Another wrongful conviction???

The Henry case is another wrongful conviction (or so it seems) arising out of a failure by the prosecution to make full disclosure.

Based on what was revealed in court the conviction was for a series of rather peculiar sexual assaults and those assaults, and their peculiar characteristics, continued after Henry was arrested. These facts, along with some other problematic issues (mainly to do with voice identification and line ups), were not disclosed, or were perhaps concealed, at trial.

A common thread in the wrongful conviction cases seems to be material non-disclosure.

Attacking such errors is not being "soft on crime" as some have suggested -- remember, every time there is a wrongful conviction the true culprit goes free. And that ignores the dreadful result of an innocent convicted.


The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered the reopening of the case of Ivan Henry has spent 26 years in jail for a crime he may not have committed.
Jon Murray/Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER -- Two daughters said today they have waited 26 years for their father to have the justice system believe in his claims of innocence.

"It's been a long time coming," Tanya Henry, 35, said outside court after three judges of the B.C. Court of Appeal unanimously ruled to re-open the appeal of Ivan William Henry, 62.

Story here: http://www.nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=1173045
James Morton