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Nova Scotia premier asks for criminal investigation of police in wrongful conviction case

September 17, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 4 Comments

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil wants police acts in the Glen Assoun wrongful conviction case referred to the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) for a possible criminal investigation. SIRT is the province’s independent police oversight body; its mandate is “to investigate all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence or other […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Felix Cacchione, Glen Assoun wrongful conviction, Halifax Regional Police (HRP), Innocence Canada, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Justice Minister David Lametti, Premier Stephen McNeil, RCMP, Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS)

Politicians are doubling down on the injustice done to Glen Assoun

Morning File, Tuesday, July 16, 2019

July 16, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 5 Comments

News 1. Glen Assoun deserves immediate compensation From the court documents released Friday related to the Assoun case, I’ve come to understand three broad themes: Shoddy police investigation First, the police investigation into Brenda Way’s murder was shoddy, in that potential suspects were not properly investigated. These suspects include Avery Greenough, a violent man with […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Barbara Darby and public nudity, Cape Breton University (CBU), cyclist struck Black Rock Road, Dexel Developments towers Spring Garden Road, Glen Assoun compensation, health transfers, Ian Fairclough, Jerome Kennedy, Justice Minister Mark Furey, police incompetence, police malfeasance, RCMP Cst David Moore, Richard Starr, Robie Street mega-development, Smith's Bakery, Talia Forrest, vehicle/cyclist collision, Yarmouth ferry, Zane Woodford

The Assoun wrongful conviction: How Halifax police, RCMP, and prosecutorial misconduct sent an innocent man to prison and kept him there for nearly 17 years

Part 2: a botched Halifax police investigation, and then an RCMP coverup.

July 14, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 1 Comment

For background on this story, see my 2016 series, “Dead Wrong.” In the late 1990s, Halifax police were dealing with a disturbing number of unsolved murders, and in 1997, an RCMP–Halifax police task force, “Operation Full Course,” was established to look at cold cases. Operation Full Course was primarily focused on Andrew Johnson, a man picked […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, News Tagged With: Andrea King, Andrew Johnson, Andy Lathem, Associate Chief Justice O’Neil, Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), Brenda Way, Brent Snook, Cst Steve Maxwell, Cst. D.L. Southern, Dave Moore, Detective Wayne Hurst, Dick Hutchings, Fred Fitzsimmons, Glen Assoun, Halifax Integrated Major Crime Unit, Innocence Canada, Jerome Kennedy, Ken Bradley, Kimberly McAndrew, Kirk Luther, Mark Green, Michael McGray, Operation Full Course, Public Prosecution Service, RCMP Corporal Roger Robbins, Sgt Dave Worrell, Stinchcombe, Tammy McLean, Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS)

The Assoun wrongful conviction: the McNeil connection

Morning File, Monday, July 8, 2019

July 8, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 2 Comments

News 1. Northern Pulp Mill’s missing environmental data “If Premier Stephen McNeil is wavering on the Northern Pulp / Paper Excellence file, entertaining notions on amending the Boat Harbour Act so that effluent from the Pictou County pulp mill can continue to flow into the lagoon after January 31, 2020, he would do well to […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: acting Chief of Police Robin McNeil, Anthony McNeil, Centre Plan, Chris Blanchard, Chris Cline, climate change, deputy police chief Chris McNeil, Don Blankenship, Donkin coal mine, Donkin Mine safety violations, Fred Fitzsimmons, Glen Assoun documents, Innocence Canada, Irving Shipyard, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Mainland Moose, Matthew Moore, Phil Campbell, police malfeasance, Premier Stephen McNeil, Ryan MacDonald, Sean MacDonald, Trevor O'Neil, Victoria Road development, Wellington Street development

The Halifax police department has a crisis of legitimacy 

Morning File, Monday, June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 1 Comment

News 1. The Halifax police department has a crisis of legitimacy Is there an unusually large number of Halifax cops who are crooks? I suspect there is an institutional culture that looks the other way and avoids confronting official misconduct, and that institutional culture therefore actually encourages even more misconduct. But of course it’s a […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Chris Mosher, Constable Chris Friis, Criminal Conviction Review Group, Detective Constable Justin Sheppard, Fred Fitzsimmons, Gary Basso, George Farmer, Glen Assoun, Halifax Police, James Lockyer, Jane Downey, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Phillip Campbell, police malfeasance, Sean MacDonald, Stephen Angle, Sylvia Parris, Tina Cameron, trichomoniasis

Documenting police “malfeasance” in Glen Assoun’s wrongful conviction

Morning File, Tuesday, June 11, 2019

June 11, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 2 Comments

Yesterday, Glen Assoun’s lawyer Phil Campbell filed a brief with the Supreme Court in response to a media application to unseal court documents related to his wrongful conviction. The media coalition consists of the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press. Campbell’s brief wants a partial publication ban to be placed on three people […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Constable Chris Friis, Criminal Conviction Review Group, Detective Constable Justin Sheppard, Fred Fitzsimmons, Glen Assoun, Halifax Police, James Lockyer, Jane Downey, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Phillip Campbell, police investigator Dave MacDonald, police malfeasance, Sean MacDonald, Stephen Angle, Tina Cameron

Halifax police try to intervene in the Glen Assoun document case

Morning File, Thursday, June 6, 2019

June 6, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 4 Comments

News 1. Update on the Assoun documents As I’ve reported, the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press are taking legal action to un-seal the court documents related to Glen Assoun’s exoneration. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 2. We initiated this legal action back in April, and since then there’s […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alakai, Glen Assoun documents, gold mining, Highland Gold, Icarus Report June 6 2019, Jerome Kennedy, Mary Campbell, Phil Campbell, Pond Centre RV Park, Transition Metals Corp., Yarmouth ferry

Updated: Aidan Cromwell’s conviction for second-degree murder has been overturned

May 16, 2016 By Tim Bousquet Leave a Comment

A three-judge appellant court has overturned the second-degree murder conviction of Aidan Cromwell. Cromwell was convicted in 2014 for the 2012 murder of Marc Bernard Tremblay. Cromwell was represented on appeal by Jerome Kennedy, the Newfoundland lawyer who first championed the cause of Glen Assoun, the man who was convicted for the murder of Brenda Way and […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Aidan Cromwell, Jerome Kennedy, Marc Bernard

DEAD WRONG

A BOTCHED POLICE INVESTIGATION AND A PROBABLE WRONGFUL CONVICTION SHED LIGHT ON THE MURDERS OF DOZENS OF WOMEN IN NOVA SCOTIA.

February 6, 2016 By Tim Bousquet 9 Comments

Editor’s note: the DEAD WRONG homepage has links to previous articles, the cast of characters, extras, and commentary. Part 3: If Glen Assoun Didn’t Kill Brenda Way, Who Did? This article contains graphic accounts of violence and sexual violence that will disturb some readers. Three months after the jury convicted Glen Assoun of the murder of Brenda Way, […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Ashley Herridge, Avery Greenough, Brenda Way, Carl Joseph Francis, Dave MacDonald, DEAD WRONG, Fred Fizsimmons, Glen Assoun, James Lockyer, Jerome Kennedy, Michael McGray, Mowen McGuire, Robert George Poole, Sean MacDonald, Stephen Angle, Suzanne Hood

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Mo Kenney. Photo: Matt Williams

Episode #18 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Mo Kenney’s new record Covers is a perfect winter companion — songs from across the rock spectrum that she’s pared down to piano or guitar and turned them into sad ballads. She joins Tara to talk about choosing and arranging them, and opens up for a frank discussion of the alcohol dependency it took a pandemic for her to confront. Plus: Movies are back (again).

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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