The couple accused in the bomb plot to blow up the B.C. Legislature is free, but despite the B.C. Court of Appeal ‘s ruling last month in favour of John Nuttall and Amanda Korody, the couple was supposed to be in court again next week for a peace bond hearing to determine whether they still pose a risk to the public.
Nuttall and Korody had been subject to 14 conditions — including a 100-metre no-go zone for the B.C. Legislature and any Canadian forces base — but Global News has uncovered court documents that reveal the hearing, scheduled for January 7, has been cancelled. The peace bond was withdrawn by the Crown so the couple is now free of the restrictive court conditions.
WATCH: B.C. Court of Appeal ruling keeps Nuttall, Korody out of prison
“There’s really no justification for a peace bond,” said Kyla Lee, a high-profile Vancouver lawyer not connected to the case.
Lee said the withdrawal of the peace bond raises questions as to whether Crown will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
“It does not surprise me that they want to push this under the rug. This was hugely embarrassing, both at the trial level and the appeal level for the RCMP and for the prosecution service in this country, and tax dollars that were spent on an investigation of two people who posed no risk to the public.”
WATCH: Lawyer in Nuttall, Korody case praises appeal court’s ruling
In 2015, a jury found Nuttall and Korody guilty of planting pressure cooker bombs at the B.C. Legislature on Canada Day 2013. The convictions were put on hold by the trial judge who ruled the couple was entrapped by police. That decision was upheld by the province’s top court last month. The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled the RCMP investigation was a “travesty of justice.”
The case is likely not over for taxpayers. Given the strength of the B.C. Court of Appeal ruling, legal experts say Nuttall and Korody have a strong chance if they launch a civil suit against the federal government and RCMP.
“Being targeted by the police in the way that they were and effectively abused by the police, and the way that the prosecution was carried out in this case, could expose them to some type of punitive damages, in the range, perhaps even of several million dollars,” Lee said.
Crown has until about February 19 to decide whether to seek leave to appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada.
In a statement to Global News, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said it “has 60 days to decide whether to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.”
The PPSC said it withdrew the peace bond application on behalf of the RCMP.
The service said it has no further information to provide, directing further inquiries to the RCMP.
Global News reached out to RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and E Division in B.C. to find out why the peace bond was dropped on Dec. 20, one day after Nuttall and Korody’s win in appeal court.
RCMP are aware of the request and have yet to respond.
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