The Manitoba government announced yesterday that it will pay James Driskell $250,000 while negotiations proceed on compensating him for the 12 years he spent in prison on a wrongful-murder conviction. Some other Canadians who have been awarded compensation for wrongful convictions:

Guy Paul Morin: Tried twice for the 1984 killing of nine-year-old Christine Jessop north of Toronto. Acquitted in 1986; convicted at retrial in 1992 and imprisoned. Exonerated in 1995 on strength of DNA evidence and awarded $1.2-million.

David Milgaard: Convicted in 1969, at the age of 16, of the murder of Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller. Spent 23 years in prison before his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1992. DNA evidence helped catch Ms. Miller's killer, Larry Fisher, who was convicted in 1999. Mr. Milgaard awarded $10-million; public inquiry report on his case is expected this year.

Donald Marshall: Nova Scotia man convicted in 1971 of murdering Sandy Seale. Spent nearly 19 years in prison before being exonerated by royal commission report in 1990. Compensated with lifetime pension of $1.5-million. Returned to public eye in 1999, when a legal challenge he filed produced landmark Supreme Court ruling on native fishing rights.

Greg Parsons: Newfoundland man was convicted in 1994 of killing his mother. He served six weeks before he was granted bail pending appeal. He was later exonerated by DNA evidence and formally acquitted in 1998. Province gave him an apology and $1.3-million.

Thomas Sophonow: Spent nearly four years in prison for wrongful conviction in 1981 murder of 16-year-old doughnut shop clerk Barbara Stoppel in Winnipeg. Cleared in 2000 after three trials. Received $2.3-million in compensation.

Jason Dix: Charged with murder of James Deiter, 24, and Tim Orydzuk, 33, who were each shot three times in the head at a factory in Sherwood Park, Alta., in 1994. Crime-scene evidence was tainted because RCMP originally believed the two were electrocuted in an industrial accident. Mr. Dix spent 22 months in jail awaiting a trial that was halted in September of 1998 when the Crown announced it was dismissing the charges for lack of evidence. Mr. Dix sued RCMP and the provincial and federal justice ministers; was awarded nearly $765,000 in damages. The killings have never been solved.