Colin Thatcher rethinks his media strategy
Convicted murderer Colin Thatcher says a different strategy when he was charged with killing his ex-wife may have helped his case.
Thatcher was an unpaid guest speaker at a media conference in Saskatoon Saturday.
The former cabinet minister and son of Liberal Saskatchewan Premier Ross Thatcher was found guilty of killing his ex-wife JoAnn Wilson in 1984. She was found, beaten and shot, in the garage of her Regina home Jan. 21, 1983.
Thatcher is serving a life sentence, but was approved for full parole in November of 2006. He lives on the family ranch in the Moose Jaw area, west of Regina.
Thatcher told journalists at the conference that he and his lawyer decided not to speak out during the trial.
He said a different approach might have helped bring more evidence to light, adding the information could have won him an acquittal.
Thatcher still maintains he did not kill Wilson and has written a book about his case.
He said he was intrigued when he was invited to speak to journalists about how the media handle high-profile trials like his.
"On most days I would have declined [the invitation to speak]," Thatcher said. "They picked the right day. It was the subject matter. It caught my interest, the media aspect of my case caught my attention all the way through."
Thatcher added that he felt, overall, he had been treated fairly by the news media.
