Attention Media October
3, 2018
Innocence Canada Reception for the Wrongly Convicted, their families, dignitaries and pioneers of innocence work around the world 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Convocation Hall Law Society of Ontario, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario:
On October 3, 2018, Innocence Canada and the Law Society of Ontario will host a
reception in recognition of its 25th Anniversary and the 5th
Anniversary of Wrongful Conviction Day.
Family
members of Donald Marshall Junior, Canada’s first recognized exoneree, will
attend, as well as Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries and a
long-time stalwart and pioneer of the innocence movement.
Other special guests include John Artis, wrongly convicted
of a triple murder in New Jersey along with his co-accused the late world
championship boxer Rubin Hurricane Carter; Mike and Helen Kalaugher innocence
activists in New Zealand; Jim Coffin, whose father Wilbert Coffin was hanged in
Quebec in 1959; and Ron Moffatt, who was wrongly convicted in Toronto in 1956
at the age of 14.
MPP Rick Nicholl and Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy
will attend amongst other members of the judiciary, lawyers, and past and
present members of Innocence Canada.
In conjunction with the various
events hosted by organizations around the world, 20 confirmed landmarks to date
will be illuminated in recognition of Wrongful Conviction Day. Among these will
be the CN Tower, Mississauga Absolute Towers, Niagara Falls, BC Place,
Baltimore City Hall Dome, Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Peace Bridge.
Many cities across Canada have proclaimed October 2nd, 2018 as Wrongful Conviction Day. At the federal level, MP Ali Ehsassi will be recognizing Wrongful Conviction Day in the House of Commons.
The
highlight of the evening’s reception in Toronto will be the introduction of the
wrongly convicted. Amongst those attending are William Mullins-Johnson, Rob
Baltovich, Tammy Marquardt, James Driskell, Leighton Hay, Ron Dalton, Réjean
Hinse, Maria Shepherd and Dinesh Kumar.
The evening will also include the presentation of:
The
Rubin Hurricane Carter Champion of Justice Award: to
highly-respected lawyer and human rights advocate Marlys Edwardh and a former
Board member of Innocence Canada.
The
Tracey Tyler Award: will be presented to Halifax
Examiner reporter Tim Bousquet.
The
Donald Marshall Junior Award: the first recipient will be Donald Marshall
Junior. Marlys Edwardh who was a leader
of his legal team will be presenting the award to him posthumously. Accepting the award will be Terry Marshall,
Donald's brother, and Donald's former partner and life-long friend, Jane McMillan.
The Donald Marshall Junior Award will be presented annually to an exoneree who
has shown great courage, determination, tenacity and endurance in staying the
course to prove their innocence.
The evening will also feature reflections on the innocence
movement by Jim McCloskey; founder of Centurion Ministries; and James Lockyer;
co-founding member of Innocence Canada.
Since its
inception in 1993, Innocence Canada has helped in the exonerations of 22
Canadians. These innocent individuals combined spent more than 210 years
in prison.
"Twenty-five
years ago, when Innocence Canada was being formed I was sitting in a maximum-security
prison for a crime I did not commit, as were many others who have since been
proven innocent and released through the efforts of this fine organization. I
invite all Canadians to take a moment to celebrate the remarkable achievements
Innocence Canada has contributed to our nation during the past twenty-five
years. The only objective of the organization has been to correct grave
miscarriages of justice and to restore freedom to the victims of those terrible
mistakes. The past quarter century has demonstrated the fallibility of our
justice system and the continued need for an organization dedicated to
correcting the worst mistakes. As a nation we should be proud of the work done
to date and appreciative of the continuing efforts to catch, correct, and contain
the mistakes inherent in our justice system."
Kirk Makin, Innocence
Canada’s other Co-President had this to add:
"It takes many years and a tremendous amount of effort to
overturn one wrongful conviction. Time and again, this organization has pulled
together to make it happen. As long as the justice system remains short of
perfection - and it always will - Innocence Canada will be here to help those
in need."
For more information and interview requests for exonerees
and Innocence Canada representatives please contact:
Win Wahrer
1-800-249-1329
x227 416-504-7500 x 227, Cell: 416-459-2065
@innocencecanada wwahrer@innocencecanada.com www.facebook.com/innocencecanada
www.innocencecanada.com
Issued by Stephen Weir on behalf of Innocence Canada by Stephen Weir
stephen@stephenweir.com
stephen@stephenweir.com
