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Bibliography

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/19/romeo-phillion-can-sue-police-for-14m-over-wrongful-conviction.html

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/romeo-phillion-case

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/romeo-phillion-decades-spent-in-prison-for-murder-he-didnt-commit/article27165289/

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4. Was the wrongly convicted person awarded compensation for their situation? If so, how much?

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4. Was the wrongly convicted person awarded compensation for their situation? If so, how much?

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In May 2012, Romeo Phillon launched a $14 million-dollar lawsuit against the Ontario Attorney General, the Ottawa Police Services Board and two former police officers. Romeo alleges that the defendants named in the suit suppressed key evidence in his case which resulted in him being imprisoned for so many years. Mr. Phillion’s lawsuit was originally barred by a lower court, but was reinstated by the Ontario Court of Appeal. Sadly, Romeo tragically passed away on November 2, 2015 without ever receiving any form of compensation for the 31 years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit.

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7. What are you most likely to remember from this research?

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7. What are you most likely to remember from this research?

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We learned that the Criminal Justice System continues to fail. Don’t get me wrong, in many cases justice has been served. What about the cases like Romeo Phillion, where his wrongful conviction stems from the very people who are supposed to serve and protect us. The police lied, covered up, coerced and perjured this entire case. The sad part about it is that this may still be going on today. There are thousands of cases just like Romeo’s where it didn’t come down to the evidence or the facts of the case, it came down to an officer who didn’t want to do paperwork and just wanted to make a quota; have the most arrests in the division. There're a lot of, “dirty cops,” who still do not honor the badge they wear or the oath they took and feel like they have the right to take justice into their own hands. When did a police officer become judge and jury? That’s why there will always be a division between the police and the citizens, you never know who you trust.

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6. What did you learn about the topic that surprised you?

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6. What did you learn about the topic that surprised you?

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When Romeo became eligible for parole he refused to apply because he knew that in order for authorities to grant him parole, he would have to take responsibility for the murder and admit his guilt. For that reason, Romeo is the longest-serving innocent Canadian to have a murder conviction overturned. I also found it interesting that in 1990, while serving his sentence in Frontenac Institution, a minimum-security prison in Canada. On an unauthorized furlough (when a prisoner is allowed to leave the prison and then return), Romeo walked into a bank in downtown Kingston, and robbed it. He walked in and informed the teller that he had a gun and demanded cash. Romeo exited the bank with about $2,000 and caught a cab back to the prison. He was immediately arrested and was later sentenced to an additional four years that was to be served concurrently with his life sentence. What was interesting to me was, when the judge asked Romeo why he did it he answered, “It’s nice to be doing time for something I’m actually guilty of.” I think at that point he lost his purpose to go on and he just wanted to do something where can feel like he’s really serving time for a purpose. He committed a crime now maybe; he wouldn’t be able to mind the time as much.

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5. In your opinion, should a wrongly convicted person be awarded compensationand comment on what you would determine is a satisfactory award (if any).

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5. In your opinion, should a wrongly convicted person be awarded compensationand comment on what you would determine is a satisfactory award (if any).

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In my opinion, a wrongfully convicted person should be compensated for their time. Romeo Phillion spent 31 years in prison for a crime he did not commit while all along professing his innocence. He was robbed of his entire life. His family was robbed of their loved one. That’s 31 years of family gatherings, birthdays, pictures, milestones, and many other moments that’s he can never get back. Yes, at the time he was a juvenile teenager getting into minor trouble, but he was still a human being with rights. Who knows what he could’ve went on to school to became? What about a family? Romeo didn’t get an opportunity to possibly meet someone that he may later marry and have kids. In this case, the victims were not only the family and friends of the victim, but Romeo Phillion, his family, friends and loved ones as well. He needs to be compensated, it’s the only right thing for the courts to do being as they have wronged him. Money can’t buy back time loss, but it can make his life that they ruined and took away, a little easier to transition back into and get by. Romeo deserved to live the remainder of his life feeling at least justified. The courts needed to make things right and instead of doing so, just like his freedom, Romeo had to fight to prove his case in his lawsuit. Had it not been for that day in 1998 when his parole officer handed him that envelope that would later be his key to freedom, Romeo would have lived out the remainder of his years in prison, he deserves justice.  Although Romeo Phillion died unexpectedly at the age of 76, I believe his family should have the right to sue the Province and be compensated on behalf of their loved one. They were victims as well, and some of the money can be used to set up a fund on behalf of Romeo and all the other wrongfully convicted victims who did not get justice.

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In this video  Romeo Phillion discuss the work of three of the Flip Your Wig For Justice Partner Organizations.

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3.Using Chapter 4 of your textbook (page 98), identify and explain how the factor(s) contributed to the wrongful conviction in your case.

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3.Using Chapter 4 of your textbook (page 98), identify and explain how the factor(s) contributed to the wrongful conviction in your case.

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On page 98 in chapter 4 in the McGraw Hill Connect, it’s referring to Wrongful Conviction. The chapter starts by stating, “Perhaps the greatest challenge that faces the criminal justice system is the prospect of the wrongful conviction of innocent defendants.” Out of the six contributing factors listed, we believe only three may apply to Romeo’s case. The contributing factors are:

1. Tunnel vision, where police investigators do not proceed with an open mind;

By the time Romeo was brought in for questioning by police, he already had several interactions with the police which already made him more of a likely suspect. The officers in charge of the case, just happened to lose a lot of crucial pieces of evidence that would’ve resulted in a different outcome at trial.

2.    Mistaken eyewitness testimony;

Leopold’s wife Mildred first gave the Ottawa Police a description of the man who she believed was responsible for killing her husband. The brothers were brought in for a lineup, but Police later learned that Donald (Romeo’s twin brother) had an alibi. Mildred was not 100% positive so Romeo was released. Over the next four years that followed the murder, Mildred identified three other men to be her husband’s killer, but they were all released.

3.    False confessions;

After being arrested in January 1972, for an unrelated matter. Romeo was coerced to confessing to the crime. Romeo was led to believe by Detective Huneault that his lover, Neil told them about the things he bragged about to him, he confessed to murdering Leopold, but recanted his confession to another officer that night. Neil later told police that Romeo confessed to the crime days earlier to him.

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In the video, you can see a very fragile Mr. Phillion desperate seeking justice for his wrongly convicted crimes. He is also looking to clear his name and and finally be a free man, instead of being the prisoner he has been for the last 31 years.

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2.Briefly summarize and explain the situation of your selected wrongly convicted person.

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2.Briefly summarize and explain the situation of your selected wrongly convicted person.

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Romeo Phillion was born in Cobalt, Ontario on April 29, 1939. He was an identical twin born into a family of nine children. During his early teenage years, Romeo was sexually abused and bullied. Shortly after, he inherited a life filled with lies and committing petty crimes to survive. By the time Romeo was 17 had a lengthy criminal record.  Which only made it easier for him to be convicted of a crime that would change his life as he knew it for the next 31 years.

On August 9, 1967 Leopold Roy was stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. His wife who found him laying in his blood told police that she saw the suspect and provided them with a description which led to Romeo and his twin brother Donald being brought into a lineup. Donald had an alibi which clears him, but Mildred, Leopold’s wife later told police that she wasn’t 100% positive that Romeo was the assailant so he was released. Years have gone by since the murder when Romeo is arrested on unrelated charges and while being questioned by Detectives, he was misled to believe that his lover Neil had told the police information that Romeo was bragging to him about. Based on that information, Romeo confessed to the murder, but later recanted. Despite professing his innocence, the Crown believed that they had enough evidence to convict and on November 7, 1972, Romeo Phillion was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of Parole for 10 years. Romeo remained in prison with no hopes of being released until on day in 1998 when his parole officer gave him an envelope containing police reports from his Corrections Canada file. An envelope that would change Romeo’s prison life as he knew it; there was a report prepared by the investigating officer, Detective McCombie on April 12, 1968, that would provide Romeo with an alibi at the of the murder.

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This was capture by the Ottawa Sun who was there when Romeo Pillion got release by The Crown and got apology from Judge Lin Mckaely, that she has regret what has happen to him

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Crown formally withdraws Phillion murder charge

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On July 21, 2003, The Ontario Superior Court release 71-year-old Romeo Philion (centre) on $50,000 bail while the federal justice minister investigates while the federal justice minister investigates whether Mr. Pillion was wrongly convicted. He has spent the last 31 years in jail. (Left Judge Ronald: Judson and Right Judge Wilfred: Ritchie)

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1.Who are you completing your case study on? 

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1.Who are you completing your case study on? 

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Lashawna and I are completing our case study on Romeo Phillion. Romeo Phillion was wrongfully convicted on November 7, 1972 of murder. He went on to serving a total of 31 years in prison before the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned.