DOCSLIB.ORG

Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage Seminar five – Law on Miscarriages of Justice – Canada Group B: Forensic Investigations - Chap 4 ‘Law on Miscarriages of Justice: Canada’ If we were to compare the Australian and Canadian procedures on criminal appeals, there are clearly recognisable similarities between them. The Petition Procedure In Canada, once a person’s appeal rights have been exhausted, the only means of reopening a case is by petition under S 696.3 of the Canadian Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, to the Federal Minister of Justice (an elected official who also serves as the Attorney General of Canada). It is interesting to note that it is the federal minister in Canada who has responsibility for the administration of criminal justice, whereas in Australia it is the responsibility of the state attorney-general. It is also interesting to see that the Canadian Minister can directly re-open cases by ordering new trials or appeals, where ‘there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. In Australia, this can only be done by a decision of the appellate court. It is also interesting to note that the Minister of Justice has the power to refer cases directly to the Supreme Court of Canada, something that has been done in at least three cases of suspected miscarriages of justice. Re Coffin (1955), 116 C.C.C . 215; Re Truscott, [1967] S.C.R. 309; Reference re Milgaard, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 866. No equivalent power exists in either Australia or Britain. The criteria for the assessment of petitions are a matter of public record (no equivalent exists in Australia) In deciding whether to reopen a conviction by ordering a new trial or a new appeal, the Minister of Justice is required to take all relevant matters into account including: (a) whether the application is supported by new matters of significance that were not considered by the courts or previously considered by the Minister in an application in relation to the same conviction; (b) the relevance and reliability of information that is presented in connection with the application; and (c) the fact that an application under this part is not intended to serve as a further appeal and any remedy available on such an application is an extraordinary remedy. 1 Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage Under this procedure, the Minister of Justice can appoint individuals (such as retired judges, members of the bar, or those with similar qualifications) to investigate claims of wrongful convictions. They have the power to take evidence, issues subpoenas, and compel people to give evidence. These broad powers include power to obtain documents from private individuals. In Britain, the CCRC can only obtain such documents from public officials. The Minister will provide draft and final reasons for decisions and the process is subject to judicial review. Issues raised in the Introduction AIDWYC – Innocence Canada – 21 exonerations The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted now Innocence Canada has been instrumental in overturning some 21 wrongful convictions since 1993. They include the case of Stephen Truscott, convicted of the murder of his schoolgirl friend. At the age of 14 he was sentenced to be hanged in 1959. His conviction was eventually overturned in 2007 and he was awarded $6.5m in compensation. The evidence involved the same discredited ‘stomach contents’ evidence with regard to timing death as was used in the Van Beelen case in South Australia. 2005 – Federal Commission Report on MOJ The Canadian Federal Commission on the Prevention of Miscarriages of Justice presented a report in 2005. 2003 – MacFarlane Report MOJ – tunnel vision – predisposing circumstances It was inspired and influenced by the previous report of Bruce MacFarlane QC who in 2003 had produced a report on ‘Wrongful Convictions: The Effect of Tunnel Vision and Predisposing Circumstances in the Criminal Justice System’. One of the best reports I know of on the topic. MacFarlane was Deputy Attorney-General of Manitoba – his report was presented at the Heads of Prosecutions Agencies, Commonwealth Conference, Darwin, Australia, 7 May 2003. It was an important report. It demonstrated a positive attitude to the issue of wrongful convictions and his approach was in stark contrast to that of other Attorneys-General who are in denial about this topic. The idea of ‘predisposing circumstances’ is one which will be 2 Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage important to our understanding of some of the Australian cases, especially those of Lindy Chamberlain and Edward Splatt. The Canadian Judicial Inquiries – there were seven of them1 Distinctive value of Canadian Judicial Inquiries Unlike similar inquiries or Royal Commissions in Australia, the Canadian inquiries are conducted after a conviction has been overturned in order to determine the cause of it. The experts or investigators called to the inquiry will know that their evidence has already been found wanting at the previous appeal. Even so, some of them can remain quite stubborn. Each inquiry has an international comparative aspect This involves an investigation into the way in which other jurisdictions respond to similar problems. This was how the Goudge inquiry in Toronto, looking into Dr Smith’s work on baby deaths, commissioned an expert report on the topic of the baby deaths in South Australia. 1989 – Royal Commission (3 judges) - Donald Marshall Jr (Halifax) Report – Media items A video of his experience: Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia, was destined to succeed his father as Chief of 26, 000 people. Instead, he was convicted of murder at age 17, and spent 11 years in jail. One of Canada's highest profile wrongful conviction cases, it revealed many flaws and systemic racism in the justice system. This documentary marked the first time Donald agreed to tell his own story on camera. He died at age 55, one year later. In 1971, Marshall was wrongfully convicted of murdering his friend, Sandy Seale, in Sydney's Wentworth Park. Marshall was just 17 years old when he received a life sentence for the murder that was later determined he had not committed. He was released in 1982 after RCMP reviewed his case and cleared by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in 1983 after a witness came forward to say another man had stabbed Seale and several prior witness statements connecting Marshall to the death were recanted. Though the Appeal Court 1 They are discussed at Forensic Investigations p 362. 3 Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage declared him not guilty, Marshall was told he had contributed to his own conviction and that any miscarriage of justice was more apparent than real 1998 – Justice Kaufman Inquiry - Guy Paul Morin (Toronto) Report – Media items A video of his experience – On October 3rd 1984, nine-year old Christine Jessop vanished from the community of Queensville Ontario. Months later her beaten and raped body was found in a field. Durham Regional Police focused its attention on 25 year old Guy Paul Morin, a guy they figured to be 'odd' and eventually arrested for murder. The ensuing trials drew national attention. It is said (Toronto Star) there were 10 key things to learn from the case: the dangers of tunnel vision – he was an ‘oddball’ The dangers of “demeanour evidence” – his facial expressions – didn’t join the search party The need to be skeptical of “experts” – this link from Toronto Star refers to Splatt case via the Levy Blog article – junk science and hair and fibre evidence. The need to look at the system of wrongful convictions – refers to ‘lazy/inexperienced/over- heated/crusading police’ The need for police not to bond too tightly with a victim’s family – like in the Keogh case? The dangers of jailhouse snitches – in this case a ‘pathological liar’ with a ‘deficient conscience’ and ‘skilled at deceiving others’ The realization that prosecutors are capable of misconduct The dangers of withholding evidence The dangers of cutting a deal to avoid trial The need for full and accurate records of interviews with witnesses The Commissioner said that the investigators continued to believe that Morin was guilty even thought there was not a scrap of evidence to be put against him. He described it as ‘tunnel vision of staggering proportions’. He was concerned that the investigators had labelled him as ‘odd’ for the purposes of their inquiry – they thought him odd because he played a musical instrument, and was a bit of a loner.2 The Commission emphasised the misuse of hair and 2 2 October 2014, Toronto Star, ‘Christine Jessop killing: 10 things that were learned from the case’. 4 Bibi Sangha, Robert Moles, Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Sem 5 MOJ Canada Link to Miscarriages of Justice Course Homepage fibre evidence, the use of jail-house informants (in this case one known to be a pathological liar) and the issue of prosecutorial misconduct. As a child-killer he was abused and raped whilst in prison. 2001- Justice Cory Inquiry - Thomas Sophonow (Winnipeg) Media items Video interview with Sophonow setting out details of his case. 1981 strangulation murder of 16-year-old girl. Arrested 2000 miles away. Hung jury followed by guilty verdict. Appeal successful – further trial found guilty. Appeal led to acquittal – prosecution appealed and acquittal upheld by the Supreme Court. June 2000 police apologised and led to an inquiry.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 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
    [Show full text]
  • 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).
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • SUBMISSIONS of AIDWYC and the MULLINS-JOHNSON GROUP
    INQUIRY INTO PEDIATRIC FORENSIC PATHOLOGY IN ONTARIO SUBMISSIONS OF AIDWYC and the MULLINS-JOHNSON GROUP LOCKYER CAMPBELL POSNER SACK GOLDBLATT MITCHELL LLP Barristers & Solicitors Barristers & Solicitors 180 Dundas Street West 20 Dundas Street West Suite 1515 Suite 1100 Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E9 M5G 2G8 James Lockyer Louis Sokolov Philip Campbell Vanora Simpson Alison Craig Tel: (416) 979-6439 Tel. (416) 847-2560 Fax: (416) 591-7333 Fax: (416) 847-2564 Counsel for AIDWYC Counsel for the "Mullins-Johnson Group" - 2 - I - INTRODUCTION 1. Miscarriages of justice are rarely, if ever, the product of single causes or single actors, nor are they confined to single aspects of the criminal justice system. On the contrary, we have learned in this country and elsewhere that they are the result of multiple failures of the systemic safeguards in place in the justice system. In this regard, in his Report on the Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, Commissioner Kaufman wrote: The case of Guy Paul Morin is not an aberration…What I mean is that the causes of Mr. Morin’s conviction are rooted in systemic problems, as well as the failings of individuals. It is no coincidence that the same systemic problems are those identified in wrongful convictions in other jurisdictions worldwide. It is these systemic issues that must be addressed in the future. As to individual failings, it is to be hoped that they can be prevented by the revelation of what happened in [specific cases]and by education as to the causes of wrongful convictions. 2. In this case, although each of the miscarriages of justice that formed the focus of this inquiry can be traced to the individual failings of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • THE TRIALS of STEVEN TRUSCOTT Introduction
    THE TRIALS OF STEVEN TRUSCOTT Introduction The acquittal of Steven Truscott, With public sympathy more and more Focus On August more than 48 years after his trial and on his side, Steven Truscott himself 28, 2007, the conviction for murder, resolved one stepped back into the limelight. With Ontario Court of of Canada’s lengthiest miscarriages the aid of lawyer James Lockyer and Appeal (www. of justice. In 1959, at the age of 14, other members of the Association in ontariocourts. Truscott was convicted of the rape and Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, on.ca/appeal.htm) murder of a 12-year-old girl. Following Truscott filed an official request with the overturned the a brief trial, he was sentenced to be Justice Minister for a review of his case. 1959 conviction of Steven Truscott hanged—a sentence that made him the Following an official inquiry, the Justice for the murder of youngest person ever to be sentenced for Minister referred the case to the Ontario 12-year-old Lynn execution by a Canadian court. Court of Appeal. It took nearly six years Harper. News in Truscott’s sentence was commuted from the filing of his request, but Steven Review looks back to life imprisonment, and he served 10 Truscott finally won his day in court. at the original years before being paroled. Following The appeal resulted in Truscott’s trial and Truscott’s lengthy battle to his release, he assumed a new name acquittal and a vindication for all those clear his name, and lived, worked, and raised a family who had supported him over the years.
    [Show full text]
  • Wrongful Convictions in Canada
    University of Cincinnati Law Review Volume 80 Issue 4 Article 19 September 2013 Wrongful Convictions in Canada Kent Roach Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.uc.edu/uclr Recommended Citation Kent Roach, Wrongful Convictions in Canada, 80 U. Cin. L. Rev. (2013) Available at: https://scholarship.law.uc.edu/uclr/vol80/iss4/19 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by University of Cincinnati College of Law Scholarship and Publications. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Cincinnati Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Cincinnati College of Law Scholarship and Publications. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Roach: Wrongful Convictions in Canada WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN CANADA Kent Roach*† I. INTRODUCTION An awareness of the alarming reality of wrongful convictions in both Canada and other criminal justice systems led the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 to overturn prior jurisprudence that allowed Canada to extradite fugitives to face the death penalty.1 The Court decided that extradition to face the death penalty would generally violate the principles of fundamental justice in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.2 The Court stressed that DNA would not be available in all cases,3 and that even “a fair trial does not always guarantee a safe verdict.”4 This case presents a challenge to all courts and policy-makers to do better in responding to the risk of wrongful convictions.5 It is also a reminder that all criminal justice systems that use the death penalty run an unacceptable risk of executing an innocent person.
    [Show full text]
  • Aidwychistory
    AIDWYC HISTORY ______________________________________________ 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 a voluntary, non-profit association dedicated to assisting factually innocent persons who have been wrongfully convicted of a serious crime. 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 mandate and to act in defence of all persons who had been wrongly convicted. Until his death in May 2010, AIDWYC’s Honourary President was 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 in 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 CONFERENCES 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).
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Unravelling the Official Story
    1. Unravelling the Official Story First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak out for me. (Martin Niemöller, 1892–1984) On September 29, 1987, a fifteen-year old girl was raped at knifepoint in her bedroom in Toronto, Ontario. Two months later, nineteen-year old tradesman and husband Anthony Hanemaayer of Newmarket, Ontario, was arrested and charged with break, enter, and assault. The case against Hanemaayer proceeded to trial based entirely on the eyewitness testimony of the young girl’s mother, who reported that she encountered the assail- ant during the attack and exchanged a full forty-five-second stare with him before he leapt up and fled. Shortly thereafter, the girl’s mother approached a nearby construction company and provided a description of the attacker, prompting an office employee to suggest the description might fit Anthony Hanemaayer. The girl’s mother then forwarded this information to the po- lice. After investigators obtained a photograph of Hanemaayer, the mother selected him from a photo lineup. Hanemaayer was arrested and charged with rape. Despite his incessant claim of innocence, only two days into his trial in 1989, Hanemaayer accepted the Crown’s offer of a plea bargain on the advice of his lawyer, who felt that his conviction and the probability of a penitentiary sentence in the six-year range was a foregone conclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Race a Factor in Convicting the Innocent?
    THE SILENT INJUSTICE IN WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN CANADA: IS RACE A FACTOR IN CONVICTING THE INNOCENT? ANDREA S. ANDERSON A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LAWS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN LAW YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO AUGUST 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-88612-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-88612-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Path to Justice: Preventing Wrongful Convictions
    rosecutio f P ns o C ds o a m e m H it t T e P e F C s o e m l a i t n é é F p P s T e d it e su s C ur hefs des po The Path to Justice: Preventing Wrongful Convictions THE PATH TO JUSTICE: PREVENTING WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS Report of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Heads of Prosecutions Subcommittee on the Prevention of Wrongful Convictions Fall 2011 “No criminal justice system is, or can be, perfect. Nevertheless, the manner in which a society concerns itself with persons who may have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned must be one of the yardsticks by which civilization is measured.” Justice Report on Miscarriages of Justice (1989), The British Section of the International Commission of Jurists The Path to Justice: Preventing Wrongful Convictions vii Federal/Provincial/Territorial Heads of Prosecutions Subcommittee on the Prevention of Wrongful Convictions Co-chairs: Stephen Bindman, Department of Justice Canada Mary Nethery, Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario Members: Ava Arbuck, Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario Sherri Davis-Barron, Public Prosecution Service of Canada Rosella Cornaviera, Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario Suzanne Crawford, Public Prosecution Services, Office of the Attorney General, New Brunswick Steve Dawson, Public Prosecutions Division, Department of Justice, Newfoundland and Labrador Juli Drolet, Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales, Québec Laura Eplett, Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario Pamela Goulding Q.C., Public Prosecutions Division, Department of Justice, Newfoundland and Labrador Sgt. Kathy Hartwig, RCMP Mary-Ellen Hurman, Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario Beverly Klatt, Saskatchewan Public Prosecutions Oleh S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Prison Experiences of the Wrongfully Convicted Esti Azizi
    (2021) 2:1 MAINTAINING INNOCENCE 55 Maintaining Innocence: The Prison Experiences of the Wrongfully Convicted Esti Azizi Common Law Section, Faculty of Law University of Ottawa Canada Modern research has been diligent and successful in discovering the causes wrongful conviction and its long-term consequences on the wrongfully convicted and their families. One area, however, remains relatively untouched by research efforts: the period between conviction and release, the period of incarceration itself. This paper outlines the experiences of wrongfully convicted persons in prison. While each incarceration term is an individualized experience, shared commonalities exist between these experiences. This paper considers the incarceration experience via two lenses: inmate and prison violence in Part I and mental health and segregation in Part II. The paper focuses largely on the Canadian perspective, with limited insights from other jurisdictions. Each section evaluates: (1) the general prison experience of all incarcerated persons, and (2) the distinct prison experiences of the wrongfully convicted as a result of maintaining their innocence. As little research exists on the unique experiences of the wrongfully convicted in prison, this paper looks to interviews and other sources where wrongfully convicted persons have discussed their prison experiences. These sources are few and far between and many wrongfully convicted persons echo the words of Thomas Sophonow (wrongfully convicted of the murder of a 16-year-old donut shop employee): “whatever happened in jail [is] nobody’s business.”1 Faculty Endorsement – Stephen Bindman, Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada: This article began as a final paper in the course Wrongful Convictions in the Faculty of Law (Common Law Section) University of Ottawa in the fall 2020 semester.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Role of Police Misconduct Within Canadian Wrongful Conviction Cases
    Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2016 Investigative Inadequacies or Investigative Corruption? Exploring the Role of Police Misconduct within Canadian Wrongful Conviction Cases Michelle L. Lovegrove Wilfrid Laurier University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Law and Society Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, and the Other Legal Studies Commons Recommended Citation Lovegrove, Michelle L., "Investigative Inadequacies or Investigative Corruption? Exploring the Role of Police Misconduct within Canadian Wrongful Conviction Cases" (2016). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1881. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1881 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]. INVESTIGATIVE INADEQUACIES OR INVESTIGATIVE CORRUPTION? EXPLORING THE ROLE OF POLICE MISCONDUCT WITHIN CANADIAN WRONGFUL CONVICTION CASES. By Michelle Lovegrove B.A (Honours), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2014 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Criminology In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts in Criminology Wilfrid Laurier University © Michelle Lovegrove 2016 Abstract The phenomenon of wrongful convictions has begun to attract the attention of the public and scholars alike within the past few decades. However, despite this recent fixation the issue of wrongful convictions is not new, as research on the subject dates back to 1932 with the work of Edwin Borchard. Most of the research on the subject of wrongful convictions has focused largely on identifying the factors that contribute to these injustices.
    [Show full text]