The following are AIDWYC's current active adopted cases and their status. Check the News and Library pages for recent articles in the media on each of these cases.

Case Summar: Sherry Sherret Robinson

Sherry Sherrett- Robinson contacted AIDWYC in January 2006 after she came across stories on the internet about the now disgraced and discredited, Dr. Charles Smith. Ms. Sherrett-Robinson was convicted of infanticide in 1999 for the January 23, 1996 death of her four month old son, Joshua. Her eighteen month old son, Austin, was removed from her care by the police and Northumberland Children's Aid on March 7, 1996. A few weeks later on March 27, 1996 she was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

Dr. Charles Smith testified at Ms. Sherrett-Robinson's preliminary trial speculating that Joshua had died a non-accidental death caused by a skull fracture and neck injuries.

Ms. Sherrett-Robinson had no explanation for the injuries detected by Dr. Smith.

Amidst the confusion and heart ache, Ms. Sherrett-Robinson plead to the crime of infanticide, upon taking that plea she at no time admitted to causing the death of her infant son.

AIDWYC contacted the Ontario Coroner's office and requested that her case be considered as one of the Dr. Charles Smith cases that were being re-examined.

Dr. Michael Pollanen, chief forensic pathologist with the Ontario Coroner's office was assigned the review of Ms. Sherrett-Robinson's case and in his first report released on March 28, 2006, he stated that, in his opinion, Joshua had neither a skull fracture nor pre-mortem trauma and that he believed Joshua may have died as a result of his sleeping environment, which was unsafe.

Dr. Pollanen had not been able to find x-rays or other materials to substantiate or to justify Dr. Smith's conclusion that Joshua had died from a skull fracture, and on May 29, 2006 at Dr. Pollanen's suggestion, Ms. Sherrett-Robinson agreed to have Joshua's body exhumed. Dr. Pollanen conducted a second autopsy and concluded that Joshua in fact did not die from a skull fracture but he said the post-mortem findings point to Joshua having accidentally asphyxiated in an unsafe sleeping environment, "without any influence by another party." He was put to bed in a playpen, on top of a sleeping bag that had been folded over several times, with a comforter and blankets on top of him.

Sherrett-Robinson attended a special service that was held before Joshua's body was returned to its resting place.

In December 2006, Dr. Jack Crane, the state pathologist for Northern Ireland, who reviewed the case as part of the coroner's investigation confirmed Dr. Pollanen's findings.

On April 19, 2007 Sherry attended a press conference held by the Chief Coroner and participated in the AIDWYC press conference which followed. Although extremely emotional at the prospect of finally being exonerated and with media cameras and microphones picking up every emotion and every word, Sherry spoke eloquently and passionately about how Dr. Charles Smith and the false accusation has impacted her life and most particularly the loss of both of her sons because of it.

AIDWYC informed the Crown that Ms. Sherrett-Robinson would be seeking an extension of time to file an appeal. The Crown agreed to the extension of time and on December 7, 2009 Ms. Sherrett-Robinson was acquitted by a three judge panel in the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Ms. Sherrett-Robinson's case was also a part of the 2007-2008 Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario overseen by the Honourable Stephen T. Goudge.

Ms. Sherrett-Robinson's son Austin was adopted; she has not seen him since the day of her arrest. His adopted parents allow Sherry to write him twice a year and send presents. They keep her informed as to how he is doing in school and send her photos of him. She is happy that Austin is being raised by a loving family and hopes that one day she will be able to have the opportunity to meet him.

Robert Baltovich

In June 1990, Elizabeth Bain, the girlfriend of 24-year old Robert Baltovich, a recent University of Toronto graduate, was murdered in Toronto. Her body has never been found, nor the weapon used to kill her. Two years later, Baltovich was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. In March 2000, AIDWYC filed a defence brief at a bail hearing and argued that there was new evidence to suggest that Baltovich was innocent and that the real perpetrator was Paul Bernardo. The bail hearing was successful and, after spending eight years in prison, Baltovich was released pending the appeal of his conviction. In September 2004, Baltovich's appeal was heard. In December 2004, the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously quashed Robert Baltovich's murder conviction. In 2005 a new trial was ordered. Jury selection proceeded and the trial began in April of 2008. However, on April 22, 2008, the Crown withdrew its case against him and he was acquitted by the jury.

Christopher Bates

Christopher Bates was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1993 for the robbery and murder of Remi Lariviére, a Cowansville shopkeeper. Three others were charged in the crime. The evidence to support Bates' conviction was extremely tenuous. Bates was the first to go to trial. Two of the other men were later found not guilty and the fourth person was not prosecuted. On appeal, with AIDWYC's assistance, Bates' conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered. Anxious about his counsel and fearing a second wrongful conviction and lengthy separation from his young family, Bates accepted a last-second Crown offer of a plea to conspiracy to commit the robbery only and a suspended sentence which did not involve any further time in jail. AIDWYC shares the view of many that this plea of convenience was without factual foundation and after consulting with eminent Quebec counsel, has agreed to proceed with a s.696.1 application on Bates' behalf.

Jeff Boppre

On May 21st, 2009, AIDWYC endorsed the International case of Jeff Boppre.

Jeff Boppre has been incarcerated for nearly 21 years in a Nebraska prison for two murders that we believe evidence proves Mr. Boppre did not commit.

Wilbert Coffin

Wilbert Coffin was hanged for murder in Quebec on February 10, 1956. The federal Justice Department is now investigating whether the Gaspé woodsman was actually guilty of the crime. The Criminal Convictions Review Group (CCRG) is studying whether there are grounds to overturn Mr. Coffin's 1954 conviction. This represents the first time the CCRG--whose mandate is to investigate possible miscarriages of justice--has examined a case where the convicted person is deceased. In AIDWYC's review process, lawyer and AIDYWC co-president, Elisabeth Widner, along with AIDWYC's Director of Client Services, Win Wahrer, have visited Gaspé, Quebec in search of evidence that could exonerate Coffin. His case was subsequently formally adopted by AIDWYC in September 2006. The investigation could lead to three possible outcomes: to dismiss the application, to refer the case to a Court of Appeal, or to recommend a new trial. Canada has never overturned a conviction posthumously. It would set an important precedent and argument against the death penalty, and provide some measure of solace to Mr. Coffin's remaining family members.

Raymond Gray

On May 21st, 2009, AIDWYC endorsed the International case of Raymond Gray.

Raymond Gray has been incarcerated in Michigan prisons for 37 years for a murder that AIDWYC believes evidence shows he did not commit.

Anthony Hanemaayer (Ontario)

On September 29, 1987, a man broke into a residence in Scarborough at 5:00 in the morning and attacked a 15 year old girl as she lay asleep in her bed. The girl's mother heard a noise and went into her daughter's bedroom. She interrupted the intruder who by now was astride her daughter with a knife at her throat. The intruder fled.

On December 18, 1987, Mr. Hanemaayer was charged with the crime. On October 18, 1989, fearing that he was bound to be convicted and likely to receive many years in prison, Mr. Hanemaayer accepted a deal, during trial, whereby he plead guilty to break enter and assault so that he would only receive a two year sentence.

In April, 2006, Paul Bernardo confessed to the crime during an interview with two
officers from the Toronto Sexual Assault Team. In 2007, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) became aware of this, contacted Mr. Hanemaayer and offered him assistance. Even though police officers had visited Mr. Hanemaayer in 2006 after Paul Bernardo confessed, they never divulged that information to him. And until AIDWYC contacted Mr. Hanemaayer no one from the Crown's office had advised him of this information.

On June 25, 2008 in the Ontario Court of Appeal represented by AIDWYC lawyer James Lockyer, Mr. Hanemaayer was acquitted of a crime he did not commit.This case shows the unreliability of eyewitness testimony and the dangers of building prosecutions on them.

Tammy Marquardt

Tammy Marquardt, was convicted of the second degree murder of her two and a half year old son, Kenneth Wynne, on October 24, 1995 and sentenced to life imprisonment. . Tammy Marquardt was 21 when her son passed away and 23 years old when convicted of his murder. Tammy Marquardt had been offered a five-year sentence for manslaughter by the Crown but refused even though she would have been eligible for parole after 20 months in jail. In 1998 Tammy Marquardt appealed her conviction but lost. Ironically, one of the Ontario Court of Appeal judges hearing Tammy Marquardt's case was Justice Stephen Goudge who found himself, some 10 years later, conducting an inquiry into Dr. Charles Smith's opinions concerning baby deaths.

In 2004 Tammy Marquardt contacted AIDWYC seeking its assistance in clearing her name. AIDWYC lawyers discovered that she was largely convicted on the expert testimony of discredited forensic pediatric pathologist Dr. Charles Smith who at the time was revered as the foremost expert in pediatric pathology. Dr. Smith testified that Kenneth was either smothered or strangled to death. Tammy Marquardt has always denied any wrong doing in Kenneth's death and, subsequently, six forensic experts including Newfoundland's Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Simon Avis, have rejected Smith's opinion as to the cause of death. Kenneth was an epileptic and Dr. Avis believes he could have died from a seizure or other natural causes.

After 14 years behind bars Tammy Marquardt, on March 12, 2009, was granted bail and released to await the final outcome of her case, which will ultimately be heard in the Supreme Court of Canada of the Ontario Court of Appeal later this year.

Dinesh Kumar

Mr. Kumar was convicted in 1992 in the Ontario Provincial Court of criminal negligence causing the death of his four month old son, Gaurov.

Mr. Kumar pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days intermittent after a joint submission. His murder charge was withdrawn.

Mr. Kumar's case was one of the 45 criminally suspicious pediatric autopsies conducted by Dr. Charles Smith which was ordered re-examined by the Chief Coroner's office in 2005. Dr. Charles Smith had concluded that Gaurov's cause of death was due to repeated shaking a classic so-called "baby-shaking" case. The external pathologist, Professor Helen Whitwell from England, disagreed and focused on, among other things, problems that Gaurov had at birth.

Mr. Kumar's case was taken up by AIDWYC in May, 2007.

AIDWYC brought an application for an extension of time to file an appeal in the Ontario Court of Appeal from his conviction. The extension was granted. Currently Mr. Kumar is waiting for a date to be set to have his appeal heard.

William Mullins-Johnson

William Mullins-Johnson was convicted in 1994 of first-degree murder in the death of his four-year-old niece in Sault Ste. Marie. During the trial, four pathology specialists, including a Dr. Charles Smith, were asked to review tissue samples and evidence. Dr. Smith was the only specialist of the four to conclude that the child had been sexually assaulted at the time of death, which contradicted defence evidence that the child had died of natural causes. Dr. Smith's opinion was essential to the jury's verdict of first-degree murder. Because of profound doubts about the integrity of the conviction and the results of more recent and potentially exculpatory pathological evaluations, AIDWYC had sought for some time to re-open the case. Reports that Dr. Smith had misplaced crucial evidence frustrated these efforts and prompted an audit of tissue samples from autopsies performed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto since 1991. The missing exhibits of concern to AIDWYC were suddenly discovered on Dr. Smith's desk in late May.

At the time of the trial, Dr. Smith was frequently called as a prosecution expert in trials involving pediatric forensics. Since then, doubts about his findings in a number of cases have led to charges being withdrawn and some convictions being questioned. In 2002, Dr. Smith was reprimanded by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons. On June 7, 2005, Ontario's Chief Coroner ordered a formal, independent review of Dr. Smith's involvement in over 40 cases in which he performed an autopsy or offered an expert opinion.

Mullins-Johnson was released on bail on September 21, 2005 pending ministerial review of a s. 696.1 application. In July 2007, Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson ordered the Court of Appeal to review the case stating that "a miscarriage of justice may well have occurred." On October 15, 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Mullins-Johnson of all charges.

Romeo Phillion | Updated Nov 11, 2009

Romeo Phillion was convicted in 1972 of the murder of firefighter and apartment superintendent Leopold Roy in Ottawa. New evidence was identified, including a police report not shown to the defence at the original trial that supported Mr. Phillion's alibi that he was at a service station 200 kilometres from Ottawa when the crime took place. There was also evidence that four Crown witnesses all changed their testimony about when they saw Mr. Phillion in Ottawa. An s.696.1 application was prepared and submitted to the Federal Minister of Justice, by AIDWYC and the Osgoode Hall Innocence Project on May 15, 2003. After serving 31 years in prison, Mr. Phillion, as a result of AIDWYC's efforts, was released on bail in July 2003. At the time, Mr. Phillion was the first person ever granted bail pending a ministerial review of his wrongful conviction. On August 23, 2006, then Justice Minister Vic Toews advised that he was reserving his final decision until certain issues can be addressed by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Mr. Phillion and AIDWYC lawyers attended the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 21, 2008 for a week of testimony in his fresh evidence hearing. On July 8th and 9th 2008, the prosecution and defence lawyers attended court in London, England to hear testimony from the defence false confession expert, world renowned expert, Dr. Gisli Gudjonsson. Justice Robert Sharpe, who has been the "case management judge", flew to England to preside over the taking of evidence from Dr. Gudjonsson. On July 24th Mr.Phillion's fresh evidence hearing continued at the Ontario Court of Appeal with Justice Sharpe presiding. The Crown false confession expert, Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist from New York testified. Dr. Welner admitted that he had never asked to examine Mr. Phillion in person before submitting his report. November 17 - 27, 2008 final oral arguments were heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal. On March 5, 2009 the three Ontario Court of Appeal judges who presided over the fresh evidence hearing, Justices Michael Moldaver, John Laskin and James MacPherson released their written decision. In a 2-1 decision, Justice MacPherson dissenting, Mr. Phillion was awarded a new trial.

Ontario Attorney General, Chris Bentley, has advised Mr. Phillion and AIDWYC lawyers that his office will not proceed with a second trial given the passage of time and the death of so many of the witnesses. The following options were available to the Attorney General: 1. stay the proceedings; 2. withdraw the charges; 3. have Romeo Phillion return to court to be arraigned and enter a plea, at which point the Crown would advise the court it has no evidence to call. A judge would then acquit Mr. Phillion.

In July 2009, Attorney General, Chris Bentley announced that he was withdrawing the charges against Romeo Phillion. In response AIDWYC filed an application with the Superior Court of Justice seeking to have Mr. Phillion indicted and allowed to plead not guilty and to be acquitted.

Superior Court Justice Lynn Ratushny will hear the application for four days beginning on February 1st.

Steven Truscott

Steven Truscott was sentenced to death in 1959 at the age of 14 for the murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper, on the basis of unreliable police and prosecution evidence. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1960 and his conviction upheld in 1967. In 2001, AIDWYC prepared and submitted an application for ministerial review (s.696.1) on Truscott's behalf. Retired former Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, Fred Kaufman, was retained to review, re-investigate and submit a report to the Justice Minister outlining his findings and recommendations. In October 2004, the Federal Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler, stated that Steven Truscott had likely suffered a miscarriage of justice and referred his case to the Ontario Court of Appeal. After pressure from the media, portions of the Kaufman Report were released to the public in November 2006. On June 19, 2006, a five-judge panel conducted a three-week fresh evidence hearing. In April 2006, the body of Lynne Harper was exhumed at the instruction of the Attorney General's office in the hopes of finding DNA evidence. Forensic experts were unable to conduct DNA tests due to the poor condition of her remains. The final oral arguments in Steven Truscott's case were heard in the Ontario Court of Appeal in January and February 2007. On August 28, 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Steven Truscott, concluding, "based on evidence that qualifies as fresh evidence in these proceedings, we are satisfied that Mr. Truscott's conviction was a miscarriage of justice and must be quashed." See the LIBRARY for copies of Truscott legal documents.

Kyle Unger | Updated Nov 11, 2009

Kyle Unger was sentenced to life imprisonment along with co-accused Timothy Houlahan, who later committed suicide, for a 1990 murder based in part on a hair found at the feet of the victim, 16-year-old Brigitte Grenier. The hair sample was ordered to be re-tested years later by the recently established Manitoba Hair Evidence Review Committee. Contrary to the prosecution evidence led at trial, there was no incriminatory match. The Federal Justice Minister has agreed to review the case. Unger was released on bail on November 24, 2005 pending ministerial review of his s.696.1 application that was submitted on his behalf by AIDWYC.

On March 11, 2009, Federal Minister of Justice, the Honourable Rob Nicholson announced his decision regarding Mr. Unger's case by stating, "I am satisfied there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Mr. Unger's 1992 conviction." Mr. Unger was granted a new trial.

On October 23, 2009 the Province of Manitoba announced they would not proceed with a new trial. Assistant Deputy Attorney General Don Slough said that Mr. Unger " is entitled to an acquittal, in the eyes of the law, he's an innocent man."

Erin Walsh

On October 17 1975 a jury convicted Erin Walsh of the second-degree murder of Melvin Eugene Peters, an African Canadian. The Crown claimed Walsh was racially motivated. The incident occurred when Peters and two other males attempted to rob Walsh of his money and drugs. During a life-and-death struggle with a gun, Peters was shot. The Crown's case centered on Walsh as the shooter and convicted of the crime, he spent the next 10 years in prison.Despite overwhelming odds, Walsh continued to pursue justice with what little resources at his disposal. He continued to write to whoever would listen. He continued even when it was to his detriment - even when the parole board would hold it against him. The problem was Walsh's story was not supported by any other independent evidence (that he was then aware of). After 28 years of perseverance, Walsh's efforts paid off.

In 2003, he wrote to the New Brunswick Provincial Archives and was given a package containing the complete Crown file, a file that had been collecting dust for almost three decades. In this file Walsh found a treasure trove of exculpatory evidence never before disclosed. Most significantly, he read for the first time that the Crown's star witness (and only eye witness to the shooting), David Walton (one of the robbers), was overheard by a St. John police officer less than an hour after the fatal shooting, asking his friend (the other robber) and co-crown witness MacMillan, why he shot Peters.

With amazement, Walsh read for the first time that there was a police report that was never disclosed to him or his lawyers that supported his story. In addition, Walsh read that there was a statement recorded by St. John Police in which the proprietor of a local hardware store said that the shells were purchased for the gun one day before Crown witness Macmillan said they were purchased, when Walsh was literally a thousand miles away from St. John. There were also seven signed statements by witnesses who could attest to the fact that Walsh ran away from Crown witnesses MacMillan, Walton and Peters after they had attempted to rob him at gunpoint just prior to forcing him into the car. These witnesses supported the fact that Walsh in fact asked for the police to be called just 10 minutes before the shot was fired that killed Peters.

Finally, on February 22, 2008 Federal Justice Minister R. Nicholson issued a Ministerial Remedy acknowledging that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. Then, within hours of the Minister's decision, the New Brunswick Attorney General took the honourable position before the New Brunswick Court of Appeal that not only was a miscarriage "likely", but that it in fact occurred. The Attorney General agreed that the conviction should be quashed. On March 14th, 2008, after 33 years of proclaiming his innocence, Erin Walsh was vindicated.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal reviewed his case and overturned his conviction of second degree murder.