LETTER TO THE EDITOR: "Justice department showing lack of sympathy." By Gisele McNight, Telegraph-Journal, on January 20, 2024.
GIST: In her letter to the Telegraph-Journal, reader Gisele McNight addresses "the judicial plight" of Walter Gillespie, 80, and Robert Mailman, 76, whose acquittal, after spending four decades in prison and on parole for a murder they did not commit, was recently pronounced by the province's Chief Justice, who apologized to them.
Ms. McKnight makes the powerful point, that, "The two are now cleared, but what about all those lost years? Mr. Gillespie is living in poverty in a converted hotel room, barely getting by on peanut butter and eggs. Mr. Mailman is dying of liver cancer."
She also points out that after forty years in prison on their wrongful conviction the province has released the two men back into society without any immediate pay to help out with living expenses.
Given Mr. Gillespie's age and poverty, and the horrifying reality that Mr. Mailman is dying of liver cancer, one would expect expect a government that destroyed the lives of two innocent would want to do everything it can to to provide immediate and future compensation.
However, as Ms. McNight points out, the New Brunswick government is showing no signs of providing the relief that is called for, now and in the future, leading her to speculate that, "How’s that for smug arrogance? The Justice Department should be falling all over itself to make its grave error of 1984 right in some way. Instead, its minister seems to be waiting for these men to die. The shameful lack of respect shown by Mr. Flemming and his department is beyond belief."
I couldn't agree more, and add my name to the list of individuals in in Canada and beyond, who want to see generous, immediate and future compensation for these two men who have been so sorely let down by the Province of New Brunswick and its justice system.
For a start, New Brunswick can only demonstrate its commitment to justice - by making a generous 'ex gratia' payment to the two men, with the stroke of a pen, which could be done in days, if not hours - and by wasting no time in setting up up a compensation process."
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THE LETTER: "I have been reacting with great interest and sympathy to the judicial plight of two Saint John men, Walter Gillespie, 80, and Robert Mailman, 76, who spend four decades in prison and on parole for a murder they did not commit.
Recently their acquittal was pronounced by Chief Justice Tracey DeWare, who apologized to the men.
The two are now cleared, but what about all those lost years? Mr. Gillespie is living in poverty in a converted hotel room, barely getting by on peanut butter and eggs. Mr. Mailman is dying of liver cancer.
There is no compensation formula for wrongful conviction in New Brunswick. There is no accepted procedure, yet in the United Kingdom there is an immediate pay out to help with living expenses, eventual payout or not.
That should be our policy here, but there seems to be a lack of political will to help the wrongfully convicted in anyway – perhaps because doing so requires the Justice Department to admit its error. The only thing more shocking than the great disservice dealt these men is the utter silence of the Justice Minister, Ted Flemming, who has not said a word about the acquittal, the many years these men lived under a cloud, nor any coming financial settlement to make things right.
A recent Canadian Press story noted that “a spokeswoman for Flemming said, the minister was not available for an interview and has no comment.”
How’s that for smug arrogance? The Justice Department should be falling all over itself to make its grave error of 1984 right in some way. Instead, its minister seems to be waiting for these men to die. The shameful lack of respect shown by Mr. Flemming and his department is beyond belief.
There is no compensation formula for wrongful conviction in New Brunswick. There is no accepted procedure, yet in the United Kingdom there is an immediate pay out to help with living expenses, eventual payout or not.
That should be our policy here, but there seems to be a lack of political will to help the wrongfully convicted in anyway – perhaps because doing so requires the Justice Department to admit its error.
The only thing more shocking than the great disservice dealt these men is the utter silence of the Justice Minister, Ted Flemming, who has not said a word about the acquittal, the many years these men lived under a cloud, nor any coming financial settlement to make things right.
A recent Canadian Press story noted that “a spokeswoman for Flemming said, the minister was not available for an interview and has no comment.”
How’s that for smug arrogance? The Justice Department should be falling all over itself to make its grave error of 1984 right in some way. Instead, its minister seems to be waiting for these men to die. The shameful lack of respect shown by Mr. Flemming and his department is beyond belief."
The entire letter can be read at:
https://tj.news/new-brunswick/featured-letter-justice-department-showing-lack-of-sympathy
PUBLISHER'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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