A prisoner advocate has married a convicted murderer she met behind bars while campaigning for his release, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Sherri Maier fell in love with inmate Bronson Gordon, 40, after lobbying to get him removed from solitary confinement in 2018.
In March 2018, a jury had convicted Bronson, Andrew Bellegarde, and Daniel Theodore of the 2015 killing of Reno Lee, who was taken to a house in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, before being bound, shot, and dismembered on April 16, 2015.
All three were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
According to reports, during a five-week trial, the prosecution argued that, though he was not present at the time of the killing, Gordon directed the kidnapping and subsequent shooting.
Prosecutors raised a number of motives, including an attempt to take out a competing drug dealer, according to the Regina Leader Post.
The felon was serving time at Regina Provincial Correctional Center, when he contacted Sherri, a prison reform activist, for help.
While Bronson was immediately drawn to her, it wasn’t love at first sight for Sherri, she told DailyMail.com.
‘Of course he tried to chase me, I said, “yeah, I am not getting involved with an inmate”,’ she said.
‘He would tell people that I was going to be his wife. I must have rejected him about 10 times before I finally said yes.’
In August 2019, when Sherri, now 44, had been going through a tough time in her life and moved to Melville, Saskatchewan, she received a surprise phone call from Bronson checking in on her.
‘When he called, I was thinking “what the heck?” He asked me if he could call me the following day too. I had spoken to my friend, and she said I should give him a chance,’ she said.
‘We have been together since that day.’
The two would eventually have their first date in prison, but, due to the pandemic that followed shortly after, for years their relationship survived on 20-minute daily phone calls.
‘When the visits opened up again, I drove eight hours to see him – I really enjoyed that,’ she said.
‘That was the first time I could see him, but we couldn’t touch as they were behind glass.’
Sherri and Bronson were finally able to hug each other in April 2022 when Bronson was moved to Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Center to deal with some ‘unaddressed mental health issues.’
‘I didn’t get to touch him until 2022, it was too good to be true. It was so good because after three years, we never thought we would get to this point,’ she said.
‘I got to hug him, feel his face – it was magical.’
Adding to the special moment, Bronson got down on one knee and popped the question, to which Sherri immediately said yes.
‘Before we were able to meet, he had proposed to me over the phone, and I said yes,’ Sherri explained.
‘I didn’t really think about it, and then when we could finally touch, he got down on one knee.’
However, there was no diamond ring at the time. Instead, Bronson sent money home for Sherri to buy her own.
Her big day was also far from traditional and the wedding planning did not come without its challenges.
While Bronson was prepared with his suit, Sherri’s wedding dress did not arrive on time, so she nearly got married in jeans. However a friend lent her a traditional ribbon skirt.
‘Bronson is indigenous, so I wanted to find the perfect dress to honor his religion. Sadly, the dress wasn’t ready in time, so I had to leave without it,’ she said.
‘I was going to get married in jeans as I couldn’t find a dress.
‘Bronson’s buddy called and said, “Don’t worry about the dress. He loves you. He will marry you in institutional clothes if need be”.’
The happy couple tied the knot in a ceremony at the psychiatric center in June 2023 and were able to spend 72 hours together for a conjugal visit as newlyweds.
‘It was such a special day, I was grateful that everyone wanted to be there to celebrate our day,’ Sherri said.
‘The warden went, Bronson’s treatment team were there, there were 15 to 20 people there.
‘After the ceremony, they brought us food and cake, then we got to spend 72 hours together.
‘I call it my government honeymoon.’
Sherri, who currently works as an interprovincial children’s advocate, said it was ‘tough’ leaving her husband behind, but says she now drives the six-hour round trip to visit him every weekend.
‘We have spent Valentine’s Day together, I have spent Christmas with him and Thanksgiving.
‘I will drive up every weekend to visit him, and I have done so for the past three years,’ she said.
Since being moved to the psychiatric hospital, Bronson has received the help and programs he needed, Sherri explained.
‘In the other institution, he would never have got those programs such as dialectical behavior therapy, dog therapy, and addiction support, which have all helped him be sober now for over two years.
‘Overall, like most people in prison, he had some unaddressed mental health issues over the course of his life.
‘This place helped him deal with his past trauma that led him to addiction and incarceration, and so grateful for that.’
In December 2020, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal denied Bronson’s appeal of his first-degree murder conviction.
But Sherri believes her husband is innocent and is preparing for a Ministerial Review for him – in the hope he could be released in 2026.
‘It is challenging, but I know he is innocent,’ Sherri said. ‘Some people will say otherwise, but we make it work.
‘My husband is a big Christian, so we use a lot of prayers to get us through.
‘I don’t sugar coat it, as it is tough – we do have our problems. But through communication and prayer, we get through it.’
Bronson told DailyMail.com, ‘I saw the heart Sherri had for helping inmates. I never thought I would meet another human being as special as Sherri.
‘I never thought I would have met a human being who is passionate about the prisoners.
‘When I first started talking to her, I was realizing how hard it was for people in the world to pay attention in prison.
‘When I met Sherri, she was fascinated by helping people who were suffering from isolation and segregation, and she wanted to end it.
‘I knew I wasn’t going to meet another human being like her, I was willing to settle for being her friend, but the more I spoke to her, the more I fell in love with her.’
Sherri and Bronson Gordon run Beyond Prison Walls Canada Society Inc., a non-profit organization advocating for prisoners and their families.