GIST: "More than a month after two New Brunswick men were declared innocent of a 1983 murder, their lawyers say negotiations for compensation are underway with the provincial government.
Ron Dalton, co-president of Innocence Canada, the organization representing Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie, says the discussions began last week and one of the group's lawyers has described them as "fruitful."
Sarah Bustard, spokeswoman for New Brunswick Justice Minister Ted Flemming, confirmed discussions are underway but said the government and Innocence Canada have agreed to keep their content confidential.
Mailman, 76, and Gillespie, 80, were acquitted on Jan. 4 by New Brunswick Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare, who said the justice system had failed the men.
They received life sentences in 1984 for the killing of a man in Saint John, N.B., the previous year.
Premier Blaine Higgs said last month he was getting advice on the ruling and that he "certainly will do the right thing at the end of the day."
Dalton says he hopes the negotiations produce quick results for the two men because Mailman has terminal liver cancer and was given about three months to live in November, while Gillespie is living on a meagre pension in a hotel room converted to an apartment.
"Mr. Mailman gets weaker by the day," Dalton says. "His spirit is undaunted, though. He's still fighting to the bitter end. But we're all well aware, and he is well aware, that the bitter end is getting closer and closer."
He says there is no reason the government should take much longer to agree to compensate the men.
"It could literally happen within days," Dalton says. "There's absolutely no reason that the end of this month has to come and go without this matter being finalized."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2024."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.timescolonist.com/indigenous-news/nb-government-in-compensation-talk-with-lawyers-for-two-wrongfully-convicted-men-8287044PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; |
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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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;
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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;
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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.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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