Eugene Williams testifies

Yesterday Eugene Williams, former Federal Justice Department lawyer, testified about his role in the investigation of Milgaard's 1988 application to have his murder conviction reviewed under Section 690 of the Criminal Code.

Earlier in the inquiry, Milgaard's former defense lawyer, David Asper, said that he was frustrated dealing with the Justice Department and felt that they were biased in maintaining Milgaard's conviction, according to the Star Phoenix.

Williams declared that he took the application quite seriously and that his role was a reactive one rather than proactive. His job was to pre-screen the application before it went to the federal Justice Minister.

Milgaard's first 690 application was rejected on December 27, 1991 and his legal team filed again in August of that same year.

Sigrid Mac