Finally, it’s Joyce Milgaard on the hot seat;
During cross examination, Knox referred several times to untruths in Joyce Milgaard’s 1999 book, A Mother’s Story: My Fight to Free My Son David. For example, Milgaard claimed that [former Crown prosecutor Bob] Caldwell withheld a police statement from the defence that could have helped David Milgaard.
Joyce Milgaard said in the book that a girl, Deborah Hall, had given police a statement contradicting boys who said Milgaard had re-enacted the murder and confessed during a motel room party.
Knox referred to evidence at the inquiry which has shown that Hall never gave police a statement in 1969; she had run away from home and nobody knew where she was.
Hall said she didn’t know about the other boys’ story until 10 years later, when a reporter asked for her version of events. Hall said Milgaard was being sarcastic when he said he killed Miller.
Knox showed that Joyce Milgaard had been present at the trial when Caldwell explained that Crown witness Ron Wilson had told police about the boys’ story the day before the trial was to begin.
Caldwell had immediately shared the information with defence lawyer Cal Tallis. Tallis had access to the same witnesses Caldwell had, Knox showed.
When Milgaard said Tuesday she didn’t remember that part of the trial, Knox reminded Milgaard that she had had a copy of the trial transcripts since 1981 and claimed to be very familiar with it.
[…]
Also in the book, Milgaard exaggerated in her account of the letters Caldwell wrote to the National Parole Board.
[…]
Also in the book, Milgaard repeated the unfounded allegations of a former justice department employee, who had claimed that high ranking Saskatchewan justice offi cials, including head prosecutor Serge Kujawa and then-attourney general Roy Romanow had held closed-door meetings, where they reviewed the Milgaard and Fisher prosecution files at the same time.
Joyce Milgaard did not mention in the book that the allegations had been refuted soon after they were made public, eight years earlier.
Nor did she mention that an RCMP investigation into the allegations had found the employee didn’t work in the department at the time he said he delivered the fi les to the alleged meetings.
Nor did she include corrections in a subsequent edition of the book that updated the case.
Wouldnt it be something if Mr.Millgard and Mr.Fisher knew one another?
They didn’t know each other. I find it hard to believe that anyone would still bring this up after all they have been through. Joyce lied, she was the last of a long line of liars. Serge Kujawa, a former NDP MLA has a lot to answer for also. Like why did he not inform the victims of Larry Fisher that he had been arrested and convicted of raping them? Why did Serge Kujawa take a bus to Regina – Serge Kujawa didn’t have a driver’s license and I don’t know if he ever got one – so that Fisher could quietly plead guilty to the Saskatoon rapes? Fisher was arrested in Winnipeg, and sent to Regina instead of Saskatoon at Kujawa’s request, why? There are a lot of problems in this case, I have followed it since the mid 1980’s. The biggest problem is that so many high ranking political figures have so much at stake, and nobody ever wants to admit they are wrong.
Kate: in an earlier post IIRC you mentioned in passing that Joyce Milgaard gave her son up to the CAS or some such thing, something that I’ve never seen mentioned elsewhere. Do you (or any other fine commentors) have any info pertaining to this? (I did do a cursory search from link provided.)
I ask because…because while I have a great deal of empathy for parents who have single parentage thrust upon them, I feel more empathy for the kids who get kicked to the curb by parents overwhelmed by their circumstances and the kids often got no chance – no chance – in these situations, to put it plainly.
As for Joyce Milgaard’s “my baby didn’t do it” schpiel: this is universal, not much different than the claims of the moms of the 17 accused terrorists’ moms, etc. I’m certain you’re not pro-false-imprisonment, so for the more obtuse/inebriated by some beer called “Maximum Ice” (7.1% acl / vol.) among us, can you provide a hint on what your angle is on the Milgaard issue?
Fisher and Milgaard did have friends in common–Fisher lived in the same house as Milgaard’s friend–a house where Milgaard went to pick his friend up. Milgaard is not the poor innocent boy he has been made out to be. I have spoken to cops that still say he is as guilty as hell in the Miller murder.
Google Fisher/Milgaard connection and read the transcript.
http://www.milgaardinquiry.blogspot.com
My personal favorite aspect of the Milgaard case occurred during the SCC “enquiry” into the matter. It was the first time that the SCC had ever heard live witnesses, and given the gross inexperience of the members of the SCC in actually experiencing real live court room matters, probably the first time many of them had experienced live testimony.
After hearing one witness (on a Friday) the court expressed the belief that the witness was lying. They ordered that he be subjected to a RCMP polygraph examination over the weekend, with the results to be presented to them on the following Monday morning.
The loud series of *thuds* heard throughout the nation after that order was given was found to be the collective dropping of jaws of police and prosecutors throughout Canada, they all having coming to the realization that the members of the highest court in the land were the ONLY participants in the criminal justice system that apparently didn’t realize that polygraph evidence was not admissable in court in Canada.
That gave rise to the longest running joke in police and prosecutor circles:
Q: What do you call a lawyer in Canada who knows virtually nothing about criminal law or investigative procedures?
A: A Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Is it me, or does Joyce M. come off as a bit of an odd duck???
Cheers!
Leto
If sonny boy David was so innocent how did he come to possess Gail Millers purse. Most insiders think David was present when Gail was killed. The DNA test showed that Fisher raped her but didn’t prove he was the killer!
From the Supreme Court decision;
http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1992/1992rcs1-866/1992rcs1-866.html
“Justice Tallis testified that Milgaard denied any involvement in the murder. However, Milgaard did confirm to his counsel the sequence of events related by Nichol John and Ronald Wilson that is set out above. Milgaard confirmed the evidence given by Nichol John and Ronald Wilson that he had broken into a building at some point during the trip from Regina to Saskatoon. Justice Tallis stated that Milgaard referred to the pedestrian whom they stopped to ask for directions as an older woman, but could not give a more precise estimate of her age. As well, Milgaard admitted to Justice Tallis that he looked at her with a view to possibly robbing her. Other evidence indicates that Gail Miller’s purse was taken by somebody and thrown in a garbage can.
“Nichol John and Albert Cadrain, whom the group picked up in Saskatoon, testified that Nichol John had found a compact or a makeup bag in the Wilson car after they left Saskatoon. It had not been there earlier. When Nichol John inquired about it, David Milgaard seized it and threw it out of the car. Justice Tallis testified that David Milgaard had confirmed this had occurred and could not give any explanation for his actions. Milgaard also told his counsel that he may have had a knife in his possession when he arrived in Saskatoon.”
Read the whole thing.
to be perfectly honest, if my kid went thru the godam meat grinder of ‘justice’ system in canada I too would freely fight fire with fire and inject half truths and exaggerations into the story. cops are especially noteworthy of suppressing exculpatory evidence.
here in ontariariario we have the truscott and morin cases to prove that. and the abominable incometance during the bernardo case to show what useless twits they can be at the most serious and dire times.
tit for tat.
the prosecutors need to be a tad more thorough in pursuit of the truth and not just *their* agenda.
the scc judgey judges are the ones who gave us the ruling in the montreal rape case mid 90s if youre drunk enough you cannot be guilty of rape.
whut they fergawht wuz if yer THAT drunk you cant ummm, ‘get it up’ to rape with, but that arguement of course is based on logic and commonly known physiology, not the extreme, highly refined and downright bizarreness coming out of the scc.
Good on Joyce for the being the mom she is. Her son rotted in jail for 23 years for a crime he did not commit. No, David was not an angel. But he is also not a murderer. This crime reaked of Fisher. Read Hersh Walsh’s book, When Justice Fails. All these conspiracy theories fly out the windown when you begin to understand what really happened that night and morning. Don’t put linkages where there are none, ie. Fisher and Cadrain/Milgaard.
I too know cops who think he is guilty. Cops do not admit when they are wrong – even in the face of compelling proof to the contrary. In the Milgaard case they connected dots that could not be connected by creating more dots to make the case. What they didn’t do was connect the real dots that were there concerning Fisher. This is a huge case of failure of the justice system. Quit looking for linkages that are not there. Milgaard was screwed, pure and simple. Joyce told some fibs. Tough! I would too if it would lead to my some being exonorated for a crime he did not commit.
Robert J’s position re. being a good parent when one does not stand idly by when your son is rotting in jail for a murder he did not commit is worthy of consideration. What a changed world we would live in if we all took a stand for someone else’s kid who is being screwed by the justice system. I know there are those who do this but when they take a stand they soon get knocked off by those who have a lot to lose. Often the knocking off comes within forums like this one. (See the 20-20 foresight thread)
All this trouble could have been avoided if Joyce had been a better parent. I’m the same age as David & there was no way I would have been allowed to head off in the middle of the night to Edmonton when I was 17. Joyce always glosses over this aspect of this tragedy by saying silly things like ” David was always a free spirit “.
I see some errors here.
First off we don’t have a Justice System we have a Legal System.
The only reason they went after David was because he was a hippie. For those that don’t know what a hippies was, it was a person who rebelled against the establishment with long hair. In the praires they were always beated for being different. You’d see them lining the highways going to Woodstock or Vancouver in the 60’s.
Scoo – I too judged parents before I had the means to make an appropriate evaluation – I had no children. I lived to regret it. Hope your lessons in judging others before you walk in their shoes is less painful than mine was.
Why doesn’t Joyce Millguard can it. She’s trying so hard to clear her concience for kicking David out as a kid. My Dad was in Law Enforcement and I knew some of the witnesses. Let it go. It’s costing taxpayers millions for nothing. He’s out of jail he got a few million dollars now put it to rest. It’s a complete waste of time and money.
To neutralsam & anne marsden
I’m not saying what happened to David was right or that “he had it coming”. What I’m saying is if Joyce had been a better mother this whole mess could have been avoided. Her negligence lit the fuse for the bomb that went off in her son’s face & she has to bear some responsibility.
BTW I have 2 teenage sons .. one in High School & one in University. My wife & I know where they are all the time and we are always just a phone call away if they need help.
Scott