---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMINDER: The Wilbert Coffin case: Quebec; Zoom conference to discuss this blot on the Canadian conscience for almost 70 years which refuses to go away. Sponsored by The International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee;
DATE: Wednesday May 31: 6.00 PM - 9.00 EDT: :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Wilbert Coffin was executed by the Government of Quebec in 1956 after a trial tainted by political interference, a bungling defence lawyer who was intoxicated for much of the trial and, ironically didn't mount a defence, and a public climate which appeared to value tourism more than fairness. (The victims were American hunters.) This case refuses to go away, like other notorious miscarriages of justice, which have been blots on national consciences. Seventy years is far too long to set the record straight for Wilbert Coffin, an innocent man, and for his relatives who, from the outset who have fought on his behalf, two of whom are on Wednesday's panel. There is also an imperative need for Quebec and the rest of the country to face this extraordinary 'blot', publicly acknowledge their failings which caused an innocent man to be hung, and to fully exonerate him - not just through a pardon (pardons are given to the guilty) but to an unequivocal finding, however this can be done, that Wilbert Coffin is 'not guilty' of the crime. I truly appreciate the role of the International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee in exposing the tragic and unresolved case of Wilbert Coffin's - and I look forward the the panel discussion, which is an important step. Its took centuries to exonerate the witchcraft hysteria victims, as you will see from the Agence France-Presse story. This example illustrates, how we in Canada, after waiting 70 years, can and should achieve the same result. We owe it to the memory of Wilbert. Let's hope that the Committee can achieve this just result while Wilbert Coffin's relatives, and the rest of us, are still around. To my knowledge, Canada has never posthumously exonerated an innocent person. Let this be the first.
Harold Levy. Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Hundreds of people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in New England in the 17th century -- most famously in Salem, Massachusetts -- as the area was gripped by fear, paranoia and superstition Dozens were ultimately executed. The Connecticut witch trials occurred between 1647 to 1663, ending around 30 years before the Salem witch trials. Some 34 people were indicted for witchcraft in Connecticut, according to the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project. They group added that it "will continue to advocate for historical education and memorialization of the witch trial victims." States and countries have made moves in recent years to clear the names of accused witches. Last year, Massachusetts formally pardoned Elizabeth Johnson, the only person convicted in the Salem trials who had yet to be exonerated. She had been granted a reprieve and died in her late 70s in the 1740s."
-----------------------------------------------
STORY: US state exonerates 12 'witches', published by 'Agence France-Presse, on May 29, 2023.
GIST: "The US state of Connecticut Eleven of the accused witches were hanged after trials in the northeastern state of Connecticut in the mid-1600s, with one receiving a reprieve.
Lawmakers in the New England state passed a resolution on Thursday proclaiming their innocence and condemning the deaths of the nine women and two men as a "miscarriage of justice."
It followed a campaign by the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project, a group that includes descendants of some of those killed.
The group said in a statement that it was "ecstatic, pleased, and appreciative" of the senators who voted 33-1 in favor of the move.
They noted that the decision came on the eve of 376th anniversary of the first witch-hanging in New England -- that of Alice Young.
"We are grateful to descendants, advocates, historians, legislators of both parties and many others who made this official resolution possible," said the statement.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in New England in the 17th century -- most famously in Salem, Massachusetts -- as the area was gripped by fear, paranoia and superstition.
Dozens were ultimately executed.
The Connecticut witch trials occurred between 1647 to 1663, ending around 30 years before the Salem witch trials.
Some 34 people were indicted for witchcraft in Connecticut, according to the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project.
They group added that it "will continue to advocate for historical education and memorialization of the witch trial victims."
States and countries have made moves in recent years to clear the names of accused witches.
Last year, Massachusetts formally pardoned Elizabeth Johnson, the only person convicted in the Salem trials who had yet to be exonerated.
She had been granted a reprieve and died in her late 70s in the 1740s.
Last year, Scotland's government issued a formal apology to thousands of women who were executed centuries ago.
Some 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between the 16th and 18th century, with more than 2,500 executed.
They were mostly strangled and then burned, after making confessions that were often extracted under torture."
The entire story can be read at:
us-state-exonerates-12-witches
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
------------------------------------------------------------------
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------
