|
Jerome
Kennedy brought before the Nfld Law Society for public remarks
about judges
| Lamer
inquiry
Ronald Dalton
Inquiry may be political
whitewash: Dalton
WebPosted,
CBC
News, Sep 23 2003
ST. JOHN'S
- As
an inquiry into the province's justice system begins Tuesday,
one of the men whose case will be examined says the review will
be nothing more than a political whitewash if he doesn't have
a chance to clear his name.
Inquiry may be political
whitewash: Dalton
CBC News, Sep
23 2003
ST. JOHN'S
- As
an inquiry into the province's justice system begins Tuesday,
one of the men whose case will be examined says the review will
be nothing more than a political whitewash if he doesn't have
a chance to clear his name.
Ronald Dalton
spent more than eight year in prison, waiting for an appeal and
new trial that eventually cleared him of murdering his wife in
1989.
The inquiry
will look at why it took so long for the appeal to be heard,
but it won't examine the police investigation and whether the
former bank manager should have been charged.
Commissioner
Antonio Lamer also will examine the cases of Randy Druken and
Gregory Parsons. Both men were convicted of murder and later
cleared. Parsons is the only man to whom the province has offered
an apology.
Mandate falls
short
The Justice
Department maintains the system works, because Dalton was released
on appeal, but he says that doesn't go far enough.
"They've
left that perception out there by refusing to acknowledge that
we have three wrongful convictions, mine and others," he
says. "They're basically saying 'you got away with murder.
What are you complaining about?'" Dalton says.
"I'm not
satisfied that there's a real honest search for the truth in
all this as much as it is a political attempt to whitewash the
thing, and to get it off the front burner with an election pending,"
Dalton says.
No sign inquiry
broadened
Bob Simmonds,
one of Dalton's lawyers, says the provincial government drew
up terms of reference that are too narrow. He says the government
also has ignored continuing calls to expand the mandate to recognize
Dalton was wrongfully convicted.
In a 50-page submission to the commissioner, Jerome Kennedy,
Dalton's second lawyer, argues the government drew the terms
of reference to quell public outcry and protect people in authority.
"This
government does not have a track record of dealing with these
cases fairly," he says.
Simmonds says
if they cannot convince Lamer or the government to broaden the
scope of the inquiry, there will be another opportunity after
the provincial election, if the PCs are elected.
8 years in a Newfoundland
prison, finally, a new trial and acquittal for Prince Edward
Island man, Ronald Dalton
This is another
of the all too common cases of wrongful murder convictions happening
in Canada. What follows are samples of the news coverage of this
case. See also
Globe
and Mail news story By Kirk Makin, August 31, 2000 | Globe
and Mail op-ed piece September 1, 2000 . These articles address the problems
in the Newfoundland justice system (which closely resemble the
problems in Saskatchewan justice.)
CBC Report on Ronald Dalton's jury
acquittal,
June, 2000
From Newfoundland
Hansard, , 98./6/1
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. OTTENHEIMER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions
this afternoon are for the Acting Minister of Justice or Attorney
General. They have to do with a decision last week, a unanimous
decision as rendered by the Court of Appeal, dealing with the
matter of Mr. Ronald Dalton. At that time, Mr. Dalton's second-degree
murder conviction was set aside and a new trial was ordered.
My question
to the acting minister relates to the fact that in part, Mr.
Speaker, the Court of Appeal says the following: The resolution
of this appeal leaves unanswered the deeply troubling question
of how this man could have passed eight years of his life in
jail before substantial grounds challenging the integrity of
his conviction were brought on for a hearing.
Mr. Speaker,
there are many important issues, many fundamental issues of justice
that are contained in this particular decision. I ask the Acting
Minister of Justice and Acting Attorney General: Has this decision
been reviewed by the department or by government generally? And
what steps are presently being taken to review this very important
decision?
Wednesday,
April 19, 2000
The murder
trial of Ronald Dalton continued today at Supreme Court in St.
John's. Today the province's former chief forensic pathologist
said he doesn't have any doubt Brenda Dalton was strangled, in
1988
But Dr. Charles
Hutton admitted he was surprised the police arrested her husband
as fast as they did. Even before the autopsy was finished, Dr.
Charles Hutton told the police he believed Brenda Dalton was
strangled. Five or 6 hours later her husband, Ronald Dalton was
arrested for her murder.
Today Hutton
told the court that surprised him. He said he still had work
to do with the case. He was surprised the police didn't wait
until the next day when he examined Brenda Dalton again. But
Hutton said his opinion still remains the same. He doesn't believe
her husband's account of what happened the night she died.
In a letter
to his lawyer before his first trial, Ronald Dalton said his
wife choked to death on cereal. He said she was coughing and
he tried to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. But Hutton
said choking is a silent death. He told the court that a person
can't cough when they're choking. Hutton will be back on the
stand tomorrow. Sherry Banfield CBC news St. John's.
May 9, 2000
A professor
from the United Kingdom dismissed theories today that Brenda
Dalton was strangled or smothered. Bernard Knight was testifying
at the murder trial of Dalton's husband. Ronald Dalton is accused
of killing his wife almost 12 years ago, in Gander.
Bernard Knight
is a professor of forensic pathology. He's written books and
he's been honored by the Queen for his work. Today he told the
jury, Brenda Dalton died of reflex cardiac arrest. Knight said
he believes the arrest was triggered by something in the woman's
airway. She became afraid, that fear caused various physiological
affects that eventually caused Brenda Dalton's heart to shut
down.
Ronald Dalton's
lawyer Jerome Kennedy showed Knight a box of harvest crunch cereal,
the type that was in Dalton's house the night she died. Kennedy
asked the professor if it's possible to choke to death on it,
and Knight said yes. The professor also said it's possible to
cough when a person is choking, even though two experts who testified
for the crown said it's not. Knight also shot down the theory
of Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a crown witness who testified that Brenda
Dalton was smothered. Knight said Di Maio's theory is unacceptable
speculation and it's based on zero fact.
Another forensic
expert told a jury today, he doesn't think Ronald Dalton killed
his wife. Brenda Dalton died in Gander, in 1988. The crown believes
she was either strangled or smothered. But today a doctor from
England dismissed both of those theories. Sherry Banfield has
the story.
Pathologist
Dr. Harry Emson flipped through Brenda Dalton's autopsy photos
as he told the court he believes her husband's story. Emson said
he's convinced Brenda Dalton inhaled cereal into her larynx.
He believes that prompted a muscular spasm which caused her heart
to stop. Emson based his theory on the fact there was cereal
found at the scene and in the back of Brenda Dalton's mouth.
He also put
a lot of weight on Ronald Dalton's account of what happened.
Emson said if Dalton hadn't said his wife choked to death on
cereal, he would've ruled the death as undetermined. Emson rejected
the conclusions of two of the crown's key witnesses. One of those
witnesses was a medical examiner from Texas who testified the
woman was smothered. The other witness was Dr. Charles Hutton,
this province's former chief forensic pathologist. Emson accused
Hutton of having a preconception that Brenda Dalton was strangled.
The trial is expected to wrap up some time in June. .Sherry
Banfield CBC news St. John's.
Friday, June
23: The jury in the Ronald Dalton murder trial is entering its
third day of deliberations. Dalton, a former bank manager, is
accused of killing his wife in Gander in 1988. He was convicted
of the crime one year later. But then in 1998, Newfoundland's
Court of Appeal ordered a new trial. The jurors in that trial
started deliberating on Wednesday. Yesterday they asked to hear
the testimony of one witness again. The jurors stopped deliberating
at about 7 o'clock yesterday evening. They'll resume later this
morning.
Thursday, April
20, 2000
At a murder
trial in St. John's today, a lawyer accused the province's former
forensic pathologist of exaggerating. Dr. Charles Hutton testified
at the trial of Ronald Dalton. Dalton is accused of killing his
wife, in 1988. Hutton says he strangled her.
Dalton's lawyer
Jerome Kennedy grilled Hutton for the second day in a row. He
accused Hutton of being prone to over exaggeration and over interpretation.
He compared Hutton's testimony at this trial to Dalton's first
trial, in 1989. In the first trial Hutton said Brenda Dalton
had signs of assault. He testified there were 25 to 30 fresh
injuries on her body. But at this trial Hutton said she had double
that number.
Kennedy asked
Hutton why the number of injuries has gone up now that's he's
under attack. Hutton said at the first trial he estimated, but
he said this time he did an actual count to be more precise.
At times, the exchanges between Kennedy and Hutton became heated.
The lawyer
referred Hutton to some of the marks on Dalton's body. He asked
Hutton if he'd call one mark that was less than an inch long
major. Hutton said no, it wasn't. He also admitted that 5 of
the marks on Dalton's body were just a millimetre long. Sherry
Banfield CBC news St. John's.
Ronald Dalton is a free
man.
Sunday,
June 25, 2000
The former
Prince Edward Islander was convicted of killing his wife in Newfoundland,
12 years ago. But in 1998, Newfoundland's court of appeal ordered
a new trial. Yesterday the jury in that trial said Dalton was
free to go. Now the former bank manager is asking for a public
inquiry.
Dalton says,
"I'm just really happy and glad that it's over." Ronald
Dalton's youngest son David was just 18-months old when his mother
died. Now he's 13. His father has been in prison for most of
his life. "I've always known I'm not guilty, but it's nice
to have everybody know that"
Ronald Dalton
was convicted of murder, in 1989. But two years ago Newfoundland's
court of appeal ordered a new trial. The crown maintained Dalton
smothered or strangled his wife, Brenda. But Dalton's lawyer
argued the woman choked to death on cereal. After hearing 5 months
of evidence yesterday the jurors said they believed that. Now
Ronald Dalton is asking for an investigation.
"There
may have to be some public inquiry at some point that looks into
recent wrongful convictions in Newfoundland and in Canada generally,
but Newfoundland in particular there are a number of cases including
my own"
But for now
Dalton says he wants to be with his family. He's heading back
to Prince Edward Island today. There's no word whether the crown
will appeal. Sherry Banfield CBC news St. John's.spent more than eight
year in prison, waiting for an appeal and new trial that eventually
cleared him of murdering his wife in 1989.
The inquiry
will look at why it took so long for the appeal to be heard,
but it won't examine the police investigation and whether the
former bank manager should have been charged.
Commissioner
Antonio Lamer also will examine the cases of Randy Druken and
Gregory Parsons. Both men were convicted of murder and later
cleared. Parsons is the only man to whom the province has offered
an apology.
Mandate falls
short
The Justice
Department maintains the system works, because Dalton was released
on appeal, but he says that doesn't go far enough.
"They've
left that perception out there by refusing to acknowledge that
we have three wrongful convictions, mine and others," he
says. "They're basically saying 'you got away with murder.
What are you complaining about?'" Dalton says.
"I'm not
satisfied that there's a real honest search for the truth in
all this as much as it is a political attempt to whitewash the
thing, and to get it off the front burner with an election pending,"
Dalton says.
No sign inquiry
broadened
Bob Simmonds,
one of Dalton's lawyers, says the provincial government drew
up terms of reference that are too narrow. He says the government
also has ignored continuing calls to expand the mandate to recognize
Dalton was wrongfully convicted.
In a 50-page submission to the commissioner, Jerome Kennedy,
Dalton's second lawyer, argues the government drew the terms
of reference to quell public outcry and protect people in authority.
"This
government does not have a track record of dealing with these
cases fairly," he says.
Simmonds says
if they cannot convince Lamer or the government to broaden the
scope of the inquiry, there will be another opportunity after
the provincial election, if the PCs are elected.
This
is another of the all too common cases of wrongful murder convictions
happening in Canada. What follows are samples of the news coverage
of this case. See also Globe and Mail news story By Kirk Makin,
August 31, 2000
| Globe
and Mail op-ed piece September 1, 2000 . These articles address the problems
in the Newfoundland justice system (which closely resemble the
problems in Saskatchewan justice.)
CBC Report on Ronald Dalton's jury
acquittal,
June, 2000
From Newfoundland
Hansard, , 98./6/1
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. OTTENHEIMER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions
this afternoon are for the Acting Minister of Justice or Attorney
General. They have to do with a decision last week, a unanimous
decision as rendered by the Court of Appeal, dealing with the
matter of Mr. Ronald Dalton. At that time, Mr. Dalton's second-degree
murder conviction was set aside and a new trial was ordered.
My question
to the acting minister relates to the fact that in part, Mr.
Speaker, the Court of Appeal says the following: The resolution
of this appeal leaves unanswered the deeply troubling question
of how this man could have passed eight years of his life in
jail before substantial grounds challenging the integrity of
his conviction were brought on for a hearing.
Mr. Speaker,
there are many important issues, many fundamental issues of justice
that are contained in this particular decision. I ask the Acting
Minister of Justice and Acting Attorney General: Has this decision
been reviewed by the department or by government generally? And
what steps are presently being taken to review this very important
decision?
8 years in a Newfoundland
prison, finally, a new trial and acquittal for Prince Edward
Island man, Ronald Dalton
Wednesday,
April 19, 2000
The murder
trial of Ronald Dalton continued today at Supreme Court in St.
John's. Today the province's former chief forensic pathologist
said he doesn't have any doubt Brenda Dalton was strangled, in
1988
But Dr. Charles
Hutton admitted he was surprised the police arrested her husband
as fast as they did. Even before the autopsy was finished, Dr.
Charles Hutton told the police he believed Brenda Dalton was
strangled. Five or 6 hours later her husband, Ronald Dalton was
arrested for her murder.
Today Hutton
told the court that surprised him. He said he still had work
to do with the case. He was surprised the police didn't wait
until the next day when he examined Brenda Dalton again. But
Hutton said his opinion still remains the same. He doesn't believe
her husband's account of what happened the night she died.
In a letter
to his lawyer before his first trial, Ronald Dalton said his
wife choked to death on cereal. He said she was coughing and
he tried to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. But Hutton
said choking is a silent death. He told the court that a person
can't cough when they're choking. Hutton will be back on the
stand tomorrow. Sherry Banfield CBC news St. John's.
May 9, 2000
A professor
from the United Kingdom dismissed theories today that Brenda
Dalton was strangled or smothered. Bernard Knight was testifying
at the murder trial of Dalton's husband. Ronald Dalton is accused
of killing his wife almost 12 years ago, in Gander.
Bernard Knight
is a professor of forensic pathology. He's written books and
he's been honored by the Queen for his work. Today he told the
jury, Brenda Dalton died of reflex cardiac arrest. Knight said
he believes the arrest was triggered by something in the woman's
airway. She became afraid, that fear caused various physiological
affects that eventually caused Brenda Dalton's heart to shut
down.
Ronald Dalton's
lawyer Jerome Kennedy showed Knight a box of harvest crunch cereal,
the type that was in Dalton's house the night she died. Kennedy
asked the professor if it's possible to choke to death on it,
and Knight said yes. The professor also said it's possible to
cough when a person is choking, even though two experts who testified
for the crown said it's not. Knight also shot down the theory
of Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a crown witness who testified that Brenda
Dalton was smothered. Knight said Di Maio's theory is unacceptable
speculation and it's based on zero fact.
Another forensic
expert told a jury today, he doesn't think Ronald Dalton killed
his wife. Brenda Dalton died in Gander, in 1988. The crown believes
she was either strangled or smothered. But today a doctor from
England dismissed both of those theories. Sherry Banfield has
the story.
Pathologist
Dr. Harry Emson flipped through Brenda Dalton's autopsy photos
as he told the court he believes her husband's story. Emson said
he's convinced Brenda Dalton inhaled cereal into her larynx.
He believes that prompted a muscular spasm which caused her heart
to stop. Emson based his theory on the fact there was cereal
found at the scene and in the back of Brenda Dalton's mouth.
He also put
a lot of weight on Ronald Dalton's account of what happened.
Emson said if Dalton hadn't said his wife choked to death on
cereal, he would've ruled the death as undetermined. Emson rejected
the conclusions of two of the crown's key witnesses. One of those
witnesses was a medical examiner from Texas who testified the
woman was smothered. The other witness was Dr. Charles Hutton,
this province's former chief forensic pathologist. Emson accused
Hutton of having a preconception that Brenda Dalton was strangled.
The trial is expected to wrap up some time in June. .Sherry
Banfield CBC news St. John's.
Friday, June
23: The jury in the Ronald Dalton murder trial is entering its
third day of deliberations. Dalton, a former bank manager, is
accused of killing his wife in Gander in 1988. He was convicted
of the crime one year later. But then in 1998, Newfoundland's
Court of Appeal ordered a new trial. The jurors in that trial
started deliberating on Wednesday. Yesterday they asked to hear
the testimony of one witness again. The jurors stopped deliberating
at about 7 o'clock yesterday evening. They'll resume later this
morning.
Thursday, April
20, 2000
At a murder
trial in St. John's today, a lawyer accused the province's former
forensic pathologist of exaggerating. Dr. Charles Hutton testified
at the trial of Ronald Dalton. Dalton is accused of killing his
wife, in 1988. Hutton says he strangled her.
Dalton's lawyer
Jerome Kennedy grilled Hutton for the second day in a row. He
accused Hutton of being prone to over exaggeration and over interpretation.
He compared Hutton's testimony at this trial to Dalton's first
trial, in 1989. In the first trial Hutton said Brenda Dalton
had signs of assault. He testified there were 25 to 30 fresh
injuries on her body. But at this trial Hutton said she had double
that number.
Kennedy asked
Hutton why the number of injuries has gone up now that's he's
under attack. Hutton said at the first trial he estimated, but
he said this time he did an actual count to be more precise.
At times, the exchanges between Kennedy and Hutton became heated.
The lawyer
referred Hutton to some of the marks on Dalton's body. He asked
Hutton if he'd call one mark that was less than an inch long
major. Hutton said no, it wasn't. He also admitted that 5 of
the marks on Dalton's body were just a millimetre long. Sherry
Banfield CBC news St. John's.
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
