It’s the result of their fierce struggle, but they are no longer here to see it: David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law received royal assent on Tuesday, creating an independent commission to examine the errors of the Canadian justice system.
It is the Minister of Justice who, until now, had the power to request the review of a potentially unjustified conviction. Today, commissioners will be able to request such a review.
Convicted at the age of 17 for a rape and murder he did not commit, David Milgaard spent 23 years behind bars before being released in 1992. In 1999, Larry Fisher was found guilty of the crimes for which Mr. Milgaard was first convicted.
The latter died on May 15, 2022.
His mother, Joyce Milgaard, made his son’s innocence the fight of his life. She passed away following an illness in 2020.
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David Milgaard (right) sits next to his sister (center) and mother Joyce Milgaard (left) at a conference hosted by CBC and the University of Winnipeg in 2014.
Photo : Michelle Rosner
A system fallible
Having a good justice system does not mean that it does not make mistakes, because our criminal justice system, like any justice system, is made up of human beings and is therefore fallible
declared this Thursday James Lockyerdirector and founder of Innocence Canada, a non-governmental organization that works to exonerate those wrongly convicted.
Until [mardi]the system we have in Canada was a departmental process
recalls the lawyer.
It was a cumbersome, slow and sometimes politicized process.
Indeed, people who felt they had been unfairly convicted had to ask the federal Minister of Justice to review their case. From now on, they will be able to appeal to this new commission.
A new device
There will be an independent body that will review, investigate and decide which cases should be reviewed by the courts due to a potential miscarriage of justice
indicated Justice Minister Arif Virani.
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Canada’s Justice Minister Arif Virani says his office is already working on setting up the new commission.
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He will ensure that the experience of the Milgaard family is not repeated.
Et what is really important in this law
he added, is that it includes money, personnel and tools
.
What do we do now?
My heart is really happy today
rejoices Susan Milgaard, David Milgaard’s sister. My mother would say it’s great; David would say, “What do we do now?”
There is still much more work to be done
says Stephanie Nowak, executive director of Innocence Canada. That’s the first step, but we have to choose who the commissioner will be, we have to choose where the office will be, there will be lots of questions now, lots of challenges awaiting us, but we will continue the work until ‘until it’s finished.
The Minister of Justice affirms, for his part, that this work begins in earnest
. and adds that candidates have already contacted his office to express their interest in the position of commissioner.
With information from Jérémie Bergeron
