Manitoba man acquitted 50 years after murder conviction

WINNIPEG -

A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted.

Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.

He was granted parole in 1983 and filed last year for a ministerial review of his conviction.

His lawyers argued a confession Woodhouse supposedly made was in fluent English, although he primarily spoke Saulteaux.

The federal justice minister ordered a new trial earlier this year, and the Crown acknowledged in Winnipeg court on Thursday that the case was a miscarriage of justice.

Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of King's Bench said systemic discrimination affected the police investigation and the prosecution of the case.

Two other men convicted in the killing, Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse, had their convictions quashed last year after a new trial was ordered and the Crown asked for an acquittal.

Anderson served almost 11 years and was given full parole in 1987. Allan Woodhouse served 23 years.

A fourth person, Russell Woodhouse, was also convicted. He died in 2011.

James Lockyer, a lawyer and director with Innocence Canada, has said there needs to be an examination of homicide convictions involving Indigenous people over the last five decades in Manitoba.

Jerome Kennedy, another lawyer with the group, said outside court Thursday that Innocence Canada is also working on cases involving Indigenous men in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario that are moving toward a request for a review by the federal justice minister

He said he'd like to see a national effort to take on wrongful convictions.

"There appears to be a deeper systemic issue that requires a targeted approach," Kennedy said.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.