May 23, 1987
Nov 27, 2018
Manitoba
23 years
Frank Ostrowski
On September 24, 1986, Mr. Nieman was shot in his Winnipeg home and died a month later. Frank Ostrowski was accused of hiring the shooters based largely on testimony from Matthew Lovelace, a questionable witness. Convicted in 1987, his appeals to the Manitoba Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada were dismissed. After years of unsuccessful challenges investigations revealed the Crown had secretly struck a deal with Lovelace to drop his cocaine charges in exchange for testimony, and key police reports were withheld.
Legal Materials
The journey
to justice
September 24
Two men broke into Robert Nieman’s residence in Winnipeg and shot him several times when he came home. He died of his wounds a month later. Frank Ostrowski, a hairdresser who also trafficked cocaine, was accused of hiring the two men based on the evidence by a witness named Matthew Lovelace. Frank acknowledged that he was a drug dealer but denied involvement in Nieman’s murder
May
Frank was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility for parole for 25 years
February
The Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal (2-1 majority) and in June, 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his further appeal
Winnipeg police department reviewed his case, 2005 Innocence Canada discovered that the Crown made a deal with the witness, Matthew Lovelace, promising to drop his outstanding cocaine case in exchange for his testimony against Frank
Innocence Canada filed an application to the Minister of Justice
Court of Queen’s Bench released Ostrowski on bail and judge expressed serious concerns about his conviction
November
With the Crown’s consent, the Court of Appeal found that a miscarriage of justice occurred and quashed his conviction. The Crown entered a stay of proceedings. In 2020, Frank filed a civil suit and there is no public record regarding the settlement
Today the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Peter MacKay, announced that he was sending Frank Ostrowski’s murder conviction back to the Manitoba Court of Appeal for it to be re-considered by the Court.
Innocence Canada lawyers James Lockyer and Alan Libman will be appearing today before the Manitoba Court of Appeal at 10:00 a.m. to ask that Frank be allowed to remain on bail until the Court of Appeal hears his appeal.
A History of Mr. Ostrowski’s Prosecution
On September 24, 1986 two men broke into Mr. Nieman’s residence in Winnipeg, laid in wait for him, and shot him several times when he came home. He died of his wounds a month later.
Frank was accused of having hired the two men who committed the murder based on the evidence of a highly questionable witness named Matthew Lovelace. Frank was convicted in May, 1987 after a trial before Mr. Justice Darichuk and a jury in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg.
In February, 1989, the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal and in June, 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his further appeal.
Since then, he has tried every avenue possible to challenge his conviction. He managed to convince the Winnipeg Police Department to review his case in 1994 but to no avail. He went to private investigators and lawyers for help.
Then, in 2002, he came to Innocence Canada (then AIDWYC) and asked for help with his case.
In 2005, Innocence Canada discovered that the Crown had made a deal with the witness Lovelace-in exchange for his testimony against Frank, Lovelace’s outstanding cocaine case would be dropped. In his trial testimony, Lovelace and the Crown prosecuting Frank, George Dangerfield,
flatly denied such an arrangement had been made.
Innocence Canada also discovered that a highly significant police report, which helped show that he was not involved in the crime, was withheld from the defence.
In May, 2009, Innocence Canada filed an application with the Minister of Justice, referring to the prosecution of Frank as a ‘charade’. In December, 2009, Frank was released on bail while he awaited the Minister’s decision. He had spent 23 years in prison since his arrest on the charge. Frank remained on bail for another 5 years.
The Minister’s Decision
The Minister ordered that Frank’s case go back to the Manitoba Court of Appeal for re-consideration. The Minister has this power under the Criminal Code.
At his appeal, Innocence Canada presented the evidence that it discovered in 2005 to the Court of Appeal. On November 27, 2018, the Manitoba Court of Appeal stayed the proceedings against him.