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Robert
Baltovich | Kyle Unger | James Driskell | Greg
Parsons
Faulty analysis sparks
call for review of cases
Winnipeg - Advocates for the
wrongly accused are calling on provincial governments to review
all criminal cases involving hair evidence after the Manitoba
Justice Department released a groundbreaking study that shows
flawed hair analysis tainted two murder convictions.
The province launched a review
of 39 old murder cases last year after national embarrassment
over the case of James Driskell. Mr. Driskell won his freedom
after more than 13 years in jail when DNA tests revealed that
a forensic hair analysis used to convict him was wrong.
It's the first time any province
in Canada has checked old cases for problems with the discredited
techniques of hair comparison, lawyers say, and the results could
do more than give two people convicted of murder hope for release.
"Our organization is urging
other provinces to do this," said James Lockyer, a lawyer
for the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. "It's
a huge step in the right direction."
But the report sparked outrage
among the victims' families in the two cases yesterday.
Christa Zurstegge, 66, said
she remains convinced that Robert Stewart Sanderson helped with
the killing of her son Stephan Zurstegge, despite the new DNA
evidence that eliminates the only forensic link between Mr. Sanderson
and the bloody scene where three men were beaten, shot and stabbed
to death in 1996.
"I'm telling you, I cannot
believe this," Ms. Zurstegge said. "This is unreal.
Our system stinks.''
Besides casting doubt on Mr.
Sanderson's conviction, the report also raises questions about
the guilt of Kyle Wayne Unger, who is serving a life sentence
for the killing of teenager Brigitte Grenier at a Manitoba music
festival in 1990.
The only piece of evidence
Mr. Unger couldn't easily explain during his trial was a hair
on Ms. Grenier's sweater, said his former lawyer, Hersh Wolch.
An RCMP forensic technician testified that the hair belonged
to Mr. Unger.
"Kyle has always maintained
he didn't do it, and I believed him," Mr. Wolch said.
Both cases will be presented
to the federal Justice Department for consideration under Section
696 of the Criminal Code, which allows the federal government
to order new trials or refer the cases to a court of appeal,
Mr. Lockyer said.
Manitoba will support Mr. Unger's
application, said deputy attorney-general Bruce MacFarlane, but
the province continues to review the Sanderson case and hasn't
formed an opinion.
"This does not mean that
Mr. Unger is necessarily innocent," Mr. MacFarlane said.
"It's just that we feel the case should be reopened."
Manitoba will also expand its
review of old cases, Mr. MacFarlane added, to include any "serious
cases" such as sexual assault and robbery from the past
15 years. The review committee is expected to report in one year.
The Unger and Sanderson cases
are the third and fourth examples of DNA evidence casting doubt
on convictions in Manitoba over the past few years and Mr. Lockyer
estimates that 40 or 50 wrongful convictions might be discovered
across the country if other provinces begin similar efforts.
Other legal experts agreed
that more systematic reviews are necessary. "Wrongful convictions
tend to get handled individually, so a broader look is a good
idea," said Gary Trotter, a law professor at Queen's University.
Dianne Martin, a professor
at Osgoode Hall Law School, said the type of review that Manitoba
conducted is rare in North America.
"The very, very few reviews
of old convictions that have been done have found significant
cases of error," Ms. Martin said. "But Manitoba has
put this issue squarely on the table now, and I bet there will
be some [provinces] who follow."
A spokesman for the Manitoba
RCMP said the force wants to review the province's report before
commenting in detail.
Greg Brodsky, a prominent Winnipeg
lawyer who represented Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Driskell, said the
province must increase funds to legal aid so that accused people
can avoid wrongful conviction.
"The numbers of wrongfully
convicted in this province are staggering," Mr. Brodsky
said.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia
Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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- Stephen Williams:
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