Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2007 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Tim Cook, Canadian Press MURDER TRIAL PUTS FOCUS ON TEENAGE DRUG USE Jury Weighs Fate of Father Who Killed Dealer It's a divisive case that has never been too far below the surface in these parts for the past four years. On one side is a salt-of-the-earth father, a welder who teaches people to play the bagpipes in his spare time. At the end of his rope one day, he guns down his troubled daughter's drug-dealing boyfriend to pull her from the clutches of addiction. On the other, a nice but troubled young man. A 24-year-old bodybuilder who had withered away because of morphine addiction, his life stolen before he had a chance to turn it around. The story of James Hayward's 2003 slaying has exploded into the national spotlight over the past two weeks as the father, 50, charged with first-degree murder, faced a jury. As the jurors continued to deliberate over the man's fate last night, people in Yorkton, a city of 17,000 in eastern Saskatchewan, were talking. While the opinions varied, sympathy for all those involved seemed to be a common thread. "I've sort of known both people involved here," said Lawrence Koban, a retired hospital maintenance worker, who sat through several days of the trial. "It's sad. I can't blame Hayward and I can't blame the father. I can't condemn one from the other." The trial has shone a harsh light on the destructive force illegal drugs can have on the lives of addicts and their loved ones in any community. Yorkton is no different, Koban suggested. Mel Currah is the father of the man's oldest son's fiancee, and sat with the family for most of the trial. What sticks out most for him about the case is how the health and justice systems seemed to fail everyone. Currah cited how the father could only get his daughter committed to a hospital against her will for three days - not long enough to overcome her addiction. "He was protecting his family," Currah said. "It's not right to kill - - don't get me wrong - but if you look at the circumstances, he did everything he could. The system has got to change." Hayward should have been given more help with his drug problems when he faced drug-trafficking charges prior to the shooting, Currah added. Since the shooting, laws have been changed in some provinces to give parents more options to deal with their drug-addicted teens. The family only was able to get an order from a judge under the Mental Health Act to get their daughter committed to a hospital for three days. But last April, Saskatchewan adopted a law similar to one in Alberta allowing parents to have their children forced into detox treatment for up to 15 days. A spokesperson with the Saskatchewan government said 103 such orders have been issued. Manitoba has adopted a similar seven-day law. Close relatives of both Walker and Hayward have stayed relatively quiet since the jury began deliberating Wednesday morning. But Walker told reporters he has received a lot of support from across the country and the fact his daughter was saved from a life of drug abuse makes everything worthwhile. Hayward's mother said media coverage has left the public with the wrong impression of her son, whom she described as a good person who didn't get a chance to be saved. Outside Yorkton, talk radio hosts and bloggers have seized on the case. "So long to bad rubbish!" wrote one blogger from Winnipeg named Barb on jacksnewswatch.com. "One less dirty rotten drug dealer to worry about." But on the blog www.bluelight.ru, billed as an international message board that educates the public about responsible drug use, most entries about the case come at it from the other point of view. "I am going to shoot the owner of my local liquor store now, before my alcoholic mom can buy any more booze," wrote one blogger who goes by the handle Lurkerguy. "The 15-year-old McDonald's cashier is next." - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine