Canadian David Milgaard, who spent more than two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit before becoming one of the most ardent defenders of injustice in Canada’s criminal justice system, died in Calgary at the age of 69.
The organization Project Milgaard announced the news on their social media on Sunday. His sister, Susan Milgaard, confirmed to The Globe and Mail that the civil rights leader, the victim of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Canadian history, died of pneumonia early Sunday morning.
David Milgaard’s life changed in 1969 when he was falsely accused of the rape and murder of Gail Miller, a Saskatoon nurse. The man, who was out of town at the time of the murder, was convicted solely on testimonies from his friends, obtained under pressure from police, including one who later admitted he was still under the influence of drugs at the time of his death interrogation, describes the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The police even knowingly ignored later evidence linking the real killer, Larry Fisher, to Gail Miller’s murder. It wasn’t until 1992 that David Milgaard was released after a Supreme Court review of his case and the disclosure of new evidence, while Fisher was not arrested until 1997 on a series of DNA tests that proved and exonerated his guilt. forever, Mr. Milgaard.
David Milgaard had been awarded $10 million in compensation for his decades behind bars, during which he was repeatedly assaulted and attempted suicide.
After his traumatic experience, David Milgaard had become a passionate advocate for the rights of those wrongly convicted. He gave speeches warning of the risk of miscarriage of justice and advocated the creation of an independent commission to review contentious investigations.