Canada has its share of trials that go wrong. Occasionally the wrong people are found guilty of grievous criminal acts.
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Some of the Canadians who have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted
STEVEN TRUSCOTT
Truscott, 14 at the time, was charged with the rape and killing of 12-year-old Lynne Harper in 1959. He was sentenced to hang, but instead spent 10 years in prison. In 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal called his incarceration and the subsequent 40 years of being labelled as Ms. Harper's killer "a miscarriage of justice." He was to receive $6.5-million in compensation.
DAVID MILGAARD
Found guilty of the 1969 murder of Gail Miller. Spent 23 years in prison. Received $10-million in compensation, including $750,000 payment to his mother.
THOMAS SOPHONOW
Found guilty of the murder of a 16-year-old Winnipeg waitress. Spent four years in jail before being freed in 1985. Received $2.5-million in compensation.
DONALD MARSHALL JR.
Found guilty of the 1971 murder of acquaintance Sandy Seale, who was actually killed in a robbery attempt. Spent 11 years in prison before being acquitted. Received a lifetime pension of $1.5-million.
CLAYTON JOHNSON
Found guilty in 1993 of murdering his wife when she had actually fallen down the stairs. Spent five years in prison before the conviction was overturned. Received $2.5-million.
RANDY DRUKEN
Found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in 1993. Spent nearly six years in prison before a jailhouse informant recanted his testimony. DNA evidence later implicated his brother. Received $2.1-million.
GUY PAUL MORIN
Tried for the 1984 murder of nine-year-old neighbour. Released in 1986, retried in 1992. Finally cleared in 1995 based on DNA evidence. Received $1.2-million in compensation.
JASON DIX
Convicted of murder in 1994 deaths of two Edmonton-area factory workers. Spent 22 months in jail before charges dismissed, based on case mismanagement by RCMP. Awarded nearly $765,000 damages.
RONALD DALTON
Charged with strangling his wife in 1988 and spent almost nine years in a Newfoundland jail. A retrial in 2000 found him not guilty. Paid $750,000 in compensation.
MOST RECENTLY, THE CASE OF IVAN HENRY
Ivan Henry already had a criminal history in 1983, a previous conviction for attempted rape. He also had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. According to a court-appointed psychiatrist, he was psychotic and suffered paranoid delusions.
Clearly, there was no advantage for him to defend himself on multiple sex charges in B. C. Supreme Court. But he did and despite a lack of reliable evidence -- and a host of other troublesome factors, unacknowledged at his trial but surfacing now -- Henry was convicted by a jury on three counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape and five of indecent assault.
A judge declared him a dangerous offender, which meant he might never experience freedom again.
He has spent the past 26 years in prison for crimes he has always maintained he did not commit.
Now released on bail, pending a decision on whether or not he will be re-tried, Ivan Henry has to learn how to live in a much changed world. Based on previous settlements for overturned convictions, he could easily be a recipient of several millions of dollars to smooth the way.
Would it not be more cost effective to monitor convictions with issues able to be reviewed by a totally separate group such as the Criminal Case Review Commission in England, one which is independent of police and prosecution, and on that will not cost the wrongfully convicted person hundreds of thousnds of dollars in lawyer fees?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
How little we think
I was thinking this morning about how the littlest thing can become a huge roadblock if we just ignore it.
A friend, LG, had the engine in his truck blow up and leave him stranded in the bush. He is a pensioner, living on a restricted income, so he does whatever he can to increase his paltry earnings. One of those things is to buy a truckload of potatoes and vegetables and then bag and resell them for some extra money. Unfortunately, that does not cover the cost of a new truck or even a new motor for an old one.
It was really hot that day. He was worried that his vegetables would become spoiled quickly, so he started to walk out. after a couple of hours walking, he suffered a heat stroke and fell into the ditch. That cooled him off enough to save his life.
Long story short, he made it to Hope that evening.
He stayed with a friend overnight, then purchased an alternator and battery for his old truck believing that would get it back on the road again. Then he hitched and walked back to his truck.
It turned out to be just a temporary fix, however, but at least this time he was on the main road, not away out in the bush. He hitched to a mechanic's place that he knew in Hope and had the fellow tow his truck in and have a look at the problem. Turns out the engine was beyond repair. The estimated cost of fixing the truck would be over $2500. He did not have that much!
He then went across to the local car dealership. There was an older truck similar to his own, the price was $2000. Better than repairing the old one. However, that was still too much money for him to pay. He then arranged for a test drive, using a dealer plate to cover him for insurance and proceeded to his bank to arrange a loan to pay for it.
He did not get the loan. Then the race was on! going from one debtor to another, he was trying to collect from everyone who owed him for potatoes or whatever else to collect enough for the truck. He didn't make it. So, he kept the truck overnight.
Meantime, the police were notified and he was now a fugitive without realizing it. It was 3 more days before he went back to the dealership to try again to purchase the truck. Imagine his surprise when he was arrested for theft and possession of stolen property.
Ignoring the fact that what you are doing could be conceived as wrong, does not make it right. He truly believed all he had to do was explain and he would be fine. Not quite that easy.
Brought me back to a time about 17 years ago when I told my son, Derik, that he would not go to prison for a crime he did not do as there would be no physical evidence to put him there. Boy was I wrong!
He was arrested, tried and sentenced to life in prison despite the fact it was admitted in court that there was no physical evidence to tie him to the scene. There were no eye witnesses, no hair was found, no fingerprints, nothing that could put him there. There were footprints, fibers, etc at the scene, but since they did not match Derik's they were mentioned briefly and ignored.
At the end of it all, one small thing like making a purchase in a store in a different city would have exonerated him, but he bought nothing, just shopped around.
So now, because he did not make a purchase, he spent 17 years in prison so far for a crime he did not commit because he had no proof that he was elsewhere. LG will get away with stealing a truck because he can claim senility, despite the fact he brought the truck back after using it on the dealer plate for nearly a week.
Where is the fairness?
http://canadianinjustice.com
http://coacheouise.com
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
A friend, LG, had the engine in his truck blow up and leave him stranded in the bush. He is a pensioner, living on a restricted income, so he does whatever he can to increase his paltry earnings. One of those things is to buy a truckload of potatoes and vegetables and then bag and resell them for some extra money. Unfortunately, that does not cover the cost of a new truck or even a new motor for an old one.
It was really hot that day. He was worried that his vegetables would become spoiled quickly, so he started to walk out. after a couple of hours walking, he suffered a heat stroke and fell into the ditch. That cooled him off enough to save his life.
Long story short, he made it to Hope that evening.
He stayed with a friend overnight, then purchased an alternator and battery for his old truck believing that would get it back on the road again. Then he hitched and walked back to his truck.
It turned out to be just a temporary fix, however, but at least this time he was on the main road, not away out in the bush. He hitched to a mechanic's place that he knew in Hope and had the fellow tow his truck in and have a look at the problem. Turns out the engine was beyond repair. The estimated cost of fixing the truck would be over $2500. He did not have that much!
He then went across to the local car dealership. There was an older truck similar to his own, the price was $2000. Better than repairing the old one. However, that was still too much money for him to pay. He then arranged for a test drive, using a dealer plate to cover him for insurance and proceeded to his bank to arrange a loan to pay for it.
He did not get the loan. Then the race was on! going from one debtor to another, he was trying to collect from everyone who owed him for potatoes or whatever else to collect enough for the truck. He didn't make it. So, he kept the truck overnight.
Meantime, the police were notified and he was now a fugitive without realizing it. It was 3 more days before he went back to the dealership to try again to purchase the truck. Imagine his surprise when he was arrested for theft and possession of stolen property.
Ignoring the fact that what you are doing could be conceived as wrong, does not make it right. He truly believed all he had to do was explain and he would be fine. Not quite that easy.
Brought me back to a time about 17 years ago when I told my son, Derik, that he would not go to prison for a crime he did not do as there would be no physical evidence to put him there. Boy was I wrong!
He was arrested, tried and sentenced to life in prison despite the fact it was admitted in court that there was no physical evidence to tie him to the scene. There were no eye witnesses, no hair was found, no fingerprints, nothing that could put him there. There were footprints, fibers, etc at the scene, but since they did not match Derik's they were mentioned briefly and ignored.
At the end of it all, one small thing like making a purchase in a store in a different city would have exonerated him, but he bought nothing, just shopped around.
So now, because he did not make a purchase, he spent 17 years in prison so far for a crime he did not commit because he had no proof that he was elsewhere. LG will get away with stealing a truck because he can claim senility, despite the fact he brought the truck back after using it on the dealer plate for nearly a week.
Where is the fairness?
http://canadianinjustice.com
http://coacheouise.com
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Visiting a Prison
You know, I have been visiting my son in various prisons for 17 years now. It seems like forever, but it is only half of his life. The other half was spent with me and the rest of the family at home.
Some things never change.
Visiting at a prison is one of those things. Firstly, you had better make sure your booking for the visit was properly recorded, otherwise, you will not get in no matter how far you have come.
When we were still living in Victoria, I made an appointment to visit Derik at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. The visiting time started at 1 pm for a Saturday visit. At the same time, I booked for my then 72 year old mother to come with me.
I was up at 5:30 am to ensure I would be on the first ferry from Victoria, at 7 am. I had left my car at the Boundary Bay Airport and taken the bus back to the ferry last time, so I did not have the additional cost of the parking or of the fare for bringing the car both ways on the ferry. I arrived at my car around 9:30 am by bus and a nice walk. Then I went into Vancouver to pick up my mother. We could only visit for about a half hour in order to get out to Abbotsford in time for the visit.
1:00 pm. We arrived at the prison. We had to wait outside for 15 minutes while the guards got ready to process visitors, an inconvenience that usually took 10 to 15 minutes away from our visit. Then, while being processed (sounds like cattle) I was told that I could go in, but not my mother as she had to make a separate phone call to book her own visit even though without me she would not have gotten there!
What a surprise. We had only been doing this same procedure for two and a half years. Policy change. No notification, no warning, suddenly we had to make two separate long distance calls to be able to visit Derik together.
My mother was quite a woman. She told me to go visit as I had come so far. She would keep herself amused watching the front entry guards play card games on their computers. She thought it was quite funny that they could not find anything else to do to us, so they split us up. I was angry, and so was Derik.
He put in a grievance about it and within 3 months, quick by Canadian Government standards, I had a letter giving me permission to book visits for my mother
Sounds like the end of the issue doesn't it? Now, he is at William Head Institution near Victoria, a minimum security institution, and we have had to make 3 phone calls for 3 visitors to visit him last weekend. Some things never change.
http://www.canadianinjustice.com
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
Some things never change.
Visiting at a prison is one of those things. Firstly, you had better make sure your booking for the visit was properly recorded, otherwise, you will not get in no matter how far you have come.
When we were still living in Victoria, I made an appointment to visit Derik at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. The visiting time started at 1 pm for a Saturday visit. At the same time, I booked for my then 72 year old mother to come with me.
I was up at 5:30 am to ensure I would be on the first ferry from Victoria, at 7 am. I had left my car at the Boundary Bay Airport and taken the bus back to the ferry last time, so I did not have the additional cost of the parking or of the fare for bringing the car both ways on the ferry. I arrived at my car around 9:30 am by bus and a nice walk. Then I went into Vancouver to pick up my mother. We could only visit for about a half hour in order to get out to Abbotsford in time for the visit.
1:00 pm. We arrived at the prison. We had to wait outside for 15 minutes while the guards got ready to process visitors, an inconvenience that usually took 10 to 15 minutes away from our visit. Then, while being processed (sounds like cattle) I was told that I could go in, but not my mother as she had to make a separate phone call to book her own visit even though without me she would not have gotten there!
What a surprise. We had only been doing this same procedure for two and a half years. Policy change. No notification, no warning, suddenly we had to make two separate long distance calls to be able to visit Derik together.
My mother was quite a woman. She told me to go visit as I had come so far. She would keep herself amused watching the front entry guards play card games on their computers. She thought it was quite funny that they could not find anything else to do to us, so they split us up. I was angry, and so was Derik.
He put in a grievance about it and within 3 months, quick by Canadian Government standards, I had a letter giving me permission to book visits for my mother
Sounds like the end of the issue doesn't it? Now, he is at William Head Institution near Victoria, a minimum security institution, and we have had to make 3 phone calls for 3 visitors to visit him last weekend. Some things never change.
http://www.canadianinjustice.com
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Should prisoners get mail?
Not only are telephones not free, but it can be difficult to get in touch too. A friend of mine from Algeria sent my son a letter a couple of months ago. The letter has not yet arrived to Derik.
That did not upset me too much at first, but then I received an email from the Innocence Project at UBC asking why Derik had not responded to their last 3 letters.
On Sunday. I asked Derik if he had received their letters. He said no that he only know what I had told him from the letters we had received. Unfortunately, our letters do not contain the information as to what they have done and are doing on Derik's case. Our letters also do have the Questions that they require answers to.
These letters are legal mail and cannot be held back. The letters were written in February, March and April of this year. It is now June. I called the institution, and was told that someone would check into it and call me back. At the same time, I requested that they pass a message to Derik to call home. This was at 10 am.
By noon, I had not heard anything, so I called the Deputy Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada in Abbotsford. Could not speak to her, of course, but her assistant did take note of my concerns and said someone from William Head would contact me soon.
Around 7 pm, Derik called thinking some sort of emergency was going on since I rarely use that method of getting hold of him. I said no emergence, just informed him of the calls I had made. Also passed along the message that the Innocence project has been waiting for a reply. He told me that there were 3 letters waiting for him to pick up after the call. As I found out, those were the 3 letters that had not been delivered to him.
What really bothers me is that if we were to somehow interfere with mail delivery, we could get up to 14 years in prison. It seems they can do it without penalty. 4 months to deliver a letter is absolutely absurd. the letters came from Vancouver. they had to travel a total distance of 40 km to get to him. Funny how they all showed up on the same day, after I had made a call to Regional Headquarters!
Unfortunately the one from Algeria still has not turned up.
My letters take two days to get to the institution, but usually another week to get to him. but legal mail is supposed to be delivered the day that it arrives, unopened. My letters have to be opened for security reasons. It only takes extra time if they want to photocopy them or read them first.
Reminds me of an incident about 14 years ago. A staff member at Matsqui's visiting and correspondence location was suspended after taking mail home to read. The only way she was caught doing that was that she became ill and the mail she had at home did not get back to the institution for a few days. Someone had noticed it was missing.
Surprisingly, she was not fired for interfering with the mail. had it been me, I would now be in prison! Different laws for different folks.
To learn more, click here.
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
That did not upset me too much at first, but then I received an email from the Innocence Project at UBC asking why Derik had not responded to their last 3 letters.
On Sunday. I asked Derik if he had received their letters. He said no that he only know what I had told him from the letters we had received. Unfortunately, our letters do not contain the information as to what they have done and are doing on Derik's case. Our letters also do have the Questions that they require answers to.
These letters are legal mail and cannot be held back. The letters were written in February, March and April of this year. It is now June. I called the institution, and was told that someone would check into it and call me back. At the same time, I requested that they pass a message to Derik to call home. This was at 10 am.
By noon, I had not heard anything, so I called the Deputy Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada in Abbotsford. Could not speak to her, of course, but her assistant did take note of my concerns and said someone from William Head would contact me soon.
Around 7 pm, Derik called thinking some sort of emergency was going on since I rarely use that method of getting hold of him. I said no emergence, just informed him of the calls I had made. Also passed along the message that the Innocence project has been waiting for a reply. He told me that there were 3 letters waiting for him to pick up after the call. As I found out, those were the 3 letters that had not been delivered to him.
What really bothers me is that if we were to somehow interfere with mail delivery, we could get up to 14 years in prison. It seems they can do it without penalty. 4 months to deliver a letter is absolutely absurd. the letters came from Vancouver. they had to travel a total distance of 40 km to get to him. Funny how they all showed up on the same day, after I had made a call to Regional Headquarters!
Unfortunately the one from Algeria still has not turned up.
My letters take two days to get to the institution, but usually another week to get to him. but legal mail is supposed to be delivered the day that it arrives, unopened. My letters have to be opened for security reasons. It only takes extra time if they want to photocopy them or read them first.
Reminds me of an incident about 14 years ago. A staff member at Matsqui's visiting and correspondence location was suspended after taking mail home to read. The only way she was caught doing that was that she became ill and the mail she had at home did not get back to the institution for a few days. Someone had noticed it was missing.
Surprisingly, she was not fired for interfering with the mail. had it been me, I would now be in prison! Different laws for different folks.
To learn more, click here.
Coach Elouise
604-794-3218
Skype coach_elouise
Email: lordelouise@gmail.com
rascal60@shaw.ca
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