SASKATOON – Prisoner advocate Sherri Maier is marrying convicted killer Bronson Gordon, whom she has been working to free from prison on the belief of his innocence. Gordon, now 38, was sentenced in 2018 to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years on a first-degree murder charge in the 2015 murder of Reno Lee in Regina.
Despite his conviction, Gordon says he has found love, hope and strength through his relationship with Maier. The couple met after Gordon had reached out to a friend for help with alleged abuse by jail staff while he was on remand in Saskatoon Correctional Centre. His friend connected him with Maier, founder of Beyond Prison Walls – Canada.
“I was going through segregation really bad,” he told SASKTODAY.ca Saturday in a phone interview. “They were taking my mattress during the day in the correctional centre. I explained to her that I don’t think this is right.”
Maier stepped in to offer support through her organization, which provides advocacy and assistance to individuals in correctional facilities.
It turned out that Gordon and Maier already knew each other. They had mutual friends and met several times years prior when they both lived in Regina, before Gordon was charged with murder.
“He wrote me a letter from segregation,” Maier told SASKTODAY.ca Saturday in a phone interview. “That’s how this all bloomed.”
That was in 2018.
Be my woman?
“He would call me every week and one of the things he would say was ‘do you want to be my woman,’ and I always said ‘no,’” laughed Maier at the recollection.
Over the next year while they developed a close friendship, Maier’s personal life fell apart and she went through a difficult time. Then, in April 2019, Gordon called Maier from Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert and asked her if she was OK.
That’s when she realized they were meant to be together.
“I said ‘let’s do this,’ and he said ‘do what?’ I said ‘the same thing you have been asking me for years.’ I'm like, ‘this man just called because something just told him you're not OK.’ And I wasn't. I thought ‘you know what, there's this like divine connection.’
“We are the mirror image of each other,” added Maier. “We see ourselves in each other, soul mates, and a twin flame, which is a huge connection. Everyone who hears our story says ‘God really did bring you two together.’ He did.”
Usually someone on the outside helps a prisoner become a better person but, in this case, Maier says Gordon helped her become a better person.
“This man took me when I was at my ugliest. I was like a lamp that was broken. I was broken into pieces. You can take anything that’s broken and glue it back together and he did that. But he did more than that. He took the time to literally nurture me and just remake me into something more beautiful than what I was before. So, he saw me through hell and back.
“That man literally made me a better person,” she added. “I see life in a totally different view. I was a bitchy person and I was hostile, angry. I was an ugly person.”
Gordon, whose mother and father are both pastors, has a strong faith in God and encouraged Maier to learn to forgive and to attend church. At that time, Gordon had been transferred to Edmonton max prison and Maier moved there to be closer to him. She decided to go to a workshop at an Edmonton church. That day the congregation participated in an activity where they wrote their sins on a sticky note and put it on a wooden cross.
"It was probably the pivotal moment that changed my life. They said take all your sins, everything you've ever done, and write it on that sticky note, and tack it to the cross, I just kept going and going. People are leaving like one or two things and I've got like 50 things to hang up on the cross."
Maier was also impressed with Gordon’s positive attitude and ability to forgive after she said he got a “rough [expletive] deal” and was wrongfully convicted of murder.
“This man, 90 to 95 per cent of the time has the best outlook on life. He’s usually in a pretty good mood.”
Gordon admits to struggling with addictions and is currently getting help with that in prison. Sometimes he wants drugs, and Maier tells him, “What do you want, me or the drugs?”
“She keeps me grounded and focused on long-term goals,” said Gordon.
The proposal
Gordon got down on his knees in the visitor room at the Edmonton max prison and proposed to Maier.
“He got down in the room and just professed his love to me,” she said. “That’s a huge deal in prison.”
Gordon said he didn’t care what other inmates thought about him getting on his knees for his woman.
“We will go through something together and I just feel really involved with her,” said Gordon. “When I sit back in my cell, when I’m going through something, I realize how much support and strength my woman has. I will get down on my knees for her anywhere. I don’t care what anybody says. That’s how much I appreciate her.
“She deserves a lot more than I can give her, but one day when I get out of here,” he added.
Gordon, who is a member of Pasquay First Nation, said together they have fought the system and effected change, including more educational opportunities for Indigenous inmates.
“I really feel like her communication is what kept me safe through the system. When I go through some stuff in here, she really goes to bat for me.
“I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together,” said Gordon.
Renowned First Nations designer Julie Paul is designing Maier’s wedding dress. Maier said she is a jean gal and didn’t want to wear a dress but Gordon wants her in a dress.
“What he wants he gets,” said Maier.
The wedding will take place at the Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Centre in June. A First Nation’s drummer will drum for the couple and two inmates will sing at the wedding. Prison staff have approved a cake and flowers and the wedding is open to all prison staff, said Maier.
Juggling a relationship behind bars
Maier and Gordon’s relationship has blossomed behind bars through phone and video calls, as well as in-person and conjugal visits.
“In the morning I try to let her know that I love her and wish her a good day,” said Gordon. “If we had an argument the day before, I say ‘I’m sorry about last night, have a good day, I love you and will call you tonight.’”
Gordon has been transferred from Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, Sask., to the max at Edmonton Institution, then to Grand Cache Institution, in Alberta, and now to Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Centre. He is still considered a maximum-security prisoner but hopes to eventually be reduced to medium and then minimum security.
Every time Gordon is transferred to another prison, Maier usually moves to the city to be near him.
Gordon said he expects Maier to be faithful to him while he is behind bars.
“I gave her a rough time at the beginning,” said Gordon. “When it comes to her being faithful and loyal I don’t have a question. I just ask her ‘please don’t cheat on me.’ I’m not capable of giving her the attention I wish I could give her. I trust her. I believe that she understands the trust pact that we have.
“When I feel she’s not [faithful] I have to check the facts,” he added. “There is nothing factual to back up the feeling or vibe that is making me believe that. I’m always thankful to God and to her that she is a faithful woman.”
Maier said being faithful to Gordon is easy.
“I love him so much I would never do anything to jeopardize that. I will do his 15 to 20 years he has left with him.”
Blending families
They have introduced each other to their families, getting to know each other’s children and grandchildren.
“Working on a blended family has been an amazing experience,” said Gordon.
Maier said her daughter was hard on Gordon at first but has since warmed up to him and sees he is good to her.
“They are inseparable, always together,” Maier’s daughter told SASKTODAY.ca. “The bond can never break.”
Gordon said his parents were skeptical of Maier at first.
“At first my family said ‘who is this girl, what is she doing, do you even know anything about her,’” said Gordon. “Sherri stuck her ground and just kept proving herself.”
Lost appeal but hope in Ministerial Review
In December 2020, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal denied Gordon’s appeal of his first-degree murder conviction. The court also denied the appeals of his co-accused Daniel Theodore and Andrew Bellegarde. The three were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for killing Reno Lee on April 17, 2015. Lee’s dismembered remains were found on Starblanket First Nation.
At the appeal court, Gordon’s lawyer had argued that the trial judge didn’t sufficiently relay evidence and was unbalanced and erroneous in regards to cell phone metadata evidence. The Court of Appeal rejected that argument.
Gordon’s lawyer also argued that the trial judge didn’t properly instruct the jury that they could find Gordon guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder. The Court of Appeal said if the jurors weren’t satisfied that Gordon was involved in anything more than unlawful confinement, they were required to acquit him.
When Gordon found out that he had lost his appeal he wanted to tell Maier before she heard it in the media.
“I remember that day,” said Maier. “He sounded off. He asked me ‘what if I never come out of here?’ I said 'you will get out.' He said ‘my appeal was dismissed, I’m not coming home. I’m a lifer.’”
Maier encouraged him saying he didn’t deserve to be in prison, they just needed a better lawyer. She researched lawyers and they retained a high-profile, powerful Toronto criminal lawyer who specializes in wrongful convictions.
Maier said the lawyer believes in Gordon’s innocence and is currently preparing a Ministerial Review for Gordon. When [Bill C-40] David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law was introduced, Maier said the Toronto lawyer sent her a text message notifying her about the new proposed law. Federal Justice Minister David Lametti announced Bill C-40 in February. David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law is aimed at amending the Criminal Code, paving the way for the independent commission, which is expected to replace the current ministerial review process to review wrongful convictions. For years, David Milgaard had advocated for the independent Criminal Case Review Commission to make it easier and faster for wrongfully convicted people to have their applications reviewed and to get out of prison.
“The way the justice system is moving now I think I have a good chance,” said Gordon. He added that if it wasn’t for the work and information that Maier had provided to the Toronto lawyer he wouldn’t have taken on his case. Maier has a degree in Human Justice from the University of Regina and had worked previously for a lawyer.
Maier said it took them “forever” to get a payment to the Toronto lawyer but he’s now working on a Ministerial Review application.
“I probably wouldn’t still be fighting today if I didn’t have Sherri,” said Gordon. “I would have given up the fight. But Sherri knows the law and said ‘you don’t deserve to be in there.’”
Gordon maintains he is innocent. He admits to being a drug dealer at the time but says he isn’t a murderer.
“I was actually just paying off a debt. Reno Lee and I, we both owed money. I had my bracelet [ankle monitor] so they just worked with me. I couldn’t take it off. I worked off my drug debt from my apartment where I was doing my house arrest.
“I was set up,” he added. “I got pretty much set up, along with this guy [Lee].”
Gordon wasn’t present for the murder but he was accused of calling the shots. He said that’s ludicrous and impossible. He said he wasn’t a gang member and during his trial, he wanted his lawyer to describe and explain the gang hierarchy and how it works but didn't.
“None of them would take orders from me because I’m not gang. I’m not Indian Mafia. I’m not Saskatchewan Warrior. I’m not any of these things.
“It’s really important to understand I’m not a member of these guys,” he added. “I’m not a gang member. I just met these guys. I got pretty well set up. It was a drug deal gone bad and they tried to rob him.”
Gordon said it’s important to give the victim’s family the correct justice.
“Someone else called the shots on [Lee’s] life,” said Gordon. “I just leave it in God’s hands and pray that God will give me real justice, not only for myself but for [Lee’s} family.”
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