Only two hours after federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson ordered the New Brunswick Court of Appeal to review Walsh's 1975 murder conviction, Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau set a hearing date for March 14. At that time Walsh's lawyers will argue for an outright acquittal while the province will seek a stay of proceedings, meaning there will not be a retrial.
If Justice Fails October 17, 2007 05:02 PM | Posted by the fifth estate
It seemed like and open and shut case for the police and the prosecutors. A carload of dubious characters, a blast from a sawn-off shotgun, a body and then a trial that delivered Erin Michael Walsh to a penetentiary to serve a life sentence. For more than 30 years, the convicted killer proclaimed his innocence.
Now, Linden MacIntyre reports, recovered evidence has put vindication within Erin Walsh's grasp, but there is a new urgency to have his name cleared: doctors have given him another kind of life sentence.
Tell us what you think of this story.
This discussion is now closed. View the Comments.
COMMENTS Erin Walsh is not the first nor he will he be the last of those whom the Canadian Justice system fails - Guy Paul Morin, David Milgard, Donald Marshall, Stephen Truscott and most recently the native John Graham who like Leonard Peltier has been handed over to American authorities on the basis of just hearsay and very questionnable hearsay at that.
John was taken Dec.5 early in the morning by FBI agents in Vancouver and not allowed to phone his lawyer or his family. He is accused of killing Anna Mae Acquash, also a Canadian in the American Indian Movement over 30 years ago. John maintains it was the FBI who killed her making good on their earlier promise to "see her in a body bag within a year." His story bears a chilling similarity to the Leonard Peltier story.
To Canadian authorities acceding to American demands he is just another Indian as dispensable as the Erin Walshes of Canada where an answer needs to be construed regardless of the consequences to a life. It is hard to have faith in outr justice system. Would that we had many more Linden MacIntyres to question those who mete out the sentences and destroy lives.
Jennifer Wade | Vancouver | Posted December 17, 2007 09:44 PM
I was deeply angered by your show on Erin Walsh. I agree with one of the comments that a trial should be expedited due to Mr. Walsh's ill health. I also feel that if he is vindicated, that Judge McCarrell should be forced to resign. I can only assume that he continues to work the same way.
By deliberately withholding key evidence (by his own admission he gave only what he considered the relevant information) he committed a criminal act. Both Judge McCarrell and the province should be sued. If New Brunswick (is that the province?) is redefining the justice system to suit themselves, then intervention from the Federal Government should be swift and merciless.
Crystal von Hugo | | Posted December 17, 2007 04:16 AM
If we're being honest, then we should be able to see that Erin Walsh's conviction was not a mistake. The people involved in the criminal justice system are most assuredly neither the average, nor the lowly minded of society.
In very fact, one cannot even apply successfully to any law school without first having to receive a substantial pass on a Law-School-Admission's-Examination. Lawyers, prosecutors and judges are generally seen as reputable people. At minimum, they are acutley aware of what constitutes legal liability.
In Erin Walsh's case, it doesn't take an expert to see that the Crown-Prosecutor-now-Justice William Mccarrol, had deliberately concealed evidence in 1975.
Mr. Justice William Mccarrol, during his tenure with the Crown's office, deliberately caused a man to serve out thirty-two (32!) years of his life imprisoned! I say it to myself, and my heart drops into my stomach with a sickly feeling of wrenching discomfort.
I truly would not want to be Mr. Justice William Mccarrol right about now... ...I suspect even his colleagues will distance themselves from him over this terribly tragic case, particularly when he stated that [it was up to him to decide what constituted evidence].
No! The legal rules for the disclosure of evidence are not so ambiguous as to suppose that seven (7!) C.N.R. workers' formal statements to police cannot constitute evidence; or, that police notes stating that the main crown witness was responsible for the shooting.
I wonder if the Justice Minister will be looking into EACH AND EVERY CASE that was tried by Mr. William Mccarrol while he was a Crown Prosecutor; or, EACH AND EVERY CASE that was judged by Mr. Justice William Mccarrol.
I have nothing good to say to him. He sure is an a** ****. We have to pay to help the government , the Irvings and any other excuse they come up with. They get the big bucks to bully us and take our money.
No respect and I sure wish he did not get the few extra votes. Arrogant and now I have to stop because he makes me sick.
Hope he gags and chokes; I don't like him either. He is about impressing the big corporations and their friends. They don't live in the real world. They have expense accounts and abuse that as much as they can get away with.
They don't care about the green; it's all the money we the people will pay to make it happen. Money , money and more taxes.
The Irvings put the price of oil up and the power company says it cost too much for oil and we have to pay more. They have their back door corporate meetings; it all comes out with everyone making money. Except tHe taxpayers they go deeper in dept and can never get ahead. When will they stop the "GREED" AND LET US ENJOY A FEW DOLLARS. We can't afford to pay for everyone else anymore. Let the rich pay and help the poor with a hand up. Desperation and hardships are taking a toll on most of us.
They only way things will change; it will take a major act that will change lives of people and that will probably mean taking many lives. War from people who can't take it anymore. Things never change; voting does not improve anything. How many times have we heard that too. Voting for another party changes nothing. Take control of the government and hire a group to do what we need done and pay them after the job is done. Here we pay politicians for doing nothing but telling lies and filling their pockets and their corporate friends get richer.
Days of politicians have come to an end. Lets hire people to do the work and get it done with our taxes instead of them spending on themselves and asking more form us.
Take our freedom back because financially we have no rights.
The wealthy are 10 to 15 percent. They should have no say because they use our resources and our money; time for them to pay waht they owe. We never get a break.
6 comments:
There are harder things
Only two hours after federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson ordered the New Brunswick Court of Appeal to review Walsh's 1975 murder conviction, Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau set a hearing date for March 14. At that time Walsh's lawyers will argue for an outright acquittal while the province will seek a stay of proceedings, meaning there will not be a retrial.
If Justice Fails
October 17, 2007 05:02 PM | Posted by the fifth estate
It seemed like and open and shut case for the police and the prosecutors. A carload of dubious characters, a blast from a sawn-off shotgun, a body and then a trial that delivered Erin Michael Walsh to a penetentiary to serve a life sentence. For more than 30 years, the convicted killer proclaimed his innocence.
Now, Linden MacIntyre reports, recovered evidence has put vindication within Erin Walsh's grasp, but there is a new urgency to have his name cleared: doctors have given him another kind of life sentence.
Tell us what you think of this story.
This discussion is now closed. View the Comments.
COMMENTS
Erin Walsh is not the first nor he will he be the last of those whom the Canadian Justice system fails - Guy Paul Morin, David Milgard, Donald Marshall, Stephen Truscott and most recently the native John Graham who like Leonard Peltier has been handed over to American authorities on the basis of just hearsay and very questionnable hearsay at that.
John was taken Dec.5 early in the morning by FBI agents in Vancouver and not allowed to phone his lawyer or his family. He is accused of killing Anna Mae Acquash, also a Canadian in the American Indian Movement over 30 years ago. John maintains it was the FBI who killed her making good on their earlier promise to "see her in a body bag within a year." His story bears a chilling similarity to the Leonard Peltier story.
To Canadian authorities acceding to American demands he is just another Indian as dispensable as the Erin Walshes of Canada where an answer needs to be construed regardless of the consequences to a life. It is hard to have faith in outr justice system. Would that we had many more Linden MacIntyres to question those who mete out the sentences and destroy lives.
Jennifer Wade | Vancouver | Posted December 17, 2007 09:44 PM
I was deeply angered by your show on Erin Walsh. I agree with one of the comments that a trial should be expedited due to Mr. Walsh's ill health. I also feel that if he is vindicated, that Judge McCarrell should be forced to resign. I can only assume that he continues to work the same way.
By deliberately withholding key evidence (by his own admission he gave only what he considered the relevant information) he committed a criminal act. Both Judge McCarrell and the province should be sued. If New Brunswick (is that the province?) is redefining the justice system to suit themselves, then intervention from the Federal Government should be swift and merciless.
Crystal von Hugo | | Posted December 17, 2007 04:16 AM
If we're being honest, then we should be able to see that Erin Walsh's conviction was not a mistake.
The people involved in the criminal justice system are most assuredly neither the average, nor the lowly minded of society.
In very fact, one cannot even apply successfully to any law school without first having to receive a substantial pass on a Law-School-Admission's-Examination.
Lawyers, prosecutors and judges are generally seen as reputable people. At minimum, they are acutley aware of what constitutes legal liability.
In Erin Walsh's case, it doesn't take an expert to see that the Crown-Prosecutor-now-Justice William Mccarrol, had deliberately concealed evidence in 1975.
Mr. Justice William Mccarrol, during his tenure with the Crown's office, deliberately caused a man to serve out thirty-two (32!) years of his life imprisoned! I say it to myself, and my heart drops into my stomach with a sickly feeling of wrenching discomfort.
I truly would not want to be Mr. Justice William Mccarrol right about now...
...I suspect even his colleagues will distance themselves from him over this terribly tragic case, particularly when he stated that [it was up to him to decide what constituted evidence].
No! The legal rules for the disclosure of evidence are not so ambiguous as to suppose that seven (7!) C.N.R. workers' formal statements to police cannot constitute evidence; or, that police notes stating that the main crown witness was responsible for the shooting.
I wonder if the Justice Minister will be looking into EACH AND EVERY CASE that was tried by Mr. William Mccarrol while he was a Crown Prosecutor; or, EACH AND EVERY CASE that was judged by Mr. Justice William Mccarrol.
Joe Mansour | | Posted December 16, 2007 10:19 PM
I have nothing good to say to him. He sure is an a** ****. We have to pay to help the government , the Irvings and any other excuse they come up with. They get the big bucks to bully us and take our money.
No respect and I sure wish he did not get the few extra votes. Arrogant and now I have to stop because he makes me sick.
Hope he gags and chokes; I don't like him either. He is about impressing the big corporations and their friends. They don't live in the real world. They have expense accounts and abuse that as much as they can get away with.
They don't care about the green; it's all the money we the people will pay to make it happen. Money , money and more taxes.
The Irvings put the price of oil up and the power company says it cost too much for oil and we have to pay more. They have their back door corporate meetings; it all comes out with everyone making money. Except tHe taxpayers they go deeper in dept and can never get ahead. When will they stop the "GREED" AND LET US ENJOY A FEW DOLLARS. We can't afford to pay for everyone else anymore. Let the rich pay and help the poor with a hand up. Desperation and hardships are taking a toll on most of us.
They only way things will change; it will take a major act that will change lives of people and that will probably mean taking many lives. War from people who can't take it anymore. Things never change; voting does not improve anything. How many times have we heard that too. Voting for another party changes nothing. Take control of the government and hire a group to do what we need done and pay them after the job is done. Here we pay politicians for doing nothing but telling lies and filling their pockets and their corporate friends get richer.
Days of politicians have come to an end. Lets hire people to do the work and get it done with our taxes instead of them spending on themselves and asking more form us.
Take our freedom back because financially we have no rights.
The wealthy are 10 to 15 percent. They should have no say because they use our resources and our money; time for them to pay waht they owe. We never get a break.
All this because a Minister quits smoking???
:P
No, it was an opportunity to state how we feel about him. We are allowed to voice our thoughts.
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