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Miller Thomson LLP 1998-2008 WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS in CANADA
Robson Court MILLER 1000-840 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 2M1 THOMSON LLP Tel. 604.687.2242 Barristers & Solicitors Fax. 604.643.1200 Patent & Trade-Mark Agents www.millerthomson.com VANCOUVER TORONTO CALGARY EDMONTON LONDON KITCHENER-WATERLOO GUELPH MARKHAM MONTRÉAL Wrongful Convictions in Canada Robin Bajer, Monique Trépanier, Elizabeth Campbell, Doug LePard, Nicola Mahaffy, Julie Robinson, Dwight Stewart International Conference of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law June 2007 This article is provided as an information service only and is not meant as legal advice. Readers are cautioned not to act on the information provided without seeking specific legal advice with respect to their unique circumstances. © Miller Thomson LLP 1998-2008 WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN CANADA Authors: Robin Bajer Monique Trépanier Elizabeth Campbell Doug LePard Nicola Mahaffy Julie Robinson Dwight Stewart TABLE OF CONTENTS WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN CANADA ...............................................................................2 CHAPTER ONE – Introduction and Background By Robin Bajer and Monique Trépanier..................................................................2 CHAPTER TWO – How Police Departments Can Reduce the Risk of Wrongful Convictions By Elizabeth Campbell and Doug LePard.............................................................12 CHAPTER THREE – Review: Wrongful Convictions and the Role of Crown Counsel By Nicola Mahaffy and Julie Robinson.................................................................40 -
Rule of Law Report
RULE OF LAW REPORT ISSUE 2 JUNE 2018 EDITOR’S NOTE Heather MacIvor 2 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF ADVOCACY FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED Win Wahrer 3 LEVEL – CHANGING LIVES THROUGH LAW Heather MacIvor 6 EDITOR’S NOTE This issue features two leading Canadian organizations dedicated to justice and the rule of law. Innocence Canada, formerly called AIDWYC (Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted), is dedicated to preventing and correcting miscarriages of justice. Win Wahrer Heather MacIvor has been with Innocence Canada since LexisNexis Canada the beginning. As the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary, Win tells its story. She also spotlights some of the remarkable individuals who support Innocence Canada, and those Photo by Fardeen Firoze whom it has supported in their struggles. Level, formerly Canadian Lawyers Abroad, targets barriers to justice. It aims to educate and empower Indigenous youth, enhance cultural competency in the bench and Bar, and mentor future leaders in the legal profession. This issue spotlights Level’s current programming and its new five-year strategic plan. By drawing attention to flaws in the legal system, and tackling the root causes of injustice, Innocence Canada and Level strengthen the rule of law. LexisNexis Canada and its employees are proud to support the work of both organizations. We also raise money for other worthy causes, including the #TorontoStrongFund, established in response to the April 2018 Toronto van attack. 2 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF ADVOCACY FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED Innocence Canada, formerly the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), is a national, non-profit organization that advocates for the wrongly convicted across Canada. -
Advocate for Wrongly Convicted, David Milgaard Fights to Keep Innocent out of ‘Cages’”
Networked Knowledge Media Reports Networked Knowledge Canada Homepage This page set up by Dr Robert N Moles On 2 OCTOBER 2014 Valerie Fortney of the Calgary Herald reported “Advocate for wrongly convicted, David Milgaard fights to keep innocent out of ‘cages’”. David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, spoke at the John Howard Society in Calgary on Thursday as part of the first Wrongful Conviction Day. Photograph by: Leah Hennel David Milgaard is not by definition an angry man. “I love my life,” says the youthful 62-year-old, who has called Calgary home for the past six years. “I’m grateful for everything I have today.” Stir his memories, though, and the old demons rush over him like an ocean wave. “I had trouble sitting with some men recently who were wrongfully convicted,” he says. “I wish to say that anger isn’t there, but it is there.” Despite the unwelcome emotions such encounters trigger, Milgaard — who spent more than 23 years in a Canadian prison for a crime he didn’t commit — stands outside the John Howard Society on Thursday morning, the featured speaker at a press conference launching the first Wrongful Conviction Day. Together with his long time lawyer Greg Rodin, who also lives in Calgary, Milgaard speaks passionately to the gathered media about the issues surrounding the wrongly convicted. “We cannot let innocent people be disqualified from life, from beauty,” he says. “In our Canadian prisons right now, we have wrongly convicted men, we have wrongly convicted women and, in some cases, children, sitting still right now inside cages.” The new day of recognition is being hosted by the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, a national non-profit organization that grew out of the Justice for Guy Paul Morin Committee. -
Wrongful Convictions/Miscarriages of Justice, Law As a System, and the Story of the Little Girl
University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF BUSINESS, LAW AND ART Wrongful Convictions/Miscarriages of Justice, Law as a System, and the story of the Little Girl by Ebenezer Laryea Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2016 1 Academic Thesis: Declaration Of Authorship I, EBENEZER NINII LARYEA declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. Title of thesis: WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS/MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE, LAW AS A SYSTEM, AND THE STORY OF THE LITTLE GIRL …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. -
David Collier's Surviving Saskatoon and New Comics
Deena Rymhs David Collier’s Surviving Saskatoon and New Comics Since the #$$% publication of Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, a two-volume graphic narrative that explores the author’s inheritance as the son of Holocaust survivors, comic books have attracted renewed attention. Recent &lm versions of V for Vendetta, Ghost World, Road to Perdition, American Splendor, and Sin City re'ect a growing interest in alternative comics. Distinct from the superhero tradition that has dominated the comic book industry, alternative comics originated in the #$()s and !)s as a primarily underground form. *is new strain of indepen- dent, creator-owned art saw “an unprecedented sense of intimacy” in the authors’ approach to their subject matter, an intimacy that “rival[led] the scandalous disclosures of confessional poetry but shot through with fantasy, burlesque, and self-satire” (Hat&eld !). *e personal tenor of these comics would coalesce into “New Comics,” the next wave of comic art that followed in the #$+)s and $)s. Inheriting the cross-genre tendencies of the under- ground comics before them, New Comics have persisted in pushing the rela- tively open boundaries of the form, branching into autobiography, biography, political documentary, reportage, and historiography. Like their predeces- sors, this body of literature exhibits a strong interest in marginal identities and the social values that engender di,erence. One of Canada’s most noted comic-book artists, David Collier has written several book-length graphic narratives since Robert Crumb &rst published Collier’s comic strip in #$+(. His work has also appeared in such mainstream venues as the National Post and 'e Globe and Mail. -
Wrongful Convictions: the Effect of Tunnel Vision and Predisposing Circumstances in the Criminal Justice System
Wrongful Convictions: The Effect of Tunnel Vision and Predisposing Circumstances in the Criminal Justice System Bruce A. MacFarlane 0 Table of Contents Part I: Introduction............................................................................................................... 2 Part II: “Predisposing Circumstances” in the Criminal Justice System............................ 5 A. Public and media pressure on law enforcement agencies..........................................7 B. Public reaction to the background of an offender. ...................................................16 C. Noble cause corruption.............................................................................................20 D.Distortions due to extraneous influences ..................................................................25 Part III: Tunnel Vision in the Criminal Justice System ............................................28 A. What is tunnel vision? ..............................................................................................28 1. Commission of Inquiry in Canada and the United States a) The Morin Public Inquiry b) Commission of Inquiry into the Wrongful Conviction of Stephen Sophonow c) Report of the Commission on Capital Punishment (Illinois) d) The Lamer Commission of Inquiry 2. Critical elements of tunnel vision B. How does tunnel vision occur?...............................................................................33 1. Psychological Roots.....................................................................................34 -
Wrongful Conviction Day, October 2, 2019
Heather Ruzylo To: Carey Campbell Subject: RE: Proclamation Request - Wrongful Conviction Day, October 2, 2019 From: Carey Campbell Sent: Friday, August 23, 2019 11:05 AM To: 'Sharon'; Bill Matson; Heather Ruzylo; Kristine Elia Subject: RE: Proclamation Request - Wrongful Conviction Day, October 2, 2019 Dear Sharon: Thank you for your email requesting a proclamation. I am keying in staff to assist in moving your request forward. I trust that they will be in touch further with details and next steps. carey Carey Campbell | Manager | Office of the Mayor and CAO | City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street | Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5 | 905.356.7521 X 4206 | [email protected] From: Sharon < > Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2019 4:37 PM To: Jim Diodati <[email protected]> Subject: Proclamation Request - Wrongful Conviction Day, October 2, 2019 Good afternoon Mayor Diodati, I hope this finds you well. My name is Sharon Wilton, a graduate of the Criminal Justice & Public Policy program at the University of Guelph, and a volunteer for Innocence Canada (formerly the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted). I am writing to you on behalf of Innocence Canada to request a proclamation for October 2nd, 2019 as Wrongful Conviction Day in Niagara Falls. The purpose of Wrongful Conviction Day is to spread awareness about wrongful convictions and the effects these convictions have on individuals, their families, and the society at large. Through Wrongful Conviction Day, Innocence Canada aims to decrease the amount of wrongful convictions in Canada by encouraging the justice system to address issues that contribute to wrongful convictions. -
In the Matter of Steven Truscott
IN THE MATTER OF STEVEN TRUSCOTT ADVISORY OPINION ON THE ISSUE OF COMPENSATION THE HONOURABLE SYDNEY L. ROBINS, Q.C. March 28, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1 I. MY MANDATE ........................................................................................................................... 2 II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND....................................................................................................... 3 III. REFERENCE TO THE COURT OF APPEAL............................................................................ 7 IV. DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEAL ................................................................................ 9 (i) The First Pillar Evidence Elated to the Time of Lynne Harper's Death ........................ 9 (it) The Second Pillar Eyewitness Evidence as to Where and When Steven Truscott was Seen on the Evening of June 9 .................................................. 11 (Hi) The Third Pillar. Post-Offence Conduct......................................................................... 13 (iv) The Fourth Pillar The Penis Lesions Evidence .............................................................. 14 (v) Other Evidence Considered by the Court of Appeal ........................................................ 15 The Court of Appeal's Conclusion................................................................................................. 17 V. ENTITLEMENT -
Timothy Fonseca Case 26 Book Reviews Injustice Anywhere Ten Years 31 Is a Threat to Justice Final Remarks Everywhere
spring 2008 • volume 9 ERIN WALSH He wins justice after 33 years, against overwhelming odds see page 3 photo: canadian press (andrew vaughn) photo: canadian 14 POLICE CAN BE SUED FOR 26 BILL MULLINS- negligence JOHNSON: Louis Sokolov Timothy the day he’ll never reports Fonseca: forget: Oct. 15, 2007 25 wrongly identified contents ◆ executive director’s report the aidwyc journal spring 2008 • volume 9 • issue 38 Development through Columns & News the strength of our people Evolution takes people 2 Erin Walsh exonerated 3 s you’ll read in the following pages, aidwyc is crucial, cases show 5 the length of time, commitment Student involvement in aidwyc 6 A and patience it takes to shepherd a Congrats to Jerome Kennedy 7 wrongful conviction case through the criminal AIDWYC agm 07: celebration! 8 justice system is enormous. Organizational Four condolences 10 change and development, albeit with much, Can you help AIDWYC? 12 much less heartache, also takes time, com- mitment and patience – especially on a shoe- Can AIDWYC help you? 13 string budget. photo: kristen watts Canadian Case Updates Organizational development provides ex- Tanya Gerber citing opportunity for new ideas to take flight Robert Baltovich 14 and tried-and-true methods to be installed. AIDWYC is committed to be- Bill Mullins-Johnson 14 coming a stronger, more efficient organization with one main goal in Romeo Phillion 15 mind: to help more people whose lives have been decimated by a wrong- Sherry Sherett 16 ful conviction. Steven Truscott 18 We’re evolving with the strength of our people, hiring new staff, ex- panding our Toronto office and establishing new protocols. -
AIDWYC the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted
AIDWYC the association in defence of the wrongly convicted AIDWYC is a Canadian based volunteer organization dedicated to preventing and rectifying wrongful convictions. AIDWYC has two broad objectives: first, eradicating the conditions that give rise to miscarriages of justice; and second, participating in the review and, where warranted, correction of wrongful convictions. AIDWYC is an entirely voluntary, non-profit association dedicated to assisting factually innocent persons who have been wrongfully convicted. AIDWYC was founded in 1993. It is the direct successor to the Justice for Guy Paul Morin Committee, a grass-roots organization that came into existence in support of Guy Paul Morin immediately following his wrongful conviction in the summer of 1992. When Guy Paul Morin was released on bail in February 1993, pending his appeal, this Committee reconstituted itself as AIDWYC having consciously decided to broaden its perspective and to act in defence of all persons who had been wrongly convicted. AIDWYC’s Honourary President is the Honourable Gregory T. Evans, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Ontario and one of the three Commissioners who presided over the "Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution". For some ten years ending September 2004 AIDWYC’s Executive Director was Rubin Hurricane Carter who himself spent 20 years in prison for crimes he did not commit. The directors of AIDWYC include lawyers, academics and other interested members of the public. AIDWYC has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of international conferences including the 1994 conference, "Innocents Behind Bars"… the 1995 conference "Justice on Trial: The Wrongful Conviction of Guy Paul Morin", the 1996 conference "Coffin’s Legacy: Keeping the Death Penalty at Bay”, the 1998 conference in Chicago, Illinois "The National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty" (of which AIDWYC was a co-sponsor). -
Exploring News Media Constructions in Cases of Wrongful Conviction
Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2015 Critical Champions or Careless Condemners? Exploring News Media Constructions in Cases of Wrongful Conviction Katherine Rozad Wilfrid Laurier University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Criminology Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other Sociology Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, and the Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons Recommended Citation Rozad, Katherine, "Critical Champions or Careless Condemners? Exploring News Media Constructions in Cases of Wrongful Conviction" (2015). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1764. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1764 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CRITICAL CHAMPIONS OR CARELESS CONDEMNERS? EXPLORING NEWS MEDIA CONSTRUCTIONS IN CASES OF WRONGFUL CONVICTION by Katy Rozad B.A. (Honours), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2013 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Criminology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Master of Arts in Criminology Wilfrid Laurier University © Katy Rozad 2015 Abstract Countless incidences occur throughout the world each and every day. However, only a few of these occurrences are deemed newsworthy by the media. One area of information quite often categorized as “newsworthy” is that surrounding crime. Within crime-related news coverage are occasionally cases of wrongful conviction – miscarriages of justice in which the innocent are labeled “guilty” and wrongly punished. -
Wrongful Conviction Day 2020 with Guest Exoneree Robert Baltovich
Wrongful Conviction Day 2020 with guest exoneree Robert Baltovich | Text Transcript This is a text transcript for the Wrongful Conviction Day 2020 event, presented by the Criminal Justice & Public Policy and Criminology & Criminal Justice Policy programs at the University of Guelph. Guest speaker Robert Baltovich shared his experience of wrongful conviction and exoneration with attendees. The event was moderated by Prof. Dennis Baker and Prof. Carolyn Yule and was recorded on October 1, 2020. Transcript: Dennis Baker: Okay good evening everyone and welcome to our event honouring Wrongful Conviction Day. My name is Dennis Baker and I'm the Director of the Criminal Justice programs here at Guelph. I'm here tonight as the emcee but you won't be hearing much from me tonight, to my students’ great relief I'm sure. But, I'm going to try and keep things organized so we use this new forum effectively. I hope you'll bear with us as we will no doubt have a few technical bumps this evening. This is CJPP's first major event in this very different academic year. So, the plan for the evening is to have an introduction from Dean Byron Sheldrick and then Professor Yule will introduce our guest Rob Baltovich. And, ask some opening questions for about 30 minutes before you'll have the opportunity to ask yours. That's assuming I could figure out how Zoom works. We'll be taking questions via the chat function, so feel free to type yours as the evening progresses. They will come to me and then we'll have readers read them out.