Ostrowski freed on bail after 23 years

Perhaps another wrongful conviction, although this one is not quite as clear as some others. Regardless, the seemingly endless list of people convicted for crimes they did not commit is not a good thing. There seems to be especially a problem with minority accused.


Ostrowski freed on bail after 23 years

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/12/18/mb-ostrowski-bail-winnipeg.html

Frank Ostrowski will be home for Christmas for the first time in 23 years.

The 60-year-old Winnipeg grandfather was released on bail Friday from Rockwood Institution, a minimum-security prison north of the city that has been his residence since 1987.
...

Ostrowski's case bears a striking resemblance to those against James Driskell, Kyle Unger and Thomas Sophonow, Lockyer has said.

Important facts were concealed by the Crown and the accused were later exonerated after spending years in prison.

Driskell was convicted of killing a friend in Winnipeg in 1990, partly on testimony from Ray Zanidean — a witness who, unbeknownst to the defence, was given tens of thousands of dollars in expense payments and immunity on an arson charge for his testimony. Driskell's conviction was quashed in 2005.

Unger was convicted of killing a teenage girl at a rock festival in 1990. His conviction was quashed by the federal justice minister after DNA tests disproved the only physical evidence. Without the defence's knowledge, a jailhouse informant in the case was given special consideration for his help.

Sophonow was found guilty of killing Winnipeg waitress Barbara Stoppel in 1981, largely because of witness testimony that later turned out to be faulty. One witness's statement to police contradicted her testimony in court, but the defence never knew about the police statement and could not challenge the testimony.