behaviour and activities in the F-Unit Community Building were inconsistent with those of a man getting ready to participate in a murderous attack on a prisoner in another part of the prison; furthermore, the fact that Mr. Weaver's telephone call came to an end only with Mr. Storry's arrival was inconsistent with the theory that Mr. Weaver had an appointment to keep with alleged co-conspirators.

Mr. Storry had at first been reluctant to meet with me, but on further reflection agreed because, as he explained, he had himself been the subject of false allegations that resulted in his transfer from William Head several years previously. Warden Gallagher had received "reliable information" that Mr. Storry was plotting to escape from William Head. As a result, Mr. Storry was transferred to Mission Institution. He initiated a court case. A Federal Court judge found the warden's belief that Mr. Storry was involved in the escape "patently unreasonable" and ordered that he be returned to William Head. Apart from the courtesy arrangement over access to the phones, he had no dealings with Mr. Weaver. Mr. Storry, like the other prisoners I interviewed, agreed to swear an affidavit confirming what he had told me.

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