QUOTE OF THE DAY: "“It’s been a long haul for him,” said Innocence Canada lawyer James Lockyer, who led the charge for a new trial for Sanderson. “He’s very happy that his case is over and that he’s no longer on parole.”
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Dangerfield, who died in 2023, was the lead prosecutor in the wrongful murder convictions of at least eight men, including Kyle Unger, James Driskell, Thomas Sophonow and Frank Ostrowski. Most recently, Clarence Clifford Woodhouse, Allan Woodhouse and Brian Anderson were acquitted in the 1974 murder of Winnipeg restaurant worker Ting Fong Chan. A fourth man convicted in the killing, Russell Woodhouse, died in 2011. Innocence Canada is seeking to quash his conviction as well."
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STORY: "Charges stayed before new trial for wrongfully convicted man," by Courts Reporter Dean Pritchard, published one June 2, 2025. (Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019.)
SUB-HEADING: "Sanderson spent 25 years in prison for 1996 triple murder."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Robert Stewart Sanderson spent 25 years in prison for a triple murder and has always maintained his innocence."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Late Crown attorney George Dangerfield was involved in multiple wrongful convictions in Manitoba courts."
GIST: "Now, just days after the province’s highest court ordered a new trial in his case, Crown prosecutors have formally stayed all charges against Sanderson, lifting the weight of criminal guilt and adding another stain to the legacy of late Crown attorney George Dangerfield, whose name has become synonymous with wrongful convictions in Manitoba.
“It’s been a long haul for him,” said Innocence Canada lawyer James Lockyer, who led the charge for a new trial for Sanderson. “He’s very happy that his case is over and that he’s no longer on parole.”
Sanderson was released on parole in 2021 and now lives in Victoria, BC. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
Sanderson was one of three men convicted of first-degree murder in the August 1996 killings of Russell Krowetz, Stefan Zurstegge and James Gross. All three men were found dead inside Krowetz’s Semple Avenue home, the victims of what police at the time believed was an eruption of gang violence over control of street prostitution in Winnipeg.
At Sanderson’s trial, a Crown expert testified that hair seized from a leg of one of the deceased was “more likely” to belong to Sanderson, evidence that Dangerfield argued showed Sanderson “left a piece of himself at the crime scene.” Advanced DNA testing in 2004 showed the hair couldn’t have come from Sanderson.
While one of Sanderson’s co-accused, Roger Sanderson (no relation), was ultimately acquitted after three trials, Robert Sanderson’s appeal was dismissed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case.
Late Crown attorney George Dangerfield was involved in multiple wrongful convictions in Manitoba courts.
Later it came to light that a key Crown witness, Brent Stevenson, was paid after his testimony and had all but one of his criminal charges stayed. Stevenson testified that Roger Sanderson confessed to the killings and identified Robert Sanderson as one of his co-conspirators. In a deal that wasn’t disclosed until Roger Sanderson’s appeal in 1999, the Winnipeg Police Service paid Stevenson $15,000 and relocated him outside of Manitoba.
Innocence Canada applied to the federal justice minister to review Sanderson’s case in 2017. In 2023, then-federal justice minister David Lametti found there were grounds to believe a miscarriage of justice had occurred and referred his case to the Manitoba Court of Appeal.
In a written decision issued May 30, the appeal court quashed Sanderson’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial.
On Monday, the Crown formally stayed all charges against Sanderson.
“The Crown has determined that since the accused has served the entire custodial portion of his sentence and poses little risk to reoffend, the public interest is not served by a new trial, notwithstanding the seriousness of the offences charged,” prosecutors said in documents filed in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench.
Dangerfield, who died in 2023, was the lead prosecutor in the wrongful murder convictions of at least eight men, including Kyle Unger, James Driskell, Thomas Sophonow and Frank Ostrowski.
Most recently, Clarence Clifford Woodhouse, Allan Woodhouse and Brian Anderson were acquitted in the 1974 murder of Winnipeg restaurant worker Ting Fong Chan.
A fourth man convicted in the killing, Russell Woodhouse, died in 2011. Innocence Canada is seeking to quash his conviction as well."
The entire story can be read at:
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;
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;
