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Brena Owen
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May 15, 2022 • 7 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading • 6 comments David Milgaard was photographed after a press conference held by Innocence Canada in Toronto on October 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chris Young Photo by Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS
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David Milgaard, the victim of one of Canada’s most notorious miscarriages of justice, has died in a hospital in Alberta after a short illness. He was 69.
James Locker, a Toronto-based lawyer who worked closely on the case and helped found the advocacy organization Innocence Canada, confirmed the death after talking to Milgaard’s sister on Sunday.
His loss is “devastating to the family,” Lockyer told the Canadian Press.
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It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that David Milgaard has died today at the age of 69.
David has lived a difficult life, but he has always lived to help others who are in difficulty. pic.twitter.com/IVIwfLoKx2
– Project Milgaard (@ProjectMilgaard) May 15, 2022
Milgaard was only 16 when he was charged and wrongfully convicted of raping and killing Saskatchewan nurse Gail Miller, who was stabbed and left to die in the snow early in the morning of January 31, 1969.
He will spend 23 years in prison until his release in 1992.
In his later years, Milgaard helped raise awareness of wrongdoing and called for action in the way Canadian courts review sentences.
“I think it’s important for everyone, not just lawyers, but the public itself, to be aware that wrongdoing is being done and that these people are sitting behind bars right now, trying to get out,” he said in 2015. .
“The policies that keep them there need to change. The process of reviewing the wrongful sentence is failing us all.
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Locker said he and Milgaard met with Justice Minister David Lametti a little over two years ago in Ottawa to urge the establishment of an independent body to deal with allegations of wrongdoing.
“I think David’s legacy now is to continue with this, to call it Milgaard’s legislation, and let’s accept it, let’s get this independent tribunal. We don’t have it yet, but maybe that will give an incentive to the Ministry of Justice to continue with it, “he said in an interview on Sunday.
The establishment of an independent commission to review criminal cases “to facilitate and expedite the review of applications for potentially wrongful convictions” was identified as a top priority in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate letter to Lametti in December 2019. The goal was reiterated. in his letter of mandate after the federal election last fall.
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Lockyer said it was up to Lametti to “move” on the commission.
“They owe it to David Milgaard and they owe it to those wrongly convicted across Canada.
During their meeting in 2020, Lockyer said the minister had asked Milgaard to sign a copy of the Tragically Hip album with the song “Wheat Kings”, inspired by his case.
Lametti posted a statement on Twitter on Sunday saying Milgaard was a tireless advocate for those convicted of wanting to see the system change.
“I am deeply saddened to know that he will not live to see this happen,” Lametti wrote.
The minister added that he would keep his signed copy of Tragically Hip’s album “Fully Completely” as a memento of Milgaard.
Milgaard and two friends were traveling through Saskatoon when Miller was killed.
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A year later, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
One of the youngest prisoners, the 17-year-old was raped and attempted suicide. He was also shot by police while trying to escape from prison.
“It was a nightmare,” Milgaard said in 2014. “People don’t have much love and care inside these walls.”
Milgaard was released in 1992 after his mother, who fought relentlessly to clear her son’s name, insisted the case be heard by Canada’s Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturned Milgaard’s sentence, and he was finally acquitted in 1997 after DNA tests showed that semen found at the crime scene did not match his.
A man named Larry Fisher was convicted in 1999 of first-degree murder in Miller’s death and sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2015.
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Locker said Milgaard’s late mother, Joyce, was “a hero in itself.”
“The Milgaard family has given us a lot, they have given Canada as much as any family could give to Canada,” he said.
Peter Edwards, a Toronto Star journalist who helped Joyce Milgaard write memoirs about her struggle to see her son acquitted, recalled a moment he thought stuck in his mind – when Milgaard visited the newspaper’s office shortly after was released from prison in thanks to Edwards.
It was a rainy day, he said, and Milgaard was not wearing a shirt because he wanted to feel the rain on his skin after missing it for so many years.
The Saskatchewan government issued an official apology to Milgaard and awarded him a $ 10 million compensation package.
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The province also spent $ 11.2 million on a public investigation into Milgaard’s wrongful sentence. The final report was published in 2008 with 13 recommendations for reforming Canada’s public prosecutor’s office and police. Among them was a proposal by the federal government to set up an independent review committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.
Ron Dalton, co-chair of Innocence Canada, said Milgaard could have “turned inward and been very upset with life, but he didn’t let that happen.”
He could have resigned his advocacy after clearing his name, but he “chose to look over his shoulder at people who have been abandoned, people who are going through suffering,” said Dalton, who was wrongfully convicted and later acquitted. in the case of his wife’s death more than 30 years ago.
Milgaard leaves behind two teenage children, he said in an interview.
Lockyer said he visited Milgaard at his home in Calgary about six weeks ago and “he is usually happy with me”, talking about the need for an independent commission and current allegations of wrongdoing in Canada.
When he heard about Milgaard’s death on Sunday, Lockyer said he had just left prison in British Columbia, where he was visiting with a woman whose wrongful sentence Milgaard had referred to him.
“I will continue to do what David wanted me to do, so there is a legacy.”
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