Robert Mailman, left, and Walter Gillespie, speak to media shortly as Ron Dalton, right, co-president of Innocence Canada, looks on after their hearing at Saint John Law Courts in Saint John, N.B., on Jan. 4. The two men recently had a 1984 murder conviction overturned and have now been found formally not guilty.Michael Hawkins/The Canadian Press
Four decades after they were convicted of murder, two elderly men walked out of a New Brunswick courthouse on Thursday acquitted of the grisly killing they had always insisted they never committed.
Walter Gillespie, 80, trembled and wiped tears, as he told reporters in Saint John that he didn’t think this day would ever come. “I just want to thank everybody,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Robert Mailman, 76, who is terminally ill with cancer and expected to live only a few more months, walked stiffly towards a scrum of reporters. His voice was too weak to be heard so he listened intently as Ron Dalton, co-president of Innocence Canada, spoke on his behalf.
“He can finally say, ‘I told everyone I was innocent. No one listened and yet today here I am,’” said Mr. Dalton.
Two New Brunswick men whose 1984 murder convictions were recently overturned by the federal justice minister have been formally declared not guilty. Tracey DeWare, chief justice of the Court of King's Bench, said that Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie are 'innocent in the eyes of the law' of the killing of George Gilman Leeman in Saint John, N.B. on Nov. 30, 1983.
The Canadian Press
The men cast their eyes down as Mr. Dalton said it shouldn’t have taken almost 40 years for this day to come. “We all should be looking at what went wrong and how it stayed wrong for 40 years before we tried to fix it. It’s too late to fix a lot of it. These men will never get back their lost years. Mr. Leeman’s family will never get justice for his murder,” he said.
The pair were convicted of second-degree murder in 1984 for the killing of a Saint John plumber named George Leeman. The 55-year-old was beaten to death, doused in gasoline and set on fire – his charred body found by a jogger near a trail in a vast park overlooking the city.
At the time of his death, Mr. Leeman owed several thousand dollars to local pimps and bootleggers.
The men were sentenced to life in prison, with Mr. Mailman serving 18 years and Mr. Gillespie serving 21. The pair always maintained their innocence.
Innocence Canada, a group that fights for the wrongfully convicted, began reviewing the men’s cases in 2018. They relied heavily on articles written by investigative reporter Gary Dimmock, formerly of the Telegraph-Journal, to make an application to Canada’s Justice Minister for a federal criminal conviction review in December, 2019.
Last month, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General Arif Virani ordered a new trial for the two men, saying in a statement that there’s “a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.”
On Wednesday, the men stood side by side in court and reiterated the same not-guilty pleas they had made to the same charge four decades ago.
The Crown, Karen Lee, did not offer any evidence, leaving the Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench Tracey DeWare with one option.
“The only available verdict in this situation is to find both Mr. Mailman and Mr. Gillespie not guilty of the murder of George Leeman in November of 1983,” she told the court.
“It is most regretful that it has taken 40 years for this day to come,” added Chief Justice DeWare. She said she will provide a written statement Friday in response to concerns raised by the men’s counsel about how the case points to systemic administration of justice issues in New Brunswick.
James Lockyer, founding director of Innocence Canada, told the court the systemic issues that arise from this case are important – non-disclosure of evidence, pressuring of witnesses and recantations – and they mirror the miscarriage of justice case of Erin Walsh, who was convicted of second-degree murder in Saint John in 1975. Mr. Walsh was found wrongfully convicted with help from Innocence Canada in 2008. He died two years later from cancer.
Mr. Lockyer told the court he has requested the province review other past cases to find potential wrongful convictions likely caused by the very same issues, and he offered to help with such a review. He said he’s still awaiting a response, and raised the prospect with Ms. Lee, executive director of New Brunswick’s Justice and Public Safety department, and Brian Munn, assistant deputy minister of public prosecutions, both of whom were in attendance.
Outside court, Mr. Lockyer told reporters a public inquiry is needed to fix the systemic problems in the administration of justice in New Brunswick.
“We’ve had two cases now in New Brunswick … and the very same systemic issues arise, particularly non-disclosure,” he said. “There are not just parallels. The two cases in so many ways are identical. If there’s two cases like this you can bet your bottom dollar there’s a lot more.”
He also said the Saint John Police, the force that investigated this case as well as the one that led to the wrongful conviction of Erin Walsh, has a lot to answer for.
The Saint John Police released a statement after the not-guilty verdict Thursday, saying they are seeking the final results of the federal Department of Justice’s review of the case and rationale that led to today’s outcome.
“While we respect the judicial process, we are deeply concerned with the impact it may have on all parties involved,” said the unattributed statement.
Michael Sherrard, the victim’s great-nephew, said he wished the two men peace.
“It’s a miscarriage of justice. It’s a travesty for both people. For them and my uncle George, and it was too bad that had to happen,” he said in an interview.
With a report from The Canadian Press