Day 11 - #Justice #FlyHighJuly
#WhenJusticeFailsTheDavidMilgaardStory #CarlKarp
Read this in May 2019. It really made an impression on me!
Day 11 - #Justice #FlyHighJuly
#WhenJusticeFailsTheDavidMilgaardStory #CarlKarp
Read this in May 2019. It really made an impression on me!
I know some of you recently did a buddy read of a book about David Milgard (not sure if it was the tagged one or a different one). Saw this article on David in yesterday's Globe and Mail and thought I'd share: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-is-it-really-50-years-david-milga...
@Cinfhen I'm pretty sure you were part of the buddy read, not sure who else was involved...
Thank you @EadieB for sending this! Would you like me to pass it on or return it when I am done? Can‘t wait!
This is a very depressing tragic real-life crime story. Milgaard was in prison for 22 years and was totally innocent of the rape and murder of Gail Miller. The Canadian politicians and police knew he was innocent when Larry Fisher was arrested for more rapes in the same area. They just didn‘t want the public to know that they made a mistake again! He received $10 million since but nothing will bring back all those years he spent in prison! So sad!
This is a heart wrenching story of the breakdown in justice. Milgaard was convicted of the rape and murder of a young woman in 1969, yet he claimed his innocence. Within the first few pages of this book, the reader will be thinking the same thing. There were parts of this book that seemed to drag for me, so I‘m giving it a so-so. But, I‘d pair this with Bryan Stevenson‘s Just Mercy, which was a five star read on the injustices of the legal system.
Larry Fisher, killer behind David Milgaard's wrongful conviction, dies in prison
The man responsible for a 1969 murder in Saskatchewan that put an innocent man, David Milgaard, behind bars for more than two decades has died in prison. Larry Fisher died on Tuesday while serving a life sentence for rape and murder at the Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, B.C., said Correctional Service Canada. He was 65.
Milgaard will get $10 million compensation
CBC News · Posted: May 17, 1999 9:48 PM ET | Last Updated: November 10, 2000
David Milgaard is about to receive the largest compensation package in Canadian criminal history. The Saskatchewan government has announced it will hand Milgaard $10 million in compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned for almost a quarter of a century.
In popular culture
Today, the Milgaard case has been the subject of 3 movies: the 1992 documentary The David Milgaard Story, the 1999 docudrama Milgaard, and starring Ian Tracey, and in an episode of the documentary series Crime Stories, produced by Partners in Motion.
The song "Wheat Kings" by The Tragically Hip (from their 1992 album.
Canadian artist David Collier described the Milgaard case in comics form in his 2000 book Surviving Saskatoon.
Chapter 25
The news came up on the screen early in 1997. David Milgaard DNA test was clear. David told media that he has got nothing to lose and he is not guilty. Saskatchewan government promised to hold a public inquiry and to pay David $250,000 now. Money will never be a problem for David. His future is secure. He marries a woman named Marine Forsberg, a Vancouver librarian. They got married in Stanley Park in Vancouver.
Chapter 24
Next morning David Milgaard is packing all his clothes and walks out to freedom. His family, friends, and media are outside. Joyce takes a part in public celebrations because she finally freed her son after long decades... Gail Miller‘s murder is still unsolved since Larry isn‘t admitting and Supreme Court decides there is no need for others to continue suffering an endless pain.
Chapter 23
Joyce is happy after meeting Prime Minister. The Prime Minister‘s office called the Stony Mountain and told them to transfer David Milgaard to Rockwood institute in early November. Joyce and her family went to see David at Rockwood. In the new trial of David, Ron Wilson and Nichol Wilson appeared.The next day Saskatchewan government announced that Milgaard was a free man.
This copy written 1991 and this other copy written in 1998.
There are 22 chapters in the 1991 book which was published before Milgaard was released. I have been reading the 1991 version. There are 25 chapters in the 1998 version published after his release. I have found synopsis of the last 3 chapters so I will post them for those who are reading the 1991 version.
Paul Henderson and Joyce Milgaard
Chapter 22
Henderson and Joyce decide to interview Larry Fisher‘s victims and found out they didn‘t know about his conviction. Ellen Samuelson told them that Larry Fisher while trying to kill her told her that he had slit another victim‘s throat. Joyce submits their findings to the press. Gail Miller‘s family join her crusade. Brian Mulroney during visit to Winnipeg tells Joyce he will look into things for her.
David Asper and David Milgaard
Chapter 21
Asper visits Milgaard to tell Kim Campbell has denied his application. Family decided to not give up. Press conference from prison and Milgaard challenges the Justice Dept and Campbell to show the country how it was possible for him to commit the crime.
Question 22
Do you think they will accept Milgaard‘s challenge?
Chapter 20
Joyce Milgaard‘s crusade carries on with speeches about how the Canadian Justice System has to change. She writes songs and visits Parliament before the House breaks for Christmas. She hands out The Centurion Report which exonerates her son and pleas for his release before Christmas 1990.
Question 21
Should Joyce continue her crusade or is it better just to wait for the decision quietly?
Wolch, Asper, MacFarlane and Campbell
Chapter 19
A heated meeting was held between Wolch, Asper, MacFarlane, Williams and Corbett to find out why Kim Campbell has not approved the application yet. The application has not been taken seriously and there are efforts to discredit the new evidence. They did not want to admit to the “greatest legal mistake in Canadian history.”
Question 20
Do they seriously think these issues are going away?
Deborah Hall - Shorty Cadrain
Chapter 18
Eugene Williams was David‘s case handler and he went to interview with Deborah Hall. Williams had a tape recorder and a bundle of documents. Hall told Williams that Milgaard never said that he murdered Gail Miller. He also interviewed Dennis Cadrain (Shorty‘s brother). Dennis Cadrain told Williams about his brother's state of mind after the trial and that he was seeing visions.
Kim Campbell - House of Commons and John Harvard, Parliament member.
Chapter 17
A politician can refer a case back to the courts under the Criminal Code, even a case that has been already considered by every level of court. John Harvard put pressure on Kim Campbell to do so.
Question 18
Why did it take Kim Campbell so long to move more quickly in regard to Milgaard‘s application?
Chapter 15
Paul Henderson gets a sworn statement from Linda Fisher that Larry came covered in blood on the morning of Gail Miller‘s murder. He interviews witnesses again and can see that they lied under police pressure. He concludes that the case is a victim of bad police work, zealous police tunnel vision and manipulated witnesses.
Question 16:
What do you think about Paul Henderson?
Left - Hersh Wolch - one of Winnipeg‘s best criminal lawyer
Right - David Asper - junior lawyer in Wolch‘s firm
Chapter 14
Asper gets a sworn statement from Deborah Hall. Dr. James Ferris, forensics, reviews clothing for blood and semen. Determines that the evidence cannot be linked to Milgaard. Reviews time sequence and decided Milgaard did not have enough time to commit the rape and murder.
Question 15:
Are things turning around?
Chapter 13
1. Larry Fisher is released from prison in 1980 and continues to rape and almost murder another victim.
2. Linda Fisher goes to the police to tell that that she thinks Larry is the murderer of Gail Miller.
3. Police decides the case is closed and does nothing about Linda‘s information.
Question 14:
Why do you think the police did this?
Question 12:
Milgaard is granted time to visit with his family but escapes during the visit. He flees to Toronto and gets a job and meets Rhonda Hicks. This is a two-edged sword as it shows that he would be responsible if released but his escape will be held against him. What do you think about policeman Briscoe shooting him when Milgaard was not armed and the fact that Briscoe was cleared of any wrong doing?
I took a much needed four day weekend from work - I‘m loving the silence of no one calling me or running to my office with some new hiccup with our new computer software! Before I do some necessary chores, I‘m diving more into this. Such a tragic story! @EadieB , I‘ll finish it today and answer your great questions!
Question 11:
Milgaard is sent to Oak Ridge Mental Health Center for a month long assessment and Dr. R.F. Rockstar said he was suitable for parole release and “may be innocent.” 6/29/79 Milgaard‘s application for parole is turned down. What do you think about Milgaard‘s situation now?
Question 10:
What do you think about the lack of communication between the Winnipeg and Saskatoon police departments?
Serge Kujawa - Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
Appeal was dismissed by Saskatchewan Court and the Supreme Court. Milgaard, his mother Joyce Milgaard and lawyer Hersh Wolch held a news conference. They alleged Kujawa deliberately suppressed information about Fisher's conviction. Kujawa said they didn't make a connection between the two cases. I'm not concerned with Milgaard's guilt or innocence. The media and lawyers are “selling us down the river.“
This is a different type of true crime because the convicted rapist/murderer was actually innocent. The story becomes a mother‘s quest for the truth as she spends years digging for the truth to set her son free. The injustice of it all is mind blowing and heartbreaking.
(Sorry @EadieB but I couldn‘t put this down today and had to finish it!)
Sorry buddy friends but I‘m bailing!! While I totally feel for David Milgaard, this book is a total waste of time & money. I googled David Milgaard and found out all I needed to know in a simple article. 🙄😬David Milgaard spent 22 years in prison for a murder he did not commit and I spent $9.49 on a book I didn‘t need😜
Question 8:
Milgaard was found guilty with witnesses that were not credible and evidence that was circumstantial. How would you feel if you were his mother?
Question 7:
What did you think about Justice Bence and his highly prejudicial ‘Milgaard Ruling‘ which allowed the jury to hear incriminating evidence from a hostile witness when both lawyers requested that the statement be read absent from the jury?
Top left - Lt. Joseph Penkala - found frozen lump of semen
Top right - Chief of Police - James Kettles
Bottom left - Craig Melnyk - witness
Bottom right - George Lapchuk - witness
Question 6:
What did you think about the last minute testimony of Melnyk and Lapchuk that they saw Milgaard re-enact the murder in a motel room after seeing a TV news report of murder and Melnyk received a light sentence for armed robbery?
Top left - Calvin Tallis, Milgaard‘s defense
Top right - Bobs Caldwell, Milgaard‘s prosecutor
Bottom left - Mr. Justice Alfred Bence - presided at trial
Bottom right - Mayor Sidney Buckwold
Question 5:
Should Milgaard have taken the stand to tell his story? What did you think about the Mayor giving praise to the police for their outstanding record of serious crime after arresting an innocent man?
Discussion questions for chapters 6-10 to follow.
Well this was a surprise! Tucked inside my used copy was this newspaper clipping from The Edmonton Journal, dated, Tuesday, January 13, 1998. I haven‘t googled any information yet but I‘m pretty sure this Larry Fisher DID rape and murder Gail Miller.
Pictured above: Linda and Larry Fisher
Question 4 of 4:
What do you think of Linda asking Larry where her paring knife was and the expression on Larry‘s face? What do you think of their relationship?
Pictured above: David Milgaard and Albert (Shorty) Cadrain
Question 3 of 4:
What do you think about Shorty changing his statement and accepting the $2,000 reward money?
Pictured above: Ron Wilson and Nichol John
Question 2 of 4:
What do you think about the “rush to judgement” from the police and the pressuring of the 17 year old witnesses to change their stories in order to get a conviction?
Question 1 of 4:
How often are innocent people convicted of crimes they did not do? Was Milgaard quilty of the murder of Gail Miller just because he was driving through Saskatoon on the morning her body is found? How can they justify this with no concrete evidence? What do you think of this?
Discussion Questions to follow.
Repost for @EadieB :
If you want to join in, all are welcome! Just contact me if I didn‘t tag you!
Please repost!
Today‘s #puppynaptimereading
I‘m starting this true crime buddy read and so far I‘m hooked from the beginning! I‘m starting early so I can share this book with @Reviewsbylola since it is a tough one to find. (I got a used version on Amazon.) Please join us and check out the read along schedule from @EadieB
Repost for @EadieB Join this true crime buddy read beginning May 28!!!!! Just tag Eadie and let her know🤓 Eadie is a great host and always provides insightful comments and questions🙌🏻
Are you ready for this Buddy Read starting next Tuesday?
If you want to join in, all are welcome! Just contact me if I didn‘t tag you!
Please repost!
@EadieB has amazing buddy reads! Everyone is welcome- this is a true crime book. Go to her page and let her know to tag you if you decide to join in.
If you want to join in, all are welcome! Just contact me if I didn‘t tag you!
Please repost!
Found it @EadieB ❣️❣️❣️ I think we said a May buddy read??? Hoping you‘ll join us @shawnmooney as this true crime is set in Saskatoon 😜
#WheatKings is inspired by the story of David Milgaard, a 17 year old wrongfully convicted of a crime and held behind bars for 22 years.
The Tragically Hip are a distinctly Canadian band, but this is actually one of only a few songs inspired by Canadian events.
#TimbitTunes @Cinfhen