User:Amopiyesisiskwew/Death of Cindy Gladue

Cindy Ivy Gladue (July 23,1974- June 22, 2011) was a 36 year old Metis woman who was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. The cause of death was an 11 cm (4 inch) wound from her vagina, which she bled out from. Cindy is one of many among the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. Cindy's gruesome death and controversial trials against the accused Bradley Barton resulted in numerous rallies calling for Justice for Cindy and a National Inquiry of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. A vast majority of the controversy circles around the use of Cindy's vagina being presented as evidence in court, reference to her almost exclusively as "native" or "prostitute" in the courts, and the dehumanization of her after death. Cindy Gladue's case is unique in Canadian history, as it is uncommon for post-mortem body parts to be used as evidence in court and additionally uncommon for a murder trial of an Indigenous woman to go through numerous appeals and to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Background
Cindy Gladue was born and raised in Athabasca, Alberta. Cindy was the eldest of four siblings, and had a close relationship to two of her step-fathers who she referred to both as "dad" and had a close relationship with her mother. Cindy did not have much of a relationship with her biological father, but started taking steps to having a relationship with him before his death. In 1983, when cindy was 9, the family moved to Edmonton from Athabasca for a "fresh start". Cindy later fell into the wrong crowd in high school and developed an addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. Cindy didn't finish grade 10 and instead started to work housekeeping at a hotel. Her mother recounts Cindy not being able to hold down a job and relied on help from family and social assistance programs. Gladue later started working in the sex trade industry to support her habits which led her to living on the streets for 2 years. Cindy was also a mother of 3 daughters, her mother later stepped in to raise her children when her addiction and sex work became too overwhelming for their family.

Death
On June 21, 2011 Cindy agreed to spend the night with Bradley Barton, she was paid $60 for sexual acts. Bradley Barton was a trucker from Ontario, he was in Edmonton on a stop for work. Gladue and Barton previously engaged in sexual acts that included barton’s fist being inserted into Gladue’s vagina. Barton and Gladue met a second time and continued the sexual acts done the previous night. Barton was later accused of inserting a sharp object into Gladue which resulted in a cut to her vaginal wall. Cindy bled to death from an 11 cm (4 inch) wound from her vagina in the hotel bathtub.

Initial trial
In March 2015, The first trial for the murder of Cindy Gladue transpired. Bradley Barton was charged with First Degree Murder and Manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue. Barton's lawyers claimed that the sexual encounters were consensual and the death was caused by injuries sustained from sexual acts, using the Rough Sex Murder Defense. While the sexual acts were consensual, with Barton describing the sexual act as "the only difference between the two nights was that on the first night he inserted his hand up to the crest of his knuckles, while on the second night he inserted his hand approximately one to two centimeters past his knuckles" and "thrusting 'a little harder than the night before. And maybe... a little farther." Barton's hand measurements were noted as 14 cm (5 ½ inches) and 11 cm (4 ¼ inches), all five fingers were inserted into Gladue in a conal shape. Barton also claimed that the residual blood left on his hand was thought to have been Gladue's menstrual cycle, Barton then asked for her to wash up and leave, without having intercourse. Barton refused to pay Gladue the agreed $60 since he also refused to have intercourse with her. While Gladue was in the bathroom, Barton went to sleep and awoke to her dead in the bathtub the next morning. Barton failed to notify the police of what he had found and instead proceeded to wipe the blood off of his feet, dispose of the towel in a garbage bin outside of the hotel and check out of his room, telling a coworker "a woman he didn’t know had appeared at his hotel room the prior night and asked to use his shower. He told the coworker that he let her do so and then fell asleep, but when he woke up he found her dead in the bathtub". Barton later returned to the hotel, asking the front desk clerk if he could enter the room to grab documents he left, he later called 911 and told the operator the same version of what transpired the previous night. Forensic evidence stated that the 11 cm (4 inch) wound to Gladue's vagina passed through her vaginal wall and ran almost the entire length of her vagina. Additionally, it was suspected that the injury to Gladue's vagina was a cut from a sharp object rather Barton's fist, stating that if the cut was actually a laceration, it would need excessive force to have the same result. Dr. Dowling a Crown forensic expert further explained that if it was the cut was from blunt force (such as Barton's fist as opposed to a sharp instrument) would be fairly noticeable, stating: "Perforation from blunt trauma would be painful and result in bleeding relatively quickly. He testified that if it was a fast bleed, death due to blood loss would take at least several minutes during which there would have been different stages. First, the victim would have moved from being conscious to being unable to move and speak or cry out. Next, she would have fallen into unconsciousness, and last, she would have been in irreversible shock. If a slow bleed, then it might take hours for the victim to die."

After much deliberation, Barton was found not guilty of all charges in March, 2015 and was acquitted by the jury.

Appeal
The crown counsel filed for an appeal on R V. Barton case soon after the initial decision. The appeal was heard on October 11, 2019 and it was argued by Crown Counsel that the initial trial judge and the accused defence made several mistakes of the law: "a belief that the absence of signs of disagreement could be substituted for affirmative communication of consent; a belief that prior similar sexual activities between the accused and the deceased, the deceased’s status as a sex worker, or the accused’s own speculation about what was going through the deceased’s mind could be substituted for communicated consent to the sexual activity in question at the time; a belief that the deceased could give broad advance consent to whatever the accused wanted to do to her; and the inference that the deceased’s past sexual activities, by reason of their sexual nature, may make it more likely that she consented to the sexual activity in question. It was incumbent on the trial judge to caution the jury against acting on these mistakes of law."Furthermore, Crown counsel argued that enacting the current s 276 of the Criminal Code states that evidence of previous sexual history cannot be used against any party from making assumptions in court proceedings. Whereas oppositional counsel for Barton argued that the injury to her vaginal wall could have been exacerbated by Barton and Gladue's sexual activities. Barton again plead not guilty to all charges.

Supreme Court trial
On May 24, 2019, In a 4-3 decision, the highest court of Canada deliberated that the evidence of sexual history was mishandled. Crown counsel ascertains that the evidence was mishandled throughout the trial. The majority asserts that Barton should only be retried for manslaughter as procedural errors tainted the initial trial whereas the minority asserts that Barton should be retried for both manslaughter and first degree murder. Additionally, Gladue's counsel claims that her Metis Identity, culture, history and laws were ignored when they are an integral part to the case. Reasoned by "if Indigenous values, customs and laws are not considered relevant by the court in a trial that seeks justice for the murder of an Indigenous woman, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous will never be achieved." . Indigenous values, customs and laws are relevant to the court based on the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and differs from Gladue being referred to by "Native" in court, which the Crown counsel argues incite racial bias in the jury. Additionally much of the appeal was based on the fact that Barton's counsel referred to Ms. Gladue as “Native” approximately 26 times during the trial and not her name, further dehumanizing Cindy Gladue. By referring to Cindy Gladue as "Native" or "Prostitute" and not her name throughout the trial from oppositional counsel is argued to have incited class and racial bias in court. since Cindy Gladue was intoxicated at the time of her death with a Blood alcohol level of 340 milligrams per hundred millilitres of blood, more than four times the legal limit, assumptions based on race and stereotypes could have played a role in the Jury's decision. Crown Counsel argued "Add to this the likely risk that because Gladue was labelled a 'Native' prostitute – who was significantly intoxicated – the jury would believe she was even more likely to have consented to whatever Barton did and was even less worthy of the law’s protection. This is the very type of thinking that s 276 was introduced to eradicate". Crown Counsel also reiterated that "Trial judges must not allow evidence of prior sexual conduct to enter the trial without compliance with the Code requirements" pushing for a Glaude's right to a fair trial. As of December 1, 2020 the decision has yet to be made whether or not Barton is found guilty of manslaughter.

Controversy
The 2015 acquittal of Bradley Barton's charges sparked national outcry and criticism of the judicial system. The judge allowed for her preserved post-mortem vagina to be used as evidence to show jurors the gruesome details of Gladue's death and was the first time a preserved body part was used as evidence in Canadian court. Cindy's preserved vagina being used as evidence was rationalized as "Acting chief medical examiner Graeme Dowling told court the decision was necessary to educate the jury on the wound because autopsy pictures fell short." Oppositional counsel argued that the use of Cindy's body part as evidence was prejudicial and jeopardized Barton's right to a fair trial. Crown prosecutor Carole Godfrey encouraged and pushed for the use of bodily evidence stating that "“This can be done in absolute good taste, almost like a biology class. We have to have some faith and trust in our jurors on how to deal with this. That’s what they’re here for.” Many national headlines focused on the use of Cindy Gladue's post-mortem vagina, stating that Gladue was "reduced to a body part" .Furthermore, Barton was not referred to as a "John" through court proceedings or in the media, depicting a double standard of prostitution and clientele. Furthermore, National Inquiry of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. wrote "On March 18, 2015 a jury found Bradley Barton not guilty of first-degree murder. This case stands out not only for the brutality of her murder, but also for the way she was treated after her death. The court’s dehumanization of Gladue is an example of how Indigenous women are treated as “less than” and how their rights are often denied by the criminal justice system."

Rallies & protests seeking justice for Cindy Gladue
The decision caused great uproar in the Indigenous community across Canada, sparking numerous rallies in April 2015. Gladue and many others are remembered in the MMIW, MMIWG and MMIWG2s+ movements which shed light on the national epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. The numerous rallies called for a national inquiry of MMIWG2s+ now being coined as a crisis and genocide.