Guy Paul Morin

Guy Paul Morin is a Canadian who was wrongly convicted of the October 1984 rape and murder of his nine-year-old next-door neighbour, Christine Jessop of Queensville, north of Toronto, Ontario. DNA testing led to a subsequent overturning of this verdict. As of 2014, no one else has been charged with Jessop's murder.[1]

Murder of Christine Jessop

On 3 October 1984, Jessop was dropped off at her home from her school bus with both of her parents out.[1] She was last seen by the owner of a nearby convenience store where she had gone to buy bubble gum. Her body was discovered on 31 December, nearly three months later. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.[2]

Trials

Morin was arrested for Jessop's murder in April 1985.[2] He was later acquitted at his first trial in 1986.[3] The Crown exercised its right to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the trial judge made a fundamental error prejudicing the Crown's right to a fair trial.[4] In 1987 the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial.[5] The retrial was delayed until 1992 by Morin's own appeals based on the Crown's non-disclosure of exculpatory evidence and by other issues, including the double jeopardy rule.[5]

Morin was convicted at his second trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment.[6] Unlike others convicted of murdering children after sexually abusing them, he was kept in the general population throughout his time in prison.[7] Up until his release, he was held at Kingston Penitentiary.[7]

Acquittal and aftermath

Improvements in DNA testing led to a test in 1995 which excluded Morin as the murderer.[8] Morin's appeal of his conviction was allowed (i.e., the conviction was reversed), and a directed verdict of acquittal entered in the appeal.[5]

An inquiry culminating in the Kaufman Report into Morin's case also uncovered evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct, and of misrepresentation of forensic evidence by the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences.[5][9] Morin received $1.25 million in compensation from the Ontario government.[10]

Christine Jessop’s murderer is still unknown.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rush, Curtis (15 August 2012). "For Janet Jessop, October is a time to mourn murdered daughter Christine all over again".
  2. 1 2 "Cold Cases: Christine Jessop, Queensville, Ont. (1984)". CBC Digital Archives. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Appeal planned". Montreal Gazette. 6 March 1986. p. B–1. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Crown to appeal Morin's acquittal". Ottawa Citizen. 6 March 1986. p. A–12. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 King, Jack (August 1988). "The Ordeal of Guy Paul Morin: Canada Copes With Systemic Injustice". Champion Magazine. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Canadian Cases Of Wrongful Conviction". CityNews. Rogers Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  7. 1 2 Nolan, Dan (28 October 1997). "Morin feared for his life: Jailers rejected isolation". The Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario). Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Farnsworth, Clyde H. (11 April 1995). "Queensville Journal; Jailed in Killing, He's Guilty Only of Being a Misfit". The New York Times. p. 4. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  9. ↑ "Morin inquiry slams investigation". CBC.ca. 13 November 1998. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  10. ↑ The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/guy-paul-morin-case/. Retrieved 26 February 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links


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