Donald Marshall, Jr.

Donald Marshall, Jr. (13 September 1953 – 6 August 2009) was a Mi'kmaq man who was wrongly convicted of murder. The case inspired a number of questions about the fairness of the Canadian justice system, especially given that Marshall was an Aboriginal; as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation put it, "The name Donald Marshall is almost synonymous with 'wrongful conviction' and the fight for native justice in Canada."^[2] The case inspired the Michael Harris book, Justice Denied: The Law Versus Donald Marshall and the subsequent film Justice Denied. His father, Donald Marshall, Sr., was grand chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation at the time.

Early life

Marshall was born 13 September 1953 on Membertou First Nation in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He was the eldest of 13 children of Donald Marshall, Sr., the Grand Chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation, and his wife Caroline (née Googoo).^[3]

Wrongful conviction

Marshall was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering acquaintance Sandy Seale in 1971. Marshall and Seale, then both 17 years old, had been walking around Wentworth Park in Sydney, Nova Scotia during the late evening with the intent to "roll a drunk" as stated in his trial. They confronted Roy Ebsary, an older man they encountered in the park. A short scuffle occurred and Seale fell mortally wounded by a knife blow which Ebsary delivered. Ebsary never admitted that he had stabbed Seale and then lied about his role to the police who immediately focused on Marshall, who was 'known to them' from previous incidents. Police speculated that Marshall, in a rage for some reason, had murdered Seale. From the beginning, the system seemed determined to prove that Marshall was guilty.^[4]

Marshall spent 11 years in jail before being acquitted by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in 1983.^[5] A witness came forward to say he had seen another man stab Seale, and several prior witness statements pinpointing Marshall were recanted. In this appeal which acquitted him of the previous murder charge, Marshall was assumed to have lied in his first trial about his and Seale's activities on the night of Seale's death. The accusation was that he and Seale had actually approached Ebsary with the intention of robbing him and they were in the park that night. Ebsary was subsequently tried and convicted of manslaughter.^[6] When Marshall's conviction was overturned, the presiding judge placed some blame on Marshall for the miscarriage of justice, calling him "the author of his own misfortune."^[7] This was viewed as a "serious and fundamental error" by the Royal Commission report.^[8] Anne Derrick, Q.C., well-known social justice advocate lawyer, worked as Marshall's counsel,^[9] and Order of Canada recipient Clayton Ruby was co-counsel for Marshall, along with Anne Derrick, during the 1989 Royal Commission on Marshall's prosecution.^[10]

The Crown Attorney's failure to provide full disclosure (contradictory and coerced statements by witnesses, because they believed the evidence not provided had no bearing in the case) brought about changes in the Canadian rules of evidence regarding disclosure. The prosecution must provide full disclosure without determination on what may be useful to the defence (that is the defence's duty to decide).

Compensation and aftermath

Marshall ultimately received a lifetime pension of $1.5 million in compensation.^[11] His conviction resulted in changes to The Evidence Act in Canada which was amended so that any evidence obtained must be presented to the defence on disclosure. Prior to this case, Crown Attorneys had discretion to present what they determined to be pertinent to a case. After 1983, the C.A. must provide all evidence with no determination on its usefulness. The rationale of the law is that it is more appropriate for the defense to determine what may or may not assist an accused.

In response, a Royal Commission was formed to investigate what had caused the miscarriage of justice; this led to an influential case on judicial independence in Canada, Mackeigan v. Hickman.

Fishing rights battle

Subsequently, Marshall reached prominence again as the primary petitioner in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case of R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 SCR 45 regarding native fishing rights.

Subsequent arrests

In January 2006, Marshall faced charges of attempted murder, uttering death threats and dangerous driving following a New Year's Eve party in which Marshall was accused of attacking a man with a vehicle. The charges were dropped after both men agreed to participate in a healing circle.^[4][7][12]

In 2008, Marshall faced charges of assault against his wife, uttering threats against his wife and her ex-husband and breach of an undertaking.^[13]

Death

Marshall died 6 August 2009, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, from complications of a 2003 lung transplant.^[14]

See also

• Overturned convictions in Canada
• List of miscarriage of justice cases
• Willie Nepoose

References