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The reason i chose to include this website/ article into my project was because it gave an extensive overview of the case in 1993 and the reasoning of it's conclusion to put mr. mullins johnson in jail. As well as the reasoning behind his release from prison and expert views on the case, and law to why he should never have been put away in the first place. To briefly summarize this article is starts by stating the intial timing of the events that followed before and after valin's death which were that bill feel asleep after the kids went to be, his sister in law came home to find valid in bed and bill woke to the screams. Soon after it explains that smith came to the conclusion that it was murder and sexual and assault as well as having to be bill because he was the only one home. it continues by saying that, he was found guilt in a court of law for the charges of first degree murder and child sexual assault. In addition, the article says that his case was opened as an appeal and was seen other addition information as a miscarriage of justice and was let go. Moreover, it think that this case gave great connection to our course because it showed that expert's insights on case's. And that a jury shouldn't convict an individual because of given minimal evidence both in the court room and in the lab. But it ultimately i found it showed that the police, jury, and the forensic office can come to mislead conclusions and evidently should never be the only thing to lead to a conviction. For example, our course says that aspects such as forensic, theoretic, physical evidence should always tie the suspect to the crime. In this case clearly tunnel vision played a part.

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Canada reports: R. v. Mullins-Johnson, 2007 ONCA 720 - 19 October 2007

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The death of a child is always tragic. In this case, the tragedy of four-year-old Valin Johnson's death is compounded by the fact her uncle, William Mullins-Johnson, was wrongfully convicted of her murder and spent twelve years in prison.

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I chose to include this video into the my project because it gave an accused perspective of the case and what Bill had to go through when at jail, and at the appeals trying to getting someone and anyone to listen to him and his plead of overall inosense in a case where evidence was created to find a culprit. To summarize this video it start with a teacher explain to his students mr Mullins-johnsons situation and some malfunctions that lead to his conviction. It continues with bill describing his experience first before he was arrested and then the events leading to his arrest such as the police storming in just hours after leaving the investigation of his niece. I found this video to have great significance to our course given the fact that it's a class room setting with students asking question about his process. Now it has in this video he dives a lot more into personal experience when being incarcerated. When incarnated he was disrespected by security as well as process people inside some saying very disturbing comments. I found this extremely shocking given that our principals for incarcerated civilians are to treat them with respect and to rehabilitate them back into society especially ones that constantly plead their innocence. So for me this was just eye opening and showed direct correlation to our content but showed it to be completely wrong In his case.

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William Mullins-Johnson: A Terrible Miscarriage of Justice - January 15, 2010

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i chose to include this video into my project because it gives extremely in-depth information into the family, the case, and is a strong visual representation of everything to do with the case including the lasting effects it caused. To summarize this video, it starts with an introduction in to the case of william mullins-johnson and the overall distruction it has cause to him as well as thought around him. The video dives into each individual member of his family and give their point of view on the matter both past and present. The host of the show ask's many question to why this happened and why did the experts get it so wrong. It end's with sad remarks and how the family is coping with everything they have gone through but in the end bill explain that this isn't just a happily ever after or a beautiful rose garden their will be scares and some wounds will never heal. Now to conclude, i chose this video for specific three specfic reasons. one being it really shows the flaws in our justice system in that the crown relied on small evidence and didn't expand for the truth. two, our police were talked about and didn't correctly do their jobs even failing their first principle "police exist to prevent crime and disorder" and being blinded by their lack of investigation fail the society and bill. and third and final bill was released but wasn't helped back into society with integration programs or other such help.

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William Mullins-Johnson wrongful conviction : A Death in the Family (2009) - The Fifth Estate

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A Death in the Family is the story of William Mullins-Johnson, his wrongful first-degree murder conviction, and how that guilty verdict shattered his family. In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on June 27, 1993, four-year-old Valin Johnson was found dead in her bed.

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The reason i chose to include this video in my project was because of it's simplicity and the factual information it gave on the course really creating a great overview of what happened from start to finish in Bill's case. As well it gives a first person perspective on the events that unfolded in this case. To briefly summarize this video it is a first hand back and forth style conversation where Bill is giving an overview of what happened the night of valin's death. It continues by him telling us the brutality of the interviews and other things once he was arrested. The video gives an overview of mr smith as well as another pathologists views on the matter at hand. It continues by stating a certain law in Canada that states their is not such thing as factual inosence in canada but only the case the crown provides and the verdict it renders. The video end with question on his life prior to jail and shows how he is coping with everything as well as his happiness to final be out. The relevance of this video to the course is mainly given by its content. It dives deeply and much cover's all aspects to why a wrongful conviction could have been given. The tunnel vision of the police and crown as well as pressure to convict show well in this case when Bill provides information that the cop's interrogated through the night on no sleep. As well as flaw forensics and testimony are exploited when another expert says he was completely wrong on analysis of the obtopsy and initial cause of death.

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i chose this photo to be a part of the project because it really shows Mr. Mullins-johnson's emotion after being released from spending 12 years of his life in jail for a crime he didn't commit and evidently no one committed. to summarize the photo, this soon after mullins was released and is showing great excitement upon getting out of jail. This photos connection to our course is obvious in the fact that this is showing him after his release from prison after a long appeal process and final acceptance and annulment of his crime.

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i chose this photo to be a part of my project because it shows the effects a brutal trail of emotion and how devistating it would be to lose a niece and within a extremely short period of time be accused and convicted of her murder. To summarize this photo, this is photo is during Mr Mullins trail and he is crying because he is in disbelief an agony of what he is being accused of while trying to prove his innocence. This photos relevance to our course content is the picture it creates of gruelling process of the system can present and what it can be like to be on the stand abiding by all the rules.

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The reason i chose this article to be a part of my project was because of the information it provides on Mr Mullins-Johnson's wrong conviction, as well as how addition information it add's on his appeal and overall release from prison. To summarize this article it start by saying the sometimes justice can move slow or swiftly and in mr mullins-johnsons case it was both. The article continues by stating that the case dates back to 1993 on a grief morning of valin's death, and that their had been signs of strangulation, assault and that the crown said it could be none other than the uncle. The crown got what they wish and he was convicted of first degree murder, and after years of pleading his innocence mr. mullins-johnson was released after concerns on the pathologists evidence and testimony. moreover, on his day in court he plead his case in tears that he was awoken to the news of her death by the screams of his sister in law. in continuation, it further says that the court was in agreement with mr mullen because of incorrect or non existent evidence used on him. furthermore, the attorney general as well as the courts officially
send their apologies for the miscarriage in justice but mr. mullins johnsons life as he says in the article was torn apart by this and ends saying this isn't the first time in such long delays of justice. To conclude, this article has relevance to both the topic at hand and course is because the content is featured on the case. In addition, this article contents show relevance to the course by written exploitation of wrongful conviction by flawed forensic's and expert testimony and is exemplified in the article by the information given on Mr smith. It also show's the lack of an open mind and tunnel vision which is showed throughout the article because no other possibilities were looked at except for Bill killing his niece.

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Sometimes the wheels of justice grind slowly. Sometimes, they move with lightning speed. Both apply to the incredibly tragic case of William Mullins-Johnson. The Sault Ste. Marie native who spent 12 years in jail for killing his niece has officially been exonerated in a Toronto courtroom.

The case goes back to 1993, when four-year-old Valin Johnson was discovered dead early one morning by grief stricken relatives. Forensic evidence appeared to show she'd been physically assaulted and strangled and the Crown used it to point the finger at her uncle. They managed to secure a first-degree murder conviction and Mullins-Johnson was sent to jail for a dozen years, all the while pleading his innocence. His was finally released in 2005 on appeal after concerns were raised about the evidence of a pathologist employed by the government.

The convicted killer finally had his day before the Ontario Court of Appeals on Monday, giving gut-wrenching testimony about that terrible morning so many years ago.

"I was sleeping on the couch," he recalled, frequently breaking down in tears. "And the next thing I hear was Kim barreling down the stairs. She was crying, screaming. She, uh- she woke me up out of my sleeping with all that noise. And I asked her what was wrong. Then she told me that Valin was dead. I couldn't believe my ears, and I yelled back to her, 'What?!' And she screamed back at me, 'Valin's dead!'"

When the Crown stood up and agreed there was a miscarriage of justice in the case, his vindication seemed assured. "An acquittal is really required in this case," Crown prosecutor Ken Campbell told the three-judge panel, adding that six world-renowned experts found "no evidence of homicide and no evidence of sexual injury" to suggest Valin was sodomized and strangled. That was the initial finding of forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, whose work is now the subject of an inquiry.

Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen, testified that Smith misread the injuries used to come to the assertion that the girl had been assaulted and murdered. "The autopsy findings cannot sustain that there were any injuries to the neck or anus," Pollanen said, adding that he could not determine a cause of death. "This was a misinterpretation at the original autopsy."

That's what Mullins-Johnson has maintained all along. "With every accusation, I responded back with 'I didn't do it. I didn't do it.'" But not many believed him.

Pollanen claims it's too late to figure out what actually caused Valin Johnson's death. But he's sure it wasn't murder.

This time, the convicted man's vindication did not take long. The accused who had been suspected of raping and killing a young child he'd always loved and protected was fully exonerated in the afternoon, officially receiving a full apology from Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant.

"I wish to extend our sincere, profound and deepest apology to Mr. Mullins-Johnson and to his family for the miscarriage of justice that occurred in this case, and all that he has had to endure as a result," lawyer Michal Fairburn told the vindicated man.

Mullins-Johnson notes the ordeal has torn his life apart. "It destroyed me. It ruined my name. It ruined my reputation. It ruined any opportunity I had," he adds.

It's not the first time a long delayed journey to justice has occurred in 2007. Earlier this year, Steven Truscott was acquitted in the killing of 12-year-old Lynne Harper in 1959. Truscott's case, like this one, was also considered a miscarriage of justice.

Mullins-Johnson, who now lives in Peterborough, was aided in his quest for clearance by the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, which helped Truscott and other prominent convicted 'killers', including Donald Marshall, Guy Paul Morin and Thomas Sophonow.

There's no word yet on whether Mullins-Johnson will be offered compensation for his agonizing ordeal, an avenue Truscott is also pursuing.

While a not guilty verdict is possible in retrials and appeals, there's no provision to declare that someone wrongfully convicted is actually innocent. Ontario's Attorney General claims that would tarnish people found not guilty, giving them a second class status.

To see unedited video of Mullins-Johnson's emotional testimony, click here.
Mullins-Johnson reaction: "I am an innocent man. I always was."

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Mullins-Johnson Found Not Guilty After Day Of Gut-Wrenching Appeals Testimony - CityNews Toronto

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Sometimes the wheels of justice grind slowly. Sometimes, they move with lightning speed. Both apply to the incredibly tragic case of William Mullins-Johnson. The Sault Ste. Marie native who spent 12 years in jail for killing his niece has officially been exonerated in a Toronto courtroom.

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The reason i chose this article was because it gave some details of the compensation as well as a much more in depth back story into the disaster this created for a family because of this conviction as well as the destruction it caused Mr. mullins-johnsons life to an unenviable second class life.
The article begins by stating when the case began and how valin's supposed murder was committed by her uncle bill and jumps forwards to after being encarcerated for so many year he is now aquitted of his crimes he was once guilty for. It continues by diving into his personal life and talked about how the case has scared him. It ends with how he is still the same man he was before the incident but struggles to cope with life outside now that he's almost 40 years old.  What I found with this article that has a nice connection to our course in the out of correction services that you get. It mentions some help that bill gets from groups he attendeds to talk about his problems in and out of prison. And really shows that it has helped him integrate into society again. In conclusion, this connection shows that not only can our system make a difference but their maybe should be more.

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William Mullins-Johnson is known as Bill to friends, of which he has few.

Five years ago, Mullins-Johnson was released on bail from the Warkworth Institution, the largest federal correctional facility in Canada, pending a review of his 1993 conviction for the rape and murder of his four-year-old niece, Valin Johnson.

In 2007, just about everybody involved in his 12-year incarceration apologized for what turned out to be a wrongful conviction, based largely on the testimony of the Crown's star prosecutor, pathologist Dr. Charles Smith.

Today, Mullins-Johnson, 39, says he may as well still be in a prison cell.

"I largely live the way I lived when I was inside: isolated, untrusting and largely alcohol-free," he said in a recent interview. "I don't go out. I don't go to bars. They're too unpredictable for me. . . . I never know if some punk is going to come up to me and I'd have to throw him through the window."

He speaks from a fast-food restaurant he preferred to meet a reporter in rather than at his home. Though candid about his ordeal, he still doesn't "want people to know my address," he said. "It wouldn't surprise me if a large number of people still believe I'm a murderer and a pedophile."

Mullins-Johnson quietly moved back to Sault Ste. Marie about 18 months ago, partly because "quite honestly, I should never have been pushed out of here. This is my home," he said. "I'm a (Soo) Greyhounds fan. I'm a Sault boy."

Most of his family is still here, including his mother, Laureena Hill, the only one who never doubted his innocence. The rest were slower to stop perceiving him as a monster, especially his brother Paul, Valin's father.

The family is "healing" after so many years, Mullins-Johnson said, and Paul "seems to be alright. Him and I are back together again."

His move was also after an aborted attempt to earn a criminology degree from the University of Toronto. He finished his transitional year, for mature students without a high-school diploma, and started his first year, but "I was partying too much, having too much fun."

A relationship with a Manitoulin Island woman fizzled around the same time, as did several others over the years. Mullins-Johnson was not the same man who had been sent to prison 17 years ago. Besides receiving counselling for anger management, he has trust issues "like you wouldn t believe."

In prison, "it's so easy to live (because) you know where you stand with people. Out here, it's a harder thing to figure out," he said.

"When people first meet me, they ask me about compensation. . . . I don't know if people want to be with me because of money."

Dr. Smith's victims returned to the headlines last week after Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Attorney General Chris Bentley would release details of a compensation package "very, very shortly."

In October 2008, Justice Stephen Goudge released a 1,000-page report that slammed Smith, along with Ontario's former chief coroner and his deputy, for their roles in wrongful prosecutions and asked the province to consider compensating some 40 innocent people once branded child murderers.

Despite the premier's assurances, those affected by the disgraced pathologist are unlikely to receive money any time soon. Bentley, who set up a team in December 2008 to consider the viability of a compensation process for people wrongly accused, and in some cases convicted due in part to Smith, wouldn't pinpoint a date.

It took longer than expected, but the government is still in the process of coming up with a "short" and "user-friendly" framework that would be used to calculate compensation, Bentley said.

"We're trying to be as respectful as we can of different circumstances that people find themselves in and how the compensation framework, if we can come up with one, will actually be flexible enough to deal with all the differences without being so complex and difficult that it takes forever to get to the conclusion of it."

Mullins-Johnson says he barely keeps track, except when reporters update him with their phone calls. Though he has no source of income or government assistance -- "I'm relying on family and friends to help me out," he said -- he insists whatever compensation awaits him, including a $13-million lawsuit he filed against local medical officials in 2008 that's making its slow way through the legal system, is money he'd gladly trade for his life back.

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know how to deal with compensation. It's more complex than just cutting a cheque."

While he is a changed man, in many ways he's also still that 23- year-old stuck in time, with no employment background to get a job or even a driver's licence. He never used to feel he lost all those years he worked to clear his name behind bars but "now I'm starting to feel it. I'm going to be 40 years old. A lot of women I date don't want to start families," he said. "It's not easy. That's the simple, nice way of saying it."

-- With files from CP

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William Mullins-Johnson a prisoner of the past

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i chose this photo to be a part of my project because it shows the daily struggles Mr. Mullins most likely goes through and what he must confront everyday for the next while of his life. To summarize this photo, this is a while after his release and is talk to many media representative outside of a building most likely in his neighbourhood given the cloths he is wearing. This photos relevance to our school content is the medias pressure to get a conviction which defiantly played a large part in this conviction given the crowns, and police's tunnel vision.