The Aporia · Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review Saskatchewan sisters’ murder convictions

Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review Saskatchewan sisters’ murder convictions

Read the original at Global News ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Digital, G. (2026, September 24). Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review Saskatchewan sisters’ murder convictions. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12071827/appeal-ordered-odelia-nerissa-quewezance/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered Canada’s Appeal Court to review the murder convictions of Saskatchewan sisters Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance, who have spent almost three decades in prison for the 1993 death of farmer Anthony Dolff. The case is being reopened due to new evidence not available during their trial or appeal, including a confession from another individual involved at the time. Fraser’s decision does not determine guilt but aims to ensure Canadians can trust their justice system by addressing rare cases where miscarriages of justice may have occurred.

Written by AI on 2026-09-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered a review of the 1994 murder convictions of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance, two Indigenous sisters from Keeseekoose First Nation who have maintained their innocence since being found guilty of second-degree murder in the 1993 stabbing death of 70-year-old farmer Anthony Dolff near Kamsack, Sask. The new review follows a conclusion that the original convictions were likely a "miscarriage of justice" due to evidence not previously available during their trial or appeal. Odelia was 21 and Nerissa was 18 at the time of their arrest; they have spent nearly three decades in prison. James Lockyer, representing the sisters on behalf of Innocence Canada, highlighted that new information includes details withheld from the defense by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal during a previous appeal process.

Written for “Saskatchewan Sisters Murder Case Review” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Justice Minister Fraser orders court to revisit Indigenous sisters’ 1994 murder convictions Same event

The Globe and Mail

Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 52/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

11%

2 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans strongly left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

63/100

Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 2679 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

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Topics

Canadians Kamsack Sask Saskatchewan an Appeal Court

Subjects

Fraser PERSON · 4× Kamsack GPE · 2× Odelia PERSON · 2× Saskatchewan GPE · 2× Anthony Dolff PERSON · 1× Canadians NORP · 1× Nerissa PERSON · 1× Nerissa Quewezance PERSON · 1× Sean Fraser PERSON · 1× an Appeal Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Get daily National news The two were found guilty of second-degree murder in the 1993 stabbing death of 70-year-old farmer Anthony Dolff near Kamsack, Sask., about 270 kilometres northeast of Regina. The sisters from the Keeseekoose First Nation have always maintained their innocence.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-24

🔮 Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions.

2026-09-24 · Global News

Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review Saskatchewan sisters’ murder convictions · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 2 hedged)

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions. uncertain

what → order → prison

Fraser says he is sending the case of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance back to an Appeal Court for a review. asserted

he → say → review

Odelia was 21 when arrested. asserted

Odelia → arrest → ?

Fraser, in a statement Thursday, cited reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice occurred in the 1994 convictions. asserted

miscarriage → cite → convictions

“My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts,” Fraser said. asserted

Fraser → decide → courts

“Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, returning cases to the courts.” asserted

that → make → courts

Fraser noted there is new information that was not before the courts during the trial or during the appeal. asserted

that → note → appeal

sisters → get → innocence

Another person, who was a youth at the time, confessed to the killing. asserted

who → confess → killing

They have been fighting for years to overturn the convictions. asserted

They → fight → convictions

In 2022, the federal Justice Department launched a review, saying there may be a reasonable basis to conclude there was a miscarriage of justice. uncertain

Department → launch → justice

While that process played out, a Saskatchewan judge granted the sisters bail in early 2023, citing concerns surrounding the convictions. asserted

judge → play → convictions

The bail decision came after the sisters’ lawyer, James Lockyer, argued in court that the women were victims of racism in the justice system and false confessions. asserted

women → come → system

Lockyer told court at the time that the sisters encountered “a police station full of white men” after their arrest. asserted

sisters → tell → arrest

He said they were held in the Kamsack police station for days despite court orders to have them moved, and their statements were never recorded. asserted

statements → say → orders

In granting bail, Justice Donald Layh noted those concerns. asserted

Layh → grant → concerns

“For example, they were young Indigenous women who had engaged in substantial drug and alcohol consumption within hours of their statements,” Layh said at the time. asserted

Layh → engage → time

“Their statements were neither audio nor video recorded.” asserted

statements → record → ?