DLM
11-18-2004, 04:40 PM
Milgaard inquiry to begin in January 2005, 36 years after Saskatoon rape-murder
SASKATOON (CP) - Thirty-six years after the brutal sex slaying of a young Saskatoon nursing assistant, a judicial inquiry will try to find out why an innocent teenager ended up spending 23 years in jail for the crime.
Justice Edward MacCallum announced Thursday that his inquiry into the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard will begin on Jan. 17 at the Delta Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon.
The long-awaited inquiry had to be delayed until Larry Fisher, the man later convicted as the true culprit, had exhausted all his appeals. That happened in August, when the Supreme Court refused to hear his case.
Milgaard was a 16-year-old passing through Saskatoon when Gail Miller, 20, was killed. Her bloody and partially clad body was found in an alley on Jan. 31, 1969. Her throat had been slashed, she had been stabbed 27 times and she had been raped.
Milgaard spent his entire young adulthood behind bars before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 1997 - the same evidence that convicted Fisher in 1999.
Semen stains were left on Miller's dress and underwear and blood consistent with Fisher's DNA was also found on Miller's glove.
The inquiry into Milgaard's wrongful conviction is expected to last three months and cost $2 million.
Ten parties have standing at the inquiry, including Fisher, Milgaard and Joyce Milgaard, who fought tirelessly for her son's exoneration.
The Saskatchewan government has already awarded Milgaard $10 million for his wrongful conviction - the biggest criminal compensation package in Canadian history.
SASKATOON (CP) - Thirty-six years after the brutal sex slaying of a young Saskatoon nursing assistant, a judicial inquiry will try to find out why an innocent teenager ended up spending 23 years in jail for the crime.
Justice Edward MacCallum announced Thursday that his inquiry into the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard will begin on Jan. 17 at the Delta Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon.
The long-awaited inquiry had to be delayed until Larry Fisher, the man later convicted as the true culprit, had exhausted all his appeals. That happened in August, when the Supreme Court refused to hear his case.
Milgaard was a 16-year-old passing through Saskatoon when Gail Miller, 20, was killed. Her bloody and partially clad body was found in an alley on Jan. 31, 1969. Her throat had been slashed, she had been stabbed 27 times and she had been raped.
Milgaard spent his entire young adulthood behind bars before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 1997 - the same evidence that convicted Fisher in 1999.
Semen stains were left on Miller's dress and underwear and blood consistent with Fisher's DNA was also found on Miller's glove.
The inquiry into Milgaard's wrongful conviction is expected to last three months and cost $2 million.
Ten parties have standing at the inquiry, including Fisher, Milgaard and Joyce Milgaard, who fought tirelessly for her son's exoneration.
The Saskatchewan government has already awarded Milgaard $10 million for his wrongful conviction - the biggest criminal compensation package in Canadian history.