Dee
07-07-2008, 01:02 PM
Steven Truscott to get $6.5M for wrongful conviction
Sentenced to hang at age of 14 for murdering classmate
The Ontario government will pay Steven Truscott $6.5 million for suffering a "miscarriage of justice" and living 48 years with the stigma of being wrongfully convicted of a rape and murder he did not commit.
"We are doing what we can to bring to the conclusion this remarkable aspect of Mr. Truscott's life's journey," Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley said Monday in Toronto.
"We are doing what we can to conclude this journey, and it is my hope that Mr. Truscott and his family will now be able to spend all their time on the rest of life's journey."
He added that Truscott's wife, Marlene, will get $100,000 in compensation for the time she spent working full time to clear his name.
The announcement comes almost a year after the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Truscott of murdering his friend, 12-year-old Lynne Harper, in the southwestern Ontario town of Clinton in June 1959. The court said his conviction was a "miscarriage of justice."
Truscott was just 14 years old when he was convicted in September 1959 after a 15-day trial. He was initially sentenced to hang, making him Canada's youngest death-row inmate, but after four months on death row, the sentence was commuted to life in prison.
He was granted parole at age 24 in 1969, after serving 10 years in jail.
Bentley said the government's decision to compensate was based on the advice of retired judge Sydney Robins, who was asked to study whether compensation would be appropriate, and if so, how much should he get?
In a written statement, Truscott and his wife called the compensation a "final and long-awaited step in recognizing Steve's innocence." Still, the couple said the money is bittersweet.
"Although we are grateful for the freedom and stability this award will provide, we are also painfully aware that no amount of money could ever truly compensate Steven for the terror of being sentenced to hang at the age of 14, the loss of his youth or the stigma of living for almost 50 years as a convicted murderer," the Truscotts said.
Robins, in a written report outlining how he decided how much Truscott should be paid, noted there is no legal obligation to compensate Truscott, Still, he said not compensating Truscott would leave him with a stigma, a suggestion of guilt.
"The total amount paid to Mr. Truscott should be enough to ensure that he can live the remainder of his life with financial security, and in comfort and dignity, able to assist his family as he sees fit," Robins wrote.
"It should also be enough to send a clear signal to the public that the government recognizes the enormity of the suffering that this miscarriage of justice has caused."
In awarding Truscott $6.5 million, Robins said he considered the emotional turmoil he has endured.
"There is no question but that Mr. Truscott's conviction, incarceration and parole forever altered his life," Robins wrote.
He noted that Truscott suffered from loneliness, isolation and a loss of privacy while spending his teenage years and early adulthood in prison. Robins talked of the terror Truscott felt knowing when he thought he was going to die, including the day Truscott heard hammering outside his prison cell and was certain it was prison guards building the scaffolding where he would be hanged.
Once released from prison, Robins noted that life wasn't easy for Truscott. Under the conditions of his parole, which lasted until last year's acquittal, he couldn't leave the country or move without informing authorities. He was told to change his name to avoid attention.
Truscott and his wife married in secret in 1970 to avoid publicity and, after settling down in Guelph, Ont., they moved nine times to protect the safety of their three children, Robins said. He said Truscott suffered from nightmares and social anxieties, and has become extremely shy and hesitant.
But despite all the hardship, Robins said Truscott has been "an exemplary citizen," working steadily as a machinist and millwright, providing a stable life for his family, and always abiding the law.
(more (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/07/truscott-bentley.html))
Sentenced to hang at age of 14 for murdering classmate
The Ontario government will pay Steven Truscott $6.5 million for suffering a "miscarriage of justice" and living 48 years with the stigma of being wrongfully convicted of a rape and murder he did not commit.
"We are doing what we can to bring to the conclusion this remarkable aspect of Mr. Truscott's life's journey," Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley said Monday in Toronto.
"We are doing what we can to conclude this journey, and it is my hope that Mr. Truscott and his family will now be able to spend all their time on the rest of life's journey."
He added that Truscott's wife, Marlene, will get $100,000 in compensation for the time she spent working full time to clear his name.
The announcement comes almost a year after the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Truscott of murdering his friend, 12-year-old Lynne Harper, in the southwestern Ontario town of Clinton in June 1959. The court said his conviction was a "miscarriage of justice."
Truscott was just 14 years old when he was convicted in September 1959 after a 15-day trial. He was initially sentenced to hang, making him Canada's youngest death-row inmate, but after four months on death row, the sentence was commuted to life in prison.
He was granted parole at age 24 in 1969, after serving 10 years in jail.
Bentley said the government's decision to compensate was based on the advice of retired judge Sydney Robins, who was asked to study whether compensation would be appropriate, and if so, how much should he get?
In a written statement, Truscott and his wife called the compensation a "final and long-awaited step in recognizing Steve's innocence." Still, the couple said the money is bittersweet.
"Although we are grateful for the freedom and stability this award will provide, we are also painfully aware that no amount of money could ever truly compensate Steven for the terror of being sentenced to hang at the age of 14, the loss of his youth or the stigma of living for almost 50 years as a convicted murderer," the Truscotts said.
Robins, in a written report outlining how he decided how much Truscott should be paid, noted there is no legal obligation to compensate Truscott, Still, he said not compensating Truscott would leave him with a stigma, a suggestion of guilt.
"The total amount paid to Mr. Truscott should be enough to ensure that he can live the remainder of his life with financial security, and in comfort and dignity, able to assist his family as he sees fit," Robins wrote.
"It should also be enough to send a clear signal to the public that the government recognizes the enormity of the suffering that this miscarriage of justice has caused."
In awarding Truscott $6.5 million, Robins said he considered the emotional turmoil he has endured.
"There is no question but that Mr. Truscott's conviction, incarceration and parole forever altered his life," Robins wrote.
He noted that Truscott suffered from loneliness, isolation and a loss of privacy while spending his teenage years and early adulthood in prison. Robins talked of the terror Truscott felt knowing when he thought he was going to die, including the day Truscott heard hammering outside his prison cell and was certain it was prison guards building the scaffolding where he would be hanged.
Once released from prison, Robins noted that life wasn't easy for Truscott. Under the conditions of his parole, which lasted until last year's acquittal, he couldn't leave the country or move without informing authorities. He was told to change his name to avoid attention.
Truscott and his wife married in secret in 1970 to avoid publicity and, after settling down in Guelph, Ont., they moved nine times to protect the safety of their three children, Robins said. He said Truscott suffered from nightmares and social anxieties, and has become extremely shy and hesitant.
But despite all the hardship, Robins said Truscott has been "an exemplary citizen," working steadily as a machinist and millwright, providing a stable life for his family, and always abiding the law.
(more (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/07/truscott-bentley.html))