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October 2, 2024 Innocence Canada and other innocence and social justice groups worldwide will join together in our shared goal of spreading awareness about wrongful convictions.

International Wrongful Conviction Day (IWCD) was launched by Innocence Canada on October 2, 2014.

In recognition of this special milestone year, Innocence Canada, and the International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee (IWCDC) are hosting a IWCD 10th Anniversary Gala Event. This night provides us all the opportunity to recognize, acknowledge and honour the wrongly convicted, their families, advocates and supporters.

EVENT: 10th Anniversary of IWCD

Where: Ontario Bar Association (OBA), Grand Salon, 20 Toronto Street, Toronto, ON

Time: Reception 5:00 pm – 6:45 pm followed by the evening’s program!

Exonerees from across Canada will be attending and participating in the evening’s program. Amongst the exonerees in attendance will be A.J. Woodhouse and Brian Anderson (Manitoba) who were exonerated on July 18, 2023, almost fifty years after they were wrongly convicted and incarcerated. Some of the others that will be attending are Innocence Canada co-president and exoneree, Ron Dalton (Newfoundland), Rob Baltovich (Ontario), William Mullins Johnson
(Ontario) Réjean Hinse (Quebec), Tammy Marquardt (Ontario), Maria Shepherd (Ontario), Dinesh Kumar (Ontario) and Harold Staten from Pennsylvania who was recently released after 34 years of incarceration. Amongst our special guests will be retired Justice Harry LaForme.

During the evenings programme there will be a presentation of the annual Rubin Hurricane Carter Champion of Justice Award, the Tracey Tyler Award, which is given to an individual or group who through the news media, documentary, or film, has helped to expose a wrongful conviction or raise awareness of the issue. The third award being presented is the Donald Marshall Jr. Award named after Canada’s first recognized wrongly convicted person. Some of our special guests will be previous award recipients who include representatives like Jim Williamson, Julian Sher, and David Studer of the Fifth Estate, Susan Milgaard representing her mother, the late Joyce Milgaard,Avery Haines, Madeline McNair of W-Five and Marie Coffin Stewart whose brother Wilbert Coffin was hanged in Quebec in 1956.
“Frank and open discussion about the causes of wrongful convictions can lead to positive change in our criminal justice systems and help reduce future wrongful convictions and avoid the immeasurable suffering of innocent people and their families globally”, said Innocence Canada co-president and exoneree Ron Dalton.
Innocence Canada and the IWCDC are reaching out to communities across Canada to sign proclamations observing October as IWCD in their cities and towns. On this day landmarks buildings, stadiums and bridges will be illuminating to acknowledge the wrongly convicted.
Innocence Canada and the IWCDC encourages the participation and support of individuals, groups, organizations, businesses, schools, churches and ask them to set aside time to focus on wrongful convictions, which can happen to anyone at anytime despite social, ethic, education, or religious backgrounds.
Awareness can be achieved through media releases, book signings, magazine articles, opinion pieces for daily newspapers, interviews, phone-in talk shows, educational forums, presentations by exonerees, vigils, film festivals, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook and You Tube videos.
Background on Innocence Movement
Since its inception in 1993, Innocence Canada has helped in the exonerations of 29 Canadians from across the country. These innocent individuals combined spent more than 250 years in prison. Innocence Canada is currently reviewing over 100 cases of possible wrongful convictions.
For more information and interview requests for exonerees and Innocence Canada representatives please contact:
Win Wahrer: wwahrer@innocencecanada.com