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| Ron Dalton |
Wrongful Conviction Day began as a dream of Innocence Canada founder and current Director of Client Services Win Wahrer back in 2014 and has since grown into an international day of annual recognition of the plight of wrongly convicted individuals throughout the world. It is not a day of celebration but rather an annual opportunity to reflect upon the phenomenon of wrongful convictions and to acknowledge, honour and give a voice to the wrongly convicted, their families, advocates and supporters. Around the globe, innocence organizations, institutions of higher learning and the general public come together to recognize the failures of our criminal justice systems and highlight the need to limit and correct wrongful convictions when they occur.
International Wrongful Conviction Day is a rare opportunity to focus on the faces and unfortunate stories of those individuals in our country who have suffered the injustice of wrongful conviction. It is also an occasion to note that innocence is no guarantee that you will not become the next individual arrested, charged and convicted of a crime you did not commit. As a nation, we must do everything in our power to safeguard against wrongful convictions and demand that processes be put in place to identify wrongful convictions and expedite the correction of such grave injustices.
It is imperative we all do our part to be part of the solution rather than allow injustices to continue; while no justice system is perfect, we can stand together and strive to make our Canadian system as close to perfect as humanly possible. Innocence Canada has been doing the noble work of trying to correct the mistakes of our justice system for over 30 years, and we are proud of what we have achieved during that period. As a nonprofit organization, we struggle to raise funds to exist and carry on the good and necessary work we do on behalf of all Canadians, although we have a dedicated and talented staff we continue to rely on the generosity of the public and the volunteered talents of many individuals. It is the generosity of sponsors that provides us with the means to bring the wrongly convicted, their families, advocates and supporters together to let them know they are not forgotten and are being supported.
Personally, I found when all else was taken from me, I learned to appreciate and trust my sense of self-worth. I was truly the only person who knew, with absolute certainty, that I was innocent. I remain extremely grateful to my friends and family members who believed in my innocence and worked tirelessly to help me prove it. Yet, I took most solace from the sure and certain knowledge of my innocence that I alone possessed; the truth is a powerful companion in times of darkness. Simply put, wrong is wrong. We all have an obligation to right the wrongs that come to our attention and do what we can to prevent (or at least correct when they occur) future wrongful convictions that serve to weaken our criminal justice system and lower our collective faith in fundamental truth and justice.
Please help Innocence Canada and the International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee honour the wrongly convicted on Oct. 2 at this historical event.
In 1988, Ron Dalton was a 32-year-old bank manager when he was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. It took the next 12 years to prove his innocence, restore his freedom and return him to his family, including the couple’s three children. Since that ordeal, Dalton has tried to reintegrate into family life and earn a living, and he is co-chair of Innocence Canada, a nonprofit organization working to free other wrongly convicted individuals.
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