Ottawa Orders Appeal Court to Review 2 Saskatchewan Murder Convictions
Sean Fraser said the review is not a ruling on innocence and sends new legal issues back to court after a conviction review.
- On Thursday, Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser ordered a new appeal for Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance, two Saskatchewan sisters convicted of second-degree murder in 1994. Fraser cited reasonable grounds to conclude a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.
- Since their 1994 convictions for the 1993 killing of 70-year-old Anthony Dolff near Kamsack, the sisters have maintained their innocence. Their 14-year-old cousin confessed to the killing and served a four-year youth sentence.
- Innocence Canada draws parallels between this case and the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard, who fought for the sisters alongside the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples until his death in May 2022. The organization filed an application with the justice minister on December 21, 2021.
- Although granted bail in 2023, both sisters are currently remanded in custody for breaching release conditions. Odelia Quewezance appeared in Yorkton Provincial Court on July 28 facing new charges.
- Fraser noted new information was not before the courts during the original trial or appeal. The case now returns to an Appeal Court to determine legal issues according to the law, though the order does not prejudge guilt or innocence.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Medicine Hat News
Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review murder convictions of two Saskatchewan sisters
OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions. Fraser says he is sending the case of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance back to an Appeal Court for a review. Fraser, in
Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review 2 Saskatchewan murder convictions
Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions. Fraser says he is sending the case of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance back to an Appeal Court for a review. In a statement, Fraser says he has reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in the 1994 convictions. He notes ther…
Federal justice minister orders new appeal in 1994 convictions of Quewezance sisters
OTTAWA, Ont. — The federal justice minister has ordered a new appeal in the decades-old second-degree murder convictions of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance, two Indigenous sisters from Saskatchewan who have maintained their innocence for nearly 30 ...
Winnipeg Free Press
CP Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review 2 Saskatchewan murder convictions
OTTAWA - Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions.
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