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CLEARING TRUSCOTT'S NAME

After His Word Against History aired, the fifth estate was deluged with letters of support for Steven Truscott. Many were forwarded to him. Here's a response he sent us.

Read a letter from Steven Truscott to the fifth estate.

Peter MacKay, then a justice critic for the Progressive Conservatives, raised the Truscott affair in parliament on March 29, 2000. Here is a transcript of the responses from former Justice Minister Ann McLellan:

Mr. Peter MacKay: Mr. Speaker, tonight on the fifth estate Canadians will be reintroduced to Steven Truscott, a man convicted of killing 12-year-old Lynn Harper 40 years ago. At age 14 he was sentenced to death and ultimately spent 10 years in prison for a crime he claims he did not commit. Shocking new evidence suggests that there was compelling evidence in the hands of DND officials that would have exonerated Truscott.

Based on what could be the most egregious miscarriage of justice in Canadian history, will the minister agree that it is incumbent upon her department to conduct a full public inquiry into this situation?

Anne McLellan: Mr. Speaker, we have not heard from Mr. Truscott or his counsel in relation to this matter but if and when we do we will investigate this matter thoroughly.

He addressed the issue again the next day:

Mr. Peter MacKay: Will the Minister of National Defence instruct his officials to undertake a thorough review of all files relating to the involvement of the Department of National Defence in the Steven Truscott case?

Anne McLellan: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday in the House, we have not heard from either Mr. Truscott or his lawyer. If and when we do hear from Mr. Truscott or his lawyer, we will take any allegations or any submissions made very seriously.

Mr. Peter MacKay: Mr. Speaker, that is encouraging because the Truscott case, as we know, has been a festering wound on the psyche of this nation and casts a shadow over the entire criminal justice system.

The case against Truscott was based on ambiguous, circumstantial and inconsistent testimony from children, impossible medical analysis of the murder victim and Mr. Truscott himself.

It seems obvious that the irregularity surrounding the investigation and subsequent trial and the new evidence warrant a full inquiry. In the pursuit of justice and public confidence, will the Minister of Justice commit to conducting a full public inquiry upon receipt of Mr. Truscott's application?

Hon. Anne McLellan: Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member knows that we take any allegations of wrongful conviction very seriously. If such allegations are submitted to me by Mr. Truscott or his lawyer, we will review them expeditiously and seriously...

On November 29, 2001 Steven Truscott filed a formal request for a review of his case by the former federal justice minister, Anne McLellan with the support and legal council of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted.

Two months later, in January 2002, the justice minister appointed a former Quebec judge, Justice Fred Kaufman, to assess the claim. Kaufman's review took 19 months. Cotler, the present justice minister received his four-volume, 700-page report in the spring of 2004.

Support for Steven Truscott's appeal has grown, particularity in his home town of Guelph, Ontario. Guelph city Councilor, Maggie Laidlaw has filed a municipal Notice of Motion to put pressure on the federal government.

Mary Janchus, a local teacher has organized a mail-in/e-mail campaign to support Steven Truscott's application for ministerial review.

On October 28, 2004 the Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler, announced that Truscott's case will be sent to the Ontario Court of Appeal.  Cotler said:  "There is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in this case." (Read more)

The case will be heard in late January 2007.