David Milgaard, an innocent man accused for a crime he did not commit, sat in jail for 23 years. It is only just for Millgard to be released from prison, according to a Saskatchewan inquiry into the case. David Milgaard was 16 at the time when a man named Gail Miller was killed in 1969. David was convicted a year later and only released from prison in 1992. As DNA tests were not available then, Larry Fisher, the real criminal was eventually convicted. The case was only reopened after DNA tests were available. "The criminal justice system has failed David Milgaard," concludes Edward MacCallum, the Alberta judge who headed the inquiry. As a result of this misunderstanding, Milgaard eventually recieved a $10 million compensation package from the Saskatchewan government.
Is a $10 million compensation package worth the time for a 16 year old who spent 23 years in prison? The Canadian criminal justice system is flawed and requires a great deal of improvement. For a teenager to have lost half of their life sitting in prison for a crime that they didn't commit is clearly unjustified. After the experience of wrongfully accusing David Millaard, the Saskatoon Police service claim to have new methodologies and technologies to reduce the chances of wrongfully accusing. Despite the assurances of the police department, there will be undoubtfully a great deal of victims in Canada who will suffer the unjust punishment. Overall, there should be a greater amount of money spent towards improving the justice system than the amount spent on compensation packages.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/26/milgaard-advance.html
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