Miscarriage of Justice Likely: Wade Skiffington
INNOCENCE CANADA PRESS RELEASE – December 19, 2022
WADE SKIFFINGTON – MINISTER OF JUSTICE CONCLUDES A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE LIKELY OCCURRED IN HIS SECOND-DEGREE MURDER CONVICTION FOR THE MURDER OF WANDA MARTIN IN RICHMOND, B.C. IN 1994.
This morning, the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Justice Lametti, announced that he has concluded that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Mr. Skiffington’s second degree murder conviction in 2001 for the murder of Wanda Martin in 1994. This announcement is the culmination of a four-year investigation by his Ministry. Innocence Canada adopted Mr. Skiffington’s case in 2017 and presented his case to the Minister through its counsel. The Minister has today referred his conviction to the British Columbia Court of Appeal for a new appeal.
This is welcome news for Mr. Skiffington who for two decades has maintained that he is innocent of Wanda’s murder and was wrongly convicted. He was in prison for more than 17 years before being released on bail in January 2019 by the Honourable Mr. Justice Tammen of the British Columbia Supreme Court. He ruled that Mr. Skiffington should be allowed to live with his family in Newfoundland and Labrador while the Minister’s investigation into the integrity of his conviction was underway.
When Wanda Martin was murdered in a friend’s apartment building in Richmond, B.C. on September 6, 1994, police investigators rushed to the judgment that her fiancé Wade Skiffington was responsible. However, there was never any forensic evidence tying him to the offence, even though there should have been if he was the perpetrator. Witnesses who did not know Mr. Skiffington established that he had a credible alibi and no opportunity to commit the offence. Mr. Skiffington was co-operative with police in the aftermath of Wanda’s homicide. He provided them with multiple statements and allowed them to search his residence. Despite reports of a break and enter, and a suspicious man hiding in bushes, in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene in the afternoon Wanda was killed, police remained focused on Mr. Skiffington. Mr. Skiffington was convicted solely on the basis of a dubious “Mr. Big” confession. More than 5 years after Wanda’s murder, RCMP officers masquerading as gangsters lured him into a fake underworld and persisted in their efforts even after he tried to disassociate himself from them. He was given lavish financial incentives and he was subjected to episodes of simulated violence. Not surprisingly, he succumbed to their demands that he admit, falsely, that he killed Wanda. Before and since his highly dubious “Mr. Big” confession, Mr. Skiffington has proclaimed his innocence. His family and friends have never wavered in their support for him. While serving his prison sentence, Mr. Skiffington was a model prisoner, and by the time he was released on bail in 2019, he had been eligible for full parole for four years. He was denied parole because he would not participate in correctional programming that required him to admit guilt for a crime he did not commit.
Innocence Canada believes that the police investigation into Wanda Martin’s murder was a classic case of tunnel vision, a well-known cause of wrongful convictions. All too often, a rush to judgment results in law enforcement neglecting to investigate other viable leads. In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Hart recognized that if the Mr. Big technique becomes abusive, it will produce unreliable confessions, in itself a further known cause of wrongful convictions. Innocence Canada believes that police tunnel vision led to Mr. Skiffington’s false confession and his wrongful conviction.
Mr. Skiffington will not talk about his case now it is back before the Court of Appeal. He is represented at his appeal by Tamara Duncan and James Lockyer, both Directors of Innocence Canada.
Previous Innocence Canada exonerees who went through the lengthy s.696.1 process include Steven Truscott, Romeo Phillion and Bill Mullins-Johnson. To date, Innocence Canada (formerly known as AIDWYC – the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted) has been involved in 24 cases of wrongful conviction.
Media Inquiries:
For further information please contact James Lockyer at: 416-613-0416 or jlockyer@lzzdefence.ca
Innocence Canada Mourns the Loss of David Milgaard
For immediate release
May 16, 2022 – 3:00PM
TORONTO: With profound sadness, Innocence Canada shares the news of David Milgaard’s untimely death. David died yesterday, May 15th, 2022. He was 69 years old.
Innocence Canada and Innocence movement advocates are stunned and heart-broken by David’s death. He was a part of the Innocence Canada family and more, an honoured and respected leader in the Innocence movement. Ron Dalton, Innocence Canada Co-President and exoneree expresses, “his death is a tragic loss to the Canadian Innocence movement and a personal blow to many of us at Innocence Canada.”
David contributed decades of time and energy advocating and lobbying for a Canadian post-conviction review commission. David was instrumental in the recent consultation process for the development of a Miscarriages of Justice Commission in Canada.
David was an incredibly generous and sweet man who is remembered for turning his suffering into a lifetime of helping others. Those of us who knew and loved him best are struggling with the profound loss we feel. We will do our best to continue the work David and his mother began.
Innocence Canada extends our deepest and heartfelt condolences to David’s family, friends and legions of supporters across Canada and the world.
Jacques Delisle Receives Stay of Proceedings – Prosecution Appeals Decision
Jacques Delisle Receives a Stay of Proceedings – Quebec Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions Appeals the Decision
On April 8th, 2022, the Quebec Superior Court entered a stay of proceedings on Mr. Jacques Delisle’s first degree murder charge. Unfortunately, on April 28th, 2022, the Quebec Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions filed notice that they will appeal the decision.
Mr. Delisle, a retired Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012 in the death of his wife, Nicole Rainville. Ms. Rainville took her own life on November 12, 2009.
On April 7, 2021, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti ordered a new trial for Mr. Delisle after concluding that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in his trial. The Minister came to this decision after considering a s.696.1 application that was submitted by James Lockyer on Mr. Delisle’s behalf in 2015. The application was supported by new expert evidence that was not before the courts at Mr. Delisle’s trial or at his appeal.
On April 9, 2021, the day after the Minister’s decision, Innocence Canada counsel James Lockyer and Quebec counsel Jacques Larochelle secured Mr. Delisle’s release pending the new trial ordered by Minister Lametti.
On April 8, 2022, Justice Émond, writing in the Superior Court’s 99-page ruling, found that “society has no interest in a trial that will inexorably prove to be unfair. The social interest of a final judgment ruling on the merits and the process of finding the truth cannot prevail if the fairness of the trial is irreparably compromised by the fault of the state.”
After the stay was granted, Lockyer reflects: “It has been a long ordeal for Mr. Delisle and his family. Fortunately, they have had the strength to endure it and I wish them all the best in the future. Mr. Delisle is the victim of a wrongful conviction, and his case reminds us how our criminal justice system is human and therefore fallible.”
Innocence Canada will be watching the next steps in Mr. Delisle’s proceedings with interest and concern.
Minister’s decision rendered on Jacques Delisle case
On April 7, 2021, Federal Minister of Justice David Lametti, announced his decision to order a retrial in the case of Jacques Delisle.
Read Innocence Canada’s response to this news here, in English or French.
Innocence Canada Endorses Leadership Choice
Read Innocence Canada’s press release following Federal Minister of Justice David Lametti’s announcement on March 31, 2021, on the appointment of Justice Harry LaForme and Justice Westmoreland-Traoré to lead consultations on the structure of Canada’s wrongful convictions review body.
Innocence Canada Welcomes Federal Promise of Independent Commission
A federal plan to create an independent body to seek out and correct possible wrongful convictions represents the realization of a 25 year-dream for the innocence movement.
On December 13, 2019, the Federal Department of Justice received a mandate to create an independent review commission.
Read the mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Justice Minister David Lametti.
Read our press release to learn more.
The John Artis Story
Innocence Canada Presents:
My Name is John Artis
Synopsis:
The film explores the life of John Artis, who was wrongfully convicted of a triple homicide in 1967 alongside his co-accused, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Through a series of interviews, John reflects on his experiences; beginning from his childhood years in Virginia to the difficulties he faced subsequent to his release from Rahway State Prison in 1981. Aside from being a testament to John’s life, the film serves as a reminder of the immeasurable price paid when justice is miscarried.
We invite you to view the trailer to “My Name is John Artis”.
Director’s Statement:
I first met John Artis in 2015 during my second year of law school at the University of Ottawa. At the time, I was enrolled in a seminar on the topic of wrongful convictions, and had decided that I would create a documentary film for my final evaluation. My professors were gracious enough to connect me with a contact at Innocence Canada, producer Amanda Carling, who in turn introduced me to John Artis, a name I was not at all familiar with until a Google search revealed the famous identity of his former co-accused.
It would be inaccurate, however, to define John’s relationship with Rubin “Hurricane” Carter simply by way of their shared experience with America’s troubled criminal justice system. Insofar as their unique bond was established through the unimaginable experience of having been together wrongly convicted of a triple homicide, and ultimately sentenced to life in prison, their relationship was not so easily definable. Brother, friend, confidant, and caregiver, are a few words that capture the immensity of their bond – each person integral to the other.
Despite their interconnectedness, both John and Rubin’s stories also stand on their own in equal measure. Moreover, although Rubin’s international stature was at times overshadowing, this film is a testament to the singularity of John’s life, spanning from his childhood years in Virginia to the challenges he faced upon his release from prison.
Finally, it is worth insisting that John’s story is as pressing as it is timely. In the course of my current employment as a staff lawyer with Legal Aid Ontario, working as criminal duty counsel, I am able to observe first-hand the way in which our province’s 133 million dollar cut to Legal Aid’s funding will likely pave the way for future miscarriages of justice. Further, the issue of wrongful convictions is of global concern, particularly in the United States, where the current US president has demonstrated his lack of regard for the phenomenon, and has in the past directly inflamed the discussion.
During these times of grave concern, it is worth recalling just how immeasurable the cost of one wrongful conviction can be; both individually, as well as in relation to the constitutional values that enshrine our liberty as a society. This reminder is, in part, what I hope John’s story illustrates.
Ruzbeh Tamjeedi
Railroaded: The Story of Glen Assoun
“I was devastated, I was just numb. I just stated to the court that ‘I’m officially wrongly convicted as of right now’.”
“Because I knew I was innocent.”- Glen Assoun
In 1999 Glen Assoun was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, he spent the next 20 years fighting to prove his innocence. Acquitted in early 2019, Innocence Canada is honoured to count Glen as our most recent exoneree.
On Saturday, November 16 Glen’s harrowing story was profiled on CTV’s W5. Please join the Innocence Canada team by watching W5’s profile on Glen’s wrongful conviction, sharing the link below through social media and spreading the word about wrongful conviction in Canada.
You can see a preview of the documentary here.
50 years after wrongful conviction
David Milgaard speaks to the Globe & Mail about life after a wrongful conviction and his calling to advocate for other innocent people languishing in prisons across Canada.
Read the full article.
The wrongful conviction of Glen Assoun
Today the public finally learns the details of one of the most tragic and egregious wrongful convictions in Canadian history. Glen Assoun has suffered for decades due to the professional misconduct of individuals in the police forces involved in the case.
After 16 and a half years in prison, and 5 more under strict bail conditions, the truth will be told – Glen Assoun was wrongly convicted in the murder of Brenda Way.
Learn about the true story of Glen Assoun’s wrongful conviction.