James Patrick Driskell (b. 1959) is a Canadian who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of Perry Dean Harder in 1991. Driskell has eight children and 14 grandchildren.

The Crime and Prosectution

Harder was last seen outside his rooming house in a pickup truck and his remains were found in a shallow grave just outside Winnipeg, three months after his disappearance. Harder had been shot at least once.

Harder and Driskell had been previously charged together with possession of stolen goods, and the Crown's theory was that Driskell killed his Harder to prevent him from testifying against Driskell.

The only physical evidence linking Driskell to the crime were three hairs found in his van that supposedly belonged to the victim. DNA tests showed years later that the hairs in fact did not belong to Harder.

Later Years

On 3 March 2005, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Irwin Cotler used a special Criminal Code of Canada provision to quash the conviction, stay the charges, and order a new trial for Driskell, but the Manitoba Department of Justice has decided not to order a new trial. It instead entered a stay of proceedings and called for a public inquiry, ending Driskell's conviction without exonerating him.

Colter said that the error occurred due to police and prosecutorial tunnel vision, inadequate disclosure of evidence, false testimony and poor scientific analysis.

Driskell had been free on bail since late 2003, after serving a total of 12 years in Stony Mountain Penitentiary convicted of first-degree murder. Driskell's lawyer was James Lockyer, a prominent defence attorney working with the Association for the Wrongfully Convicted .

External links

• Globe and Mail article March 3, 2005
• Globe and Mail article March 3, 2005
• Canadian Government Press Release March 3, 2005