Donald Marshall, Jr. is a Mi'kmaq man who was wrongly convicted of murder. The case inspired a number of disturbing questions about the fairness of the Canadian justice system, especially given that Marshall was an Aboriginal; as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation put it, "The name Donald Marshall is almost synonymous with 'wrongful conviction' and the fight for native justice in Canada."^[1] The case inspired the book and film, Justice Denied. His father, Donald Marshall Sr., was grand chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation at the time. It has been suggested that Lnu be merged into this article or section. ... A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that they did not commit. ... Aboriginal peoples in Canada are Indigenous Peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, sections 25 and 35, respectively, as Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. ... The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. ...

Marshall was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering acquaintance Sandy Seale in 1971. Marshall (age 16) and Seale (age 17) had been walking around Sydney, Nova Scotia's Wentworth Park during the late evening. They confronted and attempted to rob Roy Ebsary, an older man they encountered in the park. A short scuffle occurred and Seale fell mortally wounded by a knife blow which Esbary delivered. Ebsary admitted that he had stabbed Seale but then lied about his role to the police who immediately focused on Marshall, who was 'known to them' from previous incidents. Police speculated that Marshall, in a rage for some reason, had murdered Seale. From the beginning, the system seemed determined to prove that Marshall was guilty.^[2] Downtown Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island Sydney is a community and former city in Nova Scotia, Canada, and is located on its namesake harbour in eastern Cape Breton County. ...

Marshall spent 11 years in jail before being acquitted by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in 1983. A witness came forward to say he had seen another man stab Seale, and several prior witness statements pinpointing Marshall were recanted. In this appeal which acquitted him of the previous murder charge, Marshall admitted that he lied in his first trial about his and Seale's activities on the night of Seale's death. He and Seale had actually approached Ebsary with the intention of robbing him and they were in the park that night looking for "drunks to roll". Ebsary was subsequently tried and convicted of manslaughter.^[2] When Marshall's conviction was overturned, the presiding judge placed some blame on Marshall for the miscarriage of justice, calling him "the author of his own misfortune."^[3] The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal is the court of appeal in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. ...

In response, a Royal Commission was formed to investigate what had caused the miscarriage of justice. This would lead to an influential case on judicial independence in Canada, Mackeigan v. Hickman. Judicial independence is the doctrine that decisions of the judiciary should be impartial and not subject to influence from the other branches of government or from private or political interests. ... Mackeigan v. ...

Subsequently, Marshall, reached prominence again as the primary petitioner in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case of R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 SCR 45 regarding native fishing rights. The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. ... R. v. ...

On January 2, 2006, Marshall was arrested on a new charge of attempted murder stemming from an alleged attempt to strike another man with his motor vehicle. The judge in the case has ordered Marshall to undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial. January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

1. ^ Reluctant Hero: The Donald Marshall Story CBC.ca, URL accessed 10 January 2006.
2. ^ ^{a b} Abolish Archives: Tom Regan Christian Science Monitor, URL accessed 2 December 2006.
3. ^ Donald Marshall exonerated of wrongful conviction, CBC Archives, URL accessed 2 December 2006