Late apology for wrongful conviction

Newfoundland and Labrador's top judge has apologized to Ronald Dalton for his wrongful conviction of murdering his wife. Clyde Wells, Chief Justice of the province's Appeal Court, wrote to Mr. Dalton on Thursday, a day after the Lamer inquiry released its report into the wrongful murder convictions of three Newfoundland men.

Mr. Dalton, who spent almost nine years in prison for a retrial that eventually acquitted him, said the apology, while late, is appreciated. “It's an acknowledgment, I guess, of what I've always known, that things had gone horribly wrong along the way,” Dalton told the CBC.

The inquiry was launched in March, 2003, to examine the murder convictions of Gregory Parsons, Randy Druken and Dalton. Mr. Dalton was arrested and charged the day after his wife was found dead on Aug. 16, 1988, in their Gander home. He was convicted the following year of strangling her. Although an appeal was filed within weeks, the Newfoundland Court of Appeal did not hear the case until almost nine years later. Mr. Dalton, who had always insisted his wife choked on cereal, won the overturning of his conviction. He was acquitted after a subsequent retrial in June, 2000.

DNA evidence was used to clear Mr. Parsons in the killing of his mother. Mr. Druken was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, and while the prosecution later stayed the charges, he was never formally acquitted. Antonio Lamer, in his report, said the Appeal Court should have acted five years sooner on Mr. Dalton's file.

The retired Supreme Court of Canada justice concluded that the provincial Crown attorney's office too often accepted and supported police investigations that were plagued by “tunnel vision.” Chief Justice Wells, a former premier, said in his letter to Mr. Dalton that Mr. Lamer's criticism is fair and warranted. “The chief justice rarely speaks publicly, and I don't think he issues many written apologies,” Mr. Dalton said. “So, as the chief justice of the province, he's speaking on behalf of the judiciary of the province.”

Attorney-General Tom Marshall has said the government intends to implement every one of Mr. Lamer's recommendations. He also apologized Wednesday to both Mr. Dalton and Mr. Druken for the government's role in the miscarriages of justice. Mr. Parsons has already received a public apology and $650,000 in compensation from the government. Mr. Dalton has a number of lawsuits pending, including against the provincial government.

Report here

Background on the Druken case:

A former Crown prosecutor will not say if he would have charged Randy Druken with murder in 1993. Bern Coffey testified Monday in St. John's at the Lamer Inquiry, which is examining Druken's conviction of the murder of his girlfriend, Brenda Young. Druken was released from prison after almost seven years, after DNA evidence indicated he did not commit the crime.

At the time, Coffey was the assistant director of public prosecutions, but he was not consulted on the case. The Crown's case focused on a jailhouse informant who was later charged with perjury. No physical evidence pointed to Druken.

When asked if he would have prosecuted the case himself, Coffey said the question is difficult to answer. "I honestly can't say now," Coffey testified. "It would be unfair."

Druken spent more than six years in prison, DNA evidence put Druken's brother, Paul, at the murder scene. These details were not publicly revealed until several weeks ago, during testimony at the Lamer Inquiry. A second trial was ordered for Druken. Coffey testified when that happened, the charge against Randy Druken should have been dismissed or withdrawn. However, that didn't happen. Instead, the Crown eventually filed a one-year stay of proceedings against Druken. At the time, Druken said the charge should have been withdrawn in order to clear his name.

Previous report on the Dalton case on this blog on 6th Feb.



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