Better late than never

Oh, boy. I thought that the Milgaard case was still on hiatus because I hadn't received any updates from Joyce. What I didn't realize was that Joyce didn't have my new e-mail address! (Slapping myself on the forehead on this end.) Consequently, as many of you may have already guessed, I'm about a month behind on the news here! Please accept my apologies. I will try to fill you in piece by piece.

On May the 10th, Joyce went to Montreal to support Michel Dumont. Dumont's conviction for a 1990 rape was overturned in 2001 when the Quebec Court of Appeal found that evidence that established his innocence was concealed during his trial. That included a statement from his so-called victim saying he was the wrong man.

Dumont was badly traumatized in prison; he was afraid to leave his cell because other prisoners beat him up. His incarceration also had an adverse effect on his family when his children were placed in foster care.

Joyce Milgaard asked Quebec Justice Minister, Yvan Marcoux, to compensate Dumont for his suffering. The case reminds her very much of her own son's situation in that it was poorly investigated. Milgaard wants Marcoux to automatically compensate people who have been wrongfully imprisoned, rather than forcing them to go through a lengthy legal process to obtain remuneration.

Sigrid Macdonald