A new bill introduced in the Commons on Thursday would make it easier and faster to review claims from Canadians who say they were victims of a miscarriage of justice.
The legislation has been dubbed “David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law”, after the Canadian who was freed in 1980 after being wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years, and his mother Joyce, who fought tirelessly for all these years to get him released.
The federal government points out that it is rare for miscarriages of justice to occur, but that a formal process should be put in place to analyze these cases.
The bill provides for the creation of an independent commission to review, investigate and decide which criminal cases should be referred to the courts.
The government says applicants for review should first exhaust all appeal rights before approaching this independent commission.
Innocence Canada, the nonprofit that defends people who claim they were wrongly convicted, says it has helped exonerate 24 people since 1993.
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