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[This edited version of the report has been prepared by Dr Robert N Moles]

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On 14 March 2008 Canadian Press reported “N.B. appeal court to hear unusual appeal of 1975 murder conviction”.

Fredericton — A gravely ill man convicted of a murder in New Brunswick more than 30 years ago was to take part in a highly unusual court hearing Friday that could clear his name. Erin Walsh of Kingston. Ont., was convicted in 1975 of using a sawed-off shotgun to fatally wound Melvin (Chi Chi) Peters in Saint John after a dispute over illegal drugs. Earlier appeals were dismissed. Walsh served 10 years in prison for the crime, but has always maintained his innocence.

In 2005, Walsh uncovered documents in the provincial archives that shed new light on his case. His lawyers then sought a review of the conviction. Last month, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal agreed to hear an appeal after federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said he was satisfied a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Walsh's case. The appeal court must decide to either overturn the conviction and acquit Walsh or to have the charge stayed. Walsh is now 59 and in failing health as he endures the final stages of cancer. "I haven't been a boy scout and I'm no saint," Walsh said in a recent interview. "But nothing in my past prepared me for what I endured as a wrongfully convicted individual."

Sean MacDonald, part of a team of lawyers with the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, has said the documents in question include reports of jailhouse conversations that provide evidence that someone else shot Peters. The information was not given to Walsh's defence lawyers at the time of the trial and was not heard in court.

James Lockyer of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted said he will argue that a stay of proceedings won't be good enough for his client. "He is, after all, an innocent man and in our view he should be acquitted of the charge once and for all." A conviction review can only be granted if all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. It is not considered a substitute for a judicial review or an appeal of a conviction.

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