A new generation is taking up the fight to reform Canada’s justice system as friends and young family members of murdered teenager Matthew Martins attended a rally in his memory outside Surrey Central SkyTrain station yesterday.
The gathering was organized by a friend of Matthew’s parents, but among the crowd of adults stood children and teenagers holding signs that read, “Justice failed Matthew” and “4 witnesses did not lie.”
Matthew’s eight-year-old cousin made a sign that said, “Parts of us are gone now.”
Linden Terrett, 15, was 10 years old when Matthew was beaten to death by Robert Forslund — a man he did not know.
Forslund and his girlfriend, Katherine Quinn, were convicted of second-degree murder, but Quinn appealed the verdict and was found not guilty in her second trial last week.
Linden said he wanted to be at the rally to help keep Matthew’s story alive.
Niqa Boon and Mary Stacey, both 18, were there in support of their friend Steven Smith, who was Matthew’s best friend.
“He never got to experience anything I got to (like) driving or graduating high school,” Smith, 21, said. “I think about him all the time.”
Tina Martins, Matthew’s aunt, said the rally isn’t just about her nephew but other victims of crime who never see justice.
“The justice system is a revolving door,” she said.
