This morning, Minister of Justice Sean Fraser sent Odelia and Neressa Quewezances’ convictions for murder to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal so that the Court of Appeal can rule on whether they should have been convicted.
On the night of Thursday, February 25, 1993, Joseph Dolff (70) invited two young Indigenous girls, Odelia (then 21) and Neressa (then 18), and their 15 year old cousin to his home in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, and provided them with alcohol.
What happened thereafter led to Mr. Dolff’s death. The 15 year old cousin confessed to stabbing him due to events that occurred between Mr. Dolff and the two girls.
Odelia and Neressa were arrested that morning and charged with murder. They were held in the Kamsack RCMP Detachment for five days, despite a judge’s order that they be taken to a detention centre away from the Detachment. RCMP officers claimed that Odelia and Neressa confessed over five days of questioning to being involved in Mr. Dolff’s stabbing.
The following year, Odelia and Neressa were both convicted of murder in the Court of Kings Bench in Yorkton and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 2020-2021, David Milgaard brought the sisters’ cases to Innocence Canada and asked us to intervene. We agreed that the convictions of the sisters constituted a grave miscarriage of justice and, on December 21, 2021, we filed an application with the Minister of Justice and urged him to find that the sisters were victims of a miscarriage of justice. We asked him to use his powers under the Criminal Code of Canada and send their cases to the Court of Appeal for a second appeal. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal had previously dismissed the sisters’ appeals in 1995.
Today’s decision from Minister Fraser is a huge step towards Odelia’s and Neressa’s vindication. Both have spent more than 30 years in prison for a crime that they did not commit. We will continue assisting them on the appeal which will be heard sometime in the future.
Besides Innocence Canada, the sisters have the support of high-profile advocates which include the late David Milgaard, Senator Kim Pate, retired Justices Harry LaForme and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré and Kim Beaudin, formerly of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
Odelia spoke today on behalf of herself and her sister, Neressa:
Neressa was 18 when she was arrested and is now 52. I was 21 and am now 55. But we have never stopped fighting. Today’s announcement by the Minister is encouraging and now we will continue the fight in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. Thank you to all those who have kept the faith in us.
James Lockyer, Innocence Canada counsel, said today:
It’s been a long wait, almost five years, but what the Minister has done today makes it all worthwhile. I am so happy for Odelia and Neressa.
Deanna Harris of Saskatchewan Legal Aid in Yorkton who has been assisting Odelia and Neressa with Innocence Canada said today:
Minister Fraser’s decision is good for Odelia and Neressa, for the cause of justice in Saskatchewan and for all wrongly convicted Indigenous women who are in our prisons.
For more information, contact:
James Lockyer at jlockyer@lzzdefence.ca (416-518-7983) or
Deanna Harris at dharris@legalaid.sk.ca (306-516-0424)