Twelve years in jail for murder that may not have happened 'hell,' man says
COLIN PERKEL
Wed Sep 21, 5:43 PM ET
TORONTO (CP) - A man who spent more than a third of his life in prison for a rape and murder that may have never taken place stepped into the sunshine Wednesday, freed on bail from a 12-year "hell" while Ottawa decides whether he fell victim to another Canadian miscarriage of justice.
William Mullins-Johnson fought back tears as he emerged from a Toronto courthouse just minutes after an Ontario Superior Court judge set him free on $125,000 bail pending the results of a federal review of his case.
"The last 12 years has been nothing but hell for me - and my family," Mullins-Johnson said, his voice catching.
See "COMMENTS" to this post to read the entire article...
Wed Sep 21, 5:43 PM ET
TORONTO (CP) - A man who spent more than a third of his life in prison for a rape and murder that may have never taken place stepped into the sunshine Wednesday, freed on bail from a 12-year "hell" while Ottawa decides whether he fell victim to another Canadian miscarriage of justice.
William Mullins-Johnson fought back tears as he emerged from a Toronto courthouse just minutes after an Ontario Superior Court judge set him free on $125,000 bail pending the results of a federal review of his case.
"The last 12 years has been nothing but hell for me - and my family," Mullins-Johnson said, his voice catching.
See "COMMENTS" to this post to read the entire article...
posted by ~Free Darren Koehn~ at 5:43 PM
3 COMMENTS:
(Continued...)
"What I went through was a sickening state of affairs."
The 35-year-old Mullins-Johnson, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was convicted in 1994 of sodomizing and strangling his four-year-old niece Valin Johnson, who was found dead in her bed on the morning of June 27, 1993.
No forensic evidence linked him to the crime but he was found guilty based on testimony from pathologists, one of whom was Dr. Charles Smith, whose handling of 40 suspicious child deaths since 1991 is currently under review.
Two experts, including Ontario's chief pathologist, now say Valin was never sexually abused or strangled. They argue she in fact died of natural causes, possibly from choking on her own vomit caused by a chronic stomach ailment.
"That trial I went through in '94 was not a practice in justice, it was a practice in injustice," said Mullins-Johnson, who expressed anger at the "utter humiliation" he has endured.
It now falls to Justice Minister Irwin Cotler to decide whether to quash the guilty verdict and order a new trial, hand it back to the Ontario Court of Appeal, or simply dismiss the application.
Cotler's decision to investigate indicates there may be "a reasonable basis to conclude a miscarriage of justice has occurred," said Crown prosecutor Ken Campbell, who did not oppose bail.
"We're prepared to agree the interests of justice dictate that the applicant should be released from custody."
In court, Mullins-Johnson sat quietly in a dark suit and tie provided by his lawyer as Justice David Watt agreed to grant bail, then asked him if he had anything to say.
"I appreciate what the parents of my niece have gone through - they lost a little girl in all this," Mullins-Johnson said. "Through no fault of my own or anyone else, she lost her life. I loved that little girl and she loved me."
A businessman uncle, Gord Boissoneau, put up bail surety of $75,000, while the other $50,000 came from Mullins-Johnson's mother, Laureena Hill, with whom he will have to stay in Toronto for the time being.
"I didn't think they were going to release him today, which scared the hell out of me," said Hill, who has always believed her son was innocent. She said she prayed for Mullins-Johnson nightly.
"It was the same thing every night: that they would find evidence to be able to prove Bill's innocence."
Lawyers for the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted called on Cotler to make a decision quickly.
"It's difficult for human beings and it's difficult for institutions, it seems, to admit when they make terrible mistakes," said lawyer James Lockyer, a director of the association.
"But I'm sure the time will come when they finally acknowledge the terrible mistake they made in this case."
In Toronto, Cotler defended the system for reviewing wrongful-conviction claims.
"We have been dealing with these matters that come before us expeditiously and I hope effectively," he said.
Michael Lomer, the lawyer who previously had appealed the case unsuccessfully to the Supreme Court of Canada, said Wednesday he was overwhelmed by a sense of relief now that his client had finally been released.
Also on hand for the bail hearing was Newfoundlander Ron Dalton, who spent more than eight years in jail for killing his wife even though her death was an accident.
The adjustment to life without bars is going to be tough for Mullins-Johnson, Dalton said.
"It's a big cruel world out there and he's a long ways from out of the woods on all this yet."
It's nice when blog browsing to find something worth reading...
The miscarriage of justice is certainly a problem inherent in the court system, because after all, human beings make errors of judgement. There was a man recently released here in Australia for a murder he didn't commit... its a terrible abuse of humanity.
Keep up the good work,
Dan.
i'd like to link this blog to my trialjunkie blog. please stop by and let me know your thoughts.
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