Post by happyhaddock on Jan 7, 2011 1:17:27 GMT -5
A bit harsh Jim...
The majority of anti's, including anti-governments care for their murdered innocents as much as any pro person or government...
They just don't have the stomach for the messy executions...
And innocents are killed as a result of their lack of hard resolve./quote]
Canada hung one innocent man.
Steven Murray Truscott (born January 18, 1945 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian man who was sentenced to death in 1959, when he was a 14-year old student, for the murder of classmate Lynne Harper. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he continued to maintain his innocence until 2007, when his conviction was declared a miscarriage of justice and he was formally acquitted of the crime.
On July 7, 2008, the government of Ontario awarded him $6.5 million in compensation.
Truscott was scheduled to be hanged on December 8, 1959; however, a temporary reprieve on November 20, 1959 postponed his execution to February 16, 1960 to allow for an appeal. On January 22, 1960, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
On November 29, 2001, Truscott filed a section 690 Criminal Code application for a review of his 1959 murder conviction. Hearings in a review of the Truscott case were heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
On August 28, 2007, after review of nearly 250 fresh pieces of evidence, the court declared that Truscott's conviction had been a miscarriage of justice. As he was not declared factually innocent, a new trial could have been ordered, but this was a practical impossibility given the passage of time. Accordingly, the court acquitted Truscott of the murder.
Coffin sits up in his coffin!
Many believe Wilbert Coffin was a scapegoat for a province determined to make a quick arrest and salvage its lucrative American tourist trade. Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis, not known as a soft touch, hand-picked the prosecutor and lead detective, who interrogated Coffin in vain for 16 days.
Raymond Maher, a Quebec City lawyer and Duplessis supporter, showed up in Gaspé and volunteered to represent Coffin. Described as drunk for much of the trial, Maher barely cross-examined any witnesses and even worse, he didn't call Coffin to testify.
So here we are 54 years after the death of three men in Gaspé and the hanging of a probable innocent man 51 years ago. Are we any safer? Can we trust the justice system to protect us when we need it? Was Wilbert Coffin guilty of the crime for which he was put to death?
In 1956 they were so sure. But in 2007, the Federal justice department is investigating a new tip. Evidence had recently surfaced suggesting a man named Philippe Cabot was the murderer and his own son might have been a witness!
Can you point to any released Canadian murderers who re-offended?
A man convicted and executed for the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl 86 years ago has been officially pardoned today. New information, proper evidence, and modern criminology has shown that the evidence in the case did not connect the accused with the crime.
On New Year’s Eve in 1921 Colin Campbell Ross of Melbourne, Australia, the owner of a local wine saloon was accused of rape and murder. He was tried and hung within four months of the start of 1922. He was 28 years old and today is an innocent man. It is tragic that a man so young was wrongly accused and was forced to suffer death for the actions of another. This is sadly a shining example of why the death penalty must be abolished. There are no do-overs in death. Once a mistake has been made there is no going back.
In the Victoria state of Australia the death penalty was abolished in 1975. It’s about time the US followed their lead.