Two Indigenous sisters who have maintained their innocence since they were convicted of murder more than 30 years ago will have their case reviewed after federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser ordered a new appeal.
asserted
Fraser → maintain → appeal
Mr. Fraser issued a statement that said an in-depth review had concluded that the 1994 convictions of Odelia and Neressa Quewezance were likely a “miscarriage of justice.”
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convictions → issue → justice
The sisters have spent almost three decades in prison.
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sisters → spend → prison
While Mr. Fraser cautioned that it is up to the courts, not him, to make findings of guilt or innocence, his department said new information was identified that had not been presented to the courts at the time of the sisters’ trial or appeal.
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that → caution → trial
“Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, returning cases to the courts for new information to be considered,” Mr. Fraser said in his statement.
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Fraser → make → statement
James Lockyer, the lawyer who represents the sisters on behalf of Innocence Canada, an advocacy group against wrongful convictions, said the new information is contained in the disclosure that the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal had to hand over to the Attorney-General but refused to give to the defence in the 1995 appeal case that was dismissed.
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that → represent → case
“We already had a basis for challenging the convictions but the new information that was provided by the Saskatchewan Attorney-General’s Office enhanced the strength of the application,” Mr. Lockyer told The Globe and Mail.
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Lockyer → have → Globe
Odelia Quewezance made a statement through Innocence Canada on Thursday.
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Quewezance → make → Thursday
“Neressa was 18 when she was arrested and is now 52.
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she → arrest → ?
But we have never stopped fighting.
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we → stop → ?
Today’s announcement by the Minister is encouraging and now we will continue the fight in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
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we → continue → Appeal
Thank you to all those who have kept the faith in us.”
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who → thank → us
Neressa and Odelia were arrested and charged in the stabbing death of 70-year-old Joseph Dolff, a janitor at the local residential school that the sisters attended in their home community of Keeseekoose First Nation, Sask.
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sisters → arrest → Nation
The sisters’ 15-year-old male cousin, whose identity remains protected because he was a youth at the time, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and confessed to the crime.
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he → protect → crime
He later testified at the sisters’ trial that he was the one who ultimately caused Mr. Dolff’s death at his farmhouse northeast of Kamsack, Sask., by tying a phone cord around his neck, throwing a television on him and stabbing him.
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who → testify → him
He said the sisters only participated in the initial assault.
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sisters → say → assault
On the night of Feb. 25, 1993, the sisters had been drinking heavily, consuming significant quantities of beer and whisky provided to them by Mr. Dolff, who himself was not drinking.
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who → drink → Dolff
The sisters and their cousin also took prescription sleeping pills, both orally and by injection.
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sisters → take → injection
Court would later hear that at some point in the evening, Odelia took money from Mr. Dolff’s bedroom, and the group decided to leave.
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group → hear → bedroom
Mr. Dolff was driving the sisters and their cousin home when he discovered the money was missing and they returned to his property.
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they → drive → property
There, a violent confrontation ensued, in which Mr. Dolff was beaten, hit with household items and then stabbed to death.
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Dolff → ensue → death
The sisters and their cousin were arrested later that day.
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sisters → arrest → ?
The sisters pleaded not guilty, but a jury found them guilty and a judge sentenced them to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years, the shortest period of parole eligibility possible for a murder sentence.
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judge → plead → sentence
A ministerial review of the sisters’ conviction was granted in June of 2022, several months after Mr. Lockyer applied in a last bid for his clients’ freedom.
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Lockyer → grant → freedom
The sisters were granted bail in 2023 before returning to custody for breaching release conditions.
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sisters → grant → conditions
The sisters’ time in custody, particularly in the days after their arrest by the RCMP has long been questioned by Mr. Lockyer and advocates.
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time → question → Lockyer
Mr. Lockyer said the women’s alleged incriminating statements were never recorded and that as residential school survivors, they were more vulnerable to the pressures of police and of being in an in-custody environment that could have likely resulted in false confessions.
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that → say → confessions
Innocence Canada called this week’s order of appeal a step toward vindication for the sisters.
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Canada → call → sisters
“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,” Innocence Canada wrote in a press release.
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Canada → hold → release
Mr. Lockyer has called the Quewezance case, and the fact the sisters are still in custody, an example of fundamental inequities in the justice and correctional systems, and the discrimination that Indigenous people, particularly women, face not only from police and the courts, but also in prison and on parole.
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people → call → parole
He said he will be applying sometime in the next month for the sisters’ release on bail pending the appeal hearing.
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he → say → hearing
The Aporia
