Many people have become victims of wrongful convictions; the story of Romeo Phillion highlights the various factors that lead to unjust sentencing. He was accused of murdering Leopold at the age of 43 and later sent to prison until he became exonerated at 71. He became the prime suspect because he resembled the real assailant (Innocence Canada, 2020). The victim's conviction was mainly influenced by witness error and propelled by unstable mental condition.
The Crime
Romeo was allegedly suspected of having murdered Leopold Roy, the firefighter. Roy's wife, Mildred, wrongfully identified him as the assailant who attacked her husband. On August 9, 1967, the occurrences happened when Mildred described the murder at the Ottawa police station (CBC News, 2010). The descriptions given were closely related to that of Phillion and his identical twin brother, Donald. During investigations, it was discovered that Donald was not within the town when Leopold was stabbed, and he was therefore set free. As a result, Phillion remained the only suspect at that period. Four days later, Romeo was arrested for another unrelated charge, and Mildred again observed him and gave an uncertain statement that Romeo was the attacker. Due to a lack of precise identification, he was released. On January 11, 1972, he was arrested again for committing an armed robbery; though the crime was unrelated to the murder, he confessed to it during that time.
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Romeo's Trial
His trial started on October 16, 1972, and the case was grounded on three main pieces of evidence. The first evidence was based on Leopold's wife's witness statements that described him as the person who had stabbed Roy to death (Innocence Canada, 2020). This piece of evidence was used despite the fact the Mildred had also identified three other men as suspects. The second evidence was his false acknowledgments to the murder, which was used because he had given it freely without any threat. The third was based on the confession that he gave to his lover, Neil.
Despite admitting to the crime, his defense attorney strengthened that Phillion was innocent and that his unstable mental condition prompted his statements. Besides, psychological experts confirmed that Romeo had an antisocial personality disorder, which made him invent stories. Furthermore, Romeo had recanted to another police officer, explaining his innocence that he made false confessions that night. While recanting, he stated that he and Nelly had planned to give incorrect information to send the investigators into making a foolish and hopeless search.
Additionally, the lawyer, Arthur Cogan, illustrated that the investigators had lost important shreds of evidence such as blood, hair, and fingernail samples taken from Leopold and Romeo. The attorney requested the jury to become concerned about why proper police investigation was lacking during the verdict. Unfortunately, the suspect was found guilty by the Jury on November 7, 1972, despite troubling evidence features (Canadian Press, 2013). As a result, Romeo was subjected to a life sentence in prison without parole eligibility for ten years.
While serving his sentence, Romeo tried to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal. He stressed that he was deprived of presumption of innocence, which is entitled to every accused individual. His appeal was unsuccessful and became dismissed on September 3, 1974, even after arguing about the investigation problems that transpired. He subsequently sought another appeal on March 22, 1977, to the Supreme Court of Canada and was dismissed again (CBC, 2010). The two appeals' failure forced him to write letters to the Minister of Justice requesting that the case be reopened because he was not in town during the murder. Despite the efforts, no action was taken, and he served thirty-one years for wrongful conviction.
The Retrial
Pillion's case took a different turn in 1988 when the parole officer presented a report document to him that was filled on April 12, 1968, by McCombie, a detective. The form gave him an alibi, which proved that Romeo was in Trenton and not in Ottawa when the murder took place. He sent that compelling evidence to the Innocence Project, and the group sent an application to the minister of Justice to analyze whether he was convicted wrongfully. Fortunately, the minister awarded him bail after considering the application and ordered the Ontario Court of Appeal on August 2, 2006, to reopen the case (Canadian Press, 2013).
The hearing was made to determine why Detective McCombie's report was not disclosed to Romeo's counsel before. The majority of judges realized a significant deal of confusion that explained why the investigators failed to declare the alibi. The judges confirmed that the Crown prosecutors also had another copy of the alibi file, and they were unable to disclose it to Cogan, Romeo's lawyer. As a result, the Appeal Court overturned his conviction and ordered a retrial. Nonetheless, the murder charges against him were withdrawn on April 29, 2010, without retrial by the Crown because there was no reasonable chance that the retrial could lead to his conviction again (Canadian Press, 2013). his criminal record was then cleared at the age of 71, and he gave a press statement reporting that the judge issued an apology through a gift.
Different Human Factors that Contributed to Romeo's Wrongful Conviction
In Romeo's case, it is evident that several human factors led to his wrongful conviction. First, his mental status contributed to his sentencing. The condition was verified by Dr. Gudjonsson's testimonies, who explained that Romeo's voluntary false confessions were motivated by the antisocial disorder, which made him fail to distinguish fact from fantasy. The doctor also confirmed that Romeo had a borderline personality disorder that prompted him to give false acknowledgments (Innocence Canadian, 2020). Secondly, his conviction resulted from the police's target practice because the officers plagued their investigations with an incredible degree of disorganization. They carelessly lost the pieces of evidence and failed to keep filled records of their findings. Their failures intersected with the judicial error, indicated by the Crown's failure to provide the lawyer with the critical April report that contained Romeo's alibi.
Additionally, the factor of witness error led to this miscarriage of Justice. The investigators emphasized more on Mrs. Roy's eyewitness testimony, which they believed to be credible. Her testimony was incorrect because she had also identified three other men as suspects. Furthermore, his criminal record reinforced his sentencing because he was arrested on January 11, 1972, for an armed robbery case despite being arrested for other unrelated charges four days after Leopold's murder (CBC, 2010).
Romeo's financial status also led to his conviction because he had recanted to the investigator that they had planned to make a false confession to collect Neil's report's reward money. Lastly, the admissions made by Romeo in the absence of the lawyer made him become a victim. The suspect ignorantly confessed to Detective Hainault, who was interviewing him in the absence of an attorney. The detective granted him his wishes, and that prompted Romeo to keep his side of the bargain.
Pillion's case is amongst many convictions that outline the plight of innocent victims. Their troubles are brought by various human factors such as witness error, judicial error, investigatory error, and mental disorder. The victims end up serving many years in prison without help. The government and all interested parties should develop measures that can help eliminate such innocent conviction. The suspect should be given an attorney who can represent them rightfully.
References
CBC News. (2010) Romeo Phillion timeline . CBC Canada. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/romeo-phillion-timeline-1.727759
Innocence Canada. (2020). Romeo Phillion . Innocence Canada. https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/romeo-phillion/
The Canadian Press. (2013). Romeo Phillion loses bid to sue for quashed conviction . CBC News. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/romeo-phillion-loses-bid-to-sue-for-quashed-conviction-1.1370125
