TORONTO - An Ontario man who was convicted of murdering his four-year-old niece and spent more than 12 years in jail may well have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Tuesday as he ordered a new appeal in the case of William Mullins-Johnson.
Mullins-Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in September 1994 based on forensic evidence from discredited pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, whose questionable findings are now the subject of a public inquiry.
"There is now significant new evidence that was not available at the time of Mr. Mullins-Johnson's trial that casts serious doubt on the correctness of his conviction for murder,'' Nicholson said in a release.
Nicholson also said he was satisfied that "there is a reasonable basis'' to conclude that Mullins-Johnson's case was a miscarriage of justice.
Mullins-Johnson, 36, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has described his ordeal as "nothing but hell'' for himself and his family.
His conviction was upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. But in 2005, exactly 11 years after being convicted, he was released from custody on bail pending the federal justice minister's decision on his review of the case.
"I feel really good about it,'' Mullins-Johnson said Tuesday in an interview from the office of his lawyer, James Lockyer of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
"Things are moving ahead the way I expected and the way I hoped. It feels good.''
Mullins-Johnson's niece, Valin , was found dead in her bed on the morning of June 27, 1993. Smith testified that Mullins-Johnson had sodomized the girl, although there was never any forensic evidence to back that up.
Much of Smith's work has since been called into serious question by outside experts, two of whom later concluded the little girl was never assaulted and likely died of natural causes.
The province called a public inquiry after an expert panel questioned the findings in 20 of 45 child death cases handled by Smith since 1991. Twelve of those cases resulted in criminal convictions; one found the accused not criminally responsible.
The commission has been given one year to make recommendations aimed at restoring public confidence in the child pathology system and its future use in investigations and criminal proceedings.
While an appeal would be one more step towards clearing his name, Mullins-Johnson said he still has mixed feelings about what he went through.
"I've got angry emotions towards it, anxiety over it, but I've grown personally over those years, believe it or not,'' said Mullins-Johnson, who plans to start an undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto in the fall.
"I feel good about the person that I am now.''
Nicholson's decision came after reviewing a final report from University of Ottawa law professor David Paciocco, who was appointed to investigate the case, the Justice Department said.
He also reviewed submissions from Mullins-Johnson's counsel, Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant and Bernard Grenier, the federal justice minister's special adviser on the criminal conviction review process.
Nicholson does not have the power to make a legal finding about Mullins-Johnson's guilt or innocence.
Paciocco issued a preliminary report in October 2005, but was asked by Bryant to await the results of the panel's review of Smith's work before completing his investigation.
Bryant, who said in April that the case could not stand, reiterated his belief Tuesday that the Appeal Court should ultimately acquit Mullins-Johnson.
"It is extremely rare, a fraction of one per cent, where a miscarriage of justice does take place, even over the last four years. But one is one too many.''
Mullins-Johnson, accompanied by his mother Laureena Hill, was granted bail by an Ontario Appeal Court judge during a brief hearing Tuesday afternoon. The conditions of his bail, which have been relaxed since 2005, are similar to those he was already obliged to meet.
"It's finally, finally coming to an end,'' Hill said outside court.
Added Mullins-Johnson: "I'm still a relatively young person yet. The world is out there now.''
