Bulletin: Rejean Hinse; Quebec; Supreme Court of Canada dismisses his $5.8 compensation claim; "In this case, [Hinse] has failed to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the minister acted in bad faith or with serious recklessness in reviewing his applications for mercy," the decision reads.

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed a case involving a record compensation payment to a Quebec man who spent time in prison for a robbery he didn't commit. Réjean Hinse, who has already received $4.5 million in compensation from the province of Quebec, was suing the attorney general of Canada, claiming the minister acted in bad faith in reviewing applications for mercy while he was in prison.  "In this case, [Hinse] has failed to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the minister acted in bad faith or with serious recklessness in reviewing his applications for mercy," the decision reads. Hinse was sentenced to 15 years in 1964 for an armed robbery, but always maintained his innocence, arguing he was 200 kilometres from the scene when the robbery took place. In 1989, the Quebec Police Commission concluded that Hinse was the victim of a botched investigation. Hinse, who is in his early 70s, was imprisoned after a 1961 armed robbery in Mont Laurier, Que., about 250 kilometres north of Montreal. The owner of a general store was assaulted and his wife was tied up in an hour-long attack by five robbers who made off with about $4,000 on Dec. 14, 1961. Hinse spent most of the next three years behind bars until he was sentenced to 15 years in 1964. He was paroled in 1969. Hinse continued his fight to clear his name. In 1994, the Quebec Court of Appeal quashed his conviction, partly on the basis of new evidence, and ordered a stay of proceedings. But Hinse wanted his name cleared and fought to the Supreme Court in 1997. The highest court ruled that evidence presented at his trial wasn't sufficient to convict him of aggravated robbery. Without any form of apology or compensation, in 2010, he sued the government in civil court in Montreal. A year later, before a judgement was delivered, the province settled for $4.5 million and the town of Mont-Laurier for another $1 million.  Hinse went ahead with his claim against the attorney general of Canada, who did not settle, and the Quebec Superior Court later ordered the federal government to pay nearly $5.8 million.http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/r%C3%A9jean-hinse-case-supreme-court-dismisses-5-8m-compensation-claim-1.3119819