BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: (July 20, 2023): "BRIAN ANDERSON AND ALLAN WOODHOUSE: MANITOBA: AFTERMATH ( PART 1) FABRICATED CONFESSION CASE, TAINTED PROSECUTION, BIGOTRY AND RACISM (FOR A START) AND SO MUCH MORE! WINNIPEG FREE PRESS COMMENTATOR NIIGAAN SINCLAIR OPINES THAT AMONG THE HORRORS THERE WERE HEROES IN THE EXONERATION FIGHT… "IN 1974, DURING A SHAM TRIAL FOR FOUR INDIGENOUS MEN ACCUSED OF MURDER — WHERE NO EVIDENCE BEYOND FALSIFIED CONFESSIONS WRITTEN BY WINNIPEG POLICE WERE PRESENTED — THE JUDGE ADMONISHED THE ACCUSED, SAYING: “THIS IS NOT A JUNGLE. THIS IS NOT WILD LAND. WE ARE NO LONGER TAKING LAND FROM WILD PEOPLE. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY.” IF THIS WAS WHAT THE JUDGE — THE ONE PERSON EXPECTED TO BE IMPARTIAL AND FAIR — BELIEVED ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, IMAGINE WHAT THOSE WHO PUT HIM ON THAT BENCH THOUGHT.ON TUESDAY, TWO OF THOSE MEN, BRIAN ANDERSON AND ALLAN WOODHOUSE, WERE EXONERATED BY COURT OF KING’S BENCH CHIEF JUSTICE GLENN JOYAL, ALMOST 50 YEARS TO THE DAY AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH THE 1973 KILLING OF TING FONG CHAN, 40. ANDERSON AND WOODHOUSE, OF COURSE, WEREN’T SAVAGE INDIANS TRYING TO TAKE PEOPLE’S LAND, BUT QUIET TEENAGERS WHO MOVED TO WINNIPEG FOR WORK FROM THEIR HOMES AT PINAYMOOTANG (FORMERLY FAIRFORD) FIRST NATION. BOTH SPOKE OJIBWAY AND ALMOST NO ENGLISH — LATER PROVING THEIR “CONFESSIONS” TO WINNIPEG POLICE, WRITTEN IN PERFECT ENGLISH, WERE FORGERIES."
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2023/07/brian-anderson-and-allan-woodhouse.html
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GIST: "The city, province and federal governments have reached a settlement with three First Nations men wrongfully convicted of the 1973 slaying of a restaurant worker.
Allan Woodhouse and Brian Anderson were formally acquitted of the 1973 slaying of Ting Fong Chan in 2023 and filed lawsuits in the Court of King’s Bench the following year.
Clarence Woodhouse, who was formally acquitted of the killing in October 2024, filed his lawsuit last February. A fourth convicted man, Russell Woodhouse, died more than a decade ago.
All four men were members of Pinaymootang First Nation in the Interlake.
The three lawsuits were discontinued in late November, court records show. None of the parties would comment Friday on the terms of the confidential deal that was reached.
Lawyers for the governments and the wrongfully convicted men met for confidential mediation in front of King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne last summer in an attempt to settle the matter rather than go to trial.
In October, the city’s legal department made public a proposal for Winnipeg to pay $7 million for its part of the settlement, which was approved by city council later that month. The department’s report to council indicated the lawsuits would be discontinued if a settlement was inked.
It’s unclear how much money the province and Ottawa have contributed.
Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the matter was settled to the satisfaction of all involved.
“What happened was a miscarriage of justice. No one can give them back the years that were lost but we hope the settlement brings some closure,” Wiebe said in a statement, adding he apologized to the men at the legislature in October 2024 on behalf of the province.
Ian McLeod, a spokesman for the federal Department of Justice, would not comment.
“The matter was settled and is confidential,” he said.
City spokesman Kalen Qually also declined comment on the settlement and pointed to the legal department’s report from the fall.
The men are represented by lawyers from Innocence Canada — a non-profit organization that identifies and advocates for the wrongfully convicted — including James Lockyer, who spent years advocating and arguing their convictions were miscarriages of justice.
Lockyer also declined a request for comment Friday.
In 1974, the three living men — all charged with murder — and Russell Woodhouse, who was charged with manslaughter, were convicted in the 1973 slaying of Chan, a 40-year-old father of two, in the Exchange District the previous year.
The charges were laid based on questionable eyewitness testimony and full confessions police claimed had been written by the accused men despite all four having a poor grasp of English.
They testified that Winnipeg police officers beat them during interviews, but the judge refused to believe them.
The cases were prosecuted by Crown attorney George Dangerfield, who was involved in multiple wrongful murder convictions. He died in 2023.
The claims against the three levels of government alleged misfeasance in public office, false arrest, false imprisonment, conspiracy, negligent investigation, malicious prosecution, constitutional and human-rights violations and breaches of statutory duties.
Anderson served 10 years behind bars, Clarence Woodhouse spent 12 years in prison and Allan Woodhouse served 23, before they were declared innocent. Russell Woodhouse also served time; he died of cancer in 2011.
Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser ordered Manitoba’s highest court to review Russell Woodhouse’s conviction last month. A notice was filed in court in October, but the Court of Appeal has not yet heard the matter.
It’s the first time a federal attorney general has asked for a judicial review after the death of an applicant.'
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;
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