Wrongful conviction victim David Milgaard dead at 69
David Milgaard, the victim of one of Canada's most notorious miscarriages of justice, has died in an Alberta hospital after a short illness. He was 69.
James Lockyer, a Toronto-based lawyer who worked closely on the case and helped found the advocacy organization Innocence Canada, confirmed the death.
His loss is “devastating for the family,” Lockyer said.
Milgaard was only 16 when he was charged and wrongfully convicted in the rape and murder of Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller, who was stabbed and left to die in the snow in the early morning of Jan. 31, 1969.
He would spend 23 years in prison until his release in 1992.
In his later years, Milgaard helped raise awareness about wrongful convictions and demanded action on the way Canadian courts review convictions.
“I think it's important for everybody, not just lawyers, but for the public itself to be aware that wrongful convictions are taking place and that these people are sitting right now, behind bars and they're trying to get out,” he said in 2015.
Lockyer said he and Milgaard met with Justice Minister David Lametti just over two years ago in Ottawa to push for the creation of an independent body to review claims of wrongful convictions.