Wife of wrongfully convicted man says government 'waiting for him to die'

The wife of a wrongfully convicted man is trying to get the New Brunswick government moving on her husband's demand for compensation.

Erin Michael Walsh was acquitted in March by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal on a 1975 murder conviction.

Walsh, who spent 10 years in jail on the murder conviction and nearly two decades more behind bars for subsequent offences including parole violations, is now suffering from terminal colon cancer.

Angela Walsh blames the provincial government for dragging out a deal on compensation.

"I cannot keep silent anymore," Angela Walsh told reporters in Fredericton on Friday morning. "The government knows Erin could die at any time, but they continue to drag this on, for a reason that can only mean that they are waiting for him to die so their debt to Erin and our family goes unpaid. My heart breaks for him every day."

Justice Minister T.J. Burke rejected the assertion that the province is stalling the legal proceedings.

"The province denies any attempt to delay the trial of this matter for any reason," Burke said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. 

"Significant delays have occurred in bringing the civil matter to trial. However, these delays result primarily from the failure of the plaintiffs' counsel to disclose further relevant documents to the defendants. The production of these documents was ordered by the court on May 30, 2008, following a long period of denial by the plaintiffs that these documents were relevant. To date, these documents have not been disclosed."

Burke said it is not normal for the attorney general to comment on matters in front of a court, but he felt the public was being "misled."

Angela Walsh would not comment on how much the family is seeking in compensation. By comparison, Steven Truscott received $6.5 million for his wrongful 1959 murder conviction.

Considering Erin Walsh's failing health, a provision in the Survivor of Actions Act in New Brunswick is worrying the family. The clause means if Walsh dies during the delays in his civil case, any financial settlement could be severely reduced.

The law states if a person dies, the only damages that can be awarded are for an actual loss to the person or their estate, and cannot include payments for "loss of expectation of life, pain and suffering."

Erin Walsh has a lawsuit pending versus the provincial government, the Saint John police and the Crown prosecutor involved in his 1975 murder trial.

Too ill to travel

Angela Walsh said she doesn't think the family could ever fully heal if her husband dies before a resolution is achieved in his case.

Erin Walsh didn't make the trip to Fredericton from his home in Kingston, Ont., because he is too ill to travel, his wife said.

She said her husband, who looked pale and gaunt in March when the Court of Appeal acquitted him, is fighting to stay alive so he can see the end of his legal battle.

Sean MacDonald, a lawyer for the wrongfully convicted Ontario man, said the Walsh family just wants to see the Department of Justice agree with the findings of the Court of Appeal.

"What the family is really looking for is for the government to agree with the findings of the Court of Appeal, to avoid a long trial. It's going to take months and months and months to even get to a court and at that point, you know, it's quite likely that Erin is not going to be sitting there to see justice done," MacDonald said.

MacDonald said the family is looking for compensation to get some closure.

"They are simply looking for justice the same way as the other wrongfully convictees in Canada have received justice," he told reporters.

Case heard quickly

Walsh's case was the first time a New Brunswick murder conviction has ever been reviewed by the Court of Appeal, and in March the judges heard the case with unconventional speed because of Walsh's deteriorating health.

The Walsh appeal revolved around five pieces of fresh evidence that weren't before the court in 1975 and that, his lawyers argued, were never disclosed to the defence team. Among the withheld evidence was a statement written by a detective concerning cell block conversations he overheard shortly after the killing of Melvin Eugene (Chi Chi) Peters.

Other crucial evidence not disclosed to the defence at the first trial were the statements of seven railway workers who Walsh asked to call the police after a scuffle at Tin Can Beach in Saint John and just prior to the shooting of Peters.