David Milgaard died on May 15, 2022. In July 1970, he was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. Cleared, he was subsequently paid for miscarriage of justice of which he was the victim. The legend that preceded this payment has been the subject of several Radio-Canada reports.
A historic compensation
” David Milgaard will receive 10 million for the 23 years he unfairly spent in prison. Ottawa and the Government of Saskatchewan awarded him the largest compensation ever paid to Canada for obtaining justice. “
This is the host of Newscast of May 17, 1999, Daniel Lessard described, the act of compensation that the federal and Saskatchewan governments agreed to give to David Milgaard.
The size of the total corresponds to the severity of the injury suffered by the man since 1969.
Journalist Marc Godbout’s report then describes the joy felt by Joyce Milgaard, David’s mother. His son was finally compensated for the mistake he had made.
David Milgaard’s lawyer confirms, for his part, that his client wants to create an independent body that will be responsible for investigating cases of miscarriages of justice.
Years of declaring his innocence
How was the young man from Winnipeg involved in this story?
On January 31, 1969, a nurse aide, Gail Miller, was raped and murdered in Saskatoon in the province of Saskatchewan.
Unfortunately, David Milgaard visited this city at the same time. The 16 -year -old teenager was found indicted by police and a Saskatoon jury guilty of this murder.
David Milgaard spent 23 years in prison without stopping to claim he was innocent.
His mother Joyce tirelessly fought to clean up her son’s reputation. In particular, he pleaded guilty to his case with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney when the latter was in Winnipeg in 1991.
In 1991, Joyce Milgaard even confronted federal Justice Minister Kim Campbell in front of cameras. It refused to hold a new trial despite the Saskatchewan High Court’s decision to go in this direction.
David Milgaard goes to the Supreme Court …
In 1992, Kim Campbell adopted a completely unusual approach.
New evidence emerges that will acquit David Milgaard. The prisoner requests a new trial.
Instead of allowing this new trial, the federal Minister of Justice forwarded the request for review to the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the land.
As parliamentary correspondent Daniel L’Heureux reminds us in a report presented at Newscast January 21, 1992, nine Supreme Court justices heard David Milgaard this winter day.
New evidence is brought to the attention of the judges.
Their examination and the prosecutor’s cross-examination for the province of Saskatchewan proved close and unsatisfactory for the complainant.
The Supreme Court, however, ruled in favor of David Milgaard. He recommended that the sentence be overturned on him and a new trial be held.
The Saskatchewan Minister of Justice then decided to impose a delay in the legal process. This decision had the effect that David Milgaard was immediately released on April 16, 1992.
Journalist Gabriel Durocher presents a report on Newscast on the same day showing David Milgaard’s reaction to his release.
If he was happy to be gone behind bars, he would be furious to see that Saskatchewan refused him any compensation.
Also, we still haven’t acquitted him.
… and pursues his accusers
In 1993, David Milgaard sued Saskatchewan justice officials and Saskatoon police, accusing them of repeated misconduct and cover-up.
For years, nothing has improved. That’s when science came to the rescue of David Milgaard.
The undeniable proof that David Milgaard is innocent comes from a small vial, as shown in a report by Maxence Bilodeau presented in Telejournal/Le Point July 18, 1997.
For years, Saskatoon police kept DNA from whoever killed Gail Miller.
David Milgaard’s lawyer had to fight to get the samples, which were tested in a British laboratory.
The analysis clearly indicates that David Milgaard was not the one who killed the nurse aide.
The man who committed the crime was called Larry Fisher.
Saskatoon police know Larry Fisher very well. In 1970, the latter admitted to having committed several rapes in their city.
In addition, in 1980, Larry Fisher’s ex-wife contacted police to tell them he suspected he had killed the nurse’s aide.
On the day of the murder, Linda Fisher said there was a missing knife in her kitchen. Her ex -husband seemed upset when she asked him for an explanation that day, accusing him of committing the crime.
The police do nothing with this information.
In 1999, David Milgaard was finally compensated for the abolition of justice he suffered.
However, it was a bitter victory.
The 23 years spent in prison were hell. He was sexually assaulted and made several suicide attempts.
David Milgaard spent his last days in Calgary, Alberta.
Source: Radio-Canada