Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Interview opportunties dealing with the wrongly convicted and the West Memphis 3
AIDWYC
The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WRONGFUL
CONVICTION - EXPERTS WILL GATHER FOR A DAY-LONG CONFERENCE FOLLOWED BY
20th ANNIVERSARY GALA FOR ASSOCIATION IN DEFENCE OF THE WRONGLY
CONVICTED
What: The
Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) will be
hosting “BACK to the FUTURE” a day-long educational conference, gala
dinner and an evening of festivities in recognition of its
20th Anniversary. It is intended to be a celebration of all that has
been accomplished. It is also an event whose purpose is to raise
awareness and much needed funds to support the work on cases.
When: Saturday, November 23, 2013
Time: Conference 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. Gala: 7pm-to-midnight
Where: Hyatt Regency, 370 King St W. Toronto, ON M5V 1J9
Who: Jason Baldwin (West Memphis Three) is the Keynote Speaker at AIDWYC’s Gala Dinner. He will be introduced by film director Atom Egoyan (his new non-fiction film, Devil"s Knot,
examines the West Memphis Three murder and subsequent trial). Mr
Baldwin will be in Toronto early and is available for a limited number
of interviews. He joins a long list of wrongly convicted Canadians and
Americans who will be in Toronto to participate in this milestone event.
AIDWYC Co-President, lawyer Ralph Steinberg is available for interviews, as are lawyer and AIDWYC founder James Lockyer and AIDWYC board member Ron Dalton, ( who himself is a wrongly convicted Canadian who spent 9 years in prison for a non-murder).
Also speaking and available for interviews (prior arrangement requested) are New York lawyers and co-founder’s of the Innocence Project Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, the godfather of innocence work and founder of Centurion Ministries, James McCloskey,
co-host of the Fifth Estate, Linden MacIntyre, Special advisor to the
Commissioner of the Elliot Lake Inquiry and former Special Advisor on
wrongful convictions to the Department of Justice, Stephen Bindman, retired Kingston, Ontario Chief of Police, William Closs, Judge Anne Derrick, QC of the Provincial and Family Court of Nova Scotia, Professor Tim Moore from
the Department of Psychology at Glendon College, who is a consultant
and expert witness in criminal trials both in Canada and the United
States, Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
WHAT: Leading
experts in their fields who will be taking part in seminars covering
topics that include: History of Innocence Work, Shaken Baby Syndrome,
the Role of the Crown in Preventing Wrongful Convictions, the Role of
Bias in the System, False Confessions/Plea Bargains, the relationship
between Forensic Science and Miscarriages of Justice and the Long Way
Home – the wrongly convicted and their families share their stories.
SUPPORT MATERIAL: Sammy Ray Welch has recently produced and directed a 6-minute video about the organization and it can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGD2PA2HLLQ (Preview) (Preview) This video is available for
free
use by
the media.
Toronto lawyer and retired Toronto Star investigative reporter Harold Levy has written about AIDWYC and the wrongly convicted over the past two decades. He also writes an award-winning blog about exoneration cases involving disgraced Ontario coroner Charles Smith.
In preparation for the November 23 conference Levy has worked with videographer George Socka
to interview four people about the plight of the wrongly convicted in
Canada and the United States. Over the course of two weeks they
interviewed Rob Baltovich, John Artis, Ralph Steinberg and Sean MacDonald. These videos are available for free use by the media: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTPeARoq8a0&feature=youtu.be
The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted
is a national, non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to
identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals convicted of a
crime that they did not commit and to preventing such injustices in the
future through education and reform.
-30-
The
media is invited to cover the conference and the gala - please contact
Stephen Weir for press passes and to arrange interviews. The public is
welcome to attend “Back to the Future”. Tickets can be purchased
through AIDWYC’s website http://www.aidwyc.org.
CONTACT: Stephen Weir at 416-801-3101 or 416-489-5868. stephen@stephenweir.com.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
AIDWYC Frees Another Wrongly Convicted - Hays to get new trail
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New Forensic Evidence Leads SCC to Send
Leighton Hay’s Murder Conviction Back to Trial
Toronto,
Canada – The Association in Defence of the Wrongly
Convicted (AIDWYC) is pleased to announce that the Supreme Court of Canada has
today ordered that Leighton Hay’s 2004 first degree murder conviction in
Toronto must be quashed and sent back for a new trial. For 12 years Mr. Hay and
AIDWYC have been fighting to clear his name and the Supreme Court of Canada’s
decision is an important step towards establishing his innocence.
In the early
morning of July 6, 2002, two men shot and killed Collin Moore in a Toronto
nightclub. The men also shot at Collin’s brother, Roger Moore, who escaped with
a graze to his forehead.
The Crown
alleged that Mr. Hay was one of the two gunmen and the gunman who was supposed
to be Mr. Hay was described by an eyewitness as having 2-inch dreadlocks. However, when arrested hours after the
shooting, Mr. Hay had a very short haircut causing the prosecution to allege
that he must have cut his hair after the shooting. The prosecutor produced hairs found by police wrapped in a
newspaper from the bathroom in the home where he was arrested as proof of the
haircut.
At Mr. Hay’s
appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada on April 23, 2013, AIDWYC presented new
evidence that undermined the Crown’s eyewitness identification evidence of Mr.
Hay. The new evidence establishes that the hairs seized from the home by the
police came from Mr. Hay’s beard and were not from a haircut.
Erroneous
eyewitness identification is a well-known cause of wrongful convictions in
Canada and in other countries. According to the U.S. Innocence Project,
eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful
convictions in that country, playing a role in nearly 75% of convictions
overturned as a result of their post-conviction DNA results.
James Lockyer,
AIDWYC’s lead counsel who argued the case in the Supreme Court of Canada for
Mr. Hay said today,
“It is a good day for Mr. Hay and a good day for justice in
Canada. Mr. Hay is a vulnerable member of our society and is in many ways a
ready victim for a wrongful conviction.
AIDWYC adopted his case three years ago and we feel vindicated by this
decision. We will be there for Mr. Hay at his new trial.”
AIDWYC is a
non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and clearing
the names of individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit and working to
prevent future wrongful convictions through education. This year, AIDWYC is
celebrating its 20th Anniversary. On November 23, 2013, an
educational conference and celebratory gala will be held in Toronto. Both
events are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. Visit
AIDWYC’s website to learn more and donate: www.aidwyc.org.
For more
information, contact:
James Lockyer,
416-847-2560
Win Wahrer,
416-504-7500
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