Guy Paul Morin is a Canadian who was wrongly convicted of the October, 1984 murder of his nine-year-old, next-door-neighbour, Christine Jessop of Queensville, Ontario. DNA testing led to a subsequent overturning of this verdict. Categories: Pages on votes for deletion | Canadian people stubs | 1984 deaths | Canadian crime victims | Murder victims ... Queensville is a village within the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ...

Wrongful conviction

Jessop's body was found December 31, 1984 in Durham Region and the Durham Regional Police Service had jurisdiction and conducted the investigation. Detective Fitzpatrick and Inspector Shephard arrested Morin on the evening of April 22, 1985. Morin was 25 years old at the time of his arrest. December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... The Regional Municipality of Durham, commonly called Durham Region (2003 population 525,000), is a regional political area located east of Toronto, Ontario. ... The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada, commonly referred to as Durham Region, and located east of the City of Toronto. ... is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ...

Morin was acquitted of murder at his first trial in 1986. The Crown exercised its right to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the trial judge made a fundamental error prejudicing the Crown's right to a fair trial. In 1987 the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial. The retrial was delayed until 1992 by Morin's own appeals based on the Crown's non-disclosure of exculpatory evidence and by other issues, including the double jeopardy rule. Crown Attorney or Crown Counsel are the public prosecutor in the legal system of Canada. ... In law, a verdict indicates the judgment of a case before a court of law. ... List of final courts of appeal in Canada. ... Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. ... For other uses, see Double jeopardy (disambiguation). ...

Morin was convicted at the second trial, but many believed him to be innocent. Unlike others convicted of murdering children after sexually abusing them, he was kept in the general population throughout his time in prison without being a victim of violence. Improvements in DNA testing led to a test in 1995 which excluded Morin as the murderer. Morin's appeal of his conviction was allowed and a directed verdict of acquittal entered in the appeal. The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ... In U.S. law, a directed verdict is an order from the judge presiding over a jury trial that one side or the other wins. ...

An inquiry into Morin's case also uncovered evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct, and of misrepresentation of forensic evidence by the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences. Ontarios Centre of Forensic Sciences is a forensic science facility operated by the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services within the Government of Ontario. ...

External links

• Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, report from the Ontario Attorney General
• A portrait painting of Morin