Isabel LeBourdais born Isabel Russel Erichsen-Brown (15 April 1909 – 2003) was a Canadian journalist and writer."ISABEL LeBOURDAIS 1909-2003: Her book said Truscott trial wrong". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', 14 April 2003. She is best known as the author of the 1966 book '' The Trial of Steven Truscott'', the first major work to argue that

Steven Truscott Steven Murray Truscott (born January 18, 1945) is a Canadian man who, at age fourteen, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1959 for the rape and murder of classmate Lynne Harper. Truscott had been the last known person to see her alive. He wa ...

had been wrongfully convicted of murder."Name Isabel LeBourdais Most Newsworthy Woman". ''

Brandon Sun ''The Brandon Sun'' is a Monday through Saturday newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. It is the primary newspaper of record for western Manitoba and includes substantial political, crime, business and sports news. ''The Brandon Sun'' also pub ...

'', 24 December 1966. LeBourdais's book was instrumental in pushing the federal government to ask the Supreme Court to review the trial in 1966. Eventually, in August 2007, after many years of legal proceedings, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the conviction stating it was a "miscarriage of justice" that "must be quashed." Educated at

Havergal College Havergal College is a private day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitarian. The ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, she left university in 1928 to marry Lt. Stephen Holmes Dale, whom she divorced four years later. She subsequently became a social activist, and joined the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

. She married writer and CCF politician D. M. LeBourdais in 1942. She continued working as a journalist and activist until publishing the Truscott book. Thereafter, she became a public relations officer for the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. She was the sister of novelist Gwethalyn Graham.

References

1909 births 2003 deaths Canadian women non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian women journalists {{Canada-journalist-stub