After the federal justice minister reversed their 1984 murder convictions on December 22, fresh Brunswickers Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie will appear in court on January 4 to decide if a fresh trial will begin.
New Brunswick Men Await New Trial Decision After Murder Convictions Overturned
A new trial is expected to be announced by the Crown during the hearing, according to Innocence Canada director Ron Dalton. Innocence Canada lawyers will represent the guys, and Dalton hopes the charges will be dropped.
The men were convicted of second-degree murder for killing George Gilman Leeman in 1983, but fresh evidence overturned their convictions. Justice Minister Arif Virani suspected a miscarriage of justice.
The newly released facts influenced Virani’s conclusion, raising questions about the legal process’s fairness. The minister ordered Mailman and Gillespie’s new trial, underlining the relevance of new evidence. Two men thanked the minister for bringing justice to them and asserted their innocence in a joint statement.
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New Brunswick Men, Wrongfully Convicted, Await Potential New Trial After Decades of Appeals
The New Brunswick Court of Appeal rejected the men’s 1988 appeals. Life without parole for 18 years was their sentence. Gillespie, 80, lives in a Saint John halfway house after serving 21 years of his life sentence. Terminally sick Mailman, 76, served 18 years and lives in Saint John. Due to Mailman’s health, the hearing was likely accelerated.
Innocence Canada said that Leeman’s heavily beaten and partially burned body was found in Rockwood Park, Saint John. The organization stressed that Mailman and Gillespie had good alibis with many witnesses placing them far from the murder location. Dalton chatted with Mailman, who felt much better after hearing Virani’s statement, despite his terrible condition. Mailman reportedly is drafting comments for after the judicial process.
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