Countdown to Wrongful Conviction Day: Friday, October 2, 2105; 21 days. For information: http://www.aidwyc.org/wcd-2015/
"Why are taxpayers paying for a murder of black-robed lawyers to rehash evidence from Ivan Henry’s wrongful conviction more than 30 years ago? After B.C.’s highest court concluded that no properly instructed jury should have convicted the now 69-year-old, why are we paying numerous high-priced suits to defend three levels of government for their role in his persecution? Six years after he was freed, nearly a decade after the terrible mistakes were uncovered, why does Henry need a dozen or so of his own to fight for justice, or more exactly to determine which taxpayer — federal, provincial or city — pays how much for his railroading? What is happening in B.C. Supreme Court under the guise of a “trial” over compensation is a vivid example of what’s wrong with our legal system and the abuse caused by institutional payers operating without the constraint of a real client footing their bill.........We should have settled out of court with Henry to let him get on with his life and then examined what happened for lessons outside the adversarial trial process. What is bogging down these proceedings is the question of liability, which is a legal shell-game — behind which government mask is responsibility hiding? The “Crown” prosecutes criminal cases and operates our criminal justice system yet it appears here in three different guises, offering three different sets of excuses: as the City of Vancouver representing police, as the province representing prosecutors and as the federal government representing justice ministers. They’re squabbling to minimize their own contribution. The two goals — helping the victim while understanding what happened and determining the share to be paid by federal, provincial or city taxpayers — should have been separated."
