# data[].attributes.headline
Walsh's Fight for Exoneration and Fight against Cancer

# data[].attributes.subject
Walsh's Fight for Exoneration and Fight against Cancer

# data[].attributes.headline
The Unfortunate Truth of Wrongful Convictions

# data[].attributes.subject
The Unfortunate Truth of Wrongful Convictions

# data[].attributes.body
This is a video of a man by the name of Jeffrey Deskovic who was wrongly convicted and served sixteen years in prison. Jeffrey was released and received $41.6 million dollars for his wrongful conviction. He now spends his days raising awareness for those that were wrongfully convicted, and also helping those that were exonerated reintegrate back into society. Deskovic was a wrongfully convicted person like Walsh. Though, at least he is young enough to live his life and inspire others though his media and personal experience. On the other hand, Walsh passed away quickly after he was released from prison. This means that he did not have much time to spend with his family or enjoy his freedom. Unfortunately, this truly shows the injustice of wrongful conviction, which is explained thoroughly in the video. Had the justice system taken the time to review the evidence in Walsh's case, he would not have had to spend 33 years in prison, and would have been able to spend time with his kids and live better life: happy and free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The true injustice of wrongful conviction | Jeffrey Deskovic | TEDxMarthasVineyard

# data[].attributes.headline
Canadian National Railway (CN/CNR) Workers 

# data[].attributes.subject
Canadian National Railway (CN/CNR) Workers 

# data[].attributes.body
The CNR workers played an important role in the story of Erin Walsh. Firstly, when Walsh was attacked by Walton, MacMillan and Peters at the beach, he ran to the the CNR workers because they were the closest to him. Walsh asked them to call the police because he had just been assaulted. It does not go into further information about the conversation between Walsh and the workers, but it can be noted that the CNR workers are clear witnesses. This can be seen in the Titus report: a report that recorded a conversation that a police officer overheard in which MacMillan and Walton spoke about framing Walsh. It also had statements by many Canadian National Railway Workers that supported Walsh's story about MacMillan being the assailant and not him. This is why the CNR workers are so crucial to the exoneration of Walsh because it is their statements in the Titus report that set him free.

# data[].attributes.body
Walsh spent ten years in prison for the murder of Melvin Peters. In addition, He was in and out of custody for twenty-three years after that for breaching parole requirements. After many all of those years without freedom, Walsh's final wish before he passed away was to be acquitted for his wrongful murder conviction. He got his wish in 2008 and thanked his family and God for sticking by his side to support him along this tough journey.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
FREDERICTON-A dying Ontario man has been granted a last, great wish: to be acquitted of a murder he was wrongly convicted of almost 33 years ago in New Brunswick.

Erin Walsh, who is in the final stages of terminal colon cancer, cried and hugged his wife and his lawyers Friday after a panel of judges with the province's Appeal Court quashed his murder conviction and entered an acquittal.

Erin Walsh of Kingston, Ont., escorted by his lawyer Sean MacDonald, arrives at court in Fredericton, N.B., where he was acquitted of a 1975 murder conviction, on March 14, 2008. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Walsh shakily stood up from his wheelchair and thanked the three high court judges.

"Please accept my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of my family and myself," he said, leaning heavily on a cane. "This is a tremendous relief for me."

The Appeal Court moved with uncharacteristic speed in considering Walsh's case.

The unorthodox hearing, expedited because of Walsh's illness, came about after both federal and New Brunswick justice officials agreed there likely had been a miscarriage of justice.

Walsh, 59, of Kingston, Ont., was convicted in October 1975, of using a sawed-off shotgun to fatally shoot Melvin (Chi Chi) Peters in Saint John, N.B.

He served 10 years in prison before getting parole and has been in and out of custody since for parole violations.

Walsh has never claimed to be an angel, but has always maintained he was innocent of the murder. He desperately wanted the stain of that conviction removed from his life.

The acquittal came about after Walsh himself uncovered information and documents relating to his case that had not been presented to the jury during the trial. The information included evidence suggesting another person had actually shot Peters.

"This means I'm a free man," a euphoric Walsh told reporters outside the courthouse.

"Freedom now means something to me. It's not just a word. It's something I'm going to wear every day of my life just like I wore my captivity."

Walsh's lawyer, James Lockyer of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, said the acquittal is a great ending to a difficult story.

"Erin has spent a lot of time in prison, as did so many of the others," Lockyer said of the wrongly convicted.

"He was in less time than David Milgaard and longer than Donald Marshall. They're all tragedies in their own way but they are also great endings to all the stories. Today was a tremendous ending to Erin's case."

Walsh has filed a lawsuit against the prosecutor from his 1975 trial, as well as police officials. But he didn't have much to say Friday about the civil case.

"It's not something I'm thinking about right now," he said. ``It will be pursued vigorously but I can't say anything more.

"My focus has been on vindication."

The man who prosecuted Walsh, William McCarroll, is now a provincial court judge in Saint John.

Peters was shot to death in a car jammed with five people, including Walsh, after a long day of drinking and carousing in Saint John.

Walsh, who was transporting illegal drugs in his car, said the men he had been drinking with tried to rob him.

There was a gun, a struggle and the gun went off, killing Peters. Walsh insisted he didn't pull the trigger, but police and prosecutors treated it like an open-and-shut case.

It took a jury only four hours to convict Walsh.

Walsh got a break in 2005 when he asked for and received documents from the New Brunswick Archives relating to his case.

Included in the material was a jail cell conversation between two of the men who had been in the car. One asked the other why he shot Peter, but the two ended up fingering Walsh for the crime and testifying for the prosecution.

McCarroll has defended his decision to ignore the information, saying it was "the jabbering of drunks."

But the Appeal Court judges said the jail house talk and other evidence should have been presented because it could have raised reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.

Walsh said his family, his lawyers and his strong faith in God helped him keep fighting to clear his name.

"This is the best day of my life," he said. "I've been working hard towards it for 33 years and finally it's here.

"I want to thank God who has kept me strong throughout this ordeal, and my family and my lawyers."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dying man acquitted of 1975 murder conviction | The Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
FREDERICTON-A dying Ontario man has been granted a last, great wish: to be acquitted of a murder he was wrongly convicted of almost 33 years ago in New Brunswick. Erin Walsh, who is in the final stages of terminal colon cancer, cried and hugged his wife and his lawyers Friday after a panel of judges with the province's Appeal Court quashed his murder conviction and entered an acquittal.

# data[].attributes.body
The importance of the shotgun to this case, is the role it played in finding Walsh guilty. While Walsh was in the car with MacMillan, Walton, Ferguson and Peters, the gun fired and killed Peters. This gun fire lead to a four day trial before a judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick and a jury. Here he was charged with an indictable offence and received the sentence of life in prison for second degree murder of Melvin "ChiChi" Peters under Section 231 (7) of the Criminal Code.

# data[].attributes.body
This article describes the issue that Walsh was truly fighting two battles: the first to be exonerated for a crime he did not commit, and terminal cancer. Walsh's ultimate goal was to have his name cleared, not only for himself but for his family. In order to be exonerated, Walsh took a very stern tone against McCarrol, who was the prosecutor at the time of the first trial, due to the fact that Walsh believed that McCarrol failed to disclose important evidence. The article concludes by saying that regardless of the outcome regarding compensation, that everyone should act respectfully because Walsh deserved dignity in his final days. This article does not disclose final information on his exoneration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In a race against time to exonerate a dying man, New Brunswick conceded yesterday that 59-year-old Erin Walsh's conviction for a 1975 murder was likely a miscarriage of justice.

In the case - apparently New Brunswick's first wrongful conviction - the province's Court of Appeal could overturn Mr. Walsh's non-capital murder conviction within a month.

If Mr. Walsh is fully exonerated in the shooting of Melvin "Chi Chi" Peters, he will have spent longer in prison than any previous victim of a wrongful conviction. Factoring in a series of parole revocations that added years to his sentence, the father of five spent almost 28 years behind bars.

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson yesterday referred the case to the N.B. Court of Appeal because "there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred."

New Brunswick Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau scheduled a hearing for March 14 to decide whether Mr. Walsh deserves a complete exoneration before he dies of cancer.

In an interview, Mr. Walsh said that the Crown's offer of a stay of proceedings falls short of what it would take to allow him to rest easy.

"Unfortunately, time isn't on my side, and so it looks like it will end in the Court of Appeal," he said. "So, the important thing to me is that, when I lay my head down for that final time, that I lay it down with my conviction overturned. Finally, I will die with the law treating me as an innocent man.

"What has kept me alive is my faith, the support of my family and the hope that the day would come when I would wake up and this nightmare was finally over," he said.

Mr. Walsh's defence team - Phil Campbell, Sean MacDonald, James Lockyer and Gus Camelino - were exultant yesterday, but they emphasized that time is running out.

"When we think that justice is close at last, we are brought back to earth by the realization that Erin will have only a few weeks to enjoy it, after living with injustice for three decades," Mr. Campbell said in an interview. "Now, with Erin dying and the case back before the court, it still feels like we are staggering to the finish line and desperately hoping we get there before he drops."

On Aug. 11, 1975, Mr. Walsh and a travelling companion - George Ferguson - befriended three local roustabouts after pulling into Saint John. A 24-hour drinking binge ended in the shooting death of Mr. Peters.

Key to yesterday's dramatic development were two elements of evidence that were not given to the defence before Mr. Walsh's trial. The first was statements from a group of CNR workers that corroborate Mr. Walsh's account of pleading for their help shortly before he ended up in the car with Mr. Peters and his associates where the shooting took place.

In addition, the defence was unaware that within an hour or two of the killing, police overheard Mr. Peters' friends apparently cooking up a plan to frame Mr. Walsh.

"Dumped in a cell by police trying to figure it all out, the two friends agreed on a story that protected each of them - and put Erin Walsh in prison for most of his life," Mr. Campbell said. "The fact that the police were making notes as the collusion occurred - and the jury heard nothing of it - was inexcusable."

The two Crown witnesses, David Walton and Donald McMillan, testified that Mr. Walsh shot Mr. Peters because he hated black people.

The jury had no trouble rejecting Mr. Walsh's claim that Mr. Peters was accidentally shot during a struggle for possession of a sawn-off shot gun that one of Mr. Peters' associates had aimed at his chin, and that the men stole drugs and money from him.

Mr. MacDonald noted that the jury took less than an hour to convict Mr. Walsh. "With the power of his case today, as we now know it, there is not a jury in this country that would not acquit him in half that time," he said.

Unlike many individuals who are wrongfully convicted, Mr. Walsh was a vagabond scofflaw who sold hard drugs, drank liquor to excess, and got himself in and out of trouble as he drove about North America in an aging Cadillac.

Mr. Walsh was at a terrible disadvantage at his trial. Not only was it easy for the Crown to paint him as a lawless drifter, but shortly before the trial, he took his lawyer and several correctional officers hostage at the local jail. He released them after several hours, but the incident received massive publicity.

"I have never claimed to be an angel," Mr. Walsh said yesterday. "What I have claimed is that I am a wrongfully convicted man. All I am asking is that I get justice."

Mr. Lockyer praised New Brunswick's attorney-general yesterday for "a spirit of co-operation that I hope we will see in future cases in other provinces. All too often, prosecutors deny even the obvious in a case like this," he said in an interview.

However, a civil lawsuit launched last year by Mr. Walsh carried a sharply different tone. It accused police and prosecutors in the case of targeting him in a manner that was "malicious, high-handed, outrageous, reckless, wanton, entirely without care, intentional, deliberate, callous, disgraceful, willful, exploitative, and in disregard of Erin's rights and indifferent to the consequences."

It alleged that prosecutor McCarroll, now a New Brunwick Provincial Court judge, failed to disclose key evidence that would almost certainly have demolished the charge against him and spared him the loss of his freedom and a prison life dominated by psychiatric turmoil and physical abuse.

"Erin has always known that the only beneficiaries of the lawsuit would be his family," Mr. MacDonald said. "He is living out his final days in semi-poverty. The lawsuit has always been primarily a vehicle to secure justice for Erin. My hope is that with respect to compensation that all the parties involved act swiftly and fairly before Erin dies. He deserves that."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dying man in a race against time to clear his name

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In a race against time to exonerate a dying man, New Brunswick conceded yesterday that 59-year-old Erin Walsh's conviction for a 1975 murder was likely a miscarriage of justice. In the case - apparently New Brunswick's first wrongful conviction - the province's Court of Appeal could overturn Mr. Walsh's non-capital murder conviction within a month.

# data[].attributes.body
In this interview with Walsh, he first discusses the new evidence that he brought to court. This new evidence was the Titus report. He speaks about how it was ignored for years and it was this that could have freed him years ago. Walsh then goes to discuss the prognosis of his terminal colon cancer and ends the interview with a positive message about living a happily free life. The video finishes by stating that Walsh passed away at the age of 63.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The story of If Justice Fails begins on a hot, summer afternoon in 1975, in Saint John, New Brunswick. Guilty in Shooting of Chi Chi Peters A carload of petty criminals, a drunken tussle, a blast from a loaded shotgun. One man, Melvin 'Chi Chi' Peters, dies.

# data[].attributes.body
After being imprisoned for 33 years, Walsh decided to apply to submit new evidence to the court for an appeal on his conviction for he believed that a miscarriage of justice occurred. The Court of Appeal recognized his evidence and acquitted him on March 14, 2008. The picture below shows the face of a free man who is no longer a convicted murderer.

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains the full story of Erin Walsh. It outlines the scene of the crime, the trial, the explanation of the miscarriage of justice, and why he was wrongfully convicted. This article clearly explains why Walsh should have never have been imprisoned and how key evidence was ignored.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We've helped exonerate 21 innocent people since 1993.

# data[].attributes.body
This video depicts the overall understanding and conclusion of the Erin Walsh case. It explains the situation of the crime, and outlines his conviction. The video continues to reiterate that in 1975, Walsh was sentenced to life in prison. In 2008, Walsh's sentence was overturned and his case was ruled a miscarriage of justice. The video ends by explaining that Walsh accepted an out of court settlement, but shortly after passed away from colon cancer.