Innocence Canada Foundation
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Mission Statement
Innocence Canada is non-profit organization with a mandate to identify, advocate for and exonerate individuals who have been convicted of a crime they did not commit and to prevent wrongful convictions through legal education, advocacy and justice reform. Innocence Canada only adopts cases where we believe that our client did not commit the crime for which they were convicted. Since 1993, Innocence Canada staff and volunteer lawyers have reviewed hundreds of cases, leading to the successful exoneration of 23 innocent people. Innocence Canada is currently reviewing 80 claims of innocence.
About This Cause
WHY DO WE WORK FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED? Every case of wrongful conviction is a tragedy. It’s a tragedy for the victim of the crime and for society because the true perpetrator has gone free. It’s a tragedy for the person whose life is destroyed by the conviction and catastrophic for the family of the person imprisoned, often shattering relationships beyond repair and bankrupting those who seek to prove the innocence of the person they love. Finally, for those of us who need to believe in the fairness of our criminal justice system, wrongful convictions represent the highest degree of both human and institutional failure. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? As Canadians, we should be able to expect that the justice system functions with our best interest at its core. Most of us believe that if we tell the truth we have nothing to fear because the legal system exists to protect us rather than victimize us. But imagine that one day the police arrive at your door and accuse you of a crime you did not commit. In spite of your consistent claims of innocence you end up charged, convicted and imprisoned. Would you know how to find a competent lawyer? Could you or your family afford what could potentially be a decades-long legal battle? As the months pass you’re confined to prison, with little communication with the outside world and no hope of proving your innocence. No matter how a wrongful conviction occurs, the accused is fighting against a powerful, well-funded machine and the cards are often stacked against the defendant from the start. In the case of one Innocence Canada client Romeo Phillion, this ordeal lasted for more than 30 years. WHAT ARE THE LEADING REASONS FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION? There is no one, single cause that leads to a wrongful conviction, a combination of various factors creates a perfect storm which ends with an innocent person going to prison. Eyewitness misidentification is the number one cause of wrongful conviction but false confessions, false guilty pleas, jailhouse informants, perjured testimony, errors in forensic science, tunnel vision by police, prosecutorial misconduct, police corruption and ineffective assistance of counsel are also contributing factors. In addition, systemic discrimination based on race or social class is also a factor that contributes to the conviction of innocent people. HOW DO WE HELP? Innocence Canada works to avoid wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice by offering education workshops on the leading causes of wrongful conviction to the judiciary, lawyers, police, students at law and the public. In addition, Innocence Canada collaborates with lawyers, who often work free of charge, to exonerate Canadians who have been wrongly convicted. This work includes detailed case reviews of trial evidence, the acquisition of fresh evidence through private investigators and DNA testing and completing the legal and administrative requirements needed to challenge wrongful convictions. Innocence Canada also provides clients with emotional support when in prison and once released. Finally, Innocence Canada advocates for law reform and contributes to Department of Justice inquests that often occur post exoneration. THE PATH TO EXONERATION: DECADES OF WORK AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS Proving that someone has been wrongly convicted is a long, expensive, bureaucratic process. Innocence Canada’s ability to pursue a case depends on the likelihood that fresh evidence can be found which will prove a client’s innocence. For Innocence Canada to consider a case, the client must meet two key criteria; they must be convicted of homicide and must have exhausted all appeals. If the applicant meets these criteria, their application proceeds through Innocence Canada’s intake process; at this preliminary stage a case summary is developed which includes basic information with a focus on whether the case has potential areas of fresh evidence to explore. If a case does not meet the basic criteria, the applicant is informed that their case will not move forward but, in the majority of instances, applications proceed through the preliminary stage and a case file is opened. At this point the applicant is cautioned that due to Innocence Canada’s heavy caseload his or her application will be placed on a waiting list and that it may take up two years before their case will be assigned to a case reviewer. When an applicant’s case reaches the top of the waiting list, and is assigned to a case reviewer, a more thorough examination of the facts of the case takes place, trial transcripts and other materials pertinent to understanding the case are requested from the relevant courts, counsel and/or police. Once this information has been compiled, the case is submitted to the Innocence Canada Case Review Committee which determines if the case should move to the next stage of the process. If the case proceeds, Innocence Canada undertakes an intensive case review. The ability to secure fresh evidence is crucial to every case and sometimes relies on DNA testing and/or the work of private investigators. If Innocence Canada believes that an applicant is innocent, but we are unable to locate fresh evidence, the file is deemed inactive, but the case remains open for future consideration should new evidence become available. At this point, we inform the client that we have been unable to locate the evidence necessary to pursue their case. If fresh evidence is found, an Innocence Canada lawyer will prepare a section 696.1 ministerial review application to be submitted on behalf of the client to the Minister of Justice. The Minister of Justice has the authority to order a new trial or to refer the matter to the Court of Appeal in the appropriate province or territory. Lawyers from the Criminal Conviction Review Group, which is a separate unit of the Department of Justice, are entrusted with providing objective and independent legal advice to the Minister on cases submitted for review. Even when investigations have been completed and recommendations and advice have been provided to the Minister, decisions may take an additional five years to deliver. This means that each case can take well over a decade to resolve. RESULTS Over the past 25 years, Innocence Canada has reviewed hundreds of cases and our volunteer lawyers have invested the equivalent of several million dollars of professional expertise to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted. Innocence Canada has been responsible for assisting with the exoneration of 23 people and submitted an additional eight section 696.1 ministerial review applications which are pending a decision by the Criminal Conviction Review Group. In addition, Innocence Canada will submit an additional two section 696.1 ministerial review applications in the near future.