PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A very important story, beautifully told by CBC News reporters Rachel Watts and Matthew Kupfer. The Coffin case has refused to 'go away' over the many decades since Wilbert Coffin was executed by the government of Quebec - a victim of political furor generated by the murder of American hunters - and victim of a pathetic defence. As you will see from the article, members of his family have never wavered in their belief in his innocence, and in their lengthy fight to have him exonerated posthumously. Until now, the Quebec government has shown little desire to face the ugly reality that it may have killed an innocent man - and the very obscene, most unusual 100 year-ban on evidence tells us that there must be something terrible and revealing, which is being withheld from the public. I wonder why? We all should wonder why. As Innocence Canada lawyer James Lockyer puts it: "I've never run into a locked door like this before and you have to say to yourself, 'why is it there in the first place?'"Makes me highly suspicious.” The CBC points out that Canada's new commission dedicated to miscarriage of justice reviews may provide a forum for finally exonerating Wilbert Coffin. That's true, but it could take years before the review body is up and running - and it still would have to make a decision as to whether or not to take on the case. However, something has to be done now, something which will allow Wilbert Coffin's sister Marie Coffin Stewart, who is 94, the opportunity to hear the official words she and others have sacrificed so much of their lives to hear: "Wilbert Coffin, a man executed by the Government of Quebec, did not murder the American hunters, he was and is utterly innocent." Sadly, we cannot look to Quebec, which has fought to keep the truth of the murders buried from the outset. That means we must look to Canada's Justice Minister, Gary Anandasangaree to find a way of using his legal powers to finally do the right thing and waste no time in putting an end to this long- festering sore on Canada's criminal justice system and this country's conscience. PS: Disclosure: I am a member of a committee which is involved in the Coffin case for Innocence Canada. I truly appreciate the opportunity to help bring an end to the Coffin family's nightmare and to help rectify - albeit posthumously - this haunting miscarriage of justice.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Marie Coffin-Stewart tries to remember her older brother as a kind soul and a good cook with a sense of humour. But the way he died changed his legacy. "You never really get over it … this has been a horrendous nightmare all my life," said Coffin-Stewart, her voice breaking. Clasping her hands together, she said she never "dreamt that it would end as it did." At 94 years old, Coffin-Stewart has never let up in her conviction that her brother was not what the government painted him out to be. She maintains he was a "scapegoat" and hopes that now, after all these years, Canadians will start to understand how this case was mishandled. Coffin's lawyer did not call on any witnesses and did not have him testify. Coffin-Stewart says her brother was transferred to Quebec City jail before his execution in Montreal. "To say it was a shock is putting it mildly. We couldn't believe it," said Coffin-Stewart.The last time she saw him was in prison, through a sheet of glass. "I couldn't hug him. I couldn't hold him, touch him," said Coffin-Stewart. "The next time I saw him, he was in the casket." One of 11 siblings, all of whom have since passed away, she says the circumstances of her brother's death haunt her. "There's no way that he could have killed those Americans and I think it's about time that something is done and that the public should be aware," said Coffin-Stewart."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "With doubt circling Coffin's conviction, several theories have popped up over the years. A 1986 Radio-Canada report suggested several people may have seen a Jeep potentially carrying a separate group of Americans. One man told Radio-Canada he thought the licence plate looked like it was from Pennsylvania. The court did not take this into consideration. Another theory suggests a Quebec man, Philippe Cabot, might be responsible for the triple homicide. In 2006, years after his death, his daughter Micheline Cabot told Radio-Canada that her brother admitted he was witness to their father running over one of the Americans with his car and shooting the two others with a firearm. Micheline's brother, Jean-Gabriel, and her father, Phillippe Cabot, were both dead at the time of this revelation, which is hearsay and not receivable in court. Jim Coffin says he wants to see his father's name cleared in his lifetime. He says some police files about the case have been sealed for 99 years. Quebec's Justice Ministry did not respond to CBC's request for clarification regarding the duration or reason behind the restrictions. "I'm gonna live long enough to make sure that they see [the files] open," said Coffin. "If he could walk up to those gallows, I can stay around."
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STORY: "Decades after he was hanged for murder in Quebec, family hopes his name can finally be cleared," by Reporters Rachel Watts and Matthew Kupfer, on March 12, 2025. (Rachel Watts is a journalist with CBC News in Quebec City. Originally from Montreal, she enjoys covering stories in the province of Quebec. Matthew Kupfer has been a reporter and producer at CBC News since 2012,)
SUB-HEADING: "Wilbert Coffin's guilt has remained in question since he was convicted for murder of U.S. tourist."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Wilbert Coffin was executed by hanging in Montreal in 1956. His case captivated the public's attention, resembling a true crime mystery, with some claiming his innocence.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Decades after Wilbert Coffin was hanged for murder, his family is still trying to clear his name.
GIST: "Jim Coffin's mom wouldn't buy newspapers and kept the radio station fixed on the country music channel.
She would keep her son away from the small black-and-white TV and sneak him out of the house using the back door.
For the first 11 years of Jim's life, he had no idea reporters would stand on his lawn, waiting to ask questions about his father who was found guilty of murder in a high-profile case and subsequently executed in 1956.
He knew his father was dead, but was told he had died in a car accident. It was only on a trip back home to Gaspé, Que., when that version of events was shattered.
"Some of the kids were teasing me about my dad dying and hanging," said Jim, 77, who now lives in Sechelt, B.C.
"I just lost it… that's when my mother told me what had really happened. She said she couldn't keep me away from it any longer."
On Feb. 10, 1956, at the Bordeaux prison in Montreal, Wilbert Coffin was hanged for the murder of 17-year-old Richard E. Lindsay.
Despite his conviction, he went to his grave swearing he had nothing to do with the murder of the young American tourist.
The case captured the public's attention much like a true crime mystery, spurring theories and inspiring the publication of books, podcasts and movies — several suggesting a wrongful conviction.
Nearly 70 years later, the fight to clear Coffin's name continues as a new miscarriage of justice review commission gives his family hope.
Family had faith in the system
Three years prior to Coffin's execution, three Americans — a man, his son and a friend — went missing in the woods while out on a hunting trip in Gaspé.
Their remains, ravaged by animals, wouldn't be found for weeks.
Police turned to Coffin, who helped in the search in 1953. He became the last person known to see the men alive — and then the sole suspect
Jim Coffin, centre, was a child when his father, Wilbert, was hanged for the murder of an American tourist. (Radio-Canada)
Coffin admitted to having met the men and helped them when their truck ran into mechanical problems before their disappearance. He also admitted to being in possession of some items stolen from the victims.
A jack of all trades and a prospector who knew the Gaspé woods like the back of his hand, Coffin became an "ideal suspect," says Kathryn Campbell, criminal defence lawyer and professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa.
She says former Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis likely felt the triple homicide would have a negative effect on tourism from American hunting associations.
"He needed to solve this homicide quickly," said Campbell. She doesn't represent the family, but has researched the case and produced a podcast about it.
"It just seemed like a foregone conclusion from the beginning that he was going to be convicted and he was going to be hanged and it would be a message to the Americans."
She claims the government was pushing the police for a resolution and Coffin was an obvious and "vulnerable" suspect.
The "hallmarks" of a miscarriage of justice were evident, she says — police tunnel vision, judicial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel.
"His family had faith in the system," said Campbell. "They thought, 'well, he didn't do it, so he's not going to be convicted, right?'"
The jury unanimously convicted him of the murder of the youngest victim, sentencing him to hang. Coffin was not held responsible for the death of the other two Americans.
The attempt to appeal Coffin's sentence was unsuccessful.
In 1963, Montreal journalist and politician, Jacques Hébert, published a book — J'accuse les assassins de Coffin — raising doubt on Coffin's guilt and helping launch the creation of a provincial commission to look into his conviction.
The controversy was so great that in 1964, the Brossard Commission convened to investigate the case and heard from hundreds of witnesses. It eventually determined he received a fair trial.
In 2007, amid mounting pressure from Coffin's family and supporters, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion calling for a swift investigation into the case. Nothing much came from the largely symbolic motion.
The federal Justice Department did not answer CBC's questions regarding the outcome of the investigation. In an emailed statement, it said out of respect for "individual privacy, we cannot provide any information on specific criminal conviction reviews."
Previously, the justice minister would decide if a case could be retried or sent back to a Court of Appeal if they believed a miscarriage of justice likely occurred, says Campbell.
"That was government making decisions about cases that had gone through government. So there was a conflict of interest," she said.
A drawing from Coffin's trial in Percé, Que., in July 1954. (Montreal Star/Canada Wide)
But a new bill passed in December 2024 looks to move the review process for cases away from the justice minister and give it to an independent commission dedicated exclusively to miscarriage of justice reviews.
Imposing a full-time chief commissioner and four to eight other full-time or part-time commissioners, the federal government says Bill C-40 will make the process easier, faster and more fair for the potentially wrongfully convicted.
In an email, the Justice Department confirmed it will be able to look at posthumous cases like Coffin's, but it declined to comment on when the commission will be established or how it might choose cases.
'You never really get over it,' says 94-year-old sister
Marie Coffin-Stewart tries to remember her older brother as a kind soul and a good cook with a sense of humour. But the way he died changed his legacy.
"You never really get over it … this has been a horrendous nightmare all my life," said Coffin-Stewart, her voice breaking.
Clasping her hands together, she said she never "dreamt that it would end as it did."
At 94 years old, Coffin-Stewart has never let up in her conviction that her brother was not what the government painted him out to be. She maintains he was a "scapegoat" and hopes that now, after all these years, Canadians will start to understand how this case was mishandled.
Coffin's lawyer did not call on any witnesses and did not have him testify.
Coffin-Stewart says her brother was transferred to Quebec City jail before his execution in Montreal.
"To say it was a shock is putting it mildly. We couldn't believe it," said Coffin-Stewart.The last time she saw him was in prison, through a sheet of glass.
"I couldn't hug him. I couldn't hold him, touch him," said Coffin-Stewart. "The next time I saw him, he was in the casket."
One of 11 siblings, all of whom have since passed away, she says the circumstances of her brother's death haunt her.
"There's no way that he could have killed those Americans and I think it's about time that something is done and that the public should be aware," said Coffin-Stewart.
The family's campaign to clear Coffin's name officially started when Innocence Canada connected with them about 15 years ago.
A Canadian legal non-profit organization, Innocence Canada advocates for the wrongly convicted and has helped exonerate 30 innocent people since 1993.
Director James Lockyer hopes the organization can demonstrate that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred — and provide another reminder about the dangers of the death penalty, which was abolished in Canada in 1976.
"The wind in our sails for moving the case forward as best we can is the family members," said Lockyer. "It's just a case of coming up against this locked door that we haven't been able to get in."
That locked door refers to documents from the Brossard Commission. Although it generated materials previously unavailable and interviewed people who did not testify at the trial, Lockyer says a lot of the work was placed under a ban.
"Heaven knows why this is. We're not talking about state secrets here," said Lockyer.
"I've never run into a locked door like this before and you have to say to yourself, 'why is it there in the first place?'
"Makes me highly suspicious.”
Just recently, Lockyer says the organization enlisted the help of a new Quebec City lawyer to review French and English material which might help its case.
Unable to get material Lockyer thinks would enable them to challenge Coffin's conviction, he says the new federal commission — likely given subpoena and investigatory powers — will be able to obtain access.
'I don't want to die the son of a convicted murderer'
With doubt circling Coffin's conviction, several theories have popped up over the years.
A 1986 Radio-Canada report suggested several people may have seen a Jeep potentially carrying a separate group of Americans. One man told Radio-Canada he thought the licence plate looked like it was from Pennsylvania. The court did not take this into consideration.
Another theory suggests a Quebec man, Philippe Cabot, might be responsible for the triple homicide. In 2006, years after his death, his daughter Micheline Cabot told Radio-Canada that her brother admitted he was witness to their father running over one of the Americans with his car and shooting the two others with a firearm.
Micheline's brother, Jean-Gabriel, and her father, Phillippe Cabot, were both dead at the time of this revelation, which is hearsay and not receivable in court.
Jim Coffin says he wants to see his father's name cleared in his lifetime. He says some police files about the case have been sealed for 99 years. Quebec's Justice Ministry did not respond to CBC's request for clarification regarding the duration or reason behind the restrictions.
"I'm gonna live long enough to make sure that they see [the files] open," said Coffin. "If he could walk up to those gallows, I can stay around.
"I don't want to die the son of a convicted murderer."
The entire story can be read at:
https://authory.com/HaroldLevy
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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;
