I am the wife of a man currently incarcerated for nearly a decade, for crimes he did not commit.
As a result we have formed an organization in BC to help the families and friends, as well as the incarcerated innocents, as they learn to prepare their own cases for review. We then will refer the case (if warrented) To the best possible resources we have available. We will help support, encourage and guide them as they endevor this most difficult of tasks.
We are looking for Lawyers, other professionals and concerned individuals who are interested in seeking the truth in Justice.
I am also currently working toward developing and implementing workshops and educational forums for prison families and their loved ones in working toward a safer more settled reintegration process.
They will learn to recognize healthy and unhealthy behaviors/relationships and learn how to make effective modifications in behaviors to assist them as they heal their lives.
I look forward to your input.

Hello and welcome
Thanks so much for coming in and for posting the poll. I just voted. Where abouts in BC are you? Lee just got sentenced a few months ago and he has been placed in Matsqui in Abbotsford. Pretty far away from us. We are hoping to be able to visit in the summer. Look forward to talking to you soon.
Gillian

Hello,

I am a former lawyer (used to deal with criminal cases mostly) and I would be very interested in being a part of your organisation... How ever, I live in Montreal, Quebec!!! What could I do!!! (PS, my husband is also there for something he didn`t do... He plead guilty because of threats to everyone from lawyers to family members... He has been in for over 8 years and has decided that the cost and effort involved with being recognised as inocent is not worth the effort and strain put on everyone...ie publicity, being shuned by society, etc... So, he decided to put effort towards getting a judicial review in about 7 years , he`s a lifer, instead of trying to get out by being proclamed innocent... I don`t agree with his resoning, but I have no choice but to accept it...) Maybe I could help others...

sorry for this late reply, but welcome here and I hope you'll be able to get him out

Thank you for your interest and comments. I am currently involved in helping Prison Families by creating a series of workshops for Prison families both inside and outside the wire. Through this work I hope to gain access to helping more of the families involved with wrongful convictions as well. I am also currently attempting to help create an independant review panel for the Innocent in BC and work toward developing a University course to help recognise the differences between Denial and Innocent. My husband is still in Prison and is writing a guide for anyone interested in working on their own case. Thanks again for listening.
Cherryl

Wow Cheryll, that's some very important work you're doing! I hope all works out the way you want it too.If you need any help...

Thanks Soraya,
I hope we can get more involved with CFCN and the work they are doing with FAIR. We have gained a lot of interest here in BC for the work we see needs to get started. The proposal for a 12 month pilot project for families was finished up yesterday and we will be meeting with Lloyd today from CFCN. I am hopefull we can all connect and do some good work as a team.
There a lot of people out there and one agency cannot handle it all.
I meet tomorrow with one of the Lawyers that is helping me get the lawyers to take on the cases once they are ready for review.
Thanks again for showing an intrest.
God Bless
:D :D :D :o :p :) :)

ROSEANGEL:


CAN I COME TO CANADA.... I SURE WISH WE HAD A SUPPORT GROUP HERE IN N.C. LIKE THIS.... THERE ARE SO MANY ISSUES FOR INMATES FAMILIES AND I KNOW FOR SURE THAT I NEED SOME HELP NOW.... I AM THINKING ABOUT A COUNSELOR BUT I DON'T KNOW ONE WHO WILL UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL....

THANK YOU FOR TELLING US WHAT YOU ARE DOING... THIS IS AMAZING...


DONNA

Hi there, I will send you a private email, but would like to suggest that for help down in the states you could consider contacting fcn. Family and Corrections Network. Of course in Canada we have CFCN same thing but Canadian. They are new and still developing but a good service.
There are also agencies like The John Howard Society, Elizabeth Fry Society, lifelines, etc that can sometimes be of help.
:cuffs: :( :eek: :eek: :rolleyes: :D

Rose;

You MUST get hold of the book just published "Justice Behind the Walls; Human Rights In Canadian Prisons". It's on the Internet. I put the link in a different post, (in this section I believe).

This book was written by a LAW professor, who's spent the last 30 years working on inmate rights, at the B.C. Pen, Matsqui and Kent.

There are many who say this man (and the Supreme Court Case he won on behalf of inmates in solitary) is the very reason the B.C. Pen was shut down, and torn down.

Mr. Jackson might be quite interested in what you are doing!

Menolly

As for your poll, simply put?

Four names:

Stephen Truscott
David Milgaard
Donald "Junior" Marshall
Guy Paul Morin

The four best reasons I know that explains why I am darned glad we in Canada do not have the death penalty!

Menolly

Hi Menolly, and thanks for the reply and your input. I am familiar with the book Justice behind the walls and also know the author Michael Jackson, as he is one of the many working with us to establish the group for the wrongly convicted. He is one of our Board of Directors and is truly a man interested in restoring the truth to justice. David Milgaard has also now become a friend and Gui Paul Morins sister, Denise has also been involved with helping many whenever she can. Joyce Milgaard has started an AIDWYC office in Winnipeg. Steven Truscott and I email almost daily and I will be meeting Donald Marshall soon. I believe that if we as the family and friends of those who have been wrongly convicted band together we can truly make more of a difference in the bigger picture.
The more help we can get the more we can achieve.
Cherryl

i believe in science, but i believe it can be overlooked, i agree there may be more than we know innocent, we have a world full of hate, crime and evil, sometimes its rushed and ppl with issues get locked out in the cold, that happened to me, my cusin was murdered for 20 $ and a half a pack of smokes by a different cultuered man, and all i heard was race scares, but i go on like no tomorrow, my kids are the same race as the man i love my kids, so i think im not going to stop life, if the charges were lifted maybe they were for the right reasons, im just here to be a mom, and love and to care not to blame, id waste my life away, i think because so much happens in so little time alot is forgotten everyone is somebody to someone

my brother was wrongfully convicted, can anyone tell me if there is any help for ppl in alberta with this. i would appriciate any help anyone has to offer. thank you

Welcome Storm1, glad you found PTO and the Canadian forum. I just posted a link to the
AIDWYC - Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, you will find the contact information here: http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1712263#post1712263

Let me know if they can help you, if not I will keep looking and perhaps others know of some organizations.
Oh also you might want to contact 'Truth in Justice (http://www.truthinjustice.org/)', they have covered Canadian cases of innocence.

I am the mother of a young man wrongfully convicted as a result of a Mr. Big sting. Is there anyone out there in the same situation? We are trying to find innocent people convicted due to this sting. It is a horrendous sting, and in my view, the RCMP should be ashamed to use it.

Have you heard of Kyle Unger? He was wrongfully convicted due to this sting, and now AIDWYC has taken his case. He was released on bail, and is waiting for a false confession specialist to complete his analysis of the confession he gave. It is pretty obviously false.

There are many more out there, I am just trying to reach them. I feel we may be able to do more if we fight together as a group, instead of all of us doing the same things individually and taking years and years to get results. If anyone can help me, please let me know.

Hi
I am new to all of this as my son has just recently entered Millhaven, (3wks now).He is guilty of a crime unfortunately, but YES there are more than we know of that are innocent and incarcerated unjustly and this in itself is a crime. Why does it take so long to find out that the person is actually innocent?

Over the years I have come to have NO faith in the justice system......

Besides AIDWYC, there is the Innocence Project at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, and Injusticebusters in Saskatchewan. UBC in Vancouver is also in the process of setting up an Innocence Project. I would be happy to discuss options with you. My son is also wrongfully convicted, as a result of a Mr. Big Sting. There are a group of us trying to find others wrongfully convicted as a result of this sting. We are trying to have it outlawed.

mcd37ca
OMG
Your story sounds so much like mine. My husband too is innocent although he went to trial. Not everything could come out in trial because of threats to family etc. And he too has the attitude that it just isn't worth giving the information to prove his innocense...(it ticks me off so bad) but not a thing I can do. He has now served almost 24 years...we are currently working on the parole process but everytime he puts in the paperwork....he is involuntary transfered (5 times...a.nd we won every appeal). Recently drugs were planted in a PFV and he was charged...but again....WE WON! There was no way to prove they were his or that I brought them in (which I certainly did not...I work for the salvation army...I do not and have not ever done drugs) Anyway...thats what we are up against..if they don't want you out....they will do anything to keep you there.

There are many, many innocent people incarcerated. The system doesn't care, the courts don't care, the police just view them as another victim of crime. They really don't care. That is the reality.Good luck on your case.

Does anyone study the usa laws I'm from Michigan U.S.A my former husband is wrongfully convicted of csc, that was about seven years ago and we found out that it was my one daughters ex-boyfriend and the husband of the other daughters, that had traumatized the ones daughter and said it was grandpa that did it we found out when my son had gone to jail and afriend of the one was in jail and had talked to my son and told him he was at a party and he heard his friend brag on how he and his one friend had messed with his step daughter and blamed it on her grandfather. I knew my former husband since I waas eleven years old and have two daughters ( twins) by him and I had a daughter when we got together and never once laid a finger on her. we were starting to build a relationship and had lots of kis we were baby sitting for and never once miss treated them then he was accused of this it isn't fair now instead innocent until proven guilty, it's giulty until proven innocent. good luck with that one that's why the prisons are over crowded now