Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Wrongful prosecutions from faulty pathology

Ontario Justice Stephen Goudge delivered his findings Wednesday into the causes of wrongful prosecutions that resulted from faulty pathology from Dr. Charles Smith. This is a serious report, in the best traditions of a judicial inquiry, and it will be taken seriously by the Province.

Some quotes from and about the Goudge report:

-"I simply cannot accept such a sweeping attempt to escape moral responsibility." - Goudge on Smith's claims his errors were unintentional.

- "When he finally did act, it was to protect the reputation of the office and not out of concern that individuals and the public interest may already have been harmed." - Goudge on Dr. James Young, Ontario's former chief coroner.

- "They invented a crime. They pulled it out of their head and said, 'This guy is guilty of this."' - William Mullins-Johnson on those responsible for his wrongful conviction.

- "For those who live in the shadow of suspicion, we will move as expeditiously as we can ... to make sure that the necessary reviews are undertaken." - Attorney General Chris Bentley on re-examining other prosecutions based on pathology.

- "I sincerely apologize on behalf of governments of Ontario both past and present to each and every individual who has suffered as a result of Dr. Charles Smith's work." - Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci.

- "A tragedy has unfolded here in Ontario and we're looking for ways to move beyond that and to redress the wrongs." - Premier Dalton McGuinty.

- "The report will go a long way to preventing future miscarriages of justice, not just in pediatric pathology cases but in all cases." - Lawyer James Lockyer.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

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