Overturned convictions in Canada

This is a list of notable overturned convictions in Canada.

Arturo Sanchez Arturo Sanchez was an 81-year-old retired Canadian paediatrician with minor cognitive impairment when six former adult female patients emerged in 2015 to accuse him of sexually abusing them decades ago. Only two of the six accusers were deemed credible by the trial judge. The first woman claimed that when she was in hospital as a teenager in the 1960s she awoke in her bed to find Sanchez touching her. The second woman claimed he touched her breast while in her home to give her an allergy shot in 1980 when she was 11 years old. The trial judge believed the two women and convicted Sanchez on the basis of having the opportunity to access children, and that they said they told someone else it happened. Sanchez's convictions were overturned by an appeal panel when they concluded that the trial judge made significant and repetitive errors in assessing the evidence and coming to questionable conclusions not supported by the evidence when convicting Sanchez.

Bo Zou Bo Zou is a Toronto fashion photographer who was convicted of sexually assaulting a model that came to his condo for a photo shoot in July 2012. Zou's defence was that she had made advances on him but he rebuffed her and then he sent her home in a taxi. The next day the woman sent an anonymous email to the Toronto Police Service claiming Zou sexually assaulted her and provided them with his name and address. Zou was charged and the case went to trial. The trial judge convicted Zou on the basis that the woman's anonymous email corroborated her testimony (her only evidence) at trial. Zou appealed his conviction and it was overturned in 2017. The appeal panel concluded the trial judge misapplied the law and, "That word [corroboration], as commonly understood, refers to evidence from a source other than the witness."

Timothy Houlahan Timothy Houlahan was the co-defendant of Kyle Unger. He was convicted in 1992 of the June 1990 murder of 16-year-old Brigitte Grenier. RCMP officers operated in a sting operation where they obtained Unger's confession in which he implicated Houlahan. Both men were convicted based on Unger's confession and sentenced to life in prison. In 1994, Houlahan's conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered. After his release, Houlahan died by suicide.

James Sauvé and Richard Trudel James Sauvé and Richard Trudel were convicted in 1996 of the 1990 murder of a man and his pregnant wife in Cumberland, Ontario. Their trial was the longest in Canadian history, lasting 16 months. In 2004, their convictions were overturned on appeal and a retrial was ordered. The charges were stayed on January 12, 2007, and the men were released.

Richard Mallory and Robert Stewart Richard Mallory and Robert Stewart were convicted in February 2000 of the January 16, 1990 murder of a man and his pregnant wife in Cumberland, Ontario. Their convictions were overturned on appeal and a retrial was ordered on January 12, 2007. They were released on February 27, 2007.

Peter Chenier and George Farley Peter Chenier and George Farley were convicted in 2001 of a 1997 murder based on the testimony of two other men. Chenier and Farley were sentenced to life in prison. In 2006, the Ontario Court of Appeals overturned the convictions and ordered a new trial. On July 18, 2008, they were acquitted after a retrial.

Wilson Nepoose Wilson Nepoose was convicted of murder in 1987. The Alberta Court of Appeals reversed his conviction in 1992. Nepoose was preparing a civil suit against the Canadian Department of Corrections and the RCMP when he was reported missing, and his skeletal remains were found in January 1998.

Connie Oakes Connie Oakes was convicted in November 2013 of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Casey Armstrong in Medicine Hat, Alberta in May 2011. Following a two-week trial, Oakes was sentenced to life in prison with a 14-year minimum before parole eligibility. On April 6, 2016, the Alberta Court of Appeals overturned Oakes' conviction and ordered a new trial. On April 28, 2016, Oakes was released from the Edmonton Institution for Women.

Gregory Parsons Gregory Parsons was convicted in 1994 of murdering his mother, Catherine Carroll, and sentenced to life imprisonment. After 68 days in prison, Parsons was released on bail pending resolution of his appeal. Prior to his retrial, DNA testing excluded him as the killer and the Newfoundland Supreme Court entered a verdict of acquittal in November 1998. In March 2002, he was awarded $650,000 in compensation by the Government of Newfoundland. In November 2002, Parsons' childhood friend, Brian Doyle pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Catherine Carroll. In September 2005, Parsons was awarded an additional $650,000 by the Government of Newfoundland.

Benoit Proulx Benoit Proulx was convicted in 1991 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was acquitted by the Quebec Court of Appeals in 1992 and awarded $1.1 million in compensation by the Government of Quebec in 2001.

Gary Staples Gary Staples was convicted in 1970 of murdering a taxi driver in Hamilton, Ontario in 1969. Staples' conviction was based on the testimony of his ex-girlfriend who testified in exchange for leniency on robbery charges. He was acquitted after his second trial in 1972. In 2002, Staples was officially cleared of the murder and he was awarded an undisclosed amount in compensation.

Steven Truscott Steven Truscott was convicted on September 30, 1959, of the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. 14-year-old Truscott was tried as an adult and after his conviction, he was the youngest person in Canadian history to be sentenced to death. His sentence was eventually commuted to life imprisonment. Based on new evidence casting doubt on the reliability of his conviction, the Ontario Court of Appeals acquitted Truscott on August 28, 2007. On July 7, 2008, Truscott was compensated with $6.5 million. Additional compensation of $100,000 was awarded to Truscott's wife, Marlene, for pain and suffering.

Dennis Oland Dennis Oland was convicted in 2015 for the murder of his father in New Brunswick. He was acquitted on July 19, 2019, after his retrial.

Chris McCullough Chris McCullough was convicted in 1991 for the 1989 murder of a female school teacher. His conviction was quashed in January 2000 by the Ontario Court of Appeals after he was excluded by DNA tests of crime scene evidence. McCullough filed a $7.6 million malicious prosecution lawsuit in December 2000, which was stayed indefinitely in February 2003.

Byron Hunter Byron Hunter was convicted in 2002 of beating a man to death in 2000 with a baseball bat. His conviction was quashed in 2004, and the prosecution opted to drop the charges.

Peter Frumusa Peter Frumusa was convicted in 1989 of murdering a Niagara Falls, Ontario couple. The Ontario Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in 1996 and charges were dropped in June 1998.

Donald Dodd Donald Dodd was convicted in June 2012 of second-degree murder in Ontario. Dodd was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 17 years before parole eligibility. On April 27, 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeals quashed Dodd's conviction.

Dimitre Dimitrov Dimitre Dimitrov was convicted in 1999 of murdering his landlord in 1996. His conviction was quashed in 2003 and a retrial was ordered. Dimitrov was acquitted after his retrial in October 2005.

Christopher Michael Burr Christopher Michael Burr was convicted on December 4, 2014, of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Duane Laybourne in Calgary, Alberta on February 3, 2013. In April 2015, Alberta's Court of Appeal quashed Burr's conviction and ordered a retrial as the judge prejudicially erred by failing to instruct the jury to consider that Burr acted in self-defense. Alberta Justice filed a motion to stay the charges which was granted on July 20, 2016, and Burr was released later that day.

Glen Assoun Glen Assoun was convicted in 1999 for the murder of Brenda Way in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1995. Assoun was sentenced to life in prison. He was acquitted on March 1, 2019, after a retrial in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, during which the prosecution presented no evidence against Assoun. Assoun died in 2023 at the age of 67.

Gordon Folland George Folland was convicted in 1995 for the rape of an acquaintance. He was released in 1998 and his conviction was overturned in 1999 after DNA testing identified another man as the perpetrator. He was awarded an undisclosed amount in compensation by the Government of Ontario in 2006.

Randy Druken Randy Druken was convicted in 1995 for the murder of his girlfriend, Brenda Young. His conviction was overturned after a key witness, a jailhouse informant, recanted his story claiming that police had bullied him into making a false statement. Evidence came to light in 1998 that Randy's brother, Paul, was the actual murderer. In March 2003, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador asked the retired chief justice of Canada Antonio Lamer to head an inquiry into several wrongful convictions in Newfoundland including that of Druken. In December 2006, Randy was awarded $2.1 million CAD by the Newfoundland and Labrador government. Randy passed away on Dec. 25, 2022 at the age of 57.

Ron Dalton Ron Dalton was convicted on December 15, 1989, for the murder of his wife, Brenda. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for ten years. It was 12 years until Ron was proven innocent.

Erin Walsh On August 12, 1975, Erin Walsh was charged with acquaintance, Melvin "CheChe" Peters', murder. Erin was convicted of the second-degree murder of CheChe on October 17, 1975, and sentenced to ten years in prison. On March 14, 2008, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal quashed Erin's conviction and entered an acquittal. He died in October 2010 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

Kyle Unger On February 28, 1992, Kyle Unger and Timothy Houlahan were convicted of the first-degree murder of classmate, Brigitte Grenier. After years of appeals, on November 4, 2004, Kyle was granted bail pending the decision of the Minister of Justice. On October 23, 2009, Manitoba's Deputy Attorney General formally withdrew charges and asked that he be officially acquitted.

Sherry Sherrett-Robinson On March 27, 1996, Sherry Sherret-Robinson was arrested and charged with the death of her four-month-old son, Joshua. Joshua's autopsy had been performed by the now disgraced forensic pathologist, Charles Smith, who believed that Joshua had been smothered to death. On June 2, 1999, Sherry was found guilty of infanticide and sentenced to one year in prison. On December 7, 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned Sherry's conviction and entered an acquittal.

John (Jack) Salmon John Salmon was convicted for the manslaughter death of his wife, Maxine, on March 5, 1971, and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. On Monday June 22, 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal admitted fresh evidence which absolved John, quashed his manslaughter conviction, and entered an acquittal.

Tammy Marquardt Tammy Marquardt was arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of her son, Kenneth, on November 23, 1993. Kenneth's autopsy had been performed by the now disgraced forensic pathologist, Charles Smith, who testified that Kenneth's cause of death was asphyxia and he had likely been strangled or smothered. On October 24, 1995, Tammy was convicted of Kenneth's murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 10 years. On June 7, 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed Tammy's conviction and ordered a new trial. However, the Crown decided not to further pursue charges against her.

Dinesh Kumar